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Download apology letter sample in PDF format.
Personal Apology Letter: the Best Way to Say You’re Sorry
Have you recently offended someone you care about and want to make it right? Have you considered constructing and sending a personal apology letter to demonstrate your lament? Despite our sincere attempts to get along with and cherish our friends, families and coworkers, there will undoubtedly come a time when our words or our actions will somehow hurt or offend another person. You may not have meant to cause harm, but in the heat of the moment you may have acted less than friendly and damaged a relationship. In cases such as these, you could of course just utter the words “I’m sorry,” but if you truly want to make a statement of your regret—if you truly want your apology to seem sincere—there is perhaps no better manner to do this than with a well-crafted and heartfelt apology letter. To help you with this, here we will try to cover the basics of this type of letter, showing you both a preferred letter format and some of the language you could use to really make your letter stand out.
About the Apology Letter
There are essentially two different types of apology letters. First, there is the business apology letter, a format used by companies to voice their regret to either a customer or another business, usually written after said business has made some type of mistake or error. The other type, and the subject of this article, is the personal apology letter. This type of letter is between two individuals, with the author of the letter expressing sorrow to the other, and essentially making the statement that he/she truly values the relationship with the other party. These letters are typically written after some words were said or actions done that offended the other person, and the sooner this letter is written the more quickly one can hope to repair the relationship.
Format of the Personal Apology Letter
Many personal letters are handwritten, making a statement, perhaps, that one values the other enough to take the time to put pen to paper, but whether you decide to write your letter longhand, type it into an email or use a word processing program, there is a specific format that you may want to follow. Unlike the business apology letter, which is typically written using the business letter format, the personal apology letter should be constructed much more loosely and informally, without items such as the addresses of both parties included. In other words, this type of letter should include nothing but the date in the top right or left-hand corner, a brief salutation such as “Dear Mary” or “My Dearest Tom,” the body of the letter and finally a closing such as “Love, Bob” or “All my love, Jan.”
The Letter Itself
Once you’ve formatted the letter, you are ready to proceed with what you really want to say. Here you should sincerely admit what it was that offended the other person, take complete responsibility for your actions (even if you feel you were not entirely to blame) and express your regret and sorrow that it ever happened. Let the person know that you will try not to repeat your mistake and reiterate how much you value this relationship. Finally, close your letter by apologizing once more and sign it with your name and an appropriate closing.