5.2.6

Writing a Formal Letter

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Writing a Formal Letter

There are many different situations where you may need to write a formal letter, such as a job application.

Addresses

Addresses

  • Write your full name and address at the top right of the page, as well as the date.
  • Write the recipient’s address at the top left of the page.
A formal salutation

A formal salutation

  • Begin with a formal salutation (greeting).
    • A formal salutation may be ‘Dear ..(name)’ if you know the name of the recipient.
    • ‘A formal salutation may be 'To whom it may concern’ if you are writing to a business or a group.
The purpose & structure

The purpose & structure

  • Make the purpose behind your letter clear in the opening paragraph: ‘I am writing this letter to…’
  • Structure the rest of your letter so that each paragraph links back to this reason for writing.
    • For example, in a job application letter, each paragraph should explain why you are a good candidate for the job.
Professional tone

Professional tone

  • In formal letters, your tone should be professional.
    • Avoid colloquial (slang) language.
  • Check grammar and punctuation carefully so that your letter is clear to read.
    • Make sure your language is polite and respectful.
Sign-off

Sign-off

  • End the letter with the appropriate sign-off.
    • If you do not know the person, the sign-off is ‘yours faithfully’.
    • If you do know the person, the sign-off is ‘yours sincerely’.
Jump to other topics
1

Spelling

1.1

Spelling

1.1.1Hard 'U' & 'I' Sounds1.1.2Words Ending in '-sure', & '-mure'1.1.3Words Ending in '-sion'1.1.4'Ei', 'Eigh' & 'Ey' Spellings1.1.5Spelling Words with 'Ch'1.1.6Spelling Words with 'Sc'1.1.7Silent Letters1.1.8i Before e Rule1.1.9Hard & Soft 'c' Sounds1.1.10End of Topic Test - Spelling
1.2

Prefixes

1.2.1'Anti-' & 'Auto-'1.2.2Not & 'Inter-'1.2.3'Mis-', 'Dis-' & 'Re-'1.2.4'Sub-' & 'Super-'1.2.5End of Topic Test - Prefixes
1.3

Suffixes

1.3.1Vowel Suffixes1.3.2Short Vowel Suffixes1.3.3Suffixes: '-ous'1.3.4Rules for Suffixes: '-ous'1.3.5Rules for Suffixes: '-ous' 21.3.6Suffixes: '-ly'1.3.7Suffixes: '-ation'1.3.8Suffixes: '-ation' 21.3.9Spelling: '-tion' Endings1.3.10Spelling: '-sion' Endings1.3.11Spelling: '-ssion' Endings1.3.12Spelling: '-cian' Endings1.3.13End of Topic Test - Suffixes1.3.14End of Topic Test - Spelling
1.4

Making Words Plural

1.4.1Plurals1.4.2End of Topic Test - Plurals
1.5

Homophones

1.5.1Accept & Except1.5.2Affect & Effect1.5.3Ball & Bawl1.5.4Berry & Bury1.5.5Brake & Break1.5.6Fair & Fare1.5.7Grate & Great1.5.8Groan & Grown1.5.9Hear & Here1.5.10Heal, Heel & He'll1.5.11Knot & Not1.5.12Mail & Male1.5.13Main & Mane1.5.14Meat & Meet1.5.15Medal & Meddle1.5.16Missed & Mist1.5.17Peace & Piece1.5.18Plain & Plane1.5.19Rain & Reign & Rein1.5.20Scene & Seen1.5.21Weather & Whether1.5.22Whose & Who's1.5.23End of Topic Test - Homophones1.5.24End of Topic Test - Homophones 21.5.25End of Topic Test - Homophones 3
1.6

Word Meanings

1.6.1Homonyms1.6.2End of Topic Test - Homonyms
2

Punctuation

2.1

Punctuation

2.1.1Full Stops2.1.2Capital Letters2.1.3Commas2.1.4Commas 22.1.5Using Apostrophes with Regular Plurals2.1.6Using Apostrophes with Irregular Plurals2.1.7Question Marks & Exclamation Marks2.1.8Brackets2.1.9Dashes2.1.10Colon2.1.11Semi-Colon2.1.12Direct Speech2.1.13Indirect Speech2.1.14Hyphens2.1.15Ellipses2.1.16End of Topic Test - Punctuation2.1.17End of Topic Test - Punctuation 2
2.2

Writing Structure

2.2.1Paragraphs2.2.2Headings & Subheadings2.2.3Columns2.2.4Bullets2.2.5Tables2.2.6End of Topic Test - Writing Structure
3

Grammar

3.1

Word Classes

3.1.1Nouns3.1.2Pronouns3.1.3Verbs3.1.4Adjectives & Adverbs3.1.5Qualifiers & Quantifiers3.1.6Determiners3.1.7Prepositions3.1.8Synonyms & Antonyms3.1.9End of Topic Test - Word Classes
3.2

Conjunctions

3.2.1Coordinating Conjunctions3.2.2Subordinating Conjunctions3.2.3End of Topic Test - Conjunctions
3.3

Writing Coherently

3.3.1Building Cohesion in Writing3.3.2Avoiding Ambiguity in Writing3.3.3End of Topic Test - Cohesion
3.4

Verbs

3.4.1Subject-verb Agreement3.4.2End of Topic Test - Subject-verb
3.5

Modal Verbs

3.5.1Modal Verbs3.5.2Can & Could3.5.3May & Might3.5.4Should & Shall3.5.5Will & Would3.5.6Must & Have To3.5.7End of Topic Test - Modals
3.6

Phrasal Verbs

3.6.1Phrasal Verbs3.6.2End of Topic Test - Phrasal Verbs
3.7

Subjunctive Verbs

3.7.1Subjunctive Verbs3.7.2End of Topic Test - Verbs
3.8

Sentences

3.8.1Subject of a Sentence3.8.2Object of a Sentence3.8.3Main & Subordinate Clauses3.8.4Simple Sentences & Compound Sentences3.8.5Complex Sentences3.8.6Relative Clauses3.8.7Relative Clauses Without Relative Pronouns3.8.8Participle Clauses3.8.9Run-on Sentences3.8.10Sentence Functions3.8.11End of Topic Test - Sentences
3.9

Tenses

3.9.1Present Tense3.9.2Past Tense3.9.3Past Tense Using Have3.9.4Future Tense3.9.5Present vs Past vs Future3.9.6Continuity of Tenses3.9.7End of Topic Test - Tenses
3.10

Adverbials

3.10.1Adverbial3.10.2Saying Where & When3.10.3Saying How Often3.10.4Saying How & Why3.10.5Using Commas for Fronted Adverbials3.10.6End of Topic Test - Adverbials
3.11

Language Techniques

3.11.1Figurative & Emotive Language3.11.2Active & Passive Voice3.11.3Idiomatic Expressions3.11.4End of Topic Test - Language Techniques
4

Decoding Words

4.1

Common Word Roots

4.1.1Saving4.1.2Certainty & Clarity4.1.3New & Alone4.1.4Believing & Thinking4.1.5Carrying & Leading4.1.6Shape & Place4.1.7Doing & Making4.1.8Climbing & Going4.1.9End of Topic Test - Common Root Words4.1.10End of Topic Test - Common Root Words 2
4.2

Common Prefixes

4.2.1For & Against4.2.2All & Same4.2.3Away & Far4.2.4Colour & Shape4.2.5Back & Down4.2.6Numbers4.2.7Across & Through4.2.8Life & Earth4.2.9Empty & Broken4.2.10Great & Greater4.2.11Hearing & Speaking4.2.12Apart & Together4.2.13Over & Under4.2.14In4.2.15Less & Smaller4.2.16Before & After4.2.17End of Topic Test - Common Prefixes 24.2.18End of Topic Test - Common Prefixes
4.3

Common Suffixes

4.3.1Characterised By4.3.2Disease4.3.3Lover & Lacking4.3.4Belief & Study4.3.5People4.3.6State & Quality4.3.7Sound & Colour4.3.8Capable & Relating4.3.9End of Topic Test - Common Suffixes4.3.10End of Topic Test - Common Suffixes 2
5

Reading & Writing

5.1

Reading Formats

5.1.1Speeches5.1.2Famous Letters5.1.3Diary Entries5.1.4Autobiographical Text5.1.5Opinion News Articles5.1.6Literary Non-Fiction5.1.7Creative Fiction Methods5.1.8Newspaper Articles5.1.9Personal & Formal Letters5.1.10Famous Diaries5.1.11End of Topic Test - Reading Formats
5.2

Writing Formats

5.2.1Features of a Script5.2.2Poems Structure5.2.3Writing a Poem5.2.4Writing an Informational Article5.2.5Writing an Opinion Article5.2.6Writing a Formal Letter5.2.7Writing Personal Letters5.2.8Poetry5.2.9Features of a Speech5.2.10Writing a Script5.2.11End of Topic Test - Writing Formats

Practice questions on Writing a Formal Letter

Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.

  1. 1
    Where on a page should you write the recipient's address in a formal letter? Multiple choice
  2. 2
    What is a formal greeting you should use if you are writing a letter to a business? Multiple choice
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Writing an Opinion Article

Writing Personal Letters