How To Make an Excuse Letter

An excuse letter is typically required when you need to explain a past or future absence at some institution, usually in school or college. Absences from your place of employment generally do not warrant excuse letters, most HR policies will provide guidelines for unplanned and medical leave; following these guidelines is accepted procedure and you need not produce any excuse letters. For students on the other hand, it is perceived that one has not attained sufficient maturity and understanding and is still subject to some authority or control, whether by parents or by the teaching faculty or school administration. There are no guidelines or policies regulating unplanned absences at school, hence the excuse letter comes into play here. It is generally expected that an excuse letter be prepared by someone in authority or control of the student - usually a parent or guardian, in some cases, where the absence is due to a prolonged illness a doctor's medical certificate also acts as an excuse letter. Listed below are steps to follow while writing an excuse letter.

1. Beginning of the note: Begin the excuse letter by inputting the date on the top right or left hand corner. This date should be the date you are writing and handing over the letter, preferably the latter. You can write the note, either by hand, or on a word processor from where you can print a hard copy.
2. Addressing the addressee: Below the line where the date is given write the name of the person to whom the letter is addressed. This can be followed with the designation of such person and the address of such person in brief. For example - "To...Mr. Jones...Grade I Teacher...Teaching School..." including the city in which the institution is located. Below this, mention details of the person writing the letter i.e. you, in the same format as in the example. Usually, the person writing the letter should be someone who is an authority figure in the student's life - a parent or guardian.
3. Subject: Below the ‘from' and ‘to' information, write the subject of the note beginning with "Subject: ....." or "Re: ....." where you will mention the student's name and the reason for the absence. Ensure that you also mention the date(s) of absence within the subject-title.
4. Main text: In the body of the excuse letter, put down the subject-matter in detail - who, when and why - for which the excuse letter is being written. Keep the content brief, crisp and lucid, stating just the reason for absence (whether past or future), relevant dates and any additional action, if necessary, which should be taken. For example, this could refer to the missed assignment, homework or test, which the student is/was unable to take on account of the absence.
5. Conclusion: Close the letter with the appropriate salutations - "yours sincerely" etc and sign the letter. If the unplanned absence is on account of an illness going over three days, it is also preferable to attach a doctor's certificate explaining the illness and the medical care and attention required.

From the above, you can see that writing an excuse letter is actually a very simple task, just make sure that you keep it short and sweet and compliant with the institution's policy for unplanned absences.