and business writing. It's more of a tradition, really. There are plenty of other formal fonts out there to use, but Times New Roman has been the standard for that kind of thing for decades.

Plus, a formal letter format tends to convey ... a 12-point size – and avoid highly stylized or colored fonts that could make your business letter look messy and unprofessional.

Knowing how to write a formal letter is a very important life skill. Although a lot of our day-to-day written communication is by email, text message or social media, there are many times you will ...