FORMAL LETTERS

FORMAL LETTERS

Formal letters are official letters written to people in official positions.

Features of a Formal Letter

1. Writer’s Address
This should be written at the top right hand corner of the page like this:

                                                                                                                 15 Broad Street,
                                                                                                                 Ojo,
                                                                                                                 Lagos.
                                                                                                                 20th May, 2020.

2. Receiver’s Address
 This is written on the line following the date on the left hand side of the page.
e.g.

The Chairman,
Ojo Local Government Area,
Ojo,
Lagos.

3. Salutation
The salutation is the greeting, which comes after the receiver’s address.
 “Dear Sir” or “Dear Ma”. The “S” or “M” must be in capital as in the following.

Dear Ma,
Dear Sir,

There is also a compulsory comma after the salutation.

4. Heading or Topic or Title 
This comes directly after the salutation but not on the same line. It is only official letter that has a heading and it is normally short e.g.
(i) Invitation to a  Seminar
(ii) Application for the Post of a Secretary

The heading should either be written in capital letter all through or underlined when the first word of every lexical item is in capital letter

5. Body of the Letter 
No room for exchange of pleasantries. Slang and contracted forms like won’t, can’t. Use polite and formal words

6. Subscript (Complementary close)

Formal letters end mostly with

“Yours faithfully,
     signature
Mary Eden

EVALUATION
Write a letter to your Local Government chairman, telling him three important things needed in your community.

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