Arlene Jones

My son is trying to rewrite a formal letter in a 7th grade english class. He wrote it to a Dear Sir and to a company. His english teacher says that it is a business letter and he was to write a formal letter to an important person. I cannot find anywhere online that there is any difference between a formal and a business letter. Everything refers to it as business or informal. Is there really a difference? Can you explain it to me if there is because I am at a loss as to how to help him especially since there is no text book to come home to expain anything?

Thank you,

Arlene Jones

[Anglika]

Not really. A business letter is a formal letter, but I would humour his teacher and suggest he writes his formal letter addressed to the President.

This site gives a number of examples of formal letters: How to write a formal letter

[Ouisch]

The only differences I can think of are that a business letter often contains a person's title as well as his name, and includes a subject line:

(date)

Mr. Bruce Davis
Executive Vice President
Spahn Industries
P.O. Box 350
Boston, MA 02134

REF: OUR PURCHASE ORDER NO. 0924

Dear Mr. Davis:

(etc)


A formal, non-business letter, wouldn't include the person's business title, company name or a reference line:

(date)

Mrs. Cynthia Worthington-Hargreaves
322 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10020

Dear Mrs. Worthington-Hargreaves,

On behalf of the Every Other Wednesday Afternoon Women's Club, I'd to thank you for hosting our chapter's recent fundraiser. etc etc