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What are the formalities or rules for writing Formal and Informal letters?
Rules for Writing Formal Letters

In English there are a number of conventions that should be used when writing a formal or business letter. Furthermore, you try to write as simply and as clearly as possible, and not to make the letter longer than necessary. Remember not to use informal language like contractions.
Addresses:

    1) Your Address
    The return address should be written in the top right-hand corner of the letter.

    2) The Address of the person you are writing to
    The inside address should be written on the left, starting below your address.

Date:

    Different people put the date on different sides of the page. You can write this on the right or the left on the line after the address you are writing to. Write the month as a word.

Salutation or greeting:

    1) Dear Sir or Madam,
    If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, use this. It is always advisable to try to find out a name.

    2) Dear Mr Jenkins,
    If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the surname only. If you are writing to a woman and do not know if she uses Mrs or Miss, you can use Ms, which is for married and single women.

Ending a letter:

    1) Yours faithfully
    If you do not know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

    2) Yours sincerely
    If you know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

    3) Your signature
    Sign your name, then print it underneath the signature. If you think the person you are writing to might not know whether you are male of female, put you title in brackets after your name.

Steps of writing an informal letter

Address and date • The address and date should be written in the right hand corner. Note: • After you have written the address, leave a line and write the date.

Salutation • The most common salutation in an informal letter is "Dear…….". Note that it is followed by a comma. Example: • Dear Mimi,

 The content of an informal letter
• Introduction: – The first paragraph will consist of an introduction which will give the recipient an idea about what you are writing to them with a short summary of the main topic of your letter. If you don't know the person you are writing to, you may want to introduce yourself in this introductory paragraph as well.
 • The body: – (2 : 4 paragraphs) that consist of the message you want to get across along with any details you may want to convey.
• The conclusion: – The last paragraph will usually be the conclusion where you wrap everything up. You can sum up your main idea in this paragraph, thank the recipient for their time, wish the recipient good luck, and/or ask any questions.

Ending a letter In informal letter writing; you can end your letter with: • Love, • Lots of love, • Best wishes, • Missing you lots, • Yours forever, • Yours, Note that it is followed by a comma.



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