A formal letter refers to letter to the press, business letter request for casual leave by staff in offices, an application for Job etc. It is also a letter written to people who are not close to us.
FEATURES OF THE FORMAL LETTER
- Address: This should be written at the top of a letter on the right hand corner. Write the date in full and put a full stop after abbreviation Example
8, Adeosun Street,
Ile-Epo,
Oke odo,
Lagos.
7th July, 2015.
- The Recipient’s Address should be written on the left hand side below the writer’s address. Example
The Director General,
Ministry of Education,
Ikeja,
Lagos.
- Salutation (greeting)
The name is salutation is followed by a comma, Example Dear Madam, Sir, Dear Sir, Dear Mr Ojo..
- Title: A formal letter should have a title. Example: A letter of Apology, The causes of Road Accidents, The Importance of Agriculture in Nigeria etc.
- Introduction: The Introduction should show what the letter is all about.
- The body of the Letter: Write clear and simple English. Mind your tenses. Pay attention to spelling and punctuation. Try to be specific in your writing.
- Conclusion: The conclusion should draw together the idea and its relationship with the major paints.
- Subscription comes at the end of the letter. This is followed by a comma. Remember to write ‘y’ in capital letter. Note that ‘faithfully’ is written with small letter but not capital. An Example
Your faithfully,
Adekunle John.
See also
