FORMAL LETTERS Letter writing is an essential skill. In spite of the prevalence of e-mail

and text messages, letters are still one of the most popular means of

communication. Commerce, trade, official, correspondence, public

representation, complaints and other dealings, transaction and

communication with people are still conducted through letters.

Formal letters can be broadly classified into four types. These are

– As the name suggest, these letters are written

to lodge a complaint letters can be addressed to a public/private

company or organisation.

– These letters are written when a person wants to

get more information about a product or service or to obtain a

quotation for purchasing a product or service. These letters are the

most common form of formal letters.

– These are business letters and are

written when a customer or an organisation wants to place an order

for product/s or goods from another company or organisation. These

may also include letters for cancellation or amendments to orders

placed as well as acknowledgement of orders placed.

– These letters are usually written on a topic

of general concern and to influence public opinion. They may include

suggestions on an issue concerning public interests, complaints or

requests.

STEPS TO WRITE A LETTER

To write an effective formal letter one must follow the correct

format and the steps given below.

1 Sender’s address – Make sure that the sender’s address is

clear and precise. It is written at the top on the left hand corner of

the page. Specify the house number first, followed by the street,

town/state and pin code

Example: 2334/31, Mangal Pandey Nagar

Ekta Park

Meerut-250002

This portion include the sender’s full address. While writing the

address, one must NOT put comma at the end of each line.

2 Date and Receiver’s Address – While writing date, always

remember that the day is written in figures, month in words and year

in full figures. The date on which the letter is written, followed by the

receiver’s address which comprises of the receiver’s

name/designation and the complete address.

EXAMPLE: 12th December,20xx

The Editor

The Times Of India

Daryaganj

Delhi-110002

3 Subject - One of the most important parts of the formal letter

is the subject. One must ensure that the subject ensures the main

theme or crux of the letter clearly. It must be brief as possible,

maximum three or for words.

4 Salutation – The salutation is used in formal letters is a greeting

to whom the letter is addressed. The form of greeting or salutation

depends on the relation and degree of intimacy between the writer

and the addressee in personal letter. But in official letters, we may

use Sir/Madam, Dear Sir/Dear Madam, keeping in mind the gender,

if specified in this question.

5 Body of the letter – The body of the letter is a complex part

which contains all the information the writer(you) wants to convey.

For this, start with introducing the purpose of writing. Then build up

the topic.

The body includes three main parts. It should be

(i) Introductory Paragraph/Sentence - States the purpose of

writing

(ii) Informative paragraph – Gives details of the problem, cause,

effect, possible solution etc.

(iii) Concluding Paragraph/Sentence – States your hope,

comment, request, suggestion etc.

6 Complimentary close – This a courteous way of ending a

letter.

For this, we write Yours Sincerely/Yours Faithfully/Yours Truly. The

first letter of the second word (here ‘s’, ’t’, ’f’) is never written in

capital letter.

7 Sender’s Signature – Just below the complimentary close,

sender’s name is written as a mark of signing off. If applicable the

sender’s designation may be applicable in the brackets.

Format – 1 mark (including sender’s address, date, receiver’s address, subject/heading,

salutation and complimentary close.)

Content – 4 marks

Accuracy – 1.5 marks

Fluency – 1.5 marks

Total – 8 marks

These letter are written to complain against the defective products

or poor service. These letters are written in very polite language.

Such a letter is addressed to the relevant person of the

company/organisation/dealer/service provider who supplied the

defective product or provided service. The writer will introduce

himself/herself and give.

1 Details of the product/service

2 Nature of the complaint

3 Payment information like bill/cash memo number

4 Date and place of purchase/service

5 Model number (if applicable)

6 Names of associated persons from supplier side (if applicable)

7 Compensation or corrective action required

8 Any other details necessary for resolving the complaint

You are Gunjan/ Gaurav a resident of Delhi you are a subscriber of a

weekly magazine named Outlook. Lately you have not been receiving

the copies of the magazine on a regular basis. write a letter to the

circulation manage, Outlook regarding the non- receipt of copies.

WZ-1263, Nangal Raya Senders address

New Delhi-110088 Sender address is written

here never put your name here

20th March,20xx date

the date appears directly below the

The Circulation Manager address after leaving a line

Outlook Magazine

New Delhi-110024 Receiver’s name/rank & his/her

address

Subject – Non-receipt of copies of outlook magazine SUBJECT

Dear sir salutation: It is a customer greeting

I am a subscriber of outlook magazine with subscription no 120124. I have not been

receiving copies of the magazine on a regular basis since the past few weeks. At

times the copies do not arrive on time or are not delivered at all. Body of the letter

I have also called your helpline number but the issue has not been fixed. I would Introduction, details of service,

appreciate if you could look into the issue and make sure that I get the copies on nature of complaint.

time.

Looking forward for your speedy action.

Yours sincerely Subscription/complimentary

Gunjan close and signature

1- You had bought a mobile phone from a reputed showroom in Mumbai but after a month it

developed a serious fault. Write a complaint letter to the Manager of the showroom asking

for immediate replacement of the same. You are Sadiq/Razia,123, South TT Nagar, Bhopal.

(100-150 words).

Ans

123, South TT Nagar

Bhopal-462003

17th November,20XX

The Manager

Multimedia Stores

345/7, Dr Bhadkamkar Marg

Mumbai-40004

Subject – Apple I phone defective within warranty period

Sir,

On my last visit to Mumbai, I had bought an Apple I phone 7 Sr No. 7778906 from your showroom on 16th

October,20XX. The Cash Memo number is MS/456/17-18. Unfortunately, the phone has stopped working

from yesterday, which is very surprising for such a high-quality product. It has not been damaged in any

way by me.

So you are requested to inform me the action to be taken for free replacement of this phone. You are

Welcome to contact me on mobile no 98765XXXXX for any clarification

Yours Faithfully

Sadiq