How to write a letter

Find out how to write a letter

To this day, very few people know how to write a letter, either formal or informal. This has been affected by the development of new technologies and the evolution of language with them.

Therefore, in this article we are going to give you some easy steps how to write a letter, formal or informal.

cards are useful

How to write a letter?

Although a few decades ago it was more common to write a letter, now we still have to write a letter well for work, study or personal reasons. For this reason, it is important to know how to distinguish when we should use a more formal and serious language than the one we usually use to communicate with acquaintances. We are usually required to do this for business reasons and sometimes for personal reasons.

Now, We are going to detail you by steps how to write a letter, and examples.

regards

The letter begins with a greeting

This difference is one of the most obvious and is due to the different use of politeness in formal emails, such as:

Formal greeting:

  • Dear Sir + (Last Name):
    You can use this form at any time, since it is timeless. In addition to the first name, you can also use the recipient's last name, if you choose this option, you must put Mr./Mrs. in front of it, for example: Dear Mr. Torres.
  • Estimated + (Position or Professional). A person's title is his occupation or the title he works for, for example: Dear Veterinarian.
  • When don't know who to turn to, if it is a man or a woman, you can use the formal greeting "Dear Sirs", can always help you when in doubt, or fine to use a neutral finish for the collective, for example: Dear teacher.
  • Distinguished + Sir (Mr.), Madam (Mrs.)
  • Distinguished + Mr. (Mr.) + last name, Mrs. (Mrs.) + last name + position or occupation. For example, Distinguished Veterinarian Mr. Linares

Informal Greetings:

  • Hello + (name)!
  • Good morning (until 00:00 p.m.) + (name of your recipient), for example: Good morning, Elena.
  • Good afternoon (from 13:00 p.m.) + (name of your recipient), for example: Good morning, Carlos.
  • Goodnight (from 20:00 p.m.) + (name of your recipient), for example: Good evening, Ana
  • Dear + (name), for example: Dear Antonio
  • Hey + (name)!, for example: Hey Laura!

El trato

You have to choose the treatment of the letter

Formal letters and emails should be written in the third person, as a courtesy address, that is, address the other person as usted. Whereas when we write informal texts, we can use tú. This is because we do not share any emotional bond with the person to whom we write our formal message, so we must be polite and see it as you. Unlike the recipient of our informal letter, we have a closer connection with him.

  • Formal: Use of you. Example: I am writing to you, Mrs. Torres, to inform you about a problem that occurred in class today.
  • Informal: Use of you Example: Antonio I want to tell you that today there has been a problem.

Introduction to the topic

Formal emails (such as letters) have a shorter introduction to the topic or subject than informal emails. The main reason is that in formal mail we usually introduce a small presentation so that our recipients know who we are and why we write to them. In contrast, informal mail has the character of a conversation, so it does not have a closed structure, but is open like a real conversation.

  • Formal: A brief introduction and marked structure. For example:

My name is _______, and I am writing to you because I would like your help with health plan advice. […]
My name is _____ and I am writing to you in order to find information about the health plans they offer. […]

  • Informal: Introduction and open structure. For example:

How are you Sylvia? I hope you are well, I wanted to ask you about what you told me the other day, I don't know if you remember. What are the health plans like? […]

Body of the message text

Letters have a text body

In this part of the letter, we must remember the courtesy we use. These emails allow us to write more than traditional letters. Although, anyway, if we write a letter, our message must not go too far. Instead, the mail and informal letters give us total freedom to write what we want.

  • Formal: We cannot exceed the number of paragraphs.
  • Informal: We have total freedom on the number of paragraphs.

Not only do we have to take care of the paragraphs, we also have to remember that the treatment we are using when addressing us in our mail or letter. In general, in Spanish, the formal style is used to: request information, make a claim, file a complaint, among others. One of the most common mistakes that all speakers make when writing this type of letter is using an informal structure. Here are some examples, the wrong way and the right way:

  • Please give me information: Could you provide me with information, please/thank you / I would like you to provide me with information, please/thank you.
  • You have to fix it please: Please, you must fix it / Please, according to the contract, you have to fix it.
  • Call/write me as soon as possible: Please contact me as soon as possible.

watch out for this, even if you ask please, it does not mean that you are already doing it in a courteous and formal way.

how to say goodbye

The cards have different parts

Once you have written your letter or mail, you have to finish it with a farewell. In Spanish, we have different forms:

  • In summary, after all the above, I hope that (...)
  • In conclusion, with all that said, I ask you please (...)
  • As mentioned above, I hope you can (…)
  • For all the reasons mentioned, it would be convenient (...)

Y for the most informal messages, you can use the following:

  • In summary, after having told you all this, I would like you to (...)
  • In conclusion, after all that has been said, I ask you to please (...)
  • Regarding everything I told you before, I hope you can/can (…)
  • For everything I have mentioned, I think the best thing would be (...)

Finally, formal emails and letters require a cordial farewell and the corresponding courteous manner. The same does not happen in informal situations because everyone says goodbye differently, depending on their relationship with the recipient. These are the most used forms in Spanish:

  • Thanks in advance.
  • Kind regards, Laura Mateos.
  • I await your reply.
  • Kind regards, Alonso Garcia.
  • Receive a cordial greeting, Marta Pino.

By contrast, in emails and informal letters we have more freedom, it all depends on how close we are to the recipient. It will depend on each individual, for example:

  • Thank you very much, Maria.
  • A kiss/hug.
  • And tell me. A hug/a hug, Abel.
  • Greetings, Maria.

I hope this information has been useful to you, and you can use it at some point to learn how to write a letter.


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