Formal Letter Writing

Learn about formal letter writing, what makes a formal letter, when formal letters are used, who they are usually sent to and how to write a letter of complaint. This course is ideal for intermediate learners.

Introduction

In this course we will look at the main features of a formal letter, including what these letters might be written about and who we might be sending them to.

Emailing and texting is a lot quicker, but a letter gives you something physical that you can keep – either as a memory or for more official reasons (sometimes letters are used to send out important information to people, and these letters might be filed away somewhere safe for the future).

There are many different reasons why people write letters, even now, and because of this there are different styles and types of language that can be used to write these letters.

Examples of formal letters are letters that you might send to a newspaper, like a letter to an editor, for example. Another example would be a letter sent to a company or organisation – this could be to tell them something about their product or their service, or it might even be to complain about their product.

You will learn 

1. Know what makes a formal letter
2. Understand when formal letters are used
3. Know who formal letters are usually sent to
4. Know how to write a letter of complaint