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Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Formal and Informal Letter

Last updated on April 11, 2020 by Surbhi S

formal vs informal letterLetters are a form of verbal and written communication, which contains information or message, send by one party to another, to convey the message. It is sent by one party to another, to provide certain important information. There are two types of letters, i.e. formal letters and informal letters. The formal letter is written for business or professional purposes with a specific objective in mind. It uses simple language, that can be easy to read and interpret.

On the contrary, informal letters are written to friends and relative for personal communication and uses a casual or an emotional tone. The article excerpt presents you all the important differences between formal and informal letters in a detailed manner.

Content: Formal Vs Informal Letters

  1. Comparison Chart
  2. Definition
  3. Key Differences
  4. Video
  5. Conclusion

Comparison Chart

Basis for ComparisonFormal LetterInformal Letter
MeaningA formal letter is a letter, written in formal language, in the stipulated format, for official purpose.A letter written in an friendly manner, to someone you are familiar with, is called informal letter.
ObjectiveProfessional CommunicationPersonal Communication
FormatWritten in prescribed format only.No prescribed format.
Written inFirst person - Business letters, third person - others.First, second or third person.
Written toBusiness, college/institute, employer, organizations, etc.Friends, family, acquaintances etc.
VoicePassiveActive
SentencesLong and complexShort and simple
SizeConciseLarge or concise
Contractions and AbbreviationsAvoidedUsed

Definition of Formal Letters

A formal letter is any letter written in the professional language, with a prescribed format for a formal purpose, i.e. it can be a recommendation letter, enquiry letter, complaint letter, cover letter and so on. All business letters are formal, but vice versa is not possible. Such letters are used for a variety of reasons like a formal invitation, proposal, reference, making a complaint or inquiry, applying for a job. While writing a formal letter one should keep in mind the following things:

  • It should be in specified format.
  • It should avoid the use of unnecessary words.
  • It should be straight to the point.
  • It should be relevant and objective.
  • It should be complex and thorough.
  • It should be polite, even if it is a complaint letter.
  • It should be free from any mistakes, i.e. grammatical or spelling.

There are three types of formal letters, i.e. business letters, letters for outlining civic problems and job applications.

Definition of Informal Letters

An informal letter is a letter written to someone; we know fairly well. The letter can be used for some reasons like conveying message, news, giving advice, congratulate recipient, request information, asking questions, etc. It is a personal letter, written to whom you are familiar with, like friends, siblings, parents or any other closed one. There is no specific format prescribed for writing this letter.

While writing an informal letter, one can afford to be friendly, and make use personal or emotional tone. Slang or colloquial terms, codes, abbreviations, etc. can also be used at the time of writing it, depending on the familiarity with the recipient.

Key Differences Between Formal and Informal Letter

The significant points of difference between formal and informal letters are discussed as under:

  1. A formal letter is one, written in formal language, in the stipulated format, for official purpose. A letter is said to be informal when it is written in a friendly manner, to someone you are familiar with.
  2. Formal letters are written for official or professional communication. On the other hand, informal letters are used for casual or personal communication.
  3. There is a manner prescribed for writing formal letters. As opposed to informal communication, which does not follow any format.
  4. Formal letters are usually written in the third person, however, for business letters, first person is used. On the contrary, informal letters are written in first, second and third person.
  5. Formal letters are used for writing letters to business, i.e. partners, suppliers, customers, clients, etc. , college or institute, employer, professionals, etc. As against this, we use informal letters for writing letters to friends, relatives, acquaintance, etc.
  6. While writing formal letters, we use passive voice. Conversely, an active and imperative voice is used.
  7. The sentences we use at the time of writing a formal letter are, long and complex. Unlike an informal letter, where we use short and simple sentences which are easy to interpret.
  8. The size of a formal letter should be concise; that does not include irrelevant matter. In contrast, the informal letter can be concise or large.
  9. Formal letters do not include contraction like (didn’t, can’t) and abbreviations rather it uses full forms. As compared to informal letters, which makes use of contraction, abbreviation, idioms, phrasal verbs and even slang and colloquial terms.

Video: Formal Vs Informal Letter

Conclusion

So, before start writing letter, first of all, you should identify, Who is your recipient? If you are having a professional relationship with the recipient, then you should go for a formal letter, whereas if the recipient is someone very close to you or you know the recipient well, then the informal letter is the right choice for you.

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Comments

  1. Harouna Adamou Mamane Sani says

    April 17, 2017 at 9:45 pm

    I have found it very interesting, helpful. Thanks !!!

    Reply
  2. shreemant kumar says

    June 1, 2017 at 8:00 am

    really helpful

    Reply
  3. Akash says

    June 29, 2017 at 1:54 pm

    Really ……it is helpful for me !!!! Thank u very much for such a good description..

    Reply
  4. Nkwain says

    October 2, 2017 at 7:46 am

    Very interesting and edifying.

    Reply
  5. Ifeoma iwu says

    October 17, 2017 at 9:26 am

    Thank very much, I learnt a lot.

    Reply
  6. Parsa says

    October 24, 2017 at 11:51 am

    Finally. Now I get it! Thanks for the simple language cause I’m not the best English speaker.

    Reply
  7. Quddus says

    January 10, 2018 at 12:32 pm

    thanks it is really usefull

    Reply
  8. Mr. Innocent says

    January 20, 2018 at 9:04 pm

    This is really helpful article written in simple language. Easy to Understand.
    Love you….. Thanks a lot.

    Reply
  9. Michelle says

    March 26, 2018 at 10:17 pm

    Good article.

    Reply
    • Surbhi S says

      May 11, 2018 at 3:34 pm

      Thank you all for sharing your views with us. Keep reading šŸ™‚

      Reply
  10. Adrian C. says

    June 14, 2018 at 3:48 am

    thank you so much. this was very helpful for a school project i was doing : )

    Reply
  11. Gaston Byaruhanga says

    July 5, 2018 at 9:04 pm

    Thank you for your updates, keep it up

    Reply
  12. Tania says

    October 18, 2018 at 4:47 pm

    This is very useful, thank you!

    Reply
  13. Ernest says

    December 6, 2018 at 2:44 am

    Thank you for giving us good explaination.

    Reply
  14. Elakiya says

    December 29, 2018 at 11:10 am

    It’s really very useful. I’m going to write the Ielts exam, give some writing task ideas and tricks.

    Reply
  15. Malik Muhammad Tanveer says

    January 15, 2019 at 7:57 pm

    Great Job Ma’am…
    Very useful.
    Thanks a lot……

    Reply
  16. kema says

    January 28, 2019 at 3:24 pm

    really helpful, thanks.

    Reply
  17. Sudhendra says

    February 26, 2019 at 6:55 am

    Thanks a lot it was helpful

    Reply
  18. Stephen Isaya Elias says

    April 3, 2019 at 12:38 pm

    Thanks a lot

    Reply
  19. zaki says

    April 27, 2019 at 7:18 pm

    very helpful thanks for the explanation and good article

    Reply
  20. sattusrinu says

    June 7, 2019 at 2:42 pm

    Thankyou very much it is helpful to me and all. thankyou very much

    Reply
  21. OMPRAKASH SIKARWAR says

    September 18, 2019 at 6:45 pm

    It is Good formation for about writing later. You explain very well. It is helpful to all student

    Reply
  22. Emmanuel Rueben says

    January 14, 2020 at 9:57 pm

    It really helped me in understanding formal and informal letters.
    Thank you very much…..

    Reply
    • Pratima kurmi says

      March 12, 2020 at 6:01 am

      True

      Reply
  23. Njie Akwa Miriam says

    February 25, 2020 at 3:22 pm

    It is very enriching, my students will benefit from it alot.

    Thank you very much!

    Reply
  24. Pratima kurmi says

    March 12, 2020 at 6:00 am

    It helped me a lot……. Thanks for sharing your views

    Reply
  25. Ojumoola Olajesu Theophilus says

    April 11, 2020 at 5:18 am

    Over the years, i just understand this now. I am very grateful for this information.

    Reply

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