Format of Formal

Letter & Writing Style -

Check the Formal
Letter Format in
Detail!

1
Letters have always been an effective mode of communication for everyone. As technology has been
developing every day, people find it convenient to send letters through email instead of Traditional
Post. Formal and Informal letters are often used to communicate or share ideas for various purposes.
Various competitive examinations like​ ​SSC MTS​ ​have questions related to letter writing. These
questions are asked to test the writing skills and fluency in the language of the candidate. Formal
Letters is written to convey official and important messages to authorities, dignitaries, colleagues,
seniors, etc instead of personal contacts, friends, or family. It is strictly professional and has to be
written in a particular formula. In this article, you will get to know more about the rules of writing a
formal letter. Before we look into the Format of a Formal Letter it is important to know about it, let's
now read the meaning of a formal letter.

What is a Formal Letter?

● A formal letter is written for official purposes.
● The tone of the letter is formal and structured. The agenda is to send across official
information.
● Formal letters may be written to institutions, government departments, business letters, etc.

Types of Formal Letter

The formal letter is of various types and is used in all organizations (Government or Private) as a
means of communication. Formal letters are used for internal as well as external communication. The
types of formal letters are mentioned below.

● Letter of Enquiry
● Order Letter
● Letter of Complaint
● Reply to a Letter of Complaint
● Promotion Letter
● Sales Letters
● Recovery Letters

Format of Formal Letter for SSC MTS

2
The tone of a formal letter is professional and serious and most of the sentences are generally
complex and add specific meaning to the writing, and meant for the understanding of the reader. The
format of a formal letter is standard and applies to all, therefore, The main intention is to send an
official message to the receiver. you must follow the format mentioned below!

A formal letter comprises of following elements:

1. Sender’s Address
2. Date
3. Receiver’s Address
4. Subject (Purpose of writing the letter)
5. Salutation
6. Body of the letter
7. Ending ( Best Regards, Yours truly, Best
Wishes, etc)
8. Signature line→ sender’s name, signature, and
Designation

Example of Format Letter Layout

3
1) Address

Senders' Address​ - Always write your address​ on the left-hand corner, you need to mention
your street address, city, state, pin code, and your contact number.

Receiver's Address​ - Always mention the receiver’s address in the right-hand corner just below the
date.

2) Date & Salutation

Date​ - ​The date should always be placed just below the sender's address with a line gap.

Salutation​ - ​"Dear Sir/Madam"​ suffices, if you know the name of the person, address them directly
ensure that you address them formally using "​Rev.​ ", "​Dr​.", "​Mr."​ , "​Mrs.​", or "​Ms.​", and include their
full name.

4
3) Subject & Body

Subject​ - Subject is the agenda or purpose of writing the letter. ​Write the subject of the
letter, keep it brief, and if possible in one line only.

Body Text​ - ​Always organize the writing into paragraphs, the writing should include sophisticated
vocabulary, standard spellings, and punctuation. the reason behind using paras is to keep the reader
interested and to separate one point from another, it's always about giving as much clarity as possible
to the reader.

● The 1st paragraph also known as ​Introduction​ should be short and on point, mention the
purpose of the letter in the first paragraph itself so that the reader is clear about your
intentions behind writing the letter.
● The paragraphs in the middle are also called ​the body​ of the letter and it should contain some
relevant details concerning the purpose stated in the 1st para.
● The last paragraph also known as the conclusion should talk about the action you expect the
recipient of the letter to take. Maintain a requesting tone in the last paragraph as much as you
can.

4) Ending

Ending of a formal letter​ - ​Sign off with an appropriate closing statement followed by your
signature and full name, the most preferred salutations are - ​Yours Faithfully, Your Sincerely, etc.
Signing off with an appropriate statement signifies that you hold the receiver in high regard.

5) Signature Line

Signature Line of a formal letter​ - The sender must mention name, signature, and designation in
the working company if applicable. It helps the receiver to acknowledge the senders' information.

Type-wise Format of Formal Letter

Below, we have mentioned in detail all the types of formal letters, their purpose, and their respective
examples. Go through them carefully, understand how all the letters are different from each other

• Letter of Enquiry

The agenda behind writing this letter is to collect information about something or someone. Here you
should mention why you expect the sender to give you particular information.

5
Format of Formal Letter​: Collecting Information

Points To Remember:

● Always start with a brief introduction about yourself

● Try including the name of the concerned organization
● Mention relevant details about the area of inquiry
● Include deadlines by which you need the information(Including deadlines signifies the
urgency)

Example of Letter of Enquiry

• Order Letter

Order letters are basically the purchase order letter, where the sender is ordering a particular
commodity. Purchase order letters are usually drafted by the purchasing department of any
organization.

Format of Formal Letter​: Booking Orders.

Points To Remember:

● Details of the order must be stated clearly including complete information like the quantity of
the goods, model number (if available), etc.
● Mention proper information related to the shipping like the mode of shipping, shipping
location and the desired date for the goods to be shipped must be clearly stated.
● Payment Related inquiries must also be stated clearly including the mode of payment, date of
payment, or terms and conditions regarding payment.

Example of Order Letter

• Letter of Complaint

Letter Of Complaint is usually written to make the receiver aware of the issues that you are facing and
how you expect him/her to resolve those issues as early as possible.

Format of Formal Letter​: Registering Complaints

Points To Remember:

● Use polite yet assertive words regarding complaint issues.

6
 ● Mention the complaint in detail, the reader should be fully aware about the issue n order to
address it.
● Specify the action you want the recipient to take, it would signify that you are just not pointing
out the problem, you are providing a solution to it.
● Provide order information including the date of arrival, order number, or the details of the
previous complaint (if any)
● Specify the expected response time, if you keep deadlines, it signifies the importance of the
issue.
● Attach a copy or a specimen of the invoice or any other receipt

Example of Letter of Complaint

• Reply to a Letter of Complaint

This letter is written to signify that the letter is received and you will be taking the required actions as
soon as possible. It creates a positive impact in the mind of the receiver that his/her issues were taken
seriously.

Format of Formal Letter​: Reply to the Letter of Complaint

Points To Remember:

● Apologize for the error from your side

● Mention the course of actions you will take for the concerned issues and the time required to
do so
● Assure the customer for no more future grievances and troubles
● Be very clear and specific about every detail

Example of Reply to a Letter of Complaint

• Promotion Letter

Format of Formal Letter​: Promotion of new developments and up-gradation.

Points To Remember:

● Use clear, error-free sentences expressing definite terms

● Proper use of punctuation and correct spelling
● Avoid slang, fancy terminologies of jargon
● Clearly discuss the promotion

7
 ● Avoid using abbreviations

Example of Promotion Letter

• Sales Letters

Format of Formal Letter​: Sale Intention.

The purpose of this letter is to make a sales pitch. You are informing the receiver about your new
product which you have recently launched and how will it be beneficial to that person. Make sure you
mention all the Unique Selling Points of your product in the letter

Points To Remember:

● The language must be formal

● Avoid slang and use of abbreviations
● The content must be clear, concise and understandable
● Pay attention towards the targeted audience
● Provide proper details, features, uses of a newly launched product

Example of Sales Letter

• Recovery Letters

Recovery letters are basically loan recovery letters, where you are requesting the receiver to clear off
the debts if they have failed to clear it on time.

Format of Formal Letter​: Collect money from a client or a customer

Points To Remember:

● The language of the remainder must be polite

● The detailed information and the reasons must be clear and understandable by the client
● The language should be formal
● Provide the detail of legal action in case of non-payment of further delay in clearing the dues

Example of Recovery Letter

Now, that you know all about the complete Format of Formal Letter and in case you want to read
more about the SSC MTS Descriptive Test, read the articles mentioned below!

8
 Learn About​ ​Informal Letter Format​ Here

We hope that you find this article on the Format of formal letters helpful. As mentioned above,
various competitive examinations test your letter writing skills. Letter writing is not only useful for
examination purpose, letter writing skill comes handy in your all walks of life, hence it is important to
learn letter writing and remember it. If you have any queries related to this article, mention them
below. Also, you can get updates regarding the upcoming government recruitments and examinations
download the most trusted​ ​Testbook App​ available free on the play store. You will also have access to
the most exclusive​ ​offers​ and discounts. What are you waiting for? Download it NOW! Also, you can
go through​ ​Latest Government Job Notifications​ to stay updated about the Job Opportunities