With today’s Internet and email-driven society, the necessity to write a formal letter arises less often than in the past. Nonetheless, some occasions necessitate to present a formal letter to request information, provide information, decline a request, express appreciation, apply for a job, register a complaint, or express an opinion formally and rationally.

When you write your formal letter, you want to create a good impression on your reader about the reasons for writing the letter. This article, how to write a powerful packed formal letter, endeavour to help you write a prevailing formal letter.  Do you want to write a powerful packed formal letter? Well, read on to know the tips to use.

Tips to Writing a Powerful Packed Formal Letter

• Before you write a letter, answer these questions
• Why am I writing?
• What am I trying to accomplish?
• What do I want?
• What are my goals?

Brainstorm and write down your thoughts is a list. Don’t mind what you prioritize. Your main goal is to dump your thoughts on the paper as quickly as possible. There is no need to write the details yet. The answers and ideas you write to these questions will give you insights into what you need to write.

• Be clear

It is easy to get off track when writing a formal letter, especially if you are emotional or upset. However, keep in mind that you are writing to express your point, express concerns, clarify an event, or make a complaint. For this reason, refer to the paper you used during the brainstorming session. If you already answered these three questions; why are you writing? What is the point you want to make? And what do you want? You can then you short words to make your point. Long words and sentences put people off because they are difficult to read. Therefore, let your reader enjoy reading your letter by using short, clear, simple words and sentences.

• Make it Concise

When writing a formal letter, go straight to the point by stating the purpose of your letter in the first paragraph. Don’t veer from the subject. Most people don’t have the time to read, so avoid beating around the bush. Avoid using flowery language or long words. Long words and sentences will only amount to repetition. This way, you may end up generating a negative response from your reader. So, keep your message short and to the point.

• Use the Right Tone

When writing a formal letter, you require using a slightly formal language than your everyday speech. Keep slang, jargon and contractions such as can’t, I’m, won’t, and vague words like “nice” and “good”. Instead, be polite and respective regardless of how aggravated you are. The right tone is the key to make you point. Otherwise, you may elicit a negative response from whoever you are complaining to.

• Make it Conversational

Make your formal letter lively by speaking directly to your reader.  Make your letter as conversational as possible by using common words and figures of speech that you use in your daily speech. Just think about your reader and imagine talking to him or her as if they were right before you. You can also use words such as “we,” “you,” “us,” and “our” to make the letter more personal. So, whoever reads the letter will feel the message is addressed to them.

• Proofread

Sending a formal letter filled with errors is distracting. Your reader will get so distracted by misspelt words, poor grammar to the point of missing the point. Generally, a letter filled with several grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, the real message is that you are careless and messy.

So, to get rid of all the grammatical, spelling and formatting error from your formal letters, have at least one person proofread the letter while highlighting the mistakes then correct by editing it. Don’t let simple spelling mistakes and grammatical errors taint the impression you are trying to make!

Format the Letter Properly

Sticking to the standard formatting rules of a formal letter and presenting it attractively will ensure that your thoughts are taken seriously by the reader and given the attention and consideration it deserves. Follow the following format to write a powerful packed formal letter.

• Heading

The heading should consist of your address and the date. Email addresses and telephone numbers are not often required here, but they are okay. Using the block to format the heading should go to the top left-hand corner of the page.

• Inside Address

The inside address often consists of the name and address of the recipient. Try to address the formal letter to a specific person. However, if you don’t know his or her name, consider using his or her title. The inside address is commonly placed four lines below the heading, in the case word processor is used or a line below the headline if the formal letter is handwritten.

• Salutation

After the inside address, skip a line to write the salutations. The choice of salutations will depend on whether or not you know your recipient. Nonetheless, the most usual greeting is Dear which is quickly followed by the individual’s name and then punctuated with a colon. If you don’t know the gender of the person you are addressing, you can begin with Dear Sir or Madam then followed by a colon. You may use Ms. if you don’t know the marital status of a woman. Additionally, if the person has a specific title such as Prof. or Dr., make sure you use it.

• Body

After the salutation, skip a line and start writing the body of your formal letter. The body is the main part of the formal letter. Therefore, keep in mind the tips we mentioned above regarding conciseness and coherence. The formal letter will be powerful if you keep it short, clear, and in logical paragraphs to make your point.

• Closing and Signature

After the last paragraph of the body, skip a line and type the closing. Only capitalize your first word of the closing. Punctuate the closing with a comma then leave a couple of lines before appending your signature. Your signature marks the end of your formal letter.

Now that your formal letter has been written, it is time to read through and ensure you have written your points clear and with precision.  It is ready to be sent off to its recipient. Letter writing is simply an art. A well-written packed formal letter is hard work!