Official, demi-official letters, circulars, notices and tenders

An official letter should be formatted as a formal office communication with sender and receiver details, date, subject, reference where needed, salutation, body, closing, signature and designation, and its tone should be clear, restrained, precise and impersonal. An official letter is a formal written communication sent by one office, officer, department, institution or public authority to another person or authority for an official purpose. The Institute of Secretariat Training and Management's 2007 Notes on Office Procedure records 11 forms of communication in the Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure, which is why exam questions often test the right form before the wording. In the LDC General English syllabus, this topic is not mainly about writing a long letter from memory. The paper is objective, so preparation should focus on recognising the correct format, the correct order of parts, the formal tone, and standard expressions used in office correspondence.

The normal official-letter format begins with the sender's address or office heading. In government and institutional writing, the office name and address often appear at the top, sometimes with telephone number, e-mail, file number and date. After that comes the receiver's designation and address. The addressee is usually written by designation rather than by personal name: The District Education Officer, The Secretary, The Principal, The Executive Engineer. This reflects the institutional nature of the communication. The date should be clear and unambiguous. In an objective question, a missing date, a misplaced date, or a personal-style address may signal a wrong format.

The subject line is a central feature. It tells the reader the exact matter in one short phrase: Subject: Supply of furniture for the office; Subject: Permission for use of school auditorium; Subject: Submission of monthly progress report. A good subject line is specific, brief and noun-based. It is not a full emotional sentence. It should not read like a friendly message, such as I hope you will help us soon. In official correspondence, the subject line helps file movement, indexing and quick decision-making. Therefore, a question may ask which line is the best subject, which subject is too vague, or where the subject should appear in the sequence.

Reference is used when the letter replies to, continues or cites an earlier communication. It may appear as Reference: Your letter No. 45 dated 12 May 2026 or With reference to your letter cited above. Reference is not compulsory in every official letter, but when a previous letter, order, tender, circular or notice is involved, it becomes important. The reference should not be confused with the subject. The subject names the matter; the reference identifies the earlier document. If a question gives both a subject and a previous letter number, the correct order is usually subject first and reference after it, or reference before body according to the local style shown in the options, but both must appear before the main discussion.

The salutation in an official letter is formal. Common forms are Sir, Madam, or Sir/Madam. If the addressee is an office rather than a person, Sir may still be used in traditional official English. Friendly salutations such as Dear friend, My dear brother, Respected uncle, or Hello are inappropriate. The body begins directly, usually with a phrase such as I am directed to state, With reference to the subject cited above, I have the honour to submit, It is requested that, or Please refer to. The body should be divided into short paragraphs when the matter is detailed: first the context, then the facts or request, then the action expected.

The closing must match the formal nature of the letter. Standard closings are Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely, followed by signature, name, designation and sometimes enclosure details. In official letters, the designation is often more important than the personal name because responsibility attaches to the office. Informal closings such as Yours lovingly, Your friend, Take care, or See you soon are wrong. Enclosures, if any, are noted as Encl.: As above or Enclosures: 1. Copy of order 2. Statement of expenditure. Copy to may be used for forwarding copies to other offices.

Tone is tested heavily because a sentence may be grammatically correct but officially unsuitable. Official tone is clear, restrained, precise and impersonal. Prefer The required documents may be submitted by 15 June to You must send everything fast. Prefer It is requested that the report be sent within seven days to Please send it as soon as possible, bro. The correct official expression avoids anger, exaggeration, threats and casual words. At the same time, it should not be so inflated that meaning becomes unclear. For objective questions, mark as correct the option that is specific, polite, formal and action-oriented.