Proper Letter Format

While writing a letter, the proper letter format is supposed to be very important. Why so? Because proper letter writing format helps give a sequence to the contents and somehow becomes easier to understand from the point of view of the reader. And since the whole point of the letter is to communicate something to the person addressed, it is pretty important that the reader feels that the contents of the letter are in a coherent format. This is where the proper letter format comes in. Now we all know that letters come in two broad categories - business letters and friendly letters. Hence it is important to discuss both, the proper business letter format and the proper friendly letter format.

Proper Business Letter Format

Let's start with the proper business letter format.

• Addresser Details:The first part of this proper letter format is the details of the person who is writing the letter. The addresser details are given so that the reader knows who is sending the letter and who the reply is to be sent to.
• Addressee Details: The second, fairly obvious part of the proper letter format is the details of the person to whom the letter is being sent. The addressee details, as well as the addresser details include the name, address, contact number and email ID.
• Salutation: The salutation gives the name of the person to whom the letter is addressed to. Usually the name of the person is preceded by the word 'respected'. If the name is not known, the title of the person being addressed to is given like 'The Manager'. If nothing is known, then 'Respected Sir/Madam' will suffice.
• Subject Line: The next part of the proper letter format is the subject line. The subject line lets the reader know what the rest of the article is all about.
• Content: The content in a business letter can be all included in one paragraph, while the proper cover letter format might even demand up to 4 paragraphs, depending on what and how much you intend to write in it.
• Signing Off: The end of the letter is respectfully signed off with the words 'Yours Faithfully,' followed by your full name and designation, if it is relevant.

Proper Friendly Letter Format

A friendly letter also looks good with a proper letter format. Here's all about the friendly letter format.

• Addresser Details: Addresser details are given first in case the reader wants to reply to the letter. Addresser details will include the name, address, contact number and email ID of the sender.
• Salutation: Of course there is no need to respectfully address someone in a friendly letter. So the salutation is quite simply 'Dear Someone'.
• Content: The content of the letter has three to four paragraphs depending on what the writer wants to tell the reader. There is really no upper or lower limit for the word or paragraph count in such a letter.
• Sign Off: You can sign off by simply writing your name or 'Yours truly,' before your name.

So this was all about the proper letter format. As you can see, writing the letter format is really very simple and makes it really convenient for the reader to read and understand and respond to the letter as well. Hence, it is always a good practice to follow the proper letter format.