A form letter is a
letter written from a
template, rather than being specially composed for a specific recipient.
The most general kind of form letter consists of one or more regions of
boilerplate text
Boilerplate text, or simply boilerplate, is any written text ( copy) that can be reused in new contexts or applications without significant changes to the original. The term is used about statements, contracts, and source code, and is often used p ...
interspersed with one or more substitution placeholders.
Although form letters are generally intended for a wide audience, many form letters include stylistic elements or features intended to appear specifically tailored to the recipient. For example, they might be signed by
autopen
An autopen, or signing machine, is a device used for the automatic signing of a signature. Prominent individuals may be asked to provide their signatures many times a day, such as celebrities receiving requests for autographs, or politicians s ...
and use features such as
mail merge
Mail merge consists of combining mail and letters and pre-addressed envelopes or mailing labels for mass mailings from a form letter.
This feature is usually employed in a word processing document which contains fixed text (which is the same in ...
, which automatically inserts the names of the individual recipients.
Uses
Form letters are often used as replies from people who get large amounts of correspondence, such as
celebrities or
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
s. This can lead to controversy if a form letter is used where a more personalised message would have been appropriate, such as when offering condolences.
Other form letters are used to notify candidates as part of an application process, such as acceptance or rejection letters from publishing companies, governing bodies, colleges, universities or prospective employers.
See also
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E-mail spam
References
Letters (message)
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