【English－Writing】Writing an Invitation Letter

           

              An invitation letter serves the purpose of inviting a guest to a party, event or celebration while giving more information than a traditional invitation card. It serves two purposes; one, to invite the individual to the event and two, to ensure that the person receiving the letter is going to attend.
              There are two tenses used within the invitation letter, the present and the future. The present tense conveys information about the event and the future tense ensures the guest is going to attend.

Business Invitation Letter

              An invitation letter is a formal way to invite peers, clients, and professionals to events which are being hosted by a school or company and are one of the most popular ways of inviting guests to functions. The professional invitation should be written in a formal tone.

              

              Introduction

The introduction allows the host and sender to introduce themselves, as well as the organization in which they have chosen to represent. A simple background of the individual or company will be enough.

              Body

Next, in the body of the letter it is important to outline all of the information about the event. The date and time should be included as well as the theme and purpose for the event. At this point, a date should be mentioned in which guests should provide their reply by, and it may also contain any information regarding special roles played at the event, attire and items required for the guest to bring.

             Dress code

Be sure to mention any specifications about dress code in the invitation letter.

             Appreciation

Nest, the appreciation for the guest to attend the party should be shown. This can be completed with a formal note, stating that you look forward to seeing the individual at the event. Remember, this needs to keep in tone with the rest of the letter.

             Conclusion

The conclusion should contain the sign off and a line tat ties the complete letter together, drawing the end of the invitation, with a salutation and a signature. 

Friendly Invitation Letter

              A friendly invitation letter is similar to a business letter but contains less formal speech and can make nuances with memories that may be shared with the guests whom are being invited to the occasion.

              Friendly invitation letters are used for a variety of reasons from engagement parties, baby showers and housewarming parties to wedding invitations.

              Invitation letters are used as an alternative to traditional invitations. They allow the host to convey different messages through the tone of the letter. Invitation letters allow the host to convey additional information that is not shared in a traditional invitation card. Memories can be shared with close friends and family members that bring about memories of past events. 

              When sending an invitation letter, be sure to edit it completely, ensuring there are no punctuation, grammatical or spelling errors before the letter is sent to potential guests. You should be able to create personal and professional invitation letters with ease by using these techniques. 

Letter Writing Tips

1. Always proofread your letter after writing it, check for sentence structure, grammar, spelling mistakes...

2. Proofread your letter again (and again) after you have revised it.

3. Keep the recipient in mind, and write in a way that he/she can easily understand the letter.

4. Don't use abbreviated dates, e.g. use November 19, 2004, and not 11/19/04

5. Be respectful when you write, even if you are writing a letter of complaint.

Business letter writing tips

1. Be concise and keep to the point, but don't leave out any important information.

2. Try to keep your letter short enough so that it fits on one page.

3. If your letter is more than a page long, use another page, don't use the back of the page.

4. If you have access to company (or personal) stationary with a letterhead on it, use that instead of regular paper. 

Sample Invitation Letter (Personal) (Informal writing)

                                                                                                           97 Fir Crescent.

                                                                                                      Boston, MA 20548

                                                                                                      January 15th, 2012

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, 

As the parents of the bride, I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to the wedding of our daughter, Sandra Green to her fiance, Adam Locke. On this joyous occasion, we wish to share the day with our closest friends and family members.

Children grow faster than any of us can imagine, the time is upon us to watch our child grow and flourish into a new stage of their life. He proposed while the two of them were on vacation, she happily accepted and now they are to be married. 

The formal event will be located at the Fire Lake Golf and Country Club on the fifteenth of August at three 

o'clock, two thousand and nine.

Please RSVP by the fifteenth of June to ensure attendance.

We hope to see you there to enjoy this special day with friends and family.

                                                                                                        Sincerely Yours,

                                                                                                               Signatures

Sample Invitation Letter (Business) (Formal writing)

Lockwood Middle School 

307 Main Street

Lockwood, NJ 51686

December 10, 2008

Mrs. Jody Coling

President

Lockwood Health Association 

23 Main Street

Lockwood, NJ

Dears Mrs. Coling:

My name is Susan Harris and I am writing on behalf of the students at Lockwood Middle School.

A significant amount of the students at the school have been working on a project which relates to the unemployment problem within the youth demographic of Lockwood. You are invited to attend a presentation that will be held within the media room of the school where a variety of proposals that will demonstrate the ability of the community to develop employment opportunities for the youth within the community. 

At the presentation, there will be several students receiving awards which will recognize them within the community from the Mayor. Refreshments will also be available at the presentation. 

As one of the prominent figures in the community, we would be honored by your attendance. Our special presentation will be held at our school auditorium on January 16th. Please reply by Monday the 9th of January to confirm your attendance to the function.

We look forward to seeing you there,

Sincerely,

Signature

Ms. Susan Harris