Personal Letter and Business Letter

PERSONAL LETTER

A personal letter is a type of letter which provides communication between a small number of people, usually two. There are many types of personal letters and they are written for a wide variety of reasons:

• One person wishes to attain information from an individual or a business.
• One person wishes to tell somebody about themselves, as in pen pals.
• One person wishes to present to an individual or a business a social note, such as a thank-you or a congratulation.
• One person wishes to communicate with an acquaintance - friend or family, for example in order to maintain and reinforce the bond between them.

·         Personal letters can be divided into two broad categories, based on the intended recipient: person-to-person letters and person-to-business letters.

It is important to note that a lot of confusion exists as to what are true personal letters and what are NOT personal letters. For example, a "cover letter" used to transmit a report is NOT a personal letter - it is a business letter. On the other hand, a "cover letter" for a resume or c.v. IS a personal letter.

Letters that some people loosely define as personal letters which are NOT personal letters at all include: covering letters, employee letters, introduction letters, marketing letters, publicity letters, project letters, customer relation letters, financial and credit letters, order-related letters, sales and marketing letters, follow-up letters, announcements, fundraising letters, among others.

The links below will take you to typical sample letter templates for the two primary categories of personal letters:


Person-to-Person Letters

Person-to-person letters are letters that one individual sends to another individual that deal with personal matters, as opposed to business matters.

The following links go to real-life templates of the most commonly requested person-to-person letters:

Character reference letter - personal friend/colleague reference.

·         Church letter - to parents re: child's birthday.

·         Condolence letter - to an acquaintance or colleague.

·         Friendly letter - to a colleague and sports buddy.

·         Goodbye letter - farewell letter to co-workers.

·         Love letter - to someone you've known for a while.

·         Letter of apology - to a neighbor or acquaintance.

·         Letter of complaint - water damage complaint to neighbor.

·         Letter of congratulations - to a friend or colleague.

·         Letter of personal reference - recommending a personal friend.

·         Letter of resignation - resign from a committee.

·         Letter of sympathy - to family of a friend and/or colleague.

·         Letter of thanks - to friends or acquaintances.

·         Letter of welcome - to a new community member.

·         Romantic love letter - after a special evening.

·         Teacher letter to parents - beginning of year guidelines.

·         Thank you letter - personal thanks to a family member.

Person-to-Business Letters Person-to-business letters are letters that individuals send to businesses or institutions or that deal with matters related to some type of business relationship between the two parties. The following links go to real-life templates of the most commonly requested person-to-person letters: Acceptance letter - to accept a job offer. Application letter - application for an advertised job. Commendation letter - parent commending a teacher. Complaint letter - customer to company about poor service. Cover letter - for a resume, CV, and/or job application. Financial hardship letter - to request debt restructuring. Financial information letter - to supply requested financial info. Hardship letter - to request short-sale of house. Introduction letter - self-introduction to client. Letter of application - for a medical residency position. Letter of intent - to homeschool a child. Letter of recommendation - to support teaching award nominee. Letter of termination - cancellation of a contract. Recognition letter - to recognize a volunteer worker. Recommendation letter - recommend someone for college undergrad program. Reference letter - refer someone for college graduate program. Request letter - request to a company for information. Resignation letter - when moving to another job. Thank you letter - after a job interview.

Business Letters in English

Business letters are formal paper communications between, to or from businesses and usually sent through the Post Office or sometimes by courier. Business letters are sometimes called "snail-mail" (in contrast to email which is faster). This lesson concentrates on business letters but also looks at other business correspondence. It includes:

• letter
• memo
• fax
• email

Who writes Business Letters?

Most people who have an occupation have to write business letters. Some write many letters each day and others only write a few letters over the course of a career. Business people also read letters on a daily basis. Letters are written from a person/group, known as the sender to a person/group, known in business as the recipient. Here are some examples of senders and recipients:

• business «» business
• business «» consumer
• job applicant «» company
• citizen «» government official
• employer «» employee
• staff member «» staff member

Why write Business Letters?

There are many reasons why you may need to write business letters or other correspondence:

• to persuade
• to inform
• to request
• to express thanks
• to remind
• to recommend
• to apologize
• to congratulate
• to reject a proposal or offer
• to introduce a person or policy
• to invite or welcome
• to follow up
• to formalize decisions

NOTE: THE WHOLE SECRET OF GOOD BUSINESS LETTER WRITING IS TO WRITE SIMPLY, IN AN EASY AND NATURAL WAY – LIKE ONE FRIENDLY HUMAN BEING TALKING TO ANOTHER. MAKE YOUR LETTERS THEN SOUND AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE LIKE GOOD CONVERSATION.