Apology letters are letters that fall both into the formal as well as informal letters category. If written in a formal context, an apology letter will be short, practical and concise, ending after the apology has been made. However, if the apology letter is informal, as most apology letters are, then the letter can be lengthy or short depending on the people involved in it.
Apology letters are frequently written between parents and children and even more frequently between friends, lovers, and spouses. These letters often contain personal details referring to arguments, discussions, or fights that happened in the past. Such letters may also include a lot of indirect speech, as sometimes when making an apology it’s necessary to quote certain people or describe what they said.
Apology Letters Writing Tips
- Always make the apology first and then explain and justify things. If you start with telling and then apologize, the reader might feel like you never wanted to apologize in the first place and are therefore are only tooting your own horn.
- In your explanation for the apology [if there’s any explanation at all], be concise no matter how emotional the issue is. Being clear with your words and emotions always helps put the reader at ease about your motive for writing the letter, therefore making him more probable to forgive you and let bygones be bygones.
- The tone of the letter is informal and emotional when writing to close friends or family members, and it is apologetic as well as formal when writing to acquaintances or colleagues.
- An apology letter should also contain the promise that the mistake that has happened will not happen again. This may sound flaky, but in truth, this reassurance means a lot to some people. Convincing the person that you will be careful not to commit this mistake again will once again help the person know and understand that you are genuinely sorry and that the error that has happened won’t be repeated.
- After writing the letter, it is imperative that one checks the letter for any grammatical and punctuation errors and correct them if any.
Apology Letters Template
Use our free Apology Letters to help you get started. If you need additional help or more examples, the lease does check out some of the sample letters given below.
From,
____________
____________
____________
Date-
To,
____________
____________
____________
Hi.
I’m writing this letter to say sorry to you about __________ [mention the reason for your apology, that is, the fight]. I want to make some amends about it. I wish to say sorry and am saying it now: Sorry for acting so unpleasantly. I know shouldn’t have.
Please forgive me for acting so rudely and unfairly. I promise that this won’t happen. I hope we’re still good friends.
Take care,
ABC
Sample Letter
From,
Edward Black,
North Wood Street,
Atlanta.
To,
Jacob Cullen,
South Wood Street,
Atlanta.
Hi,
I’m writing this letter to say sorry to you about the terrible fight we had this Saturday. I think it was awful. Also, it was rather unfair of me to judge you so unnecessarily and then leave without making any amends. I wish to say sorry and am saying it now: Sorry for acting so horribly. Honestly, I shouldn’t have.
Sometimes, you just have a bad day and have no idea what to do. I suppose Saturday was a bad day for me and I wasn’t paying attention to what I was saying. I am at loggerheads with my parents. I’m sorry if I took it out on you.
Please forgive me for acting so rudely and unfairly. I promise that this won’t happen. I hope we’re still good friends.
Take care,
Edward Black.
Email Format
The following is an Email Format for a formal Apology Letter.
To: name@email.com
From: name@email.com
Subject: Apology letter.
Dear Sharon,
I wished to apologize for my rude behavior towards you at the conference. I know we do not see eye to eye in regards to the current proposal, but it was unprofessional and uncalled for on my part to speak so rudely to you.
I am going through a few troubles on the personal front and wrongly took that frustration out on you. Please accept my unconditional apology, and it is my sincere wish that this does not affect our work together.
Yours sincerely,
Jacob Black.
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