DATA CARRIED IN A FORMAL LETTER: MAIN CHARACTERISTICS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The data contained in a formal letter are designed to express the desired message as clearly as possible. They are the heading, the body of the letter, the conclusion, the farewell and the signature.

Letters are a means of communication between people or parties who may or may not know each other, but whose relationship is based on mutual respect. Therefore, the language used in this type of communication is formal and courteous in all its parts.

There is a series of basic data that should appear in formal letters; in this way, whoever receives it will obtain accurate and clear information about what is being communicated to them.

The 5 basic facts of a formal letter

1- Header

It is subdivided into: letterhead (sender's data), place and date, recipient's name and greeting.

If the letter is made by a company or institution, usually letterhead stationery is used; The letterhead that identifies the sender of the letter can also be printed.

Then the city from where it is written and the date should appear, which is generally located on the right margin and is broken down as follows: day in numbers, month in letters and year indicating its four figures.

The next line belongs to the recipient's name, which should indicate the position, profession, level of education, title of nobility or treatment. For example: professor, doctor, engineer, president, citizen, miss.

Finally, the cordial greetings.

2- Body of the letter

At the beginning, the topic should be introduced in a formal way, beginning with courtesy and with expressions such as "very respectfully" or "first of all receive a very cordial greeting."

The body raises what is the matter to be addressed and can have several paragraphs, but it must always be borne in mind that a formal letter must be very precise in its content. Generally the shorter the better.

3- Conclusion

It can be used to summarize the body of the letter before making the formal dismissal of the communication. It is a way of emphasizing the content of it.

4- Farewell

It is usually short, spanning a line or two, and ends by thanking the letter for the attention given.

The treatment of "you" or "you" is formally used to refer to the addressee, indicating that some result or response is expected and showing appreciation when addressing him or her.

For example: "it is up to you to answer this request", "sincerely", "without further reference to".

5- Signature

The data of the sender is placed as the representative or person responsible for the issuance of the communication. Thanks to the signature, many letter readers give them credibility.

However, not all letters end with the sender's signature. In some cases the letters end with initials such as: PD, Cc or XX / xx.

A letter ending with PD refers to a postscript, indicating that there is something important to remember or consider outside of the letter's conclusion.

On the other hand, "Cc" indicates that the letter is copied to another person, authority, company or institution.

Finally there is "XX / xx". These letters obey the initials in capital letters of the person who dictates or writes the letter, and the initials in lower case of the person who writes or transcribes the letter.

References

1. Camelia Radulescu, FA-S. (sf). Limba spaniolă. Manual pentru classify XI-a, limba III-a. Romania: LOGOS SRL.
2. CARLOS CABALLERO GONZÁLEZ, JC (2017). UF0857 - Preparation of text documents. Madrid: Ediciones Paraninfo, SA
3. Jolivet, A.-M. (2004). Apprendre l'espagnol en parlant. Paris: Editions Ecole Polytechnique.
4. ModeloCarta.net. (October 12, 2017). ModeloCarta.net. Obtained from Modelocarta.net