Writing
Writing a formal letter
Write a letter to an official that names its business at once and keeps its language businesslike to the end.
A formal letter is read by somebody who did not want to read it, has forty others behind it, and will decide in about ten seconds whether to act. Everything that makes such a letter good follows from that: it says what it is about at once, it gives the facts in order, and it ends by naming exactly what it wants done.
The subject line earns its place
One line, naming the matter and nothing else: broken street light outside the school gate. "A problem" and "Please read this" tell the reader nothing they can act on, and a letter that cannot be sorted is a letter that waits.
Businesslike is not cold
Formal means no short forms, no slang, no jokes and no wandering: write will not rather than won't, and the matter rather than this whole business. It does not mean unfriendly. I should be grateful for an early reply is both formal and warm.
Facts, then the request
Give the facts a reader could check — when it started, how long it has lasted, who has already been told — and keep your feelings about them out of it. Then say plainly what you want: repaired, replaced, inspected, refunded. A letter that never asks for anything gets nothing.
Have a play
A formal letter with each of its blocks marked. Notice how far down the page the greeting comes, and how short the subject line is beside the body.
Tap any part of the picture.
Worked example
Turn this into the opening of a formal letter: "Hi, the water's been off for like a week and it's really annoying."
Replace the greeting: Dear Sir or Dear Madam, not Hi.
You are writing to an office, not to a person you know.
Try it together
Let us draft three lines of a complaint about a broken street light.
You are writing to the municipal officer. Keep every word formal.
1.The subject line names the matter in as few words as possible. Complete it: Subject: Broken street ____ outside the school gate. Write the one missing word.
Have a go
Which opening sentence suits a formal letter best?
Ready to practise?
Eight questions on what you have just read. Nothing is timed, and you can play as many times as you like.