Formal letters are important, especially when applying for jobs. A well-written formal letter can be the first step to getting an interview.
Formal letters are written for many reasons, especially to persuade, to complain, or to inform. In each of these cases, it is important to make a good impression on the person you address. If you make a favourable impression, that person might be more inclined to pay attention to the content of your letter. If, example, you are trying to arrange a week's work experience and you begin your letter to the company or office like this, "Hiya Miss", or "Hey Sam : )", your letter might just go in the bin!
To make a good impression, be sure you know the rules for composing a formal letter. This is also true for email, which has rules for formal and informal messages. The main difference with email is that you do not need to add street addresses for yourself and your recipient and you always need a subject line.
Learn more about formal letters in our second English quiz on Letter Writing.
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You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - How to write a formal letter
Remember "salutation" is the greeting you use
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The date is placed underneath the sender address
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"24th July 2023" is correct
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"Recipient" means the person to whom you are writing
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"Dear Sir/Madam" or "Dear Seamus" are examples of salutations
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If writing for a job, you might use "Re: Position of Saturday Assistant". This would be similar to the subject line of an email
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Your opening lines say why you are writing the letter
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The body of the letter explains your purpose in detail
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End with "Yours faithfully" or "Yours sincerely"
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Sign the letter then print your name below
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