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Formal Letter Writing

The document provides guidelines for writing a formal letter, including addressing the recipient, including the date, using a salutation, including a subject heading, organizing the body of the letter into clear paragraphs, and ending with a valediction and signature. The body of the letter should state the reason for writing, provide relevant information in multiple paragraphs, and state what response is expected from the recipient in the closing paragraph.

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Luchmee Devi Goorjhun
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336 views6 pages

Formal Letter Writing

The document provides guidelines for writing a formal letter, including addressing the recipient, including the date, using a salutation, including a subject heading, organizing the body of the letter into clear paragraphs, and ending with a valediction and signature. The body of the letter should state the reason for writing, provide relevant information in multiple paragraphs, and state what response is expected from the recipient in the closing paragraph.

Uploaded by

Luchmee Devi Goorjhun
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Formal Letter writing

Guidelines for Writing a Formal Letter:

1. Address of the person to whom you are writing that is the recipient’s
address should on the left side.

2.The date is written on the left

The month should be spelt out (i.e. it should be in words, not numbers). It must
be written in full (do not use abbreviations such as Sept) and in capital letters.

3. Salutation/Greeting

If the name of the recipient is given in the question, then do use his surname
(Dear Mr. John)

If you do not know the name of the person to whom you are writing, then use
Dear Sir or Madam

4. Subject heading

The subject heading gives the reader an idea what the letter is about.

Write the subject heading directly below the salutation and it should be
underlined

5. The body of the letter

• The body of the letter refers to the contents of your letter.

• It should be divided into short and clear paragraphs.

• Normally all the points given to you in the question, they act as topic
sentences which have to developed in fully structured paragraphs.

a. In the first paragraph, you should state the reason for writing (whether it is
to inform, to complain, to invite etc.)

b. From the second paragraph onwards, you should include information that is
deemed necessary, depending on what you are writing about. The number of
paragraphs depends on what you are writing.

c. In the last paragraph, state what you expect from the recipient. This is
usually in the form of an action or response. It is a common practice to end a
formal letter with phrases such as I look forward to hearing from you or I hope
prompt action will be taken to solve this problem. A note of thanks is usually
included

• Remember to organise the information in a clear and logical manner.

• Also, do not write lengthy paragraphs.

6. Ending

• You can end the letter by writing “Yours faithfully”.

• Usually use “Yours sincerely”, if we know the recipient but for exam
purposes I would advise you to use only “Yours faithfully”.

7. Signature

Do not forget to sign the letter and write your name below it in capital letters
with in brackets.
Directed Writing Task Explained

You are worried about the road in front of your school that poses a danger to the
students and other road users.

Based on the notes below, write a letter of complaint to the town council to
highlight the problems. Give a few suggestions to ensure the safety of the road
users. Three problems and solutions have already been assigned to be developed
as topic sentences.

Lady Sushil Ramgoolam SSS

Action that should


Problems be taken

Potholes on the road Patch them


Overgrown trees Trim the branches
Numerous snatch thefts Increase police patrol

When writing the letter, remember to:

• use all the points given


• layout the letter according to the correct format
• use paragraphs
• address the letter to the accurate recipient

The letter should be about 250-300 words.


The Chairman 1
Triolet Town Council Recipient’s Address Without Punctuation Marks
Mauritius
2
06 March 2020 Date (month in figures)

Dear Sir Salutations 3 4


RE: The Hazardous Condition of Lady Sushil Ramgoolam SSS Subject
5
I am a student of Lady Sushil Ramgoolam SSS and I am
writing this letter to highlight the problem concerning the stretch of Opening Paragraph where you
road in front of my school. This road in front of my school, is a introduce yourself and mention
danger to the students using it daily, and lately, there has been a the intention of you writing the
spate of accidents along this road involving students.
letter
Firstly, there are many untended potholes in front of my
school for the past five years. These potholes pose a threat to
motorcyclists and students who walk to and from school. The
situation is made worse during the raining season since the puddles
of water can cause accidents to occur along this road. Immediate
action needs to be taken to patch these potholes. 6
These are the content
Next, the council does not trim the trees regularly. The trees
have grown across the electrical cables and I am afraid that on a
paragraphs where
stormy day, the branches might break and fall on the power lines. I you are supposed to
shudder to think of what might happen to passer-by who walks by at develop the three
that fateful moment! The branches need to be trimmed as soon as
possible to avert any untoward incidents.
topic sentences in
three different
Finally, there have been numerous snatch theft cases in front paragraphs.
of my school. Students have complained that their laptops, mobile
phones and even their cash have been taken by snatch thieves on
motorbikes! I fervently hope that the police can patrol this stretch of
road before and after school hours so that students do not become
victims of snatch thieves.

This is the closing paragraph.


I truly hope that the town council would organise a dialogue
with the relevant authorities and the police to make it a better and state what you expect from the
safer road. 8 7
recipient. This is usually in the
Yours faithfully,
This is the valediction where you bid form of an action or response.
farewell
Raja
(Raja James)
This is the last step. 9

Sign and put your name in


your letter.

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