What is a FORMAL letter and what are its characteristics

The formal letters they are a means of communication that has practically always existed. This is a fairly formal way of writing in which you address an authority in order to make a request or send specific information.

In this lesson from a PROFESSOR we want to explain what is a formal letter and what are its characteristics, so that you take into account the structure that you must follow when writing it.

A formal letter is a means of communication that requires a sender and receiver (of two people), who requires some kind of formality when speaking, as long as it obeys to be: brief, objective and truthful.

This is the official definition of formal letter. In other words, a formal letter is a written text that is addressed to someone unknown or more authority that we, with the main purpose of transmitting information or sending you a petition.

Forever there has to be some reason why we are addressing that person, that is, we are not doing it for pleasure, unlike if we were writing to a friend.

the formal letters have a structure and characteristics very strict that must be maintained. If the letter lacked any of these characteristics, it would be discarded as a formal letter. In addition, this type of text must meet a minimum of quality, structure and language.

These letters are usually used in the field professional and academic, making the ideas presented in the writing very clear and orderly, so that they are easily understood by the reader.

Formal letters have very marked features that it will be necessary for the writer to follow, in order to achieve his goal. The Format in which we write the letter will be very important, but the content is also important and this must be as objective and formal as possible.

These are the most outstanding characteristics of a formal letter.

It should aim to inform the reader

Most of the time, formal letters contain information that the recipient must know. The aspect they talk about may be unknown to the reader or already known. As we have mentioned before, these types of cards are used in the world professional and academic in order to convey information to the other person and never with the aim of trying to establish a relationship with the reader or to generate certain emotions.

language is formal

Formal letters are addressed to some type of authority, so it is essential that we write with a formal and respectful language, taking into account the culture in which we live. Whenever a formal letter is written, regardless of the purpose, it should be written politely, using good manners, courtesy and diplomacy.

One of the best ways to write formal language is use the third person to address the reader. Instead of writing "I recommend" we should write "I recommend", although the use of the first person is currently not prohibited in formal letters, if it is done carefully.

Must contain a specific message

Another characteristic of a formal letter is that it must have a specific message. And it is good that when we send a formal letter, it only has a single goal, to ensure that the message has been understood correctly. It is relevant to avoid repetitions, going around a topic or straw phrases that are not strictly necessary.

Write short formal letters

It's important to know summarize the content in a formal letter so that it is as short and precise as possible. Even within the letter, we should try to write short phrases and not too long paragraphs, so that it is very easy for the recipient to read.

understandable expression

When we talk about formality, we are not talking about using words that are not understood, but we must ensure that the reader understand all the words that we have written effortlessly.

follow the structure

And the last of the characteristics of a formal letter is the structure:

• The letterhead: is located on the left and refers to the data of the person who sent the letter.
• The addressee: refers to the data of the person to whom we sent the letter.
• The place and date of drafting: it will appear in the upper right corner, citing the city first followed by the date.
• The header: we will address the recipient in a respectful manner, using formal and courteous terms such as "dear Mr. López" always followed by a colon.
• The introduction: the purpose of the letter will be specifically mentioned.
• The body: point where the main message of the letter will be developed, it is the longest part.
• The farewell o Closing: using cordial and courtesy terms such as “yours faithfully” or “best regards”.
• The signature: where the name and title of the person sending the letter will normally appear.

This is an example of a formal letter.

Mexico City, May 19, 2016

Lic. Guadalupe Hinojosa

Valley Waters

PRESENT

By means of this letter, I kindly request you to turn your instructions to the appropriate person, in order to restore the type of charge from commercial to domestic in the meter rate. 00112233 from account 44-55-66 with address Gante 18, Colonia Centro, C.P. 16000.

The foregoing had already been requested on January 13, 2015, having been an inspection on February 26, 2015; however, in the ballot with a payment deadline of May 26, 2016, corresponding to the third bimester of 2016, a mixed fee is being charged, when there is no type of business in this property.

For the above, I thank you in advance for rectifying the type of use and the collection of said two-month period, as well as subsequent bills, and applying the corresponding rate.

Finally, I reaffirm my willingness for the aforementioned to be verified. Without further ado for the moment, I appreciate his attention and remain at his orders.

ATTENTIVELY

_______________________________

John Martinez

phone 55 1234 6789

We hope that this article has been of help to you. what is a formal letter and its characteristics. If you are interested in continuing to learn about this topic or something similar, do not hesitate to consult our writing section.