Subject-English

Format of Letter-Writing
(LETTER TO THE EDITOR)
Letter writing is an important topic in the English writing skills section for school students.
Everyone must know how to write a letter. While writing a formal letter, one has to follow the
format of letter writing. A formal letter can be written for various reasons. Here we have
covered the format of a formal letter written for different purposes.

The Format of a Formal Letter is as follows –

1. Sender’s address: The address and contact details of the sender are written here.

2. Date: The date is written below the sender’s address after leaving one line.

3. Receiver’s address: The address of the recipient of the mail (the Officer/Principal /Editor)
is written here.

4. Salutation (Sir / Madam)

5. The subject of the letter: The main purpose of the letter forms the subject. It must be
written in one line. It must convey the matter for which the letter is written.

6. Body: The matter of the letter is written here. It is divided into 3 paragraphs as follows -

Paragraph 1: Introduce yourself and the purpose of writing the letter in brief.

Paragraph 2: Give detail of the matter.

Paragraph 3: Conclude by mentioning what you expect. (For example, a solution to your
problem, to highlight an issue in the newspaper, etc.)

7. Complimentary Closing

8. Signatures
Sender’s name
Designation (if any)
Sender’s address
-----------
Date
-----------
Receiver’s Address
-----------
Salutation
-----------
Subject
-----------
Paragraph 1: Introduce yourself and the purpose of writing the letter in brief.
-----------
Paragraph 2: Give detail of the matter.
-----------
Paragraph 3: Conclude by mentioning what you expect.
-----------
Complimentary closing
Signatures
Sender’s Name (in block letters)
Designation (if any)
 Sample Letter

You are Krishna, a resident of Ambedkar Nagar, New Delhi, and have been coming
across certain headlines in the newspapers on shortage of electricity. You are also facing
erratic supply of electricity in your locality. Write a letter to the Editor of a local daily
regarding your plight and mentioning the inconvenience faced by the residents of the
locality.

237, Ambedkar Nagar

New Delhi

** December 2021

The Editor
The Times of India
New Delhi

Sir/Ma’am

Subject: Shortage and erratic supply of electricity in Ambedkar Nagar.

Through the columns of your esteemed paper, I want to draw the attention of the authorities
concerned towards the shortage and erratic electric supply in Amebedkar Nagar.

Power cut has become almost a regular feature and electric supply comes to a halt during the
odd hours. Very often it is too dim to see anything and thereby people get a lot of
inconvenience. This causes a great loss to shopkeepers, students and housewives because all
their work stops. This gives a good chance for the thieves to earn a good booty. The students
are the worst hit. You know that these are the examination days and the students need
electricity rather than blackout or shortage of light. Our repeated representation to authorities
have failed to yield the desirable results. Perhaps your intervention may relieve us from the
menace.

I hope that the letter of mine will find a suitable corner in your newspaper and the authorities
concerned will realize the gravity of the problem and they will also take effective actions to
solve the problem of the shortage and erratic electric supply in Amebedkar Nagar.

Yours truly
Krishna
(KRISHNA)
Resident