Letter and its types (letter writing)

A letter is a handwritten or printed message that is sent to others for conveying a certain message.
Types of letter
1. Formal letter
2. Informal letter

1. Letter Writing (Types and elements of a letter) Instructor: Sohail Ahmed Kalhoro

2. What is a letter? A letter is a handwritten or printed message that is sent to others for conveying a certain message. It is a written conversation between two parties and is usually sent via post or mail.

3. Objectives of letter writing A letter is usually written for the following purposes: To convey a message To bridge communication gap between two people To create awareness or to inform someone To express our feelings

4. Origin of Letter writing Letters date back to the time when ancient Egyptians wrote to the dead asking for help. People separated by distance had only one way of communication back when paper and pen were the only means.

5. Types of letters: There are two types of letters: Formal Letters Informal letters

6. 1. Informal Letters Informal letters are also known as personal letters. These letters are usually written to family, friends or relatives. These letters may or may not have a concrete reason of writing. They are just written to share an experience or to enquire about someone’s how about.

7. Informal letters In these letters include: Personal letters letters to family letters to relatives love letters Social letters Letters to friends social invitations congratulatory/apology letters letters of condolence/sympathy, thank you letters

8. 2. Formal Letters These letters are written to discuss business, apply for services, make requests, file/register complaints etc. These letters are short and to the point. The formulation of formal letters, letters of application, official letters and letters to the Editor.

9. Other types of letters: 1. Appreciation letter 2. application letter 3. complaint letter 4. order letter 5. apology letter 6. Acknowledge letter etc

10. Acknowledgment Letter Whenever you receive business documents, the letter that you send immediately after the receipt is called an acknowledgement letter. It includes: Acknowledgement of Payment Letter Acknowledgement of Sales Letter Acknowledgement of Documents Letter Acknowledgement of Order Letter Acknowledgement of Change in Date Letter

11. Application Letter The Application letter is written when you: request for something ask permission for something apply for something An application Includes: Job Application Letters Scholarship Application Letter Application for Leave of Absence/in Advance Application for a Seat in the Hostel Application Letter Seeking Permission

12. Cover Letter A cover letter is a short document letter that is sent with a resume or a CV. A cover letter provides additional information about your skills and experience. It includes: No Experience Cover Letter Data Analyst Cover Letter Software Engineer Cover Letter etc

13. Complaint Letter A complaint letter is written to the authorities to complain about or against something or someone. It includes: Late Delivery Complaint Letter Pricing Complaint Letter Police Complaint Letter (e.g. FIR) Product Defect Complaint Letter Employee’s complaint letter

14. Appointment Letter An appointment letter is a document that is written by the employer requesting the selected candidates to join in a specific position in their company. It Includes: Job Appointment Letter Contract Job Appointment Letter Part-time Appointment Letter  

15. Format of a Letter A letter is Composed of various elements that may change depending upon the nature of the letter. The main elements of a letter are given below: Senders’ address Date Receivers’ address Subject Salutation Content-Specific, to the point Concluding lines Complimentary closure Signature along with designation or title

16. Senders’ Address Senders’ address is the mailing address of the sender. It is a very important part of both, formal and informal letters. Senders’ address contains: the designation of the sender the name of the organization building numbers - street/area state/town name of the country

17. Note Designation of the sender, name of the organization and reference number are not included in the formation of sender’s address of informal letters for obvious reasons. Line 1  Designation of the sender (optional) (formal letters) Line 2  Name of the organization (formal letters) Line 3  Building number, street/area (formal letters) Line 4  State/town (pin code-optional) Line 5  Country (if corresponding internationally) Line 6  Reference number (if applicable)

18. Formal letter The Manager ABC Pvt. Ltd 23, Wazirpur New Delhi-110005 India Ref no 229/3A/20XX Informal letter 23, Wazirpur New Delhi-110005 India

19. Date Succeeding the space after the return address comes the date on which the letter is written/sent. One may opt any format out of the two stated below to record the date in the letter. DD/MM/YY : 24th August, 20XX MM/DD/YY : August 24th, 20XX

20. Receivers’ Address Receivers’ address is the corresponding address of the person to whom the letter is being sent. It is placed after the date in formal letters. If the letter is being addressed to someone whose title/post/name of the official and name of the organization is known, then the sender must start with the receivers’ designation and name of the organization followed by the building numbers, street/area, state/town, pin code (optional) and country (if corresponding internationally) as formatted tittle

21. Line 1 Name of the official/professional title Line 2 Name of the organization Line 3 Building number, street/area Line 4 State/town (pin code-optional) Line 5 Country (if corresponding internationally) The Manager Ecotech Pvt Ltd 19/B2 Pitampura New Delhi – 110077 India

22. Subject A Subject refers to the purpose of writing in short. It helps the reader to deal with the aim of the letter you have written. It should be clear. It should be concise (not than 10 words).

23. Salutation The salutation is a customary greeting to the recipient of the letter. It varies from person to person. It depends upon the relationship between the sender and the receiver. It usually begins with the word ‘Dear’ followed by the title ( Ms / Mrs / Mr / Dr ). Incase the gender and name of the recipient is not known you must address the person as Dear Sir/Dear Madam.

24. Salutation for Informal and Formal letters (a) For Blood Relations (older) Respected (b) For Blood Relations (Youngers) My dear, dear (c) For Intimate Friends and Relatives Dear, My dear (a) Editors, Post Masters, police Officers Sir/Madam (b) Government Officials etc Sir/Madam (c) Principals and head of institutions Respected Sir/Madam (d) present or Prospective Employer Sir/Madam (e) shopkeeper, Businessmen, Manager Sir/Madam (f) Strangers and Acquaintances Dear Sir/Madam or Dear Sir/Madam Ms For Formal Letters For Informal Letters

25. Body The body is the most important part of the letter. It includes the message the sender wants to convey. The body of a personal letter can be long and detailed. It contains many feelings, experiences, advices, news etc The body of a formal letter is short, clear and logical. There can be three sub-parts of the body of a formal letter: an introductory paragraph middle paragraph a concluding paragraph

26. Concluding Line (a) For friends ‘with best regards’, ‘with best wishes’ (b) for parents and elders ‘with love and respect’, ‘with respect and affectionate regards’ (c) For younger relatives ‘with love’, ‘Best wishes’, ‘with best wishes’ (d) For official letters ‘thanking you’, ‘with best regards’ It comes at the end of the body of the letter, always begin as a new paragraph. It is determined by the writer’s relation with the addressee.

27. Complimentary closure It is a polite way to end your letter with respect. In formal letters: If you start with ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ - end with ‘Yours faithfully’ If you start with ’Sir/Madam’ - end with ‘You sincerely’. In informal letters: you may close the letter with ‘Yours Lovingly’, ‘Your truly’, ‘Your affectionately’ so on.

28. (a) For friends and acquaintances ‘Your sincerely’, ‘Sincerely yours’ (b) for relatives and friends ‘Yours affectionately’, ‘yours loving’ etc (a) Principals, Headmasters etc ‘yours obediently’ (b) Editors, Government officials, Shopkeepers, private firms etc ‘Yours faithfully’, ‘Your truly’ (c) Strangers ‘Your faithfully’ (d) For employment from one official to another, complaints or requests to officials ‘Your faithfully’

29. Signature Line It is the last part of the letter where the sender signs off with his/her first and last name. The signature line may also included a second line in formal letters for the title/post of the sender.

30. Key Points for a better Letter Writing Selection of Correct Words:  Words are the writer’s tools and the writer need to put the right word and right expression with precision. It should however be remembered that right words become relevant only in the right context. For example an emotional or flowery language has to be fully avoided in a business letter.

31. Key Points for a better Letter Writing To the Point content:   Nothing more is harmful to good communication than confused state which may result in not conveying the exact point. Before writing a letter one should ne sure of what one wants to convey. All the facts and methodically. One should not be vague about one’s objective.

32. Key Points for a better Letter Writing Conciseness:  Formal letters must be concise. In formal letters specially one must not write unnecessary sentences. To the point information or enquiry is prerequisite of a business correspondence. Long illustrations and elaboration must be avoided all costs.

33. Key Points for a better Letter Writing Courtesy:   A letter reveals its writer’s personality and character. One must remain totally professional while writing a letter. Even while writing a complaint letter, care should be taken that it is couched in polite and civilized language. Good judgment determines what and how a point has to be conveyed.

34. Key Points for a better Letter Writing Correct Use of Punctuation Marks:   Use of punctuation marks, use of capital letters, commas or colons is must to make our writing effective. Sometimes placement of comma or full stop at a wrong place may change the meaning of the sentence can steal the effectiveness of a good letter. Hence utmost attention should be paid to punctuation while writing.

35. Key Points for a better Letter Writing Style:  The conversational style is the most suitable one for letter writing. It is best to write in a simple, clear style maintaining a logical sequence of ideas. Every sentence should grow out of the preceding one. There should be no jumping from one idea to the another.

36. Elements of a Letter: Informal Letters Senders’ address Date Salutation Content required can be long and detailed Concluding line Complimentary closure Signature line

37. Formal Letters Senders’ address Date Receivers’ address Subject Salutation Content-Specific, to the point Concluding lines Complimentary closure Signature along with designation or title

38. Thank you for paying attention!

39. Acknowledgment The subject material of the slides is derived from different internet resources. The images are also takes from internet resources. References: https://www.google.com/search?q=letter+format&tbm=isch&chips=q:letter+format,g_1:business:n84M7KICP6s%3D&hl=en&ved=2ahUKEwi-7eOmovTpAhUU-4UKHQ2DA-MQ4lYoAHoECAEQFA&biw=1519&bih=674#imgrc=blgewjlPjjXG4M https://www.google.com/search?sxsrf=ALeKk036PNn-pLSaH15W1kDEdsbYmPf0bA%3A1591668123788&source=hp&ei=m-3eXpnkLdThgwfzv46QBA&q=types+of+letter&oq=types+of+letter&gs_lcp=CgZwc3ktYWIQA1CDDFjZJWCEK2gAcAB4AYABAIgBAJIBAJgBD6ABAaoBB2d3cy13aXo&sclient=psy-ab&ved=0ahUKEwjZnffo0fPpAhXU8OAKHfOfA0IQ4dUDCAc&uact=5 https://lettersamples.net/l/types-of-letters-with-examples