PERSONAL LETER

A personal letter is a type of letter which provides communication between a small number of people, usually two. Personal letters may be short or long but they usually chatty and informal. 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.

Format for a Friendly or Personal Letter

The following picture shows what a one-page friendly or personal letter should look like. The horizontal lines represent lines of type. Click your mouse pointer on any part of the picture for a description and example of that part.

Friendly or Personal Letters

Personal letters, also known as friendly letters, and social notes normally have five parts. 

 

·       1. The Heading. This includes the address, line by line, with the last line being the date. Skip a line after the heading. The heading is indented to the middle of the page. If using preaddressed stationery, add just the date.

·         2. The Greeting. The greeting always ends with a comma. The greeting may be formal, beginning with the word "dear" and using the person's given name or relationship, or it may be informal if appropriate.

      Formal: Dear Uncle Jim, Dear Mr. Wilkins,

      Informal: Hi Joe, Greetings,

(Occasionally very personal greetings may end with an exclamation point for emphasis.)

·         3. The body. Also known as the main text. This includes the message you want to write. Normally in a friendly letter, the beginning of paragraphs is indented. If not indented, be sure to skip a space between paragraphs. Skip a line after the greeting and before the close.

·         4. The complimentary close. This short expression is always a few words on a single line. It ends in a comma. It should be indented to the same column as the heading. Skip one to three spaces (two is usual) for the signature line.

·         5. The signature line. Type or print your name. The handwritten signature goes above this line and below the close. The signature line and the handwritten signature are indented to the same column as the close. The signature should be written in blue or black ink. If the letter is quite informal, you may omit the signature line as long as you sign the letter.

Surviving personal letters are often an important source of information about the lives of historical figures. Personal letters can be divided into two broad categories, based on the intended recipient: person-to-person letters and person-to-business 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.

This is the example of personal letter. The letter is written by Nida. It is dedicated to Hery.

Karanganyar, 21st December 2009

To : Hery
Karanganyar Street No 23 Demak 59582

Dear Hery,

Hi Hery, how is everything? I hope you are fine. I am well in these few days.

Her, I want to tell you about my holiday. I went to Mount Muria last holiday. I went to the Montel Waterfall. It was interesting. I took some picture there. I bought some souvenir for you.

I think that all. I am looking forward to hear from you.

Love

Nida

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-person letters are letters that one individual sends to business. Usually, using formal words.

   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.