Hi Everyone!! This article will share Informal Letter Writing Format.
A letter is a written record of your feelings, opinions and experiences shared with your friends and family. Some letters are written for official communication while others are written to friends and family. There are two types of letters:
Formal letters – Letters for business, superiors, editors, applications and invitations.
Informal letters – Letters written to friends and family.
Informal Letter Writing Format – How To Write An Infomal Letter
An informal letter, also referred to as a friendly letter, is a personal letter written to friends or relatives. You can write it to anyone with whom you have a non-professional relationship and can use simple unofficial language. However, there are a few guidelines that you can follow if you have some confusion regarding how to write an informal letter. This letter consists of 7 key elements that are mentioned below:
1. Address
2. Date
3. Salutation
4. Beginning/Opening
5. Main Content
6. Ending/Closing
Points 4, 5 & 6 constitute the body of the letter.
7. Signature
Let’s understand the significance of each element.
Informal Letter Writing Format – How To Write An Infomal Letter
1. Address
The sender’s address is the first thing written in the informal letter and it should be written on the left-hand-side of the page. It generally consists of three lines as follows:
Number and name of house / building
Name of road /locality
City and Pin code
For example –
A-604, Oracle Residency
Mall Road/Vesu
Surat 395 007
Please note that no punctuation marks are required while writing an address except a comma after the number of the house.
2. Date
The date should be written just below the address after leaving a line.
In letter writing, the date is always written in words. This is because different countries in the world follow different formats to write the date. In India, we follow the DDMMYYYY format but in the USA they follow the MMDDYYYY format. Hence, the same date can be interpreted in two ways by different people. For example – 04 – 05 – 2020 will be read as 4th May 2020 by Indians. But the Americans will read it as 5th April 2020. So, to avoid confusion, the date is always written in words.
For example –
4th May, 2020 or May 4, 2020.
3. Salutation
‘Salutation’ means a word or phrase serving as the prefatory (used as a preface) greeting in a letter. In an informal letter, generally, only the following 2 salutations are acceptable:
Dear (Name) or
Dear (Relation)
For example –
Dear Neha or
Dear Mom
The salutation must contain only the first name or ‘Uncle’, ‘Aunt’ preceded by ‘Dear’.
Note: Never write ‘Dear friend’.
4. Body
The body or content of an informal letter consists of 3 paragraphs.
The first paragraph is the Opening.
Some of the examples of opening lines are:
- How are you?
- I hope you are doing well.
- How have you been?
You may also mention the reason for writing.
The second paragraph is the main content. Expand on your reasons for writing the letter. It should be written in a friendly way.
The third paragraph is the Closing. This is where you summarize your letter and say goodbye to the reader.
Few examples of closing are:
- I am looking forward to seeing you/meeting you soon.
- Give my regards/best wishes to your parents.
- See you soon.
5. Subscription and Signature
‘Subscription’ in letter writing means ‘leave-taking’. Maintain a friendly tone while signing off and wish them the best of the greetings.
In informal letters, we generally use the following expressions:
- Lots of love,
- Best wishes,
- Yours lovingly,
- Your loving friend,
These expressions are followed by the writer’s first name or the relation.
For example –
Your loving friend,
Seema
or
Yours lovingly,
Mom
Quick Recap
Informal Letter Writing Format – How To Write An Infomal Letter
Note: Stick close to the left hand margin
1. Writer’s Address: (Your Address)
BLANK LINE
2. Date: In correct format
BLANK LINE
3. Salutation
BLANK LINE
4. Body of the letter: (Usually in 3 parts/paragraphs)
1st paragraph: A short yet usually a pleasant opening (e.g. ask after receiver’s health and about his family)
2nd paragraph: Longest (Usually contains the main points of the letter.)
3rd paragraph: Closing Lines (may differ from letter to letter. It concludes the letter with the promise to keep in touch in the future.)
BLANK LINE
5.1 Subscription: (e.g. your friend, your son etc.)
5.2 Writer’s Name (can write only the first Name)
NOTE: Unlike formal letter, informal letters do not have receiver’s address and subject mentioned.
So, this was all about Informal Letter Writing Format.We have learnt how to write an informal letter. Nowadays, writing informal letters is not very popular. People prefer to text or send an e-mail. But letter writing is a valuable skill which all of us should be familiar with. I think now, all of you are well equipped to write an informal letter.