Want to say something to your close ones? How about trying it in the old-style informal letter? Would you like to convey your message in writing? Do you remember how to write an informal letter? Let’s recall it together.
Letter writing is an age-old trend, now out-fashioned, though. The trend of writing letters started in ancient India and rose during ancient Egypt and Sumer through Rome, Greece, and China. While letters were used to self-educate in the beginning, these became the medium to communicate gradually. People used to write letters to their loved ones, friends, partners, etc., sitting miles apart. However, this beautiful, traditional means of communication lost its spark with the rise in information technology. People nowadays use emails to communicate professionally, while numerous messenger applications are in trend for informal interactions.
But as we say, Old is Gold; no email, chat, or messenger app could ever replace the charm of letter writing. So, let’s return to the past and see how to write an informal letter. You never know when you might need this art in the future again. (Source)
Take notes, guys!!
What is an informal letter?
Image Source: LD@School
Before we delve into writing an informal letter, let us first understand an informal letter meaning and purpose.
Informal letters are written in a personal fashion. Unlike formal letters, you can write an informal letter to a friend, relative, family member, or anybody with whom you have a non-professional association. In other words, we write informal letters to people we may know very well personally. For this reason, they tend to be long and detailed. This form of letter writing shows that the writer has taken the time to communicate. Further, their format is not rigid or formal.
With informal letters, you can be as creative as you want. You may include multiple topics and add images, photographs, tables, charts, etc., to an informal letter.
Let us know what constitutes an informal letter.
1. Receiver and Purpose
Before writing an informal letter in English, consider these two things crucial. Your letter’s length, tone, and content will all be influenced by the recipient and the purpose of the correspondence. Therefore, consider your options before beginning a casual letter.
2. Language and Tone
The best part about writing a short informal letter is its language and tone. We can use a casual or friendly tone since we write these for our close ones. You have the freedom to choose any language that both parties can understand. Spelling modifications, contracted forms (short forms), bilingual words, etc., are all allowed. In short, writing a small informal letter is like conversing with the other person. Hence, you can write it in any way you want.
3. Emotions
More than the language, emotion is what matters here in informal letters. Unlike formal letters, informal letters tend to have more emotional value. In fact, the mixture of the language you use and the content you write are the reasons for their candid nature. Whether you are writing an informal letter to your childhood buddy, Ma-Pa, or siblings, do not forget to add a pinch of emotions. The intention here is that the person reading your letter should feel the emotions exactly how you’ve felt.
Informal Letter Writing Format
Unlike formal letters, there is no standard, friendly, informal letter format in English. However, there is a universal informal letter pattern that people across the globe follow. There are no hard and fast rules, as such. These are just a few tips one must consider when writing such letters. The pattern and tips we are about to share may guide you if you are writing an informal letter for the first time.
Students, please take notes for informal letter writing!
——————————————-***————————————–
Address (Where do you currently stay?)
Date (The day of writing the letter)
Dear (Name of the lucky recipient)
Opening/Introduction
(Begin with a good catch-up line)
Use this portion to write about what made you write this letter or what is the purpose of this letter. If this is a reply to an old letter, acknowledge it and let them know how you felt when you received their letter.
Body
(The actual story – why are you writing this letter)
Conclusion
(Wrap up using a few final words)
Signature
(Use a creative or fun sign-off)
——————————–***————————————
So, the basic elements of informal letter writing are:
Address of the Sender
Informal letter writing begins with the address of the sender, i.e., the person writing the letter. It should be written on the left-hand side of the letter/paper. We give our address in the letter so that the receiver can reply. Make sure to give your complete address, including the Letter Box/Post Box number, City, Street, and Pin Code. Also, if you send this letter to an international receiver, do not forget to add the country name. This is how to write an address in an informal letter.
No. 11, Third Floor,
Part 2 Market,
Greater Kailash,
Delhi – 110048
DATE
Next to the sender’s address comes the date when the letter is written. The most common way to write a date is mm/dd/yy (month, day, year). The name of the month should always be written in Capital. However, there’s a difference between the date format in British and American English.
- Date Format in British English
22nd November 2020
- Date Format in American English
November 22nd, 2020
Greeting the Receiver
After the date comes the greeting line; since we are writing an informal letter, the greeting can be as casual as you want. You can either use their full name or just the first name. Also, you may or may not end with an exclamation. Instead, you can put a comma at the end.
Dear Rohan,
Hi Rohan,
Hello Rohan!
Further, you could also add a friendly expression that follows the name of the receiver.
Example:
How are you?
I hope you’re well!
INTRODUCTION
The first Paragraph after the greetings section is the introduction. This section sets the tone of the letter. You can either use it to tell the receiver about your purpose for writing the letter or talk about a past memory to build a storyline.
I am excited to tell you…..
Hey, I was missing you since we last met…
I got your message on…….
BODY
Use this section to elaborate on the purpose of writing the letter. You can write everything you want to tell the person. Just keep your sentences short and friendly. One important thing here is to adjust the tone and usage of words depending on your relationship with the receiver. For instance, you can use friendly terms if you are writing to your friend. But choose respectful words if you are writing a letter to someone respectable like your parents or grandparents.
CONCLUSION
Wrap up the letter with some good closing lines. Leave them with a reason to revert on your letter. This will show your intention to continue the conversation. You can also give some advice, recommendation or suggestions on their future endeavours.
Finish off your letter with a nice closing line.
I hope to hear from you soon.
Give my love/regards to your family.
Say hello to the kids.
See you soon.
SIGNATURE
In the case of informal letter writing, there’s no way to close the letter. You can either put your signature simply or sign off the way you want. You may also choose the closing line based on the purpose of your letter.
Yours lovingly,
Karan
Best Wishes,
Karan
Lots of Love
Karan.
How to Write an informal letter to your friend– General Tips
Time needed: 10 minutes.
WHILE WRITING AN INFORMAL LETTER STRUCTURE, YOU MIGHT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE FOLLOWING:
1. Write your full address with the correct Pin code.
After including the date, the first item in an informal letter should be the sender’s address. It should be ideally located at the top right corner of the page. It is useful since the person you are writing to will have your address at hand if they want to reply.
2. Keep your writing simple and friendly.
3. Divide your letter into small paragraphs.
4. Choose your words carefully even if you are writing to a friend. Consider the purpose of your letter before you chose the words.
5. You can use contractions like: isn’t, it’s, it’ll, can’t, won’t, etc.
6. Use anecdotes, phrasal verbs, and real-life incidents to make your writing creative and engaging.
Informal Letter Sample
Here we provide an example casual letter to help you see how the structure and fundamental guidelines we just discussed work in practice.
Informal Letter to a Friend – Sample
No. 11, Third Floor,
Part 2 Market,
Greater Kailash,
Delhi – 110048.
30th May 2020
Dear Sam,
How are you? It’s been long since we met. I hope you’re doing great.
As winter is approaching, I was thinking of spending some time with you. I miss our school days when we used to hang out together all day. Remember eating those spicy corn bhajis at Chandni Chowk? I haven’t been there since you shifted to Mumbai. I feel like going back to the past sometimes. Nevertheless, I was thinking if we could spend the winter breaks together at my place in Delhi. We will visit all those places we used to, and meet our school-time friends. To add the cherry on the cake, we could also visit Rishikesh or Dehradun, if possible.
I am excited at the thought of meeting you, Sam. I have got a long list of things ready to tell you. Hope you’d feel the same way. Give my regards to Uncle and Aunty.
Hope to hear a YES from you this time!
Your buddy,
Amar
Conclusion
So, the next time you feel like connecting with your loved ones, try out this traditional way of expression. Informal letter writing can be fun and emotional at the same. Just imagine writing a letter to your friend and getting a revert back from them. And then, it goes on!
And if you are a student and want to practice writing informal letters in English, you can find many informal letter-writing topics on the net. You can even share them with us in the comment section below. For more thoughts and interesting blogs, keep in touch with us at Fabulously.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you are wondering how to write an informal letter, you must also know about the recipient. It’s crucial to balance friendliness and deference in casual correspondence while addressing the receiver. Depending on your connection with them, you could use the recipient’s first name or a nickname, but avoiding excessively familiar or informal wording is usually advisable.
You might begin your letter with a kind salutation like “Hey there!” or “Hi [Name]!” if you’re writing to a close friend or member of your family. Use a more formal salutation, such as “Dear [Name]” or “Hello [Name],” if you’re writing to someone you don’t know well.
Regardless of the salutation you choose, it’s crucial to keep your letter’s tone kind and informal the whole time. Inform the receiver of recent events in your life, enquire about their well-being, and thank them for their friendship or support.
Finding a balance between friendliness and respect is crucial while writing to an informal letter recipient. Maintain a friendly and conversational tone throughout your letter, and start with a greeting that expresses your connection with the receiver.
Maintaining a nice and conversational tone is crucial when concluding a casual email. There are various ways you may conclude an email; depending on the content and your connection with the recipient, you can have the following informal letter ending:
1. Sincere regards – This concludes the email in a courteous and expert manner while yet seeming pleasant.
2. Cheers – This is a more informal approach to finishing an email and is suited for sending it to close friends or coworkers.
3. Take care – This is a kind and considerate way to finish an email and is suitable for communication with friends or relatives.
4. Thanks once again – This is a terrific approach to finish your email after you’ve thanked the receiver for anything.
5. Talk soon – This is a fantastic approach to close your email and urge more engagement with the receiver if you want to extend the topic.
Informal letter writing in English is not something very complicated. Adopting a casual, conversational tone at the outset of a letter is crucial. There are various ways you may start your letter, depending on your connection with the recipient:
Hello, [Name] – This is a casual and welcoming approach to begin your letter to close friends or family members.
Hello there! – This is a more generic salutation that may be used for coworkers or acquaintances you don’t know.
Hi [Name] – Although this is a more official greeting, it may be used in casual correspondence with someone you know well.
What’s up – You may use this extremely informal greeting for close friends or family members.
Greetings! – This formal salutation may be used when meeting friends or coworkers you don’t know well.
The wording and tone used in a letter determine whether it is professional or casual.
An informal letter is one sent to a close friend or member of one’s family. The language is often more relaxed and informal, and the tone is warm and conversational. Personal stories, jokes, and other casual language that wouldn’t be suitable in a formal letter are often used in informal letters. The informal letter format to a friend will differ from how a formal letter looks.
On the other hand, an official letter is prepared for formal or business reasons, such as a job application, corporate correspondence, or a legal issue. The language is more official and ordered, and the tone is more serious and businesslike. Formal letters often have a clear beginning, middle, and finish and may use technical or legal language.
Following are some pointers for drafting a casual letter. You can follow this format if you are writing an informal letter to your father:
1. Begin with a warm salutation: Start your letter with a kind salutation showing how you feel about the receiver.
2. Use a friendly tone of voice: Write in a conversational and natural style, as if you were chatting to the reader directly.
3. Keep it private: Tell personal anecdotes, tales, and experiences that you think the recipient would find interesting.
4. Be succinct: Focus on the key points you want to make in your letter, and keep it brief and to the point.
5. Use a conversational tone: Avoid formal or technical language instead of informal and comfortable language.
6. Include these inquiries: To elicit a response and keep the discussion going, ask the receiver about their life, hobbies, and experiences.
7. Sign off with a smile: Conclude your letter with a smile that shows how nice and warm you are toward the reader.
There are several varieties of informal letter topics, but the following four are the most typical:
Personal letters are addressed to friends or family members to catch up, give information, or express feelings.
Letters of thanks are sent to convey appreciation for a gift, favor, or nice deed.
Informal invitation letters are sent to someone to invite them to an occasion like dinner, wedding, or party.
Apology letters are letters that are intended to express regret for an error or misconduct. They are often used to heal fences or make amends.
