KEY DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AN INFORMAL LETTER AND A FORMAL LETTER

Person addressed: An informal letter is written to someone we know well, such as a friend or relative while a formal letter is written to a person in authority, an institution or an organization.

Language: The language of an informal letter is friendly, personal and less official while the language of a formal letter is polite, respectful and official.

Salutation: An informal letter may begin with “Dear John,” or “Dear Mary,” while a formal letter may begin with “Dear Sir,” or “Dear Madam,” depending on the person addressed.

Purpose: An informal letter may be written to give advice, share information, describe an experience or discuss a personal matter while A formal letter may be written to make a request, make a complaint, give information or address an official matter.

Heading or Subject: An informal letter normally does not require a heading or subject, while a formal letter should have a clear heading stating the purpose of the letter.

Closing: An informal letter may end with “Your Friend”, “Yours affectionately,” or “Your Daughter,” while a formal letter normally ends with “Yours faithfully,” or “Yours sincerely,”.

Tone: An informal letter has a warm and personal tone while a formal letter has a serious, respectful and official tone.

Content: In both types of letters, the writer should organize ideas logically, select relevant information and respect the required word limit.

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