INVITATIONS – A GLANCE

WHAT IS AN
INVITATION?
 a short message or request to invite relatives,
friends, acquaintances, officials and business
relations

 a written request for a person’s presence at

any event or a request to do something

TYPES OF INVITATION
1. Formal 2. Informal
 TYPES OF FORMAL INVITATION

Formal Invitations are formal, polite and courteous.

There are two types of formal invitations:

1) Printed invitation cards inviting guests to be present on

a particular occasion. Such invitations do not include
the name of the addressee.

2) Formal typed (handwritten) letter addressed to a VIP

invited to preside over a social, cultural and educational
function. In these invitations to VIPs the name of the
addressee appears prominently.
 FEATURES OF A FORMAL INVITATION
(CARD FORMAT)
 These invitations are sent to guests to invite them on some particular (auspicious) occasion like birthdays,
weddings, inauguration of shops, house warming, etc.
 Invitations are meant for a lot of invitees.
 Invitations are centrally aligned.
 Simple present tense is used in these invitations.
 It is usually a single sentence presentation.
 It is written in the Third Person.
 Name of the receiver is not written.
 The date of writing is not to be given.
 There is no signature of the host.
 Include details like – (each detail is written in separate lines)

 Name/ designation of the host / sender

 Reason for the invitation / occasion
 Time, date and venue of the event
 Name of the Chief Guest / special individual who will inaugurate the function or give away the
prizes (to be written prominently)
 R.S.V.P. (Name/address/phone no of the sender at which the invitee may contact for any
further information) – mandatory/ written at the bottom left side
 Formal expressions such as ‘solicit your gracious presence’ ‘request the pleasure of the
company of’ ‘has kindly consented to be’ etc. are to be used.
 In Formal Invitations, a reply is always sought. RSVP means ‘please reply’.
 Word Limit: 50 Words
SAMPLE FORMAL INVITATIONS (CARD
FORMAT)
SAMPLE FORMAL INVITATIONS (CARD
FORMAT)
SAMPLE FORMAL INVITATIONS (CARD
FORMAT)
 FEATURES OF A FORMAL INVITATION
(LETTER FORMAT)

 These invitations are sent to specific people to invite them to functions or events as Chief
Guest, Judge, Guest of Honour, Special Invitee etc.
 It is left aligned and similar to a letter, just brief / to the point.
 Its format is similar to a formal letter:
Sender’s Address

Date

Receiver’s Name & Designation

Subject

Salutation

Body of the Invitation

Subscription
Sender’s Name & Designation
 Details about date, time, venue , event are to be written.
 A reply is always sought.
 It is always enclosed in a box.
 Word Limit: 50 Words
 SAMPLE FORMAL INVITATION (LETTER FORMAT)
Q. As the Principal and on behalf of Shining Stars Public School, New Delhi, you wish to
invite the renowned author Mr. Vikram Seth to be the judge of an Inter-school Story Writing
Competition which your school is organizing on 23 August, 2020. Draft an invitation in not
more than 50 words. Put the invitation in a box.

Shining Stars Public School

New Delhi

26 May, 2020

Mr. Vikram Seth

Sector F, Radcliff Road
New Delhi

Sub: Invitation as the Chief Judge

Dear Mr. Seth,

On behalf of the teachers and students of our school, I cordially invite you to act as the Chief Judge at the Inter-
school Story Writing Competition for senior students to be held in the school premises on Friday, 23 August 2020.
We wish to begin sharp at 3:00 pm. Other details regarding the competition will be mailed to you. Your gracious
presence will inspire the budding writers and help us make this event a successful one. We await your kind
response.

Yours faithfully

R. K. Sengupta
(Principal)
 SAMPLE FORMAL INVITATION
(LETTER FORMAT)

Q. The Literary Club of your school is putting up the play ‘Julius Caesar’. As the Secretary of the club, draft an
invitation inviting the famous actor Rahul Bose to be the Guest of Honour at the function. Write the invitation in
not more than 50 words. You are Govind / Garima.

Ascend International School, ‘F’ Block, Bandra

Mumbai

26 May, 2020

Mr. Rahul Bose

House No. 345, Andheri East
Mumbai

Sub: Invitation as the Guest of Honour

Dear Mr. Bose,

On behalf of the Principal, teachers and members of the Literary Club, I have great pleasure in inviting you
to our Annual Theatre Festival on Saturday, 22 June, 2020 at 5:30 pm in the School Auditorium. The
members of the club will be enacting the play ‘Julius Caesar’. Your presence would greatly encourage and
inspire the actors as well as make the event more memorable. We solicit your kind response.

Yours faithfully

Govind Arora
(Secretary)
 SAMPLE FORMAL INVITATION (LETTER
FORMAT)
Q. You are Rohan Sharma, the Head Boy of Springdales Public School, Gurgaon. Your school is holding an
inter-school T-20 cricket championship from 2 Oct. to 8 Oct., 20XX. Write a formal invitation to Sh. B.S. Bedi,
the legendary cricketer, to inaugurate the championship on 2 Oct. 20XX at 10 a.m. at your school grounds.

Springdales Public School

Gurgaon

25 Sept. 20XX

Sh. B.S. Bedi

2/27 Jorbagh
New Delhi

Sub: Inauguration of Cricket Championship

Sir

Our school is holding an Inter-school T-20 Cricket Championship from 2

Oct. to 8 Oct. 20XX. All the schools of the area are likely to participate.
Your presence in our midst will act as a catalyst and inspire us. You are
requested to inaugurate the championship on 2 Oct. 20XX at 10 a.m. in
our school grounds.

Kindly confirm your availability by 30 Sept.

Yours faithfully,
Rohan Sharma
Head Boy
 REPLIES TO FORMAL
INVITATIONS

CARD FORM LETTER FORM

 It is centrally aligned.  These are generally written by people invited to

 Simple present tense is used in these replies. be the Chief Guest, Judge, Guest of Honour,
 It is written in third person. (He, She, They – in Special Invitees etc.
place of I, We etc.)  It is left aligned and similar to a letter, just
 Formal expressions are used. (Example: ‘XYZ shorter.
accepts the kind invitation’, ‘regrets his inability  Its format is like that of a formal letter.
to attend’ , ‘has much pleasure in accepting’ Sender’s Address
Date
etc.) Receiver’s Name &
Designation
 Date can be written at top left. Subject
Salutation
Body of the Invitation
Subscription
Sender’s Name &
Designation

 A reply is always enclosed in a box.

 Word Limit: 50 Words
 Details like the occasion/event, date, venue etc. are to be written.
 An invitation is either accepted or declined. In case an invitation is declined, the
reason for declining must be mentioned.
 SAMPLES OF REPLIES TO FORMAL
INVITATIONS

Q. You are Rajeev Paswan. You have received an Q. On behalf of Mrs. and Mr. K. K. Dixit, draft a letter
invitation from Mrs. Anupama Tiwari, Principal of declining the invitation to the wedding of Nivedita
Newton Public School, Nagpur to attend the school’s Patnaik to Akhilesh Sharma. The reply must be written in
Annual Function. Draft a formal reply of acceptance. not more than 50 words.

October 27, 2019 10 May, 2020

Mrs. and Mr. Dixit take this opportunity to

Mr. Rajeev Paswan thanks Mrs.
congratulate Mrs. and Mr. Patnaik on the
Anupama Tiwari, Principal of Newton auspicious occasion of the wedding of their
Public School, Nagpur for her kind daughter Nivedita Patnaik to Akhilesh
invitation to the Annual Function to be Sharma. However, it is with regret that they
held on 15 November, 2019 in the wish to inform that due to a prior
school auditorium. He is pleased to engagement, they will be unable to attend
accept the invitation and will attend the the wedding. Please extend their warmest
same. greetings to the young couple.
 SAMPLES OF REPLIES TO FORMAL INVITATIONS

Q. You are Rahul Bose. You have been invited by the Q. You are Vikram Seth. You have been invited by the Principal,
Secretary of the Literary Club of Ascend International School, Shining Stars Public School, New Delhi, to judge the Inter-school
Mumbai, to join them on the evening of Saturday, 22 June, Story Writing Competition on 23 August, 2020. However, you find
2020 when the students are going to enact the play ‘Julius that you will be out of town on that day. Draft a formal reply
Caesar’. Draft an acceptance letter in not more than 50 words declining the same in within 50 words.

Sector F, Radcliff Road

House No. 345, Andheri East New Delhi
Mumbai
29 May, 2020
30 May, 2020
The Principal
The Secretary Shining Stars Public School
Literary Club New Delhi
Ascend International School, ‘F’ Block, Bandra
Mumbai
Subject: Reply to the Invitation for Inter-school Story Writing
Subject: Reply to the Invitation for Enactment of Drama Competition

Dear Govind Dear Sir

I wish to thank you for you kind invitation to the enactment of the I am honoured to receive your kind invitation to act as a Judge at
play ‘Julius Caesar’ by the members of your club. It is with great the Inter-school Story Writing Contest to be held in your school on
pleasure that I accept the invitation. I, myself, am an alumnus of 23 August, 2020. However, I regret to inform you that as I will be out
the same school and have beautiful memories of the time I spent of town at that particular time, I must sadly decline the invitation.
there. Looking forward to an entertaining and eventful evening. Please congratulate all the budding writers on my behalf. I am sure
that the event will be a success in keeping with the standards of
Yours sincerely your fine establishment.
Rahul Bose
Yours sincerely
Vikram Seth
 FEATURES OF AN INFORMAL
INVITATION

 It is written in a letter format.

 It is always enclosed in a box.
 It is written in the first or second person.
 Different tense forms can be used in informal invitations.
 Informal invitations are sent to relatives and friends and are more personal, friendly
and intimate. Hence, the tone is warm and cordial.
 It is left aligned.
 Informal invitations include details like –
 Sender’s Address
 Date
 Salutation
 Complimentary close: ‘Yours sincerely’ etc.

 The body of an informal invitation is short and states the purpose of the invitation,
the special occasion and its related details such as day, date, time, and venue of
the special event.
 The writer’s address is given in the invitation but the receiver’s address is not
mentioned.
 There is no subject line in an informal invitation.
 No reply is asked but the last sentence suggest that a reply is expected.
 SAMPLE INFORMAL
INVITATIONS

Q. You are Ankit Verma. Your friend from Malaysia Q. You are Ruchika Gupta. You have passed your entrance
examinations and have been selected to study at IIT, New
is staying in the hostel. Invite him to join Diwali Delhi. To celebrate, you wish to invite all your friends to a
celebrations with you at your residence. party at your residence. Write an informal invitation to Amrit
/Anita in not more than 50 words.

315/2 Raja Gardens

34 Lower Hill Road
New Delhi Chandigarh

25 October, 20XX 27 May, 2020

Dear Samrat Dear Amrit / Anita

You will be pleased to hear that I have passed my

You know that Diwali, the festival of lights, is
entrance examinations and interviews and I have been
approaching. It gives me great pleasure to invite selected to study at IIT, New Delhi. To celebrate this
you to Diwali celebrations at my residence. We joyous occasion and before I leave Chandigarh, I wish to
shall have great fun. invite you to a get-together for all my friends and family at
my residence on Sunday, 15 June, 2020 at 8:00 p.m.
Do join us for the ‘Puja’ and Diwali celebrations. Looking forward to seeing you.

Yours sincerely
Yours sincerely
Ruchika Gupta
Ankit Verma
 SAMPLE INFORMAL
INVITATIONS
Q. You are Bhavana Singh. You want to invite Q. Write an informal invitation in not more than 50
family and friends to celebrate your father’s 60th words to your friend Rohit on the occasion of the
birthday party. Write an informal invitation to ‘Mundan Ceremony’ of your grandson. You are S.
Farzan Ahmed in not more than 50 words. P. Mallik

456, Block A 29, Uttam Nagar

Lajpat Nagar New Delhi
New Delhi
27 May, 2020
27 May, 2020
Dear Rohit

Dear Farzan You will be glad to know that the ‘Mundan Ceremony’ of my
grandson Arnav shall take place on 15 June, 2020 at my
It is with great joy that I wish to invite you to join us at residence. On this auspicious occasion, I cordially invite
The Garden of Five Senses on 31 May, 2020 at 8:00 you along with all the members of your family. The
pm to celebrate my father’s 60th birthday. You are a programme shall be as follows:
close friend of the family and our celebration would Kirtan: 7:00 am to 8:00 am
be incomplete without you. I do hope that you will join Havan Ceremony: 8:00 am to 9:30 am
Lunch: 1:00 pm
us to commemorate my father’s life so far and to wish Don’t forget to bring Sunaina with you. It will be my
him a long and happy life. pleasure and a special privilege if you can join us with your
family.
Yours sincerely
Bhavana Singh Yours sincerely
S. P. Mallik
 REPLIES TO INFORMAL
INVITATIONS

FEATURES
 These are sent as reply to invitations from relatives and friends
and are more personal, cordial, friendly and intimate.
 An informal reply is always written in letter form.
 It is written in first or second person.
 Different tense forms can be used.
 It is left aligned and similar to a letter with 3 major differences –

> It’s shorter

> The receiver’s address is not written
> Subject is not written

 It is always enclosed in a box.

 Word Limit: 50 Words
 Details like the occasion/event, date, venue etc. are to be
written.
 An invitation is either accepted or declined. In case an invitation
is declined, the reason for declining must be mentioned.
 SAMPLES OF REPLIES TO INFORMAL
INVITATIONS

Q. You are Amrit Kumar Sen. You were happy to Q. You are Farzan Ahmed. Your friend Bhavana
hear that your friend Ruchika Gupta got admission Singh has invited you to attend her father’s 60 th
into IIT, New Delhi and has invited you to a party birthday party. Draft an informal reply in not more
to celebrate her success. Draft an informal reply than 50 words, expressing your inability to attend
of acceptance. the party due to some reason.

456, Block A
262, Vasant Kunj
East Patel Nagar
New Delhi
New Delhi
29 May, 2020 29 May, 2020

Dear Ruchika, Dear Bhavana,

Congratulations to you and your family for this I feel immensely pleased to receive the invitation to
super success. By qualifying for IIT, New Delhi, attend your father’s 60th birthday celebrations. I would
you have realized your dream. You are an absolute have surely liked to attend the party that you have
inspiration for all of us. I’ll definitely join the party planned, but I have to attend a family get-together on
at your residence on 15 June, 2020. I’ll reach there the same day in which my relatives are arriving from
by 7:00 pm. New York.

Convey my best wishes to uncle on this auspicious

Please let me know if there is anything I can do to
occasion. I will definitely visit your family once I’m free
help with the preparations. from my responsibilities at the home front.

Yours sincerely Yours sincerely

Amrit Kumar Sen Farzan Ahmed
THANK YOU