Letter of Appeal Format and Writing Instructions: Appeal Letter Template, Sample, Example

Is life unfair to you? Have you faced biased treatment in any situation? Well, in that case, to write a letter of Appeal is the best course of action. 

Meaning of an Appeal Letter

One may face a situation when the person is not at fault and may have received an unjustified decision and in that case, an appeal letter may rescue the person.

An appeal letter is written by the person to request the reinvestigation of the case.

An appeal letter performs the important task of telling the picture that you see when facing a discriminatory or unjust decision. Make sure to write the appeal letter in a professional format and this article will help you to do that.

What is a good enough reason to write an appeal?

If you’re facing any of the following situations:

1. Refused to be given Unemployment privilege
2. Debarred from attending College
3. The unfair or discriminatory decision of the housing board 
4. The unfair decision of any other authority

Don’t worry! We got your back. All of these are good reasons to write an appeal letter.

But abolishing a decision is not that easy. As you have been given a second chance to tell your story, you must present your argument in a sensible way to the authorities and gain maximum benefit out of your appeal letter.

Rage hinders your way and you may fail to make a point if you are harsh, so do not blow your top on an appeal letter.

Professional Appeal Letter Format and Writeup Instructions

All that is the basic information, but what do you write in an Appeal letter? Some of the things you ought to hold on to while writing a letter are as under:

1. Address, Salutations, etc. All similar sections that are a part of a professional letter format
2. Of course, the first thing that a reader reads is the first paragraph. In it, you must tell the reader about yourself while giving the impression that you are writing to request earnestly against a particular situation or decision
3. People will understand “incredible” easily, but not many know the meaning of “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.” So try and make the appeal letter simple and easy to understand. Don’t show yourself as an incapable or timid person rather show your confidence. confidence and Disputatious language are two completely different things, try not to use strong language.
4. Sum up whatever happened to you in the appeal letter in a succinct way. Tell the reader about the entire situation and explain the conditions clearly.
5. If ignorance from any actuality or fact was present, include its detail in the appeal letter and politely request re-investigation on that. Documents such as evidence to your statement can also be included if necessary. if necessary
6. In case you need an answer to your appeal letter, then don’t ask for it aggressively. You should rather state yourself as a person expecting an acknowledgment of the appeal letter from their end.
7. Considering that a reader took a chunk of time out of his or her busy schedule just to read your appeal letter, not thanking your reader would be extremely rude in any case. Express your gratitude to the reader.

Appeal letter Key Points

#1 Avoid Plagiarism

Plagiarism will get in your way as writing copied from someone else, although having good grammar and composition, may not explain your situation well. It is very less likely that some other person faced the same circumstances as you did. Therefore copy-pasting is not advised. You need to write an appeal letter that is original and written by you alone.

#2 Honesty is the best policy

Fear or nervousness from being honest won’t get you anywhere. Bravely show honesty to the reader without being blunt.

#3 Refrain from giving preamble of the story

The usual and incorrect approach is to utilize the first few paragraphs of the appeal letter for the task of giving a preliminary remark of the story. The involvement of the reader in your story must be eminent in the first 2 to 3 paragraphs.

#4 Catch the eye of the reader

You shouldn’t bore the reader out from the get-go. Start your appeal letter with a caption that will ensure the interest of the reader in your letter. Plagiarism, in this case, is permissible.

#5 Abstain from the use of Numbers and facts

Don’t have your reader demented by the use of Numbers and facts. It’s an appeal letter and not a thesis, so focus on explaining your tale more than statistics. Add none but the requisite figures with evidence if possible.

#6 Keep it short.

When writing an appeal letter, your priority is to keep the reader at ease so he can understand the situation properly. Keeping track of a long sentence would be very difficult for the reader, so use brief sentences. You’re not requesting subsidies here.

#7 Start it good; End it good

Ease in the understanding of your situation must be provided to the reader. So, the beginning and the conclusion of your appeal letter must be phenomenal. This will hit the reader’s mind logically well.

#8 Write to the point – Avoid beating the bushes around

Uncertain or indefinite statements must be avoided. Precise information must be added, lest making your reader lose interest.

The pattern of a Standard Letter of Appeal

Following elements are essential when writing an appeal letter:

1. Letterhead – Name, address and all other details that are included in the letterhead must be a part of your letter. A Ready-made letterhead is advised, otherwise make your own.
2. Date – Unabbreviated and Complete date must be written (write December 13th, 2019 instead of 12-13-2019)
3. Inside address- Details about the recipient such as his name, designation, Organization, and Postal address, etc are to be added under this heading
4. Reference line- None other than the subject of your letter
5. Salutation – Recipient’s title and name must be put in use while writing salutation
6. Body of the letter – usually includes 4 paragraphs, the opening, two in the middle and the closing paragraph
7. Closing – Remain formal while closing the letter. ” Sincerely”, “Respectfully” etc are examples of formal closing words
8. Signature – Include your signature when closing as it holds significance
9. Notations- In case of any additional documents, add notations to your letter

Explain why you’re writing the letter of appeal in the first paragraph. Your complete story follows in the second in chronological order. If you think you must be given an appeal, explain why in the third paragraph. Put everything in a bit shell in the closing paragraph. The appropriate tone must be made use of in your appeal letter.