Letter is the formal way of communication. It is formal owing to certain format that we have to adopt. Letter is divided into FIVE parts which are explained as under.

1. Your address

Address of the writer of the letter comes first at the top row of the right column. The parts of address may be separated by comma like;

11, The Mall,
Lahore

Whereas in British format there may be no commas like;

11 The Mall
Lahore

The last line of the address is for the date and in this respect you must know the following formats and use any one of them.

21 March, 2014 (British style)

March 21 2014 (American style)

The final picture of the address will be like that;

11, The Mall,
Lahore
21 March, 2014.

Remember, you must not write your name at the top of address because that comes at the end of the letter.

Address format in examination (letter writing)

In examinations students are often asked to write a letter. In this connection they are not suppose to write their real address rather they should write the address where they are at that time and that is examination hall. They are not suppose to give any indication who they are, so they must follow the following format.

The examination hall,
A.B.C,
21 March, 2014.

2. Address of the person whom you are writing

After giving your address you must write the name, position and address of the person whom you are writing at the left column.

3. Addressing

After writing the address of whom you write you must address that person with his / her name along with person’s title like; Mr. Mrs. Miss etc ending on comma. If you do not know the name than use Sir or Madam.

4. Body of the letter

After addressing here comes the body of the letter in which you are suppose to give the whole matter for which you are writing. Use paragraphs for each purpose, for example, if you are writing for job in first paragraph you must mention the nature of vacancy or position; your eligibility in the second paragraph and so on.

5. Ending

Use the words in accordance with the purpose of the letter. If the letter is formal use Yours sincerely ending on comma or even not. After this leave one line for your signature and write your name on third line.

Everything is explained in detail in the image below. You can extend the image by clicking on it.