Question

Look at the following salutation:
'Dear Mr. Jones,'
For which kind(s) of letter would this salutation be appropriate?
THIS QUESTION HAS MULTIPLE CORRECT OPTIONS
a) Formal letter
b) Informal letter
c) Business letter
d) Semi-formal letter

Answer 1

Hint: Salutation is a noun that means ‘a standard formula of words used in a letter to address the person being written to.’

Complete answer:
Salutations are used at the beginning of a particular text, mostly letters, to understand where this salutation fits best, we first need to know what each of the four options stands for.
Option ‘a’, a formal letter is an official letter, they are written for different purposes such as to complain, to request information, to give information, in response to a letter or fax, to confirm details, to apply for a position, etc. Most formal letters will start with 'Dear' before the name of the person that you are writing to.
An informal letter, as in option b, An informal letter is a letter you would write to a friend, a family member, or an acquaintance. They are written when we want to inform our close aides about our achievement in school or college, then we write them a letter to spread our personal news. Since, the letter is informal thus the salutation is usually given by 'Dear', such as Dear (name of friend/name of uncle or aunty) or Dear Father/Mother, etc. We do not use prefixes like Mr. or Ms.
Option c, a business letter is a letter from one company to another, or between such organizations and their customers, clients, or other external parties. The overall style of the letter depends on the relationship between the parties concerned.
And lastly, option d, a semi-formal letter is written to someone that you know by name and with whom you have a professional or business relationship with, for instance; your teacher, accountant, landlord, etc. The surname should be used when addressing them – Dear Mrs. Thomas, Dear Mr. Jones, etc.
With the above explanations, we can conclude that option ‘a’ and option c are the correct answers for the question and options b and d is incorrect.

Note:
 Semi-formal letter, in a way, is a hybrid of the formal and informal letter so that is the reason why it is also the correct answer.