Find out all you need to know about informal letters. Our writing guidelines and samples will help you craft quality informal letters.
Informal letters are letters you write to acquaintances, friends, and family members, but also really to people whom you don't have any professional relationship with. Informal letters are usually between individuals who know each other fairly well. The letters are often used to deliver news, congratulate people, request information, give an apology, send invitations, ask questions, give advice, make suggestions and recommendations, etc. Informal letters are similar to conversations in that they both ask a lot of questions, share a lot of information, and show interest and enthusiasm.
There are general guidelines concerning the style and structure of informal letters. All informal letters should include an appropriate greeting, followed by your opening remarks and reason for writing, the main body, which is the actual letter content, and the conclusion where you summarize important points and include the closing remarks followed by an appropriate ending. Since you are writing to a person you know well, you can use short forms, codes, abbreviations, or even some colloquial vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. Ideally, informal letters should be casual and chatty, and not as stiff as formal letters. The only important thing you should remember is to remain consistent with the style you choose.