How to Write a Letter: Informal and Formal English.
Do you know how to write a letter in English? How is it different from writing an essay for school, or sending a text to a friend? Sometimes, knowing how to write is not enough. Even today, in the age of online communication, letter writing is an important skill to learn.

Letter writing is an established and important part of communication. While there are many different types of letter writing, it's important to know which type to use and when.

A formal writing style is not necessarily “better” than an informal style, rather each style serves a different purpose and care should be taken in choosing which style to use in each case. Writing for professional purposes is likely to require the formal style, although individual communications can use the informal style once you are familiar with the recipient.

Types of Letter Format. As mentioned above different types of letter writing follow certain formats which have been established over the years. Letter formats are applicable by and large to formal type of letters. Informal letters do not require a certain pattern of writing and can be written in number of ways.

Letters employed in lieu of an entire word beginning with that letter to disguise profanity or otherwise avoid the word’s use are capitalized and styled in italics: “The F word” refers to an obscene four-letter word, for example, and “the D word” might appear in a perhaps jocular reference to relationships in which the writer declines to use the word divorce.

Written letters are a very important type of writing. Make sure you have a clear and consistent style and sense of character in the letter. Make sure you write appropriately to audience - if you are asked to a family member you would use a different tone than if you were writing to your boss!

When someone writes a letter, this relationship between reader and writer becomes less abstract and much more immediate. A letter is often meant for a single person. At GCSE, you will be required to know how to write letters for several purposes, using different styles. Test your knowledge of this form of writing by trying this English revision.