Social Letter
- Purpose: To communicate with friends, family, or acquaintances on personal matters.
- Tone: Informal, conversational, and often affectionate.
- Format: Less structured, with a flexible opening, body, and closing.
- Content: Typically discusses daily life, shared experiences, personal thoughts, and well-being.
- Style: Uses everyday language, colloquialisms, and personal anecdotes.
- Salutation: Typically uses the name of the recipient without a formal title (e.g., "Dear Sarah").
- Closing: Usually ends with a warm and personal expression (e.g., "Love," "Best regards").
Business Letter
- Purpose: To communicate with businesses, organizations, or individuals in a professional context.
- Tone: Formal, objective, and respectful.
- Format: Structured, with a clear header, address, salutation, body, closing, and signature.
- Content: Typically discusses business-related matters, such as inquiries, orders, invoices, or requests.
- Style: Uses professional and precise language, avoiding slang or casual expressions.
- Salutation: Uses the recipient's name and formal title (e.g., "Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name").
- Closing: Ends with a polite and professional expression (e.g., "Sincerely," "Respectfully").
Key Distinctions
- Purpose: Social letters are for personal communication, while business letters are for professional matters.
- Tone: Social letters are informal and conversational, while business letters are formal and objective.
- Format: Social letters are less structured, while business letters follow a specific format.
- Content: Social letters cover personal topics, while business letters cover professional topics.
- Style: Social letters use everyday language, while business letters use professional language.
- Salutation and Closing: Social letters use informal greetings and closings, while business letters use formal ones.