LETTER WRITING – FORMAL LETTER-

The format of a letter to the editor of a Newspaper is as follows –

1. Sender’s address: The address and contact details of
the
sender are written here. Include email and phone number, if
required or if mentioned in the question.

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

Leaving one space or line.

3. Receiving Editor’s address: The address of the recipient of

the mail i.e. the editor is written here.

4. 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.

5. Salutation (Sir / Respected sir / Madam)

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 a detail of the matter.
Paragraph 3: Conclude by mentioning what you expect from
the editor. (For example, you may want him to highlight the
issue in his newspaper / magazine).

7. Complimentary Closing

8. Sender’s name, signature and designation(if any)

Sample Letter to the Editor
Q1. You are Radha G, member of NGO AWAAZ. Write a letter
to the editor of a national daily for a public movement to clean
the Yamuna river. (You must introduce yourself, describe how
the people are to be blamed for polluting the river and suggest
the need for installing water treatment plant to clean the river).
A.
33, Jal Vihar
Wazirabad, New Delhi - 33
Dated: 17 July 2017
The Editor
Hindustan Times
New Delhi.
Subject: Need for people’s movement for a clean Yamuna
Dear Editor
I am Radha G, member of NGO AWAAZ. I am writing to you in
order to highlight the deteriorating condition of river Yamuna.
The city of Delhi is getting contaminated water from river
Yamuna. The residents are to be blamed for this. They pollute
the river with garbage, sewage and filth. The river water is full
of bacteria, plastic, chemicals and other waste materials. It is
unfit for consumption.
The people have been demanding a Water Treatment plant.
The authorities have not yet responded to the repeated
requests.
I request you to highlight the problem in your newspaper and
arouse public interest. We all need to get together in order to
get the plant set up in the area.
Thank You
Yours sincerely
Radha G
Member AWAAZ.

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Question:
Write a letter to the Editor of a newspaper, complaining about the bad
condition of water supply in your locality. You are Prabhu Dayal living at
H-19 Dayal Bagh Colony, New Delhi.
Answer:
H-19
Dayal Bagh Colony
New Delhi
5th January 20XX
The Editor
Hindustan Times
New Delhi
Sub: Bad condition of water supply in Dayal Bagh Colony.’

Sir,

I am Prabhu Dayal residing in Dayal Bagh Colony. I would like to draw

the kind attention of the concerned authorities through the column of
your esteemed newspaper towards the problem of bad condition of
water supply in Dayal Bagh colony.

Most of the time the taps remain dry. The supply is made only two hours
in the morning and one hour in the evening. Besides the water is muddy
and polluted. Many residents fall sick. There are complaints of jaundice
and loose motions after drinking this water. In this connection we have
complained to the local authorities but in vain.

I, therefore, request you to publish this in your newspaper so that the

higher authorities will look into this matter and take necessary action
immediately.

Thanking you

Yours truly
Prabhu Dayal

2. Gandhinagar is a thickly populated locality inhabited mainly

by the working class people. Unfortunately, there is no Amul
milk booth in the locality. Write a leter in 100 - 120 words to the
editor of a local daily drawing the attention of the authorities to
the problem faced by the people, requesting them to open a
milk booth. You are Sham / Shobha, 4, Gandhinagar, Mumbai.
A.
Shobha
4, Gandhinagar
Mumbai.
Dated: 15th March 2018
The Editor
Hindutan News
Mumbai.
Subject: Absence of Amul milk booth in Gandhinagar
Respected Sir / Madam
I am Shobha, a resident of Gandhinagar. I am writing to you in
order to raise the issue of absence of an Amul milk booth in my
locality.
Gandhinagar has a hugh population which comprises of daily
wagers. Still, the area does not have an Amul milk booth. The
residents face many problems as they have to walk upto 10
kilometers every morning to get their daily stock of milk and
milk products. This has also led to black marketing. The people
of the area are getting harassed.
As the situation is serious, I request you to highlight it through
your newspaper so that the Amul authorities are sensitized
towards it and do the needful.
Thanking You
Yours sincerely
Shobha.
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Difference between Formal letter and Informal letter

The formal letter is written for business or professional
purposes with a specific objective in mind. It uses simple
language, which is easy to read and interpret. On the
contrary, informal letters are written to friends and relatives for
personal communication and require a casual or an emotional
tone.
The size of a formal letter should be concise; that does not
include irrelevant matter. In contrast, the informal letter can be
lengthier.
Formal letters are used for writing letters to business contacts,
i.e. partners, suppliers, customers, clients, etc. , college or
institute, employer, professionals, etc. As against this, we
write informal letters to friends, relatives, acquaintance, etc.

Format of Informal letter

There is no set format when writing an informal letter. But
there is a general pattern, some conventions that people
usually follow. We will be looking at this pattern and certain tips
on how to write effective and attractive informal letters.
These can act as guidelines when you are drafting a letter; they
are not hard and fast rules. Let us begin.

Address
The first thing to write is your address, i.e. the address of the
writer (basically, the sender’s address). We usually write the
address on the left-hand side of the page at the very top. The
address should be accurate and complete. Even when writing
to close friends or relatives the address must be written, so
they can reply back to the letter with ease. If the recipient of the
letter is in another country, do not forget to write your country
as well in the address.

Date
Next just below the address we write the date. This allows the
reader to have a reference as to when the informal letter was
written. He can then relate better to the contents of the letter.
The date, preferably, shold be in expanded form.

Greeting
Now since you know the person you are writing to, the greeting
can be informal as well. If it is a friend or someone close to your
age you can greet them by their first name, like “Dear Alex”. If
you are writing to your relative like your
mother/father/aunt/uncle etc, you may greet them as such, for
example, “Dear Mom”. And if you are writing to an elder person,
someone you respect greatly you can address them as Mr or
Mrs. Like say for example you were writing a congratulatory
letter to your teacher, it can be addressed as “Dear Mrs. Alex”.

Introductory Paragraph
And now we begin writing the actual letter. The
introductory paragraph sets the tone for the whole letter. You
might begin by asking the recipient about their well being. Or
you may say that you hope the letter finds them in good health
and great spirits. The opening of informal letters should be
casual and comforting. It must not be formal and direct as in
business letters.

Body of the Letter

The letter overall should maintain a friendly tone. But you have
to adjust the language and the wordings according to who you
are writing to. With a friend, you can afford to be very casual
and flippant even. But if you are writing to an elder relative, you
must be extremely respectful and considerate.
One way to determine the tonality of your letter is to remember
how you talk to the person in a conversation. And then apply
the same syntax and sentiments to the letter.

Conclusion
In the conclusive paragraph sum up the reason for writing the
letter, i.e. summarize the letter. Say a meaningful and
affectionate goodbye to the reader. And do not forget to invite
the reader to write back or reply to your letter. It shows an
intention to keep the conversation going.
Signature
There is no one way to sign off informal letters. Since they do
not follow a strict format, you may sign off as you please. Some
commonly used phrases are

▪ Lots of Love
▪ Best,
▪ Best Wishes,
▪ Kind Regards,
▪ Kindly,
Pick the one that best suits the occasion and then simply sign
your name below the greeting.

Examples of Informal letter

1:Write a letter to your friend congratulating him/her on his/her
success in class 12 board exam.

B-32, sector-11
Rohini
New Delhi-110034
July 10, 2018
Dear Muskan
My happiness knew no bounds when I got to know that you
have topped your school and achieved your dream. I felt so
pleased that I wish I were there to congratulate you personally.
The result has proved that hard work, determination and
perseverance bring good results. You were so laborious and
passionate about it. I know you were very nervous too, but I
was always very confident that you would come out with flying
colours. I apologise that I couldn’t even attend the celebration
party despite my wishes.
Hope to see you soon. Please be encouraged and continue
your hard work. Your future is very bright. My parents and elder
sister have sent lots of love and heartiest congratulations.
With lots of love and best wishes.
Yours lovingly
Shefali

2: You are Aakriti/ Abhinav. Write a letter to your friend

describing your boarding school in about 120-150 words.

B-32, sector-11
Rohini
New Delhi-110085
April 15, 2018
Dear Muskan
How have you been? I hope my letter finds you in best of health
and spirits. It has been almost a month I transferred to the
boarding school. I am very happy in my new school. The
classes and dormitories are very spacious. There are well
equipped science laboratories and a library with a great
collection of books. The school has amazing sports facilities
such as swimming pool, horse riding track and archery range.
I believe my life here will be interesting and enjoyable. Although
I have made many new friends, I still miss you and the other
friends. Please, pay my regards to your parents.
Yours sincerely
Aakriti/ Abhinav
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