CBSE Class 7 English Letter Writing Introduction Notes Set 01

These Class 7 English notes introduce letter writing: the two types of letters, informal and formal, and the main elements of a letter from the sender’s address to the signature line. They also cover the salutations and complimentary closures to use for different readers, six key points of better letter writing, and how to address an envelope with formats for formal and informal envelopes.

An Introduction to Letter Writing

With the advent of emails and modern technology, the concept of writing letters has taken a back seat but the style persists and people use it while writing emails. Drafting letters demands meticulous attention. One should be careful about what is being written.

Following are some objectives of letter writing

1. A letter bridges communication gap between two or more parties.
2. A letter can create awareness, inform or provoke a thought in the receiver or the mass.
3. A well-written letter is a good way to express one’s feelings.
4. A heartfelt letter acts as a personal memoir and may be preserved by the receiver.

Types of Letter

Letters are categorised into two types

1. Informal Letters

These are also known as personal letters, usually written to family, friends, relatives, neighbours or to acquaintances. These letters may or may not have a concrete reason of writing. They may be written just to share an experience, enquire about someone’s how about, updating someone with a general incident etc. In these letters we cover personal letters (letters to family, letters to relatives, love letters and letters to elderly people) and social letters (letters to friends, social invitations, congratulatory/apology letters, letters of condolence/sympathy, thank you letters).

2. Formal Letters

These letters are written to discuss business, apply for services, make requests, file/register complaints etc. The foundation of these letters and categorisation depends upon what is being discussed in the letter. The letters are short and to the point. The formulation of formal letters is not difficult but it does need to follow professional standards. In formal letters, our book covers business letters, letters of application, official letters and letters to the Editor.

Main Elements of a Letter

A letter is composed of various elements that may change depending upon nature of the letter. The main elements of a letter are given below

Senders’ Address

Senders’ address is the mailing address of the sender. It is an essential part of both, formal and informal letters. It is also known as the return address as it acts as a back up address in case the letter gets damaged or unaccepted.

It is omitted only if the letter, is being written/typed on a letterhead or stationery already imprinted with the same. Senders’ address follows a typical format of writing as given below that consists of the designation of the sender (optional) followed by the name of the organisation, building number, street/area, state/town, pincode and name of the country (if corresponding internationally).

In case of a business letter, a reference number may also be included depicting that the letter is written in response to a particular enquiry, letter, file, record etc.

Note Designation of the sender, name of the organisation and reference number are not included in the formation of senders’ address of informal letters for obvious reasons.

Date

Succeeding the space after the return address comes the date on which the letter is written/sent. One may opt any format out of the two stated below to record the date in the letter.

DD/MM/YYYY : 24th August, 20XX
MM/DD/YYYY : August 24th, 20XX

Receivers’ Address

Receivers’ address is the corresponding address of the person to whom the letter is being sent. It is placed after the date in formal letters. Since personal letters are sent to acquaintances or known people, receivers’ address is only mentioned on the envelope carrying the letter.

If the letter is being addressed to someone whose title/post/name of the official and name of the organisation is known, then the sender must start with the receivers’ designation and name of the organisation followed by the building number, street/area, state/town, pincode (optional) and country (if corresponding internationally) as formatted below.

The Manager
Ecotech Pvt Ltd
19/B2 Pitampura
New Delhi - 110077
India

Subject

A subject determines the purpose of writing in brief. It helps the recipient to deal successfully with the aim of your letter. It is preceded with the word subject and is placed directly after the receivers’ address.

It is a part of formal business letters which are written either in reference to an earlier correspondence or to someone with whom the sender is usually in contact. You must have written a subject at least once while applying for leave, concession, filing a complaint, executing a deal etc. It should be clear, concise, not more than 10 words.

Salutation

The salutation is a customary greeting to the recipient of the letter. It varies depending upon the intimacy/relationship between the sender and the receiver. It usually begins with the word ‘Dear’ followed by the title (Ms/Mrs/Mr/Dr) if known and the first name of the person.

In case the gender and name of the recipient is not known, you must address the person as Dear Sir/ Dear Madam, since the salutation is professional in formal letters. The salutation used in personal or informal letters is friendly.

You may greet the receiver as ‘Dear/Dearest’ followed by their first name/nick name. It is advisable to greet your elders with respect such as Dear Grandma/Dear Grandfather etc and not use their names.

Salutation for Informal and Formal Letters

For Informal Letters

For Formal Letters

Body

The body is the most important element of the letter. It can be said to be the destination of a journey as it lays the reason behind your writing. It includes the message the sender wants to convey. While the body of a personal letter can be long and detailed containing as many feelings, experiences, advices, news etc on a personal front but in formal letter it is best to use short, clear, logical paragraphs to state your subject.

There can be three sub-parts of the body of a formal letter for better drafting as follows, an introductory paragraph stating the main point, middle paragraph justifying the importance/need of writing with supporting points and a concluding paragraph restating the purpose and requesting for some action. The paragraphs of the body must be indented depending upon the style chosen.

Be sure to skip a line between the salutation and introductory paragraph and also between the concluding paragraph and closure. Margins must be left on all four sides of the letter. It creates attractive appearance of the letter.

Concluding Line

It comes at the end of the body of the letter, always begin as a new paragraph. It is determined by the writer’s relation with the addressee.

Complimentary Closure

It is a polite way to end your letter with respect. The traditional rule of etiquette in Britain is that a formal letter starting with ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ must end with ‘Yours faithfully’, while a letter starting with ‘Sir/Madam’ must end with ‘Yours sincerely’.

In informal or personal letters, you may close the letter with ‘Yours lovingly’, ‘Yours truly’, ‘Yours affectionately’ so on and depending upon your relation with the receiver.

For Informal Letters

For Formal Letters

Note Only the first letter of the first word in the complimentary closure is capitalised and all the other words are written/typed in small case.

Signature Line

It is the last part of the letter where the sender signs off with his/her first and last name. The signature line may also include a second line in formal letters for the title/post of the sender, if appropriate.

Key Points of Better Letter Writing

1. Selection of Correct Words Words are the writer’s tool and the writer need to put the right word and right expression with precision. It should however be remembered that right words become relevant only in the right context. For example an emotional or flowery language has to be fully avoided in a business letter.
2. To the Point Content Nothing more is harmful to good communication than confused state which may result in not conveying the exact point. Before writing a letter one should be sure of what one wants to convey. All the facts and information should be arranged logically and methodically. One should not be vague about one’s objective.
3. Conciseness Formal letters must be concise. In formal letters specially one must not write unnecessary sentences. To the point information or enquiry is prerequisite of a business correspondence. Long illustrations and elaboration must be avoided at all costs.
4. Courtesy A letter reveals its writer’s personality and character. One must remain totally professional while writing a letter. Even while writing a complaint letter, care should be taken that it is couched in polite and civilised language. Good judgement determines what and how a point has to be conveyed.
5. Correct Use of Punctuation Marks Use of punctuation marks, use of capital letters, commas or colons is must to make our writing effective. Sometimes placement of comma or full stop at a wrong place may change the meaning of the sentence altogether. A badly punctuated sentence can steal the effectiveness of a good letter. Hence utmost attention should be paid to punctuation while writing.
6. Style The conversational style is the most suitable one for letter writing. It is best to write in a simple, clear style maintaining a logical sequence of ideas. Every sentence should grow out of the preceding one. There should be no abrupt jumping from one idea to the another.

Elements of a Letter at a Glance

Informal Letters

1. Senders’ address
2. Date
3. Salutation
4. Content required, can be long and detailed
5. Concluding line
6. Complimentary closure
7. Signature line

Formal Letters

1. Senders’ address
2. Date
3. Receivers’ address
4. Subject
5. Salutation
6. Content–specific, to the point
7. Concluding lines
8. Complimentary closure
9. Signature along with designation or title

Addressing an Envelope

Addressing an envelope is important for those people who write letter, yet it is not part of letter writing. Writing address properly in cover of envelope will help you to deliver your envelope properly to the destination.

Postage and Address are two main elements of addressing an envelope. Here envelope format is also given for your better understanding.

Envelope Format

The picture shows how an addressed envelope should look like. The horizontal lines represent lines of address.

Sample of Envelopes

Informal

Formal

Postage

1. The postage goes in the upper right hand corner of the envelope.
2. Make sure that the stamp is positioned properly so that its cancellation does not affect the address.
3. Be sure that the envelope is sufficiently stamped as per norms.

Address

1. The name and address of the recipient should be written at the centre of the envelope.
2. If you are using envelopes with windows, make sure the address is visible clearly through the window.