Informal Letter Format, Samples, Writing Process and Tips

An informal letter is a non-official personal letter that is typically prepared to update friends and family about what is going on in your life and to communicate personal news. You can write about anything you wish to express how you feel or think. Even though it is informal, it has a specific format in which to write your expression. In this post, we’ll look at several examples of how to write an informal letter and its format.

Informal Letter

Informal letters are written to close acquaintances of the writer, their friends, family, relatives, etc. Informal letters are personal letters that are written to let your friends or family know about what is going on in your life and to convey your regards to your family members. An informal letter is a type of letter written to friends, family, or acquaintances. Unlike formal letters, they have a personal, relaxed tone and follow a less strict format.

Informal Letter Format

In this article, let’s try to understand the concept of letters, the effective way, and structure of writing informal letters, and why we write letters. We write Letters to convey information and feelings of happiness/sorrow. Letters that are written to friends and family casually are considered to be informal letters. Letters that are written to higher authorities and management officials are considered to be formal.

At the end of this article, we have also listed a few differences between formal and informal letters. You can check them straight away if you are only concerned about the differences between formal and informal letters. Check here Informal Letter Format.

Basic Structure of Informal Letter

Here’s a basic structure for an informal letter:

1. Address of the Sender: Though not always necessary, you can include your address at the top right corner.
2. Date: Below the address, write the date on which the letter is being written.
3. Salutation/Greeting: Start with a friendly greeting like “Dear [Name],” or “Hello [Name],”.
4. Introduction: Begin with a warm, friendly opening paragraph. You might ask about the recipient’s well-being or mention your reason for writing.
5. Main Body: This is where you write the main content of your letter. Since it’s informal, you can use colloquial language, idioms, and a conversational tone. The body can be several paragraphs, depending on what you want to communicate.
6. Conclusion: Conclude your letter by summarizing your main points or expressing your wishes.
7. Closing: Use a friendly and casual closing such as “Best regards,” “Yours sincerely,” “Love,” followed by a comma.
8. Signature: After the closing, leave some space and then write your name.

Format of Informal Letter Writing

Informal Letter Format is one of the most important things to writing a letter. One should know about Informal Letter Format writing so that one can write effectively. Formal letters are required to be written starting from school, college, up to the office.

For all official matters, one must know how to write a letter. We have mentioned the proper Informal Letter Format writing along with a short example.

Here’s an example format of informal letter:

[Your Address]
[City, State, Zip]
[Date]

Dear [Friend’s Name],

How have you been? It’s been a while since we last caught up, and I’ve been eager to tell you about what’s been happening here.

[Body of the letter: Share news, ask about your friend’s life, discuss common interests, etc.]

I hope this letter finds you in great spirits and health. I’m looking forward to hearing back from you soon! Give my regards to your family.

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Remember, the tone of an informal letter should be friendly and personal. You can adjust the level of informality depending on how close you are to the recipient.

Informal Letter Samples

Information Letter Format Sample Example is given below.

What is the Difference between Formal and Informal Letters?

The difference between formal and informal letter stute and writing tone is given point by point in the table below.

How to write an Informal letter?

In an informal letter use of casual tone and language is allowed. Informal letters are written for unofficial communication. And so, there is no proper format and rules to be followed while writing an informal letter. Informal letters are considered to be personal and the author doesn’t have to follow a specific style of writing the letter. It can start with a simple greeting.

Unlike formal letters, you do not have to include the subject line. You can directly start with the letter after the address of the sender and receiver is mentioned along with the date. The salutation given generally is “Dear XYZ”, where XYZ is the name of the receiver.

Informal letter Elements

The format of an informal letter should be as follows.

1. Address
2. Date
3. Greetings
4. Introduction
5. Body
6. Conclusion
7. Signature.

All of the format points of an informal letter have been discussed in brief below. A few points should be checked before writing any type of letter. For informal letter writing, we have mentioned a few points that you should take care of.

Informal Letters Format (Detailed)

Address: The first thing to be written while writing any letter is to have a proper address. Both the addresses of the receiver and the recipient should be present. We usually write the address on the left-hand side of the page at the top side. The address should be accurate, complete, and concise. Even when writing to close friends or relatives the address must be written, so they can reply back to the letter with ease if the reader wants to do so. If the recipient of the letter is in a foreign country, do not forget to write your country name and Pincode as well in the address.

Date: The date should be present in which the letter is being written. This allows the reader of the informal letter to have a reference as to when the date was written. He can then relate better to the contents of the letter and the time and date of the letter.

Greetings: It is the same thing as you greet someone when they visit you or you visit them. The start of the letter should always have a greeting. Now the greeting should depend upon the person to whom you are writing the letter. If you are writing to an elderly person, then the greetings should be respectful, if you are writing to your friend you can greet them casually.

Introduction Paragraph: The introduction paragraph is a must in all types of letter writing. In this paragraph, you usually make the recipient comfortable by asking them about their family’s well-being. You might begin by asking the recipient about their well-being. Or you may say that you hope the letter finds them in good health and great spirits. You also wish to find them in good health and their family when they receive the letter.

Body: You can elaborate on the things for which you have written the letter. You can casually inform them of the latest happenings that took place in your life before you wrote the letter. You can also talk about other people in your family and ask about their health.

The letter overall should maintain a friendly writing tone. But you have to adjust the language and the wording according to whom you are writing the letter. With a friend, you can afford to be very casual and simple words. But if you are writing to an elderly relative, you must use extremely respectful and meaningful words.

One way to determine the quality of your letter is to remember how you talk to the person in a conversation. And then apply the same syntax and sentiments to the letter while writing it.

Conclusion: This is the ending of the letter. You wish them good luck and wrap up the letter. You may write that you wish to meet them soon enough and have long conversations. while summarizing the letter. Say meaningful and good quality words goodbye to the reader. And do not forget to invite the reader to write back or reply to your letter, it shows an intention to keep the conversation going on.

Signature: There are no specific words used for signature in informal letters. It depends on the writer and the recipient’s relationship. You can also use any one of the following.

• Lots of Love
• Best Wishes
• Kind Regards
• Warm Regards

Below it you can write your name and sign off from the letter.

Informal letter Examples

An informal Letter Example with a standard writing format in English is given below.

• Informal Letter to a Friend after a long time asking how is he/she doing

13 AK Street
Pitampura
Delhi
12th September 2020

Dear John,

Hope you are safe and protected. It’s been a long time since we last met. I have been quite busy recently. I had a day off from work today and so decided to write a letter to you asking about you and your family.

I am fine here. I have recently started learning French and have completed a few modules. Next week I am taking the last exam and will be soon graduating. I also started cooking due to the lockdown and will be attaching a few pictures of the dishes I learned to cook. Mom and Dad are fine and they quite often miss you.

How are Uncle and Aunty doing? I remember you had your exams last time we had a conversation. Are the results out? What next are you planning to do? I will be waiting for your reply. Please take care of yourself and Uncle, Aunty.

Lots of Love
Angela

• Informal Letter to a Friend asking him/her out to come into your home during the summer vacation

175, Swagatam Apartments
Sitarampur
Delhi-110034
September 04, 2024

Dear Radhika,

It has been a long since I heard from you. Where have you been? I hope this letter finds you in the finest of health. As summer approaches, I was wondering whether we could spend the summer holiday together at my house in Kolkata. I will introduce you to all of my friends and close family. In addition, I will give you a city tour as you know there are many good places for an outing. We shall spend some quality time in the afternoons having delicious fresh fruits from the garden. Though it is really hot here we will make some great memories if you come in this summer in our home. I’m excited just thinking about you and me spending the summer together after so long. I need to tell you a lot of stuff.
Give my respects to Aunty, Uncle, and Grandma. I hope to see you soon.

Yours lovingly
Sharvari

Informal Letter Writing Topics

These were a few of the topics for which you can write an informal letter.

1. Inviting your friends to a party.
2. Apologize to someone for what you did.
3. Congratulating your friend for his/her success.
4. To ask for help from someone.
5. Wishing your best friend his/her birthday.
6. Invitation for marriage
7. Informing about someone’s demise in the family or among your known ones.
8. Asking about someone’s health.

Informal Letter Writing Tips

Here are some important points you should keep in Mind –

1. To keep your letter informal, begin with a friendly, cordial tone such as “Dear [Name]” or Hi, Hello, Hey, or any nickname.
2. Also use warm phrases at the end of the letter, such as “Take care,” “Best wishes,” “Looking forward to hearing from you” See you soon here,” and “Make a plan for meeting soon.”
3. Write in a very comfortable language that you use in daily talks with your close ones as if you’re having a straight conversation with the recipient.
4. If you are talking to someone you haven’t met him/her recently, use any past stories or funny incidents to make your informal letter more cozy.
5. If you are writing to someone whom you meet often tell them about recent happenings to make the letter more interesting.

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