Letter writing is an important skill to develop. Written communication in both the formal and personal matters is crucial and so it is necessary to develop a skill for letter writing. Here we will focus on how to effectively write informal letters, and tips to improve our efforts. Let us get started.
Informal Letters
Informal letters are written to close acquaintances of the writer, their friends, family, relatives, etc. Since they are written to close relations the letters have an informal and personal tone. Casual language is used while writing informal letters. And sometimes the letters may even have an emotional undertone.
Informal letters are mainly used for personal communication. So they do not have to follow any specific pattern, format or conventions. They can be written as per the writer’s wishes and the requirement of the situation. So the letter is written in a personal fashion in casual unassuming language.
Informal letters
(An Example of an Informal Letter)
Format of Informal Letter
As we discussed earlier there is no set format when writing an informal letter. But there is a general pattern, some conventions that people usually follow. We will be looking at this pattern and certain tips on how to write effective and attractive informal letters. These can act as guidelines when you are drafting a letter, they are not hard and fast rules. Let us begin.
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Summary
Address
The first thing to write is your address, i.e. the address of the writer. We usually write the address on the left-hand side of the page at the very top. The address should be accurate and complete. Even when writing to close friends or relatives the address must be written, so they can reply back to the letter with ease. If the recipient of the letter is in another country, do not forget to write your country as well in the address.
Date
Next just below the address we write the date. This allows the reader to have a reference as to when the address was written. He can then relate better to the contents of the letter.
Greeting
Now since you know the person you are writing to, the greeting can be informal as well. If it is a friend or someone close to your age you can greet them by their first name, like “Dear Alex”. If you are writing to your relative like your mother/father/aunt/uncle etc, you may greet them as such, for example, “Dear Mom”. And if you are writing to an elder person, someone you respect greatly you can address them as Mr or Mrs. Like say for example you were writing a congratulatory letter to your teacher, it can be addressed as “Dear Mrs. Alex”.
Introduction Paragraph
And now we begin writing the actual letter. The introductory paragraph sets the tone for the whole letter. You might begin by asking the recipient about their well being. Or you may say that you hope the letter finds them in good health and great spirits. The opening of informal letters should be casual and comforting. It must not be formal and direct as in business letters.