Letters | Letter Writing | Letter Formats (2024)

Letter Writing is simply 'The way or method of writing a Letter'. Letter Writing is an Art, one, which not all of us are proficient in or appropriate as per conventional wisdom. Before, we focus our attention to Letter Writing, let us understand what a Letter is? A Letter is a written message, request for assistance or employment or admission to a school. Letters have played and are still playing an important role in communication throughout the world. Paper Letters have been in existence from the time of ancient India, ancient Egypt and Sumer, through Rome, Greece and China, up to the modern times. Paper letters were once the most and at times the only reliable means of communication between two people in different locations. Its format and importance has changed with evolution of technology, especially with advent of email.

• Types of Letters
• Formal Letters
• Informal Letters
• Differences between Formal and Informal Letters
• Letter Types based on purpose

Despite the advances in the technology, Paper Letters are still written and in remote places, they are still the only means of communication. No matter, what the medium, letters play an important role in our society which is based on interaction. If letters play an important role in the world then the skill to write it, becomes a necessity in all walks of life. Letter writing is not just a simple way of writing; it is a specialised form of writing. It has certain rules which vary according to the type of letter being written. To be able to know what to write and how to write a letter is an 'Ace up one's sleeve'. It is mastery just like writing poems and though one may not become a celebrity but one does get applauded and even paid for such unique skills. The revolutionised age of communication has reduced the value of Traditional Letter Writing as SMS's, Twitter, Blogs & their counterparts have taken over. But when it comes to Official or Formal Setups, there is a protocol as to how a message is to be conveyed and presented. Such and other varied environment have to a large extent saved the rare and unique art of letter writing.

Types of Letters

There are various kinds of letters like Address Change Letter, Business Letter, Cover Letter, Farewell Letter, Get Well Letter and so on. These different types of letters are different in their subject, occasion and purpose. They have various criteria like format, length, vocabulary, language and other essentials which need to be followed.

The most widely acceptable types of letters are:

Formal Letters

Formal letters are those letters which follow certain styles of writing a letter. They are known as formal letters because they are written in accordance with certain established practices. Such letters are mostly used in working environments like various offices and businesses and have very meagre emotional language. Formal letters are mostly written by officials and businessmen.

Informal Letters

Informal letters are those letters which are written with minimalistic rules, thus the term informal letters. Informal letters are personal correspondences and that is why they do not require as much of a rule observance as compared to the formal letters. Informal letters are mostly written by relatives, friends, peers etc. of the recipient. The purpose of writing informal letters is socialisation and information exchange.

Informal and Formal Letters are further subdivided into various categories which further may have their own subcategories

As is evident from the above mentioned, certain letters have been categorised under both informal and formal types of letters. This is because certain letters have informal ingredients even when they are written within the parameters of formal letters. The above categorisation is just to show a division and not to strictly confine a letter to just one category only. Certain letters are strictly formal as they have to follow certain regulations and their use is restricted to just the official environment. And some formal letters when written to express emotions within a working environment use informal language as without using the informal language the letters wouldn’t be able to properly express the emotions they want to.

Differences between Formal and Informal Letters

Letters can also be categorised as per their purposes. Since most of the letters are written for academic, business, personal and reference purposes they can be categorised in a similar manner

The most common purposes for which letters are written divide them into:

• Academic Letters – Letters concerned with academic affairs of various academic institutions or pertaining to academics under various capacities are known as academic letters.

  Some of the types of academic letters

  • Announcement Letter
  • Application Letter
  • Leave Letter
  • Recommendation Letter

• Business Letters – Letters written for purpose related to business and its’ relative processes are known as business letters.

  Some of the types of business letters

  • Acceptance Letter
  • Acknowledgement Letter
  • Adjustment Letter
  • Request Letter
  • Resolution Letter
  • Sales Letter

• Personal Letters – Letters written for sharing personal information, views, opinions etc. are known as personal letters. They are akin to Informal Letters.

  Some of the types of personal letters

  • Cancellation Letter
  • Condolence Letter
  • Farewell Letter
  • Friendly Letter
  • Get Well Letter
  • Holiday Letter
  • Love Letter

• Reference Letters - Letters written by an authoritative person for an acquaintance, to introduce the acquaintance to the concerned for employment, admission and/or other objectives. These letters are similar to formal letters.

  Some of the types of reference letters

  • Adoption Reference Letter
  • Business Reference Letter
  • Character Reference Letter
  • Employer Reference Letter / Job Reference Letter
  • Scholarship Reference Letter
  • Teacher Reference Letter