Lesson on Writing Formal Letters
by Auntie Eunice
We write Formal letters to people in higher authority or legal entities such as a government, school, church, business entity, hospital, chief, council of elders and many more.
It can be a letter inviting a school to a debate, soccer or other entertainment events.
It can also be a letter to report a problem with a bill, treatment received from a teacher, problems your school is facing and many others.
The parts of a formal letter are:
1. Sender’s Address:
As the name implies, this part showcases the address of the person writing the letter. This is usually written at the top-right corner of your paper.
2. Date:
Here you write the date on which the letter is written. This is written under the sender’s address after leaving a space in between.
3. Recipient’s Address:
This shows the address of the person the letter is meant for. In other words, this indicates the address of the person one is writing to. This comes after the date. Always leave a line between the date and the recipient’s address.
4. Opening Salutation:
This usually shows the title of the person one is writing to. It is written right after the recipient’s address. Again, leave a space or line in between. Examples of opening salutations in formal letter writing include:
Dear Sir,
Dear Madam,
Dear Honourable Member of Parliament,
Dear Teacher,
Dear Doctor etc.
5. The subject of the Letter:
This can also be referred to as the title of the letter. It summarises in a few words, the main reason for the letter in question. This is usually underlined and written right after the opening salutation.
6. The introduction:
This introduces the main idea or reason for the letter. This comes right after the subject or title of the letter.
7. Body of the letter:
This contains the letter’s main points usually arranged in paragraphs to drive home the reason behind writing the letter. This comes right after the introduction.
8. Subscriptions:
These work like closing sign-off statements. Examples are:
Yours faithfully,
Yours sincerely,
Yours truthfully,
Yours In Christ
and many more.
9. Signature.
The writer of the letter puts his or her signature here.
10. Name:
Right after the signature, the name and position of the letter writer
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Sample of a Formal Letter
