Introduction - Letter Writing - Class 10 PDF Download

Letter writing is an important part of a student for writing skill. It is one of the parts of this skill. A letter is a message of one person to another person written on a paper or digital paper containing some related pieces of information. The letter brings to person closer by the conversation and it is a traditional idea to fetch information from some other parties. It can be among relatives, friends, officers, businessmen, students and teachers, principal, blood relations like mother, father, brother and sister.

Types of Letters

1. Formal Letters

• Formal letters are those letters that have formal information from one person to another one. It addresses a serious issue. 
• These kinds of letters include a letter to the editor, business letters, official letters, applications, complaint letter, inquiry letter, leave application etc.
• (i) Business Letters: These letters are used as communicative tools between businessmen or traders, firms and companies and customers to businessmen.
  (ii) Official Letters: These kinds of letters are used to communicate with government's bodies or offices. Applications are also included in such a category. These can also include a letter to newspapers, reference letters, job letters etc.

Formal letter format
The Format of a Formal Letter is as follows:

• Sender’s address: The address and contact details of the sender are written here. Include email and phone number, if required or if mentioned in the question.
• Date: The date is written below the sender’s address after Leaving one space or line.
• Receiver’s address: The address of the recipient of the mail (the officer / principal / Editor) is written here.
• Subject of the letter: The main purpose of the letter forms the subject. It must be written in one line. It must convey the matter for which the letter is written.
• Salutation (Sir / Respected sir / Madam)
• Body: The matter of the letter is written here.
  It is divided into 3 paragraphs as follows:
  (i) Paragraph 1: Introduce yourself and the purpose of writing the letter in brief.
  (ii) Paragraph 2: Give a detail of the matter.
  (iii) Paragraph 3: Conclude by mentioning what you expect.
  Example: A solution to your problem, to highlight an issue in the newspaper, etc.
• Complimentary Closing
• Sender’s name, signature and designation (if any)
  

2. Informal Letters

• An informal letter also referred to as a friendly letter, is a personal letter written to friends or relatives. It is written in a personal fashion. You can write it to anyone with whom you have a non-professional relationship, although this doesn't exclude business partners or workers with whom you're friendly either.
• There are fewer formatting rules for informal letters than there are for business or formal letters. The letter can be used for some reasons like conveying message, news, giving advice, congratulate the recipient, request information, asking questions, etc. 
• It is a personal letter, written to whom you are familiar with, like friends, siblings, parents or any other closed one. While writing an informal letter, one can afford to be friendly, and make use of a personal or emotional tone.
• The following points need to be followed while writing an Informal letter:
  (a) An Informal Letter does not strictly follow the prescribed Format.
  (b) The language of an Informal Letter must be friendly and casual.
  (c) An Informal Letter can have extra information.
  (d) The Subject line is not required in an Informal Letter.

Informal letter format

The Format of an Informal Letter is as follows:

• Address: The address of the sender is followed by that of the receiver.
• Date: The date is written below the address after leaving one line.
• Salutation / Greeting (Dear / Hi / Hello)
• Body: The matter of the letter is written here.
  It is divided into 3 paragraphs as follows:
  (a) Paragraph 1: Beginning
  (b) Paragraph 2: Main content
  (c) Paragraph 3: Ending
• Sender’s name and signature
  

Difference Between Formal Letter and Informal Letter

• The formal letter is written for business or professional purposes with a specific objective in mind. It uses simple language, which is easy to read and interpret. On the contrary, informal letters are written to friends and relatives for personal communication and require a casual or an emotional tone.
• The size of a formal letter should be concise; that does not include irrelevant matter. In contrast, the informal letter can be lengthier.
• Formal letters are used for writing letters to business contacts, i.e. partners, suppliers, customers, clients, etc., college or institute, employer, professionals, etc. As against this, we write informal letters to friends, relatives, acquaintance, etc.