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How to Write an Impressive Apology Letter

Millie Dinsdale

“I said something I wish I hadn’t.”

“I really messed up.”

“I upset someone and I regret it.”

Humans are not perfect. We make mistakes—but we can also own up to those mistakes to atone for them.

That’s where an apology letter comes in.

Writing an apology letter shows that you recognize your mistake and allows you to ask for forgiveness.

Asking for forgiveness is a difficult but inevitable part of life. But how do you do it? We will break down how to write an effective apology letter in this post.

What Is an Apology Letter?

What should you include in an apology letter, what are the different types of apology letter, how do you write a business apology letter, how do you write a third-party apology, how do you write a mass apology letter, how do you write a personal apology letter.

At its most basic, an apology letter is a letter which says sorry.

But it’s not that simple. Often saying sorry is not enough.

Sorry is not a catch-all phrase for any mistake. If you accidentally spill someone’s drink, sorry is a perfectly acceptable response (you might also buy them a replacement!). But if you inadvertently cause someone to lose their job, the word sorry is not enough.

In this case you’ll probably need to apologize, own up to your mistake, suggest a solution, and only then ask for forgiveness. Writing an apology letter is a good opportunity to cover that content.

Before we look at the different types of letters, there are a few things that you should do in each one.

1) Acknowledge Your Mistake

You should start every letter by explaining why you’re writing. An apology letter is no different.

By acknowledging your mistake, you can both own up to your error and inform the reader what the letter is about.

Acknowledging your mistake will let the reader know that you are sincere and that you are seeking forgiveness. It is important to acknowledge your mistake straight away—by not doing so, you can annoy the other person and make the situation worse.

For example, if you broke your friend’s favorite mug at work, you should go straight to them and explain your mistake instead of squirreling it back into the cupboard for them to find later.

2) Apologize for Your Mistake

Now that you have stated your mistake it is time to apologize. Although sorry sums up what you are trying to say, it is sometimes better to be more specific.

Explain why you are sorry and acknowledge any negative outcomes from your mistake.

For example: if you accidentally lost an important document, acknowledge the extra work the person had to do and the stress that this loss must have caused.

Taking full responsibility is the best way to approach an apology, so try not to shift the blame onto anyone or anything else.

It is also best to avoid excuses if you can. Excuses can aggravate the situation and detract from your apology.

3) Share Your Plan to Resolve the Issue

It is all well and good to apologize, but what can you do to improve the situation? Let’s look at our previous example. Although there is nothing you can do about the lost document, you can promise that it will not happen again.

To convince your reader that your promise is not just empty words, you could present an action plan, like this:

I will create a physical backup folder for all documents in the future.

In addition to this, I will save all documents to an independent hard drive which I will leave at work. This means that they will stay safe, even if I lose my laptop.

4) Ask for Forgiveness

Asking for forgiveness is very important because it hands control of the situation over to the reader.

It also acknowledges that there are pieces of the relationship which need to be repaired. If you wanted to, you could take the opportunity to invite your reader to suggest their own solution before they forgive you.

This will help the person to feel like their opinions have been heard. It will also help you to understand the effect that the mistake had upon them.

For example:

I want to ask for forgiveness for my error. Are there any further steps I can take to ensure that this never happens again? I hope we can resolve this and continue to work together.

There are four main types of apology letter:

Business Apology Letter

Third-Party Apology Letter

Mass Apology Letter

Personal Apology Letter

Each category has multiple usages.

For example, if you needed to write to your neighbor due to a disagreement, that would be a personal apology letter.

If you were writing to your boss after making a mistake, this apology letter would fall under the business category .

A business apology letter could be addressed to a client, a partner, a supplier, another firm, a partnered retailer, or stakeholders.

A business apology letter should be:

Be clear about the purpose of the e-mail and do not skirt around the point. Avoid any vague language as it will undermine the purpose of the letter.

Straight to the point

Business professionals receive multiple e-mails a day. If you waste their time with unnecessary words you may annoy them further rather than placate them.

Professional

Match the professional tone normally adopted by your company or business sector. If you are unsure what language to use, err on the side of caution. It is far better to be too formal than not formal enough.

Focused on a solution

Instead of focusing your e-mail on the problem, focus on the proposed solution which will put a positive twist on the letter without ignoring the issue.

As a result your business will be presented in a better light and you will have a higher chance of repairing your professional relationship.

Dear [insert customer name], We’re sorry we weren’t able to deliver your product on time. COVID-19 has caused a significant impact to our supply chain and has made restocking difficult. We understand your frustration and we are doing all we can to prevent any future incidences of this kind. While this does not make up for any inconvenience caused, we would like to offer you a 20% discount on your next order Please let me know if you have any other concerns or questions. Sincerely, [Name], [Title]

When Should You Write a Business Apology Letter?

You could address a business apology letter to a colleague, a boss, a customer, a supplier, or anyone else related to your place of business.

Here are a few examples of situations where a letter of apology might be needed:

If you have a problem with your supply chain and need to delay a delivery.

If you forgot an important meeting and arrived unprepared.

If you had to take a day off at the last minute meaning that a colleague has to take up extra work.

A third-party apology letter is one in which the writer is apologizing on behalf of someone else , such as a letter from a manager to a customer on behalf of an employee who behaved rudely.

A third-party apology letter should be:

Clearly directed

In the first line, let the recipient know who is writing and on behalf of whom. Explain why you are writing, and not the guilty party.

This may sound obvious but third-party apology letters need to be handled very carefully. Not only do you need to apologize for the actions of the perpetrator, you also need to apologize that the letter is not coming from them and likely apologize for your part in the situation, even unintentionally.

The recipient is not frustrated with you personally, so try to build and maintain a relationship with them. Treat the letter as an olive branch and take full advantage of the fact that you can shift blame.

Example of a third-party apology:

Dear [insert name], We’re Chad’s parents, and we would like to apologize for Chad’s behaviour yesterday which resulted in Jen being bitten. We fully intend on having Chad apologize to Jen himself, but as his parents we wanted to add some context to the situation and also say we’re sorry as well. Chad often gets overstimulated, and we think that might have caused yesterday’s tragedy. He looks forward to his playdates with Jen, which leads us to believe that this is a one-off incidence. Nonetheless, his behavior is unacceptable and we have given him a strong talking to on why what he did was wrong. He has also been grounded, and will write an apology letter to Jen. Once again, we are truly sorry for any distress this may have caused. Yours sincerely, Bod and Sharon (Chad’s parents)

When Would You Require a Third-Party Apology Letter?

A third-party apology letter is required in one of two cases:

• If the person at fault is unable to write an apology themselves.
• If it is inappropriate for the person at fault to write the letter and it would be better for someone else to write it.

Examples of this second type are:

If a customer at a restaurant was abusive to another customer, the manager may wish to write an apology on behalf of the restaurant.

If a child bit another child at preschool the parent may wish to write an apology to the other parent.

If a dog was noisy and kept waking up next door’s baby, the owner may wish to write an apology to the parents.

A mass apology letter is one in which many people have been affected by a single issue. A mass apology letter should be:

Many people will need to read this letter so it should get to the point as quickly as possible. Make a sincere apology, and then say how you will fix the situation.

Use basic terminology and grammar to ensure that everyone can understand the meaning. You can use ProWritingAid’s Readability Report to identify any hard-to-read paragraphs. To achieve this, you should aim for a reading level that is suitable for a 5th grader or below.

Try the Readability Report with a free ProWritingAid account.

When Would You Require a Mass Apology Letter?

Mass apology letters are usually written by someone with responsibility for the care or experiences of a large group of people. It's important to strike the right tone so that you can maintain your authority and trust with the recipients.

Here are some instances in which you might need a mass apology letter.

To consumers if one of your products needs to be recalled after an issue was detected.

To residents if there was an avoidable power cut in your housing stock.

To parents if students were given the wrong information about upcoming exams.

Example of a mass apology letter:

Dear People of Townsville, On Friday, November 19, 2021 the city of Townsville was without electricity for four hours as a result of an overloading of the city’s grid. This was not scheduled, and therefore required an emergency response. We understand how difficult this must have been for you the citizens, particularly the business owners. We’d like to offer our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience caused, as well as any disruptions. We take incidents like this very seriously, and our team is already refining our maintenance schedules in order to avoid similar events in the future. We remain committed to ensuring that we sustain the high standard of service delivery that we hope you expect from us. Best, The Team at ABC Electrical

If you are writing your apology letter to friends, family, neighbors, relatives, acquaintances, or even strangers, and if it doesn’t serve or include a commercial purpose, you’re writing a personal apology letter.

A personal apology letter should be:

Conversational : Keep the tone informal to avoid sounding pompous and false. Make a direct apology to the recipient without hiding behind complex language.

Full of remorse : Unlike in the previous example, it is advised that you express your own emotions about the situation. It is important that the recipient believes you are truly sorry.

Focused on the relationship : The most important thing is to limit the damage that your mistake causes to your personal relationship with the person so make it clear that you care.

When Would You Require a Personal Apology Letter?

A personal apology letter is probably the most versatile type on this list. Almost any apology that is not directly related to your work will require this form of apology.

Examples of when this type of apology might be appropriate are:

When you broke your mom’s favorite ornament with a bouncy ball.

If you lost your friend’s guinea pig whilst looking after it.

If you crashed into your neighbor’s garden wall and damaged it.

Example of a personal apology letter:

Dear Mrs. Steel, I’m really sorry for running over your garden gnomes the other day. My dad was teaching me to drive and I mistakenly touched reverse instead of forward. I’d be happy to replace them, though that may not happen immediately. I’ve taken a summer job at the mall and I’m committed to saving every penny so I can buy them back. I hope you find it in your heart to forgive me. Best, Ash

Should You Write a Letter, Text, or Call to Apologize?

When it comes to business, third-party, and mass apologies, letters and e-mails are the only way of doing things professionally.

A personal apology may feel stilted or unnatural as a letter and may be better delivered by text, phone call, or even in person. It totally depends on the situation and your relationship with that person.

The way that an apology is delivered is just as important as the content of it, so give this question some thought.

However as a general rule:

E-mail or letter :

If you are only acquaintances or if there is a large age gap between you and the other person. For example , if a 14-year-old cycled over her 67-year-old neighbor’s flowers, an e-mail or letter apology would be best.

If the mistake was minor and you are friends with the person or a similar age. For example , a student accidentally smashed another student’s mug.

If the mistake was bigger and you are friends with the person. This can also be a good option for family members when you cannot see them in person. For example , someone forgot their grandma’s birthday and the card arrived late.

In person :

If the mistake was major and it is a friend or family member that you can reasonably visit. For example , someone had a big argument with their best friend and realized afterwards that they were totally out of line.

I sincerely apologize that I can’t write your letter for you. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t help. You can always revisit this article if you need a refresher.

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Millie is ProWritingAid's Content Manager. Aa an English Literature graduate, she loves all things books and writing. When she isn't working, Millie enjoys adding to her vast indoor plant collection, dancing, re-reading books by Daphne Du Maurier, and running.

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How to Write a Thoughtful Apology Letter (Inspiring Examples)

By Status.net Editorial Team on October 13, 2023 — 14 minutes to read

• Understanding Apology Letters Part 1
• Components of an Effective Apology Letter Part 2
• Professional Apology Letter Template Part 3
• Business Apology Letter Template Part 4
• Professional Apology Letter Template (Workplace Mistake) Part 5
• Apologizing to Your Manager: A Professional Email Example Part 6
• Coping with Customer Complaints: Apology Email Example Part 7
• Offering Compensation: Example Part 8
• Delivering a Third-Party Apology: Example Part 9
• A Formal and Sincere Apology Template with Example Part 10
• Writing a Personal Apology Letter Part 11
• Personal Apology Letter Template Part 12

Part 1 Understanding Apology Letters

Why apology letters matter.

Apology letters hold significant importance because they help mend relationships and restore trust. When you make a mistake or hurt someone’s feelings, sending a sincere apology letter demonstrates that you genuinely regret your actions and wish to make amends. Having a well-written apology letter can improve the chances of forgiveness, reduce tension, and pave the way for an improved relationship.

The Art of Apologizing

Mastering the art of apologizing is crucial for maintaining healthy relationships.

• The first step in writing an effective apology letter is acknowledging your mistake. Be honest about what you did wrong and take responsibility for your actions. It shows that you recognize the impact your mistake had on the other person and their emotions.
• Next, express your remorse and convey that you are truly sorry for your actions. It’s important to ensure your apology comes across as genuine; insincere apologies can often make matters worse. Focus on the feelings of the person you hurt, letting them know you understand their emotions and the consequences of your actions.
• Finally, offer a solution or ways to make amends. This could include making changes in your behavior, rectifying the issue you caused, or offering support to the affected person. Commit to taking steps to prevent a similar situation from happening again in the future.

When you follow these guidelines for writing an apology letter, you have a better chance at being forgiven and strengthening the bonds with those you care about.

Part 2 Components of an Effective Apology Letter

Writing an apology letter can be a thoughtful way to express your remorse and show that you truly wish to make amends. There are specific components that can make your letter more effective and genuine. These elements include:

Step 1. Acknowledging Your Mistake

When addressing a mistake, it’s important to be upfront and take responsibility for your actions. Clearly describe the wrongdoing and try not to make excuses, as this demonstrates your sincerity. For example:

“I apologize for missing our appointment yesterday. I understand I caused you inconvenience, and I should have managed my time better.”

Step 2. Expressing Regret

In addition to acknowledging your mistake, express your regret or remorse for the situation. This is a critical part of the apology, as it shows that you empathize with the feelings or difficulties your actions may have caused to the other party. For example:

“I’m truly sorry for any trouble I’ve caused you. I realize that my actions have led to disappointment and frustration on your end, and I wish I could take them back.”

Step 3. Offering A Solution

Finally, it’s important to provide a solution or a plan to rectify the mistake. This demonstrates that you are willing to take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again and helps in rebuilding trust. Be specific about what you can do, but also be realistic with your commitments. For example:

“To make it up to you, I would like to reschedule our appointment at a time that’s convenient for you. I will work on improving my time management to prevent similar situations in the future.”

Keep these components in mind when crafting an apology letter, and your message will come across as sincere and heartfelt.

Templates and Examples of Apology Letters

Part 3 professional apology letter template.

When addressing a workplace issue, ensure that your professional apology letter remains respectful and follows a formal tone. Accept responsibility and outline your plans to rectify the situation:

Dear [Recipient’s Name],

I am writing to apologize for [the mistake or action that caused the offense]. It was my responsibility to [prevent the mistake], and I acknowledge the negative impact it had on you and our team.

I take this matter seriously and am taking the necessary steps to correct the issue. [Include steps you are planning to take or have taken.] I am confident that we can learn from this experience and prevent similar occurrences in the future.

Please accept my sincerest apologies, and if there is anything further I can do to make this right, please do not hesitate to let me know.

[Your Name]

Part 4 Business Apology Letter Template

When extending apologies to customers or clients on behalf of your company, use a polite and sincere tone. Address the issue directly and briefly mention any steps you are taking to rectify the situation:

We would like to express our deepest apologies for [the mistake or action that caused the offense]. At [Your Company Name], we pride ourselves on [company values], and this incident is not reflective of our commitment to providing exceptional customer service.

In response to this situation, we have taken the following steps to rectify the issue: [include steps taken or planned to prevent similar incidents]. We believe these measures will help improve our service quality in the future.

Again, we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused and appreciate your understanding. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

[Your Name] [Your Position in Company]

Part 5 Professional Apology Letter Template (Workplace Mistake)

Dealing with workplace mistakes.

Mistakes at work happen, and when you find yourself in an uncomfortable situation, it’s important to address the issue promptly. A professional apology letter is a great way to express your regret and take ownership of your mistake. Start by acknowledging your mistake and be specific about the incident. Next, express your regret and take responsibility for the consequences of your actions. Make sure to offer solutions and steps to prevent similar mistakes in the future:

I am writing to express my sincere apologies for the mistake that I made [insert specific incident]. It was an error on my part, and I take full responsibility for it.

I understand that my mistake has caused inconvenience and frustration, and I am truly sorry for any negative impact it may have had. I want to assure you that I am committed to making things right and preventing similar mistakes from happening in the future.

To rectify the situation, I have [insert solution or action you are taking]. I am also willing to work with you and the team to ensure that we are all on the same page and that we can move forward together.

Again, please accept my apologies for any trouble caused. I value our working relationship and hope that we can continue to work together positively in the future.

Sincerely, [Your Name]

Part 6 Apologizing to Your Manager: A Professional Email Example

Apologizing to your manager.

When apologizing to your manager, be sincere and direct. Begin your letter with a clear statement of your intention to apologize, and acknowledge the issue that occurred. Remember to express your regret sincerely, and outline the actions you’re taking to rectify the situation:

Dear [Manager’s Name],

I am writing to acknowledge my recent actions [or insert specific incident] and the impact they may have had on the project and the company. I take full responsibility for my actions and understand the importance of rectifying the situation and preventing similar incidents from happening in the future.

To address the issue, I am taking [insert solution or action you are taking]. I am also open to working with you and the team to ensure that we are all aligned and moving forward together.

Thank you for your understanding and for the opportunity to learn from this experience.

Part 7 Coping with Customer Complaints: Apology Email Example

When dealing with customer complaints, it’s vital to address the situation promptly and professionally. Start by acknowledging what happened and offer a sincere apology. Make sure to show empathy and understanding towards the customer’s experience:

Dear [Customer’s Name],

We apologize for the inconvenience you experienced with our service. We understand how frustrating this must have been for you, and we’re committed to making it right.

Then, outline the steps you’ve taken or plan to take to resolve the issue. This will demonstrate your commitment to customer satisfaction and reinforce trust in your business:

We’ve investigated the situation and discovered that [explanation of problem]. To prevent this from happening in the future, we will [steps to improve the issue].

Part 8 Offering Compensation: Example

In certain cases, offering compensation may be necessary to make amends and restore customer goodwill. Consider the severity and impact of the issue when deciding whether compensation is warranted. If you choose to offer compensation, be specific about what you’re offering and how the customer can claim it. For example:

As a token of our apology, we’d like to offer you [compensation, such as a refund, discount, or free service]. To claim this compensation, please [instructions to claim the compensation].

Remember that compensation is not always monetary; sometimes, a simple gesture like providing a free upgrade or extending a warranty can go a long way in demonstrating your willingness to make it right.

Part 9 Delivering a Third-Party Apology: Example

There may be situations where your business must apologize on behalf of a third party, such as a vendor or partner. In these cases, it’s still important to address the issue and apologize to the affected customers. Acknowledge the role your business played in the situation, and explain the steps you’re taking to prevent it from happening again:

We apologize for the [issue caused by the third party], which we recognize has impacted your experience with our business. While this issue was beyond our direct control, we understand that we are accountable for the partners we choose, and we promise to improve our supplier selection process.

Following these guidelines, your business apology letter will set the foundation for rebuilding trust with your customers and maintaining a positive reputation for your company.

Part 10 A Formal and Sincere Apology Template with Example

_______________________________

[1. Acknowledge the mistake and provide a sincere expression of regret] [2. Explain the situation, avoiding excuses or blame] [3. Discuss steps you’re taking to address the issue/resolution] [4. Offer a solution, amends, or compensation if appropriate] [5. Close with your commitment to prevent a recurrence of the issue]

“Dear Mr. Johnson,

I am writing to apologize for the delay in delivering the project report that was due last week. I understand that this delay has caused inconvenience to you and your team, and I take full responsibility for it.

I want to assure you that this delay was not intentional, and I deeply regret any negative impact it may have had on your business. The delay was due to unforeseen circumstances that were beyond my control, but I understand that this does not excuse the situation.

Moving forward, I am taking steps to ensure that this does not happen again in the future. I have put in place a new system that will allow me to better manage my workload and ensure that deadlines are met on time.

If there is anything else that I can do to make up for the inconvenience caused, please let me know. I am committed to doing everything in my power to make things right.

Once again, I apologize for any inconvenience caused, and I appreciate your understanding and patience.

John Doe”

Part 11 Writing a Personal Apology Letter

In this section, we’ll focus on crafting the perfect personal apology letter.

Apologizing to Family

When apologizing to a family member, sincerity is key. Start by acknowledging the wrongdoing and express remorse for your actions. You can start with something simple like, “I realize that I hurt you when I [specific action], and I’m truly sorry for that.”

Next, take responsibility for your actions. Admitting your mistake demonstrates maturity and a genuine desire to make amends. For example, “It was thoughtless of me to [specific action], and I understand how it affected you.”

Offer a solution or a concrete way to make amends. This step shows you’re committed to improving your relationship. You could say, “I promise to be more mindful of your feelings in the future, and I hope we can work together to rebuild our relationship.”

Be open and willing to listen to their feelings and concerns. This will help you better understand their perspective and take any necessary steps to rebuild trust.

Writing an Apology Letter to a Friend

When apologizing to a friend, you’ll want to keep the same principles in mind. Begin by acknowledging the hurt you caused them and express genuine remorse. Use specific examples where you can, such as, “I know I let you down when I didn’t show up to your birthday party, and I’m truly sorry for that.”

Take responsibility for your actions and any wrongdoing on your part. An example might be, “I should have planned better and made your celebration a priority, instead of allowing other things to get in the way.”

If applicable, offer a solution or a way to make it right: “I’d love to take you out for a special meal to celebrate your belated birthday and make up for not being there.”

Be ready to listen to your friend’s feelings and concerns, and make an effort to rebuild trust through your words and actions.

Part 12 Personal Apology Letter Template

A personal apology letter works best when you want to express regret towards a friend or family member for something you did. Keep it concise, genuine, and focus on your feelings during the apology.

I am truly sorry for [the mistake or action that caused the offense]. It was not my intention to [cause the negative impact]. I understand how it made you feel, and I want you to know that your feelings are important to me.

I take full responsibility for my actions and will do everything in my power to make it right. [Include possible solutions or ways to make amends, if applicable.]

In the future, I promise to be more mindful of my actions and consider how they will affect you. I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.

Frequently Asked Questions

What should be included in an apology letter to a customer.

When writing an apology letter to a customer, you should first acknowledge the issue and express your sincere regret. Apologize for any inconvenience or disappointment the customer may have experienced. It’s also important to take responsibility for the situation and explain the steps you will take to rectify it. Offer a solution or compensation if appropriate, and close by expressing your commitment to providing excellent customer service in the future.

How can I craft a heartfelt apology letter to a teacher?

To write a heartfelt apology letter to a teacher, start by acknowledging your mistake and expressing genuine remorse for your actions. Explain why your behavior was wrong and what you’ve learned from the experience. You should also describe how you plan to improve and avoid making the same mistake in the future. Be specific, sincere, and respectful throughout the letter, and show genuine gratitude for the teacher’s dedication and understanding.

What are the key elements of an apology letter to a friend?

The key elements of an apology letter to a friend include acknowledging the wrongdoing, expressing genuine remorse, and offering amends or a solution. It’s also important to consider the feelings of your friend and empathize with their perspective. Demonstrate that you understand the impact of your actions on your friendship and express your desire to rebuild trust and strengthen your bond. Close the letter by expressing your appreciation for their friendship and your hope for reconciliation.

How can I make a convincing apology letter to a family member?

To craft a convincing apology letter to a family member, begin by acknowledging the mistake you made and expressing sincere regret. Be specific about what happened and how it affected your relationship. Show empathy for your family member’s feelings and express understanding for the hurt you’ve caused. Offer a solution or plan for addressing the issue and discuss how you’ll prevent it from happening again. Finally, reiterate your love and commitment to your family member and express your hope for moving forward together.

What are some tips for writing an apology letter to my boss?

When writing an apology letter to your boss, it’s important to be professional, respectful, and straightforward. Acknowledge your mistake and express genuine remorse. Be concise in your explanation, focusing on the impact of your actions and the steps you will take to correct the situation. Offer solutions or potential ways to rectify the issue and demonstrate your commitment to improving your performance. Lastly, express your gratitude for the opportunity to learn from the experience and your dedication to your job.

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• How to Apologize >
• How to Write An Apology Letter

How To Write An Apology Letter

Learning how to write an apology letter is a valuable skill that can mend personal relationships, correct missteps, and bring harmony to various aspects of your life.

Yet somehow expressing remorse effectively can be a daunting task. Fear not! We've got you covered whether you've stepped on toes, made a blunder or really messed up. We’ll demystify the art of writing an apology letter in a few easy steps.

On this page you'll find a template outlining the four essential elements of a sincere, heartfelt and effective apology letter.

We also include sample openings and closings, Dos and Don'ts, and a bunch of frequently asked questions.

The Anatomy of An Apology Letter

→   THE CONTENT: WHAT TO SAY Crafting a sincere apology involves primarily knowing the right words. Our letter template, complete with sample blurbs, guides you in constructing a well-phrased apology.

→   FORMAT, STYLE & DELIVERY: HOW TO SAY IT The way you deliver your apology matters. Formal typed letters work well in professional settings or when you want to show respect, while handwritten letters and notes add a personal touch.

Learn more about apology letter formats or if time is of the essence check out our Apology Letter Toolkit ⇗ for easy to copy & paste sample apologies.

Template: The 4 Key Components of An Apology Letter

1.   apologize and provide a detailed account.

Begin your letter by acknowledging the wrongdoing, apologizing, and offering a detailed account of the incident. It's important that the recipient knows that you clearly understand what happened and where you went wrong.

For instance,

Dear______________, I'd like to apologize for my words and actions on Wednesday at the club. I should have been more supportive of both you and your ideas when you presented them. As the newest member of our group, I noticed your uncertainty and unfortunately used it to undermine your confidence. You were clearly well-prepared, yet I dismissed your ideas prematurely without allowing you to fully explain them.

2.   Acknowledge the Hurt and Take Responsibility

The main body of your letter should focus on acknowledging the pain caused and taking full responsibility. Convey empathy to show the recipient that you understand their perspective and accept accountability for your words and actions.

Here’s how you might express it:

I could see the hurt in your eyes, and yet I persisted in my criticism. I unfairly cast you in a negative light in front of our friends and other members, which was entirely unwarranted. My intention was never to embarrass and hurt you or make everyone uncomfortable. I sincerely apologize—it was never my intention. The truth is, work stress and a bad mood got the best of me, and I unfairly directed it at you. There's no excuse for my behavior, and I truly regret it.

3.   Express Regret and Ask for Forgiveness

Genuine regret is essential. Explicitly ask for forgiveness, empowering the recipient to decide the fate of the relationship.

For example:

I regret how I acted and every word I uttered. I feel terrible about bringing my work stress and family tension to the club that day and releasing it all on you. It had nothing to do with you, your ideas, or your ability. Please forgive me.

4.   Make a Promise for Change

Close the letter by assuring the recipient that such actions won’t happen again. Without promising and changing your future behavior, apologies lose their impact. Consider offering restitution (if possible) and inquire if there’s anything else you can do to make things right:

I respect you too much and cherish our friendship to let this happen again. Moving forward, if I ever feel that type of stress or find myself in a bad mood, I'll distance myself from those I care about until the feelings pass. Meanwhile, I've spoken to everyone who attended last Wednesday about my behavior. I've also encouraged them to give you the floor next time we meet if you're up for it. If there's anything else I can do, please let me know. Over time, I hope you'll learn to trust me again, knowing that I'm always on your side. Yours sincerely,

Summary: Writing An Apology Letter

Sample openings: how to start an apology letter.

A sincere and personalized opening sets the tone for the apology.

The hardest part of writing an apology letter is often just getting started so we've included a few more examples of openings from some of the best apology letters submitted by our website visitors.

Hopefully these openings provide a starting point and demonstrate the diversity of sincere expression.

I'm truly sorry for mistrusting you. I don't know how to express my sincere apologies for the pain caused and the tears shed because of me.

To the love of my life... Please accept this heartfelt apology. If I had the ability to turn back time and take back everything that happened I would do it in a flash and never think that what we have, and had, could never be taken away by my selfish acts or my demeanor.

I know no amount words could express how truly sorry I am and how much regret I feel. I do not know how I could have been so foolish and for so long. I was blind and let my ego and pride get the best of me.

I'm truly sorry. I know you probably hate me right now and I don't blame you. I still have not forgiven myself and I don't think I ever will for acting how I did the last time we spoke.

Dear Kim...I've been really worried about writing. I know you’ve asked me not to. I will always respect your wishes. But for my sanity please let me apologize without my emotions doing all the talking this time.

Get more detailed information on the content of an apology letter on our page how to apologize .

Sample Closings: How to End an Apology Letter

Reiterate the desire to make amends and reassure the recipient. Use closing statements that reinforce your commitment to change and signal a genuine effort to mend the relationship.

Let them know that you're trying to fix things and that you're open to any ideas they may have on how to remedy the situation.

Below are examples and suggestions for what to include before the final closing (e.g. Sincerely, Respectfully, etc.)

Please know that I have done everything I can think of to make sure this never happens again. I deeply regret it happened at all. You are very important to me and I am willing to do whatever it takes to correct things. If there is anything I can do to regain your trust, please let me know. I am truly sorry and humbly ask for your forgiveness...

I promise you that it won't happen again. It's important to me that I regain your trust and we're able to rely on each other in the future as we always have in the past. If there is anything else that I can do, just let me know...

I'm embarrassed by both my actions and words. I can't take back those words or pretend the whole incident never happened. It happened. So, if there is anything I can do to make you feel better, please let me know. I cherish our relationship and friendship more than you can imagine and am devastated at the thought of losing either. I promise you that I will never act or speak in that way ever again, you are too important to me...

Standard letter closings like 'Yours Truly' can be easily applied to apology letters. However, we like 'Sincerely' or 'Yours Sincerely' when it comes to apologies in general because they help reinforce the message.

'Respectfully' and 'Yours Respectfully' are particularly good for when we've been disrespectful or apologizing to an authority figure be it parent, teacher, boss etc.

Dos & Don'ts: How to Write An Apology Letter

Follow the tips below to ensure your apology is genuine and well-received.

✔ Do... Write clearly and accurately. Be honest and show true sincerity.

✔ Do... Let them know that you understand why they are hurt and angry.

✔ Do... Make sure your apology letter describes why and how much the person was injured by your actions. Saying 'I know you were hurt' is not the same as saying 'I know how insulted and angry you were because of...'.

✔ Do... Request forgiveness but don't expect or demand it.

✔ Do... Let them know that you appreciate the role they play in your life and why the apology is so important—whether or not they accept it.

X Don't... Use qualifiers like 'if' or 'but' anywhere in your apology. 'I'm sorry if I hurt you' and 'I apologize but I was in a bad mood that day' sounds like you're making excuses or trying to justify things.

X Don't... Try to evoke sympathy as part of your apology.

X Don't... Share blame, you need to take full responsibility.

Sample Letters of a Written Apology

DUI Apology Letter Apologizing to a judge or employer is often a part of being charged.

Apology Letter to a Teacher Learn how to write an apology letter to a teacher or professor.

An Alcoholic's Apology Letter A sincere heartfelt apology to those you hurt is part of getting sober.

Apology Letter for Child's Behavior Apologizing to the Principal sometimes comes with parenting.

An Apology Letter to my Parents Saying sorry to your parents is never easy but always worthwhile.

Letter of Apology for Delay Delays are inevitable and often have implications that need to considered.

Apology Letter to a Patient Because common mistakes are made even within the healthcare industry.

Apology Letter Formats for Maximum Impact

Consider the format, tone, and delivery method to maximize the effectiveness when writing an apology letter.

Match your tone to the situation, choose words that feel genuine, consider the best way to deliver it—whether in writing or face-to-face, and then decide on the format of your letter which can be very important in making your apology effective. Send your apology promptly.

Keep the communication going after the apology, and make your letter visually appealing for a lasting impact. The true art of a sincere apology lies in blending heartfelt content with strategic formatting for a persuasive and genuine expression of remorse.

Traditional Apology Letters to Digital. What Now?

Having covered the essentials of how to write an apology letter, you might be wondering if the same principles apply to apology emails.

Wonder no more—we've got you covered with expert insights on how to write an effective apology email . So let's dive into the nuances of expressing regret through digital communication.

Apology Letter FAQ [Frequently Asked Questions]

Our apology letter FAQs are designed to help eliminate some of the barriers we all face when we sit down and write out an apology.

One of the primary obstacles is often a reluctance to admit that we're to blame for the situation. To state clearly and unequivocally that it was our fault.

And, by putting pen to paper and writing the words 'I was wrong. I'm sorry and I apologize' , gives it a sense of permanence and causes us to feel vulnerable.

It's that vulnerability that is the most scary for many of us. So much is at stake when it comes to our relationships. Our minds begin to reel.

What are the benefits of writing an apology letter?

An apology letter gives you time to think about what you're writing and gives the recipient time to think about your apology before responding.

On the other hand, verbal apologies require you to think on your feet, be prepared for the recipient's reaction (negative or positive) and ready for the conversation that follows.

Does 'I apologize' & 'I'm sorry' mean the same thing?

Many people are surprised to hear that 'I apologize' and 'I'm sorry' don't mean the same thing and are not directly interchangeable. Writing 'I'm sorry' expresses a level of regret or remorse . It says to the recipient that you feel badly about what happened—that is has affected you emotionally.

'I apologize' is simply a statement of admission. You're admitting that you were at fault but you are NOT stating that you are sorry about it.

In most cases we recommend including both statements in an apology letter.

How do I write an apology letter?

Open your letter by apologizing. Say you're sorry and describe what happened. In the main body of the letter communicate your understanding of the hurt you caused and your regret. Ask for forgiveness, express a desire to fix the situation and promise that it won't happen. Finally, explain why the relationship is important to you.

Read our article on how to write an apology letter for more detailed instructions, a template letter, Dos & Don'ts, and more...

How do I format an apology letter?

There are many things to take into account when looking at how to format an apology letter. The predominant considerations are length and style.

In most cases, when all the elements of a sincere apology are included, the severity of the offence you're apologizing for will naturally determine its length.

In terms of style, handwritten apologies are best for personal and intimate relationships. Typewritten, emailed and more formal approaches are best suited for business and non-personal relationships (e.g. teacher, club member, shop owner etc.).

Learn more about apology letter formats .

What are the best practices for an apology letter?

Write from the heart. Being honest and sincere are critical to an effective apology. Use direct statements that can only be taken at face value.... I'm sorry... I was wrong... I apologize.

Be as specific as you can about the mistake, and as clear as you can about your responsibility. Describe why and how much the person was injured by your words or actions. Saying 'I know you were hurt' is not as effective as saying 'I know how furious and insulted you were by ...'

Make amends through actions and not just words and ask for forgiveness but don't demand or expect it.

Read through our complete list of DOs for Apologizing .

What to avoid when writing an apology letter?

Never use qualifiers in your apology letter. Words like if and but always comes off like you're trying to justify your actions. I'm sorry but.... If only...

Don't try to evoke sympathy and avoid expanding on the apology by linking it to ANY other issues in your relationship. Finally, don't share the blame with others or demand a response.

Can I send an apology letter by email?

Email has evolved over time and has become an acceptable form of communication. Emailing an apology letter is perfectly fine however you still need to consider the recipient and the relationship. For example, an elderly person will rightly respond differently to your apology if it's handwritten on a card as opposed to receiving it via email. Even someone younger reacts differently to something they can hold in their hand as opposed to reading something on screen. So be mindful of who the recipient is and take that into consideration. Don't email your apology only because it's easier.

How long should my apology letter be?

As we state above, the length of your apology letter will be determined by the how badly you messed up and the situation. As long as the guidelines of what to include in a proper apology are met, the length of your apology will determine itself.

How should I deliver my apology letter?

There are only a handful of ways to deliver an apology letter. Priority Mail should be used when the transgression is serious and time is of the essence, especially in business.

Regular mail is always appropriate and email is fine if that's the way you normally communicate with the recipient.

Finally, don't forget that an apology letter can also be hand delivered. This is particularly appropriate for close personal relationships. It allows you the time to make sure that you include in writing everything you have to say while being able to say how sorry you are face-to-face.

What makes an apology letter sincere & effective?

Sincerity comes from being honest, specific and direct while providing a detailed account of the entire situation.

This means that you acknowledge the hurt and damage you caused clearly and objectively, and take full responsibility. You apologize for your actions and NOT how they made the recipient feel. You then express your regret, ask for forgiveness, promise it won't happen again and provide a way to make amends without making excuses.

Key Takeways On The Art of Writing An Apology Letter

Mastering the art of writing an apology letter requires a blend of heartfelt content and strategic formatting.

Whether traditional or digital, a sincere and effective apology, whether verbal or by letter is always the first step and can pave the way for healing and rebuilding relationships.

Check out our subdomain and toolkit of apology letters ⇗ . They're all available to copy and paste and are written in a way that makes them easily tailored to your situation.

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• Writing Tips

5 Tips for Writing an Apology Letter

4-minute read

• 14th November 2021

So, you’ve messed up—either personally or professionally—and need to say sorry? You could write an apology letter to ask for forgiveness. But how do you write an apology letter or email ? We have five top tips to share, covering:

• How to structure an apology letter.
• The need to take responsibility for your actions
• How to avoid exaggeration that could seem insincere.
• The need to keep your letter concise (two or three paragraphs at most)
• The importance of proofreading your apology letter before sending it.

We will also include an example apology email at the end of the post. For more on how to write an effective apology letter or email, read on below.

1. The Structure of an Apology Letter

An apology letter can usually be broken down into three main sections:

• Opening section: To start your letter, acknowledge your mistake and describe the incident involved so the recipient knows what you’re referring to (and that you understand the consequences of what you did). Make sure you include the words “I’m sorry” or “I apologize” in the opening lines.
• Middle section: Share your plan to fix the mistake. If it isn’t possible to correct it this time, show how you’re willing to improve in the future, which will reassure the recipient that you’re taking this episode seriously.
• Closing section: Ask for the recipient’s forgiveness and/or patience. Don’t be afraid to show vulnerability by again admitting blame. Letting down your defenses should help to bring closure to the incident.

Try to follow this basic structure when planning your apology letter or email.

2.  Take Full Responsibility for Your Actions

It’s crucial not to shift blame or make excuses for your mistakes. It’s easy to say, “I’m sorry, but…,” but this doesn’t count as a genuine apology.

Likewise, it could seem insincere if you use the passive voice (e.g., “Mistakes were made…” rather than “I made a mistake…”) or only apologize for how others perceived your actions and not for the actions themselves (e.g., “I’m sorry you were upset by my actions…” rather than “I’m sorry for my actions…”).

Be prepared to fully and unequivocally take responsibility for your actions.

3. Don’t Exaggerate

While it’s important to express your regret in an apology letter, don’t exaggerate! If you overdo it, such as by claiming that your actions were monstrous and you don’t deserve forgiveness when all you did was break a colleague’s favorite mug by accident, your apology will seem insincere.

All you need to do is make it clear exactly what you’re apologizing for and that you are sorry. Don’t take responsibility for other errors that may have happened that weren’t your fault. Also, don’t mistake behavior (“I made a mistake”) for character (“I am a bad person”). This isn’t an exercise in self-criticism.

4. Be Clear and Concise

An apology letter should be short and to the point. Ideally, stick to two or three short paragraphs, only setting out the bare essential information required.

Likewise, make sure to use simple language. Overly complex expressions of regret could be confusing (or seem like you’re showing off).

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To make sure your letter reads well, you may need a friend or colleague to read it through. Alternatively, you could try our professional editing services .

5. Proofreading Your Letter

Typos or other errors in an apology letter may make it seem insincere or that you don’t think apologizing is very important. Before sending it, then, make sure to proofread it carefully so you can be sure it reads well.

It can even help to get a professional involved at this point. Our expert team of proofreaders can ensure the tone of your letter is suitable and correct any spelling, punctuation, vocabulary, and grammar errors. If you’d like to give our services a try, moreover, you can submit a free sample document for proofreading today.

An Example Apology Email

Dear Jonathan and Lisa,

I’m so sorry for forgetting to come to your engagement party. It was a complete oversight on my part—I had forgotten to put the event in my calendar. I know you had catered for me and were looking forward to seeing me, and I feel awful about it.

Your friendship is important to me, and I have now written your wedding date in my calendar so as not to repeat my mistake. I’m also considering upgrading to an electronic calendar so that it doesn’t happen again.

I’m sorry—I know this oversight upset you both, and I really regret it. Please forgive me. I promise to do better in the future.

With best wishes,

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How to Write An Apology Letter: Tips, Guidelines, and Apology Letter Examples

Are you wondering how to write an apology letter? Maybe your professional relationship with a work colleague has gone sour, or maybe you spoke without thinking in a conversation with a friend or family member. If a simple “sorry” won’t cut it, you can show your sincere regret by expressing your apology in writing.

This article explains how to write an apology letter, including how to craft an effective introduction and conclusion. It also contains apology letters examples that can help you get started on your own.

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What is an apology letter.

An apology letter is a written document or an email that acknowledges a mistake, expresses remorse, and asks the recipient for pardon or patience. It is a relatively formal letter, and it should assure the recipient that the mistake won’t happen again.

What Are the 4 Elements of an Apology Letter?

• Say you’re sorry. When writing a letter of apology, you should include a clear “I’m sorry” statement. Don’t beat around the bush or leave your recipient wondering why you’ve written. Give a direct apology.
• Acknowledge responsibility . In an apology letter, you must acknowledge your mistake. First, explain what occurred: the person you wronged needs to know that you understand what you said or did and why it was hurtful to them. Then take full responsibility for your actions and state that you know that what you did or said was wrong. This can make your apology stronger.
• Explain how you’ll make it better. Saying you’re sorry is a key step because it shows your regret and remorse. But taking proper action to make things right again is just as important. You need to explain what you’re going to do to fix the situation and ensure it doesn’t happen again in the future.
• Ask for forgiveness. One of the last moves in your apology letter is to ask for forgiveness. Remember, before you ask for forgiveness, you need to promise that the unwanted or bad behavior will not happen again.

How to Write an Apology Letter: Beginning and Ending

As in all types of writing, knowing how to begin and end an apology letter is paramount. Here’s some guidance on crafting two crucial parts of any apology letter: the introduction and the conclusion.

How to Begin an Apology Letter

The best way to start an apology letter is by saying you’re sorry. Get it out there right at the start. Saying you’re sorry and acknowledging that what you said or did was wrong are the first two steps in any apology.

How to End an Apology Letter

The best way to conclude an apology is to ask for forgiveness. When you do that, you’re giving the other person the option to accept the apology and restore your relationship. This also shows that you value the relationship and are committed to making it work. Two common closings in an apology letter are “sincerely” and “best regards.”

How to Write an Apology Letter: 5 More Useful Tips

Keep Your Word

Stay true to your word if you claim you won’t repeat your mistake. Be ready to back up your words with action and keep any promises you made. This will show people that your apologies are sincere.

Show Genuine Interest

You can show genuine interest in the other person by writing a sincere, genuine apology. By showing sincere regret and concern, you can mend fences with those you’ve wronged.

Don’t Excuse Yourself

When writing an apology, don’t make it about yourself. Don’t write about why you did what you did. Try to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and ask yourself why they would feel the way they do. Definitely don’t justify your actions. This is a common mistake.

Don’t Focus on How You Feel

Similarly, when writing an apology letter, don’t focus on how you feel. You can seem self-centered and make a bad situation worse. A letter of apology should demonstrate your empathy for the other person.

Ask for Forgiveness

Asking for forgiveness is one of the best ways of showing genuine grief. By asking for forgiveness, you show vulnerability. A small amount of vulnerability can go a long way toward demonstrating that you mean what you say.

Apology Letter Examples to Help You Get Better at Apologizing

Apology letter examples can inspire you if you’re not sure where to start. There’s a wide range of different types of apology letters. For example, you may find yourself apologizing to a friend or family member or to upset customers in a customer service role. Your apology may also be handwritten, typed and printed, or sent as an email .

Apology Letter Example 1: Apology Letter to a Boss

Dear Mr. Moran:

I am writing to you to express my regret for my mistake. I emailed our client the wrong materials. I apologize, and I recognize the difficulties that my careless oversight must have caused the company.

I know that an apology cannot undo my error. However, I am writing this letter to express my regret for the mistake I made as a result of my negligence. I had no ill intent when I was carrying out my duties. Please accept my sincerest apologies and rest assured that I will exercise additional caution in the future.

Best regards,

Bruce Paige

Apology Letter Example 2:  Apology Email to a Colleague

I truly apologize for deleting the project files. I want to be clear that it was an accident and happened as a result of my carelessness, and I sincerely regret it.

I accept full responsibility for this event, which caused problems not only for the company but for you as well. I met with the manager and explained that this was my mistake, not yours.

You can be sure that I’ll be extremely careful in my future work. 

I look forward to working with you again.

How to Use Apology Letter Examples to Write Your Own 

By studying these apology letter examples and following their structure and approach, you can improve your apology writing. You’ll know how to write an effective apology letter on your own after a few tries. Remember to incorporate the tips and elements of apology letters discussed in this article.

If you need to improve your writing skills, you can also visit Purdue OWL , where you can find many writing tips. You can also get better at writing if you start writing every day .

Everyone has moments of poor judgment. Letters of apology can mend fences with coworkers, upset customers, friends, family members, and others. We hope this article has helped you learn more about how to write a successful apology.

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How to Write an Apology Letter FAQ

A good apology is a sincere apology. In a genuine apology, you will notice that the person at fault admits to their errors and attempts to correct them if they can. Even if the person can’t do anything to undo the mistake, an effective apology letter will communicate genuine regret.

You can get better at apologizing by practicing self-affirmation. An article published in The Journal of Experimental Social Psychology states that self-affirmation reduces defensiveness and increases the comprehensiveness of apologies . Again, everyone has moments of poor judgment. Making a mistake doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.

People write apology letters to repair relationships with people in their lives they may have wronged. In a high-stress work environment, it can help to develop and maintain effective work relationships .

It’s okay to apologize by text, but it’s better to deliver an apology in person or write a formal apology. It takes more time and effort to apologize in one of these ways, which demonstrates your sincerity and the importance that you ascribe to your relationship with the other person.

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How to Write an Apology Letter

Last Updated: April 12, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Tami Claytor . Tami Claytor is an Etiquette Coach, Image Consultant, and the Owner of Always Appropriate Image and Etiquette Consulting in New York, New York. With over 20 years of experience, Tami specializes in teaching etiquette classes to individuals, students, companies, and community organizations. Tami has spent decades studying cultures through her extensive travels across five continents and has created cultural diversity workshops to promote social justice and cross-cultural awareness. She holds a BA in Economics with a concentration in International Relations from Clark University. Tami studied at the Ophelia DeVore School of Charm and the Fashion Institute of Technology, where she earned her Image Consultant Certification. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,092,486 times.

While apologizing in person often conveys more sincerity, there are times when a formal, written apology might be your only option or could otherwise be the preferred method. To write an apology letter, you'll need to address your error early in the letter, acknowledge the other party's hurt feelings, and accept full responsibility for your part in the matter. In many cases, you'll also need to offer a solution that will fix any underlying issues related to the original problem. If you want to make sure that your apology is effective and doesn't cause even more hurt, aim for both clarity and sincerity while you write.

Sample Apology Letters

Forming Your Apology

• Say something like: “I wanted to write you a letter to apologize for what i did”.

• Say something like: “What I did last weekend was horribly inappropriate, disrespectful, and wildly selfish . Your wedding is supposed to be all about your happiness and celebrating your love. By proposing to Jessica, I turned that focus on to me. I tried to steal your moment and that was wrong.” [3] X Research source

• Say something like: “Jacob told me that my actions ruined not only your experience of your wedding, but also are now making your honeymoon less than the incredible experience that it should be. I hope you understand that that was never my intention. I wanted you to be able to look back on this time and remember only happy things but I have ruined that with my selfish actions. I've robbed you of those happy memories. While I can't truly know how this feels to you, I can certainly understand that what I did was one of the worst things I could possibly have done to you.”

• Say something like: “This is an especially terrible thing for me to have done to you after how warmly you have accepted me into your family. You have not only shown your incredible, beautiful love to my brother, but you have also shown me support and kindness that I never could have possibly expected. To hurt you in this way was an insult to all the things that you have done for me and I hate myself for that.”

• Say something like: “I would try to offer an explanation for what I did, but there are no excuses. My intentions, though good, don't matter here: only my poor choices. I absolutely take responsibility for my selfish actions and the terrible pain I have caused you.”
• Don't make excuses for your actions but you can explain your reasoning very carefully. If you really feel like it's needed or would make the situation better, you can explain why you made the choice that you made. This should be done only if you think understanding your choices would give the person you hurt some comfort.

• Say something like: “But just being sorry isn't enough. You deserve better. When you come home, Jessica and I would love to throw a big welcome-home party in your honor. This will be the party to end all parties and it will be 100% devoted to celebrating the incredible love you share with my brother. If you would rather not do this, that's fine: I just want to find some way to help you create the incredible, happy memories that I took away from you. ”

• Say something like: “I can’t expect your forgiveness, though I certainly hope for it. All I can say is that I truly want things to be okay between us. I want you to feel okay and eventually even happy when you're around me. I want to earn back the wonderful relationship that we had. Hopefully, in the future, we can find a way to move past this and create happier times together.”

Apologizing Correctly

• "Mistakes were made..."
• "If" statements like "I'm sorry if your feelings got hurt " or "If you felt bad about this..."
• "I'm sorry that you felt that way."

Formatting Your Letter

• You'll also need to adjust the syntax of your letter to sound formal and better fit the situation.

Expert Q&A

• Simply say what you mean and mean what you say. Sincerity is key. If you make a promise, stick to it. Thanks Helpful 77 Not Helpful 13
• You may have to bury your pride when you apologize. Pride gets you nothing; good relations can often become priceless. Thanks Helpful 74 Not Helpful 14
• Make sure that your letter is not too short. Just two or three sentences will not do the trick here. Show the person that you put time and effort into this letter. Thanks Helpful 70 Not Helpful 21

• Don't add anything that makes the person feel bad. They will not take the letter to heart, and probably won't forgive you. Thanks Helpful 51 Not Helpful 13
• Remember that sorry doesn't magically fix everything. If the other person decides not to forgive you, move on and know that you tried. Thanks Helpful 10 Not Helpful 3

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• ↑ https://gallaudet.edu/student-success/tutorial-center/english-center/writing/how-to-write-letters/how-to-write-apologies/
• ↑ Tami Claytor. Etiquette Coach. Expert Interview. 16 February 2022.
• ↑ https://news.osu.edu/the-6-elements-of-an-effective-apology-according-to-science/
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/apology-letter/
• ↑ https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/making_an_effective_apology
• ↑ https://www.yourdictionary.com/articles/write-apology-letter
• ↑ https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/making_peace_through_apology
• ↑ https://www.plainlanguage.gov/resources/content-types/writing-effective-letters/
• ↑ https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/the-art-of-a-heartfelt-apology-2021041322366
• ↑ https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/honest-apologies-can-help-leaders-organizations-rebound/
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/professional_technical_writing/basic_business_letters/index.html

About This Article

To write an apology letter, start by explaining right away that you're writing to apologize so the recipient isn't confused. Then, go on to explain what you're apologizing for and acknowledge that what you did was wrong. Let the person know that you understand how your actions have affected them, and accept responsibility for what happened. When you're writing your letter, avoid making excuses for what you did or your apology may not seem sincere. Finish your letter by offering to make things right in any way you can. If you want to learn more, like how to correct your actions with promises that you can keep, continue reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Writing an Apology Letter: 15 Sample Letters & Examples for Various Reasons

Writing an Apology Letter: 15 Sample Letters & Examples for Various Reasons

When one has wronged someone, a heartfelt apology letter is an effective way to display genuine regret and attempt reconciliation. In this post, we will provide tips for writing various types of apologies to express sincere remorse and seek forgiveness from the person you have hurt through words or actions.

Key Takeaways

• The art of apologizing involves recognizing mistakes, offering sincere apologies, and providing emotional recovery. 
•  Crafting a heartfelt apology letter requires clear language to express regret, acceptance of responsibility, and empathy for the recipient’s experience. 
•  Apology letters should take into account cultural norms, demonstrate sincerity, and adhere to etiquette guidelines to be effective.

THE ART OF APOLOGIZING: WHY AND HOW

Apology letters are an essential tool for mending broken relationships and restoring bonds. Knowing how to write sincere apology letters is of utmost importance when it comes to customers, so below we outline the key steps you need: Begin by offering a heartfelt apology, acknowledge any mistakes made on your part, explain what led up to the issue without assigning blame or making excuses. 

 State clearly what will be done in order to resolve their situation swiftly, avoiding standard apologies, instead taking personal responsibility for all errors. Writing convincing apology letters can make a big difference in terms of putting things right again with friends or clients alike.

CRAFTING A HEARTFELT APOLOGY LETTER

When writing an apology letter, it is essential to make sure that you take full responsibility and express your regret with concise honesty. Show empathy towards the recipient’s experience, which can help them feel heard and understood. Apologize without any conditions or defending yourself – simply accept what happened and explain how your actions have had a negative impact on your life. 

 Include suggestions of improvements for the future so they know proactive measures are being taken to prevent similar issues from arising again. To ensure authenticity when penning apology letters, here are some tips: be mindful of people’s feelings, say sorry without qualification, and show commitment to making amends by offering ideas. Read aloud before sending (adjusting if necessary), which can help give more insight into whether its words come across as sincere or not.

PERSONAL APOLOGY LETTERS: 5 EXAMPLES

Personal apologies can be a powerful tool in mending relationships and expressing sincere regret . Here are five examples of personal apology letters for various situations, demonstrating how to communicate remorse and a commitment to change effectively. 

  Dear [Friend's Name], 

 I am truly sorry for my actions last night. I let my emotions get the best of me, and I said things I didn't mean. I hope you can forgive me. 

 Dear [Friend's Name], 

 I apologize for not being there for you when you needed me. I realize now how much you rely on my support, and I promise to be there for you in the future. 

 My dearest friend. I am deeply sorry for forgetting your birthday party. I know how important it was to you and I failed to make you feel special on your day. I promise to make it up to you. 

 I apologize for my insensitive comment. I didn't realize how it could hurt you, and I regret my thoughtlessness. I promise to be more mindful of my words in the future. 

 I am sorry for breaking your trust. I understand if you are upset with me, and I am willing to do whatever it takes to rebuild our friendship. I will do better.

PROFESSIONAL APOLOGY LETTERS: 5 EXAMPLES

Professional apologies are great for expressing sincere regret. Here are five examples of professional apology letters for various situations, demonstrating how to communicate remorse and a commitment to change effectively. 

 Dear [Recipient's Name], 

 I apologize for any inconvenience caused by the delay in our shipment. We understand the impact this might have had on your operations and are working diligently to rectify the situation. 

 I'd like to apologize for the error in our recent invoice personally. We value your business and understand the confusion this may have caused. We are correcting the error immediately. 

 I regret to inform you that there was an oversight in our product quality control. We take full responsibility and are taking steps to ensure this will not happen again. 

 Please accept our sincere apologies for the misunderstanding during our last communication. We value your perspective and are committed to improving our contact in the future. 

 I am sorry for the delay in responding to your email. We understand the urgency of your request and are working to provide you with a response as soon as possible.

APOLOGY LETTERS TO GROUPS: 5 EXAMPLES

When offering an apology to a group or several people, it is essential to consider the collective emotions and worries of everyone involved and each recipient’s individual feelings. Thus, you should deeply regret your actions and include this in your letter when apologizing: conveying remorse, recognizing any mistakes made, and committing yourself to changing behavior patterns going forward. 

 Dear [Group's Name], 

 I deeply regret the misunderstanding during our meeting. My comments were not intended to offend, and I sincerely apologize if they did. I value our relationship and will strive for better communication in the future. 

 To All Our Valued Customers, 

 We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the recent service disruption. We understand the impact of this on your operations and are taking immediate steps to rectify the situation.  

 Dear Team Members, 

 To my multiple friends. I regret my actions at the last team meeting. I understand that my behavior was unprofessional, and I sincerely apologize. I am committed to creating a positive and respectful work environment for all. These are my own words, and I honor them. 

 To Our Esteemed Community Members, 

 We are genuinely sorry for the oversight in our recent community event. We understand that our actions may have caused disappointment, and we are taking steps to ensure this will not happen again. 

 I apologize sincerely for the comments I made in our last group discussion. They were insensitive and inappropriate, and I deeply regret any hurt they may have caused. I am committed to being more mindful of my words in the future.

THE ROLE OF EMPATHY IN APOLOGY LETTERS

In apology letters, expressing empathy is essential for conveying sincere regret to the recipient. It allows the writer of such a letter to show that they are aware and acknowledge their counterpart’s emotions. 

 Examples of statements that demonstrate this include “I completely comprehend your feelings,” “The difficulty you must be experiencing saddens me,” or simply saying, “My apologies for causing hurt.” Expressing sympathy through an apology note can help reestablish trust between both parties and build on existing relationships, hence why it should not be overlooked in these types of communications.

AUTOMATING YOUR APOLOGY LETTERS WITH SIMPLY NOTED

Simply Noted is a platform that facilitates the production of personalized and professional apology letters with little effort. All you have to do is provide pertinent data; then, an expressive and apologetic letter will be created in moments – helping businesses save time while still giving them a heartfelt way to apologize. 

 This tool enables organizations to ensure their expressions of regret are consistently personal and sympathetic – creating stronger connections between themselves, customers, or colleagues without sacrificing sincerity for convenience. Automation does not need to equate coldness; through Simply Noted, one can demonstrate genuine remorse and prove dedication towards rectifying matters correctly.

ADDRESSING CULTURAL DIFFERENCES IN APOLOGY LETTERS

When it comes to accepting responsibility and being mindful of cultural aspects in writing apology letters, displaying sensitivity towards the specific values and beliefs that are meaningful for the addressee is essential. Investigating appropriate customs or expressions that demonstrate regret according to their culture will help make your amends more sincere. 

 For instance, when writing an expression of contrition aimed at a foreign business partner, researching methods typically utilized by them would be advantageous to include pertinent phrases or symbols that unequivocally portray genuine understanding on your part. Customizing this letter with respect to the recipient’s traditional background offers additional proof of empathy from you as well as a commitment to rectifying any wrongdoings committed previously.

APOLOGY ETIQUETTE: DO'S AND DON'TS

It is essential to be aware of the proper ways and wrong methods when apologizing so that your regret can show and make sure people accept it. These are some essential points for a successful apology: recognizing an error, taking full responsibility, being truthful with words showing true repentance about what has happened, and delivering the expression in person if possible, which will increase its value by having actual communication rather than written ones. 

 Some mistakes must be avoided while apologizing, such as devaluing or ignoring any issue regarding this matter, giving excuses instead of holding oneself accountable, not meaningfully expressing hurt caused to other parties involved, or committing something impossible without fulfilling it afterward. 

 By considering these courtesies, one can carry out a useful appropriate atonement from which relationships could heal again once trust is mended between two individuals thanks to practical terms used during the apologetic process entirely genuine.

HOW TO FOLLOW UP AFTER SENDING AN APOLOGY LETTER

When sending an apology letter, it’s essential to follow up to keep communication flowing and ensure the recipient is content with your apology. Give a few days before pursuing contact. This allows them time for personal reflection on the matter at hand. 

 Check in once or twice weekly during these first weeks after, then decrease frequency but stay conscious of their response to ensure satisfactory closure was achieved from your regretful message. If they don’t reply or accept remorsefully, maintain patient poise while respecting the feelings expressed, let them take whatever amount of time needed, and be accepted even if there has been no forgiveness.

HANDLING REJECTION OR NO RESPONSE TO AN APOLOGY LETTER

The feeling can be daunting when you send out an apology letter and get no response or it is rejected. It’s essential to understand that the receiver may need time to think about your words of remorse before deciding if they are ready for forgiveness. So, remain respectful of their reactions and patience while waiting for a response. 

 Reflecting upon what has occurred and going over the to write an apology letter that provides greater insight into how best to handle similar situations in future instances. Take this opportunity to gain personal growth from where mistakes were made so proper apologizing skills can continue developing throughout life’s journey.

Writing a sincere and meaningful apology letter is an excellent approach to repairing damaged relationships, showing remorse for mistakes, and taking accountability for your behavior. A successful best apology letter requires one to be genuine in their regret and have empathy while constructing the words of amends within the letter. Ensuring these components are expressed correctly can help restore trust between parties, whether with friends or colleagues alike.

Frequently asked questions

How do you write a good apology letter.

When writing a good apology letter, it is vital to recognize one’s mistake and express genuine regret for the situation through sincerity. An effective way of showing this remorse is by asking for forgiveness and clearly articulating your plan to fix the problem. Keep these points brief while ensuring that all relevant information about how you will solve things remains in the text.

What is a good apology example?

I profoundly apologize for the words I uttered that caused you so much emotional distress. It is with genuine regret that I recognize now how deeply my careless actions impacted your feelings and humbly ask your pardon for such inconsiderate behavior, which led to this situation.

What is a sincere apology letter?

Apology letters should be composed with genuine regret and humility. They need to reflect on the individual situation while apologizing without any exemptions or excuses given. Responsibility has to be owned up, and repentance for the results of such a mistake is also expressed in it. 

 An effective apology letter also needs to state why this error was committed so that reparation can be made afterward - these words have got to come from deep within. They must genuinely mean what is being said to them, not just serve as empty phrases void of actual remorsefulness. 

 The right keywords Are sincere apologies backed by promises of restoring things where appropriate: responsibility accepted plus regrets over specific outcomes, all stated clearly throughout each correspondence written.

How should I follow up after sending an apology letter?

Allow a few days to pass before getting back in touch, and then stay connected throughout the process. Check regularly to ensure that the written apology is accepted well by the person receiving it. Maintain communication all along to avoid missing any steps of this critical apology journey.

How can I address cultural differences in an apology letter?

To demonstrate sincere understanding, respect the culture of the person receiving your apology by including phrases and gestures that pertain to them. Show gratitude for any customs related to making amends professionally and connecting with your reader. Offer an appropriate expression of regret while expressing admiration for their background or traditions when delivering such an apology.

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90 Example Apology Letters, Guides and Samples

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• Philosophical Works

How to Write an Apology Letter

Updated 21 April 2023

Subject Philosophical Works

Downloads 51

Category Philosophy

Topic The Apology

A sincere apology is one of the best ways to show that you are taking responsibility for your actions and to demonstrate your desire to make things right. It’s also an effective way to rebuild trust and boundaries in your relationship, which can be essential for creating positive feelings and lasting memories. There are a few important aspects of an apology that must be addressed to make it meaningful and effective. An apology should be genuine and it should include a statement of responsibility and an explanation of the violation. It should also state a plan for change that will lead to more effective behavior in the future. When you’re writing a formal apology letter, be sure to use a conventional font like Times Roman and print on high-quality paper. This is an easy and professional way to get your message across. The Apology itself: When you’re writing a business apology letter, it’s important to make it as short and to the point as possible. This will help to ensure that your customers can understand what’s happening and that they feel like they are getting your full attention. It’s also a good idea to include a picture or graphic that will capture the attention of your audience. This can be especially useful when you’re apologizing for something that is particularly personal and embarrassing, such as a family member’s death. You should also include a quote that shows your compassion for the other person. This will help them to understand that you’re genuinely sorry for what happened and will help to ease their emotions. In some situations, you might even want to include a thank-you message at the end of your letter. This will help to build the confidence of your readers, making them more likely to return to your business in the future. A well-written apology letter can be an excellent tool for fostering a positive relationship with your customer. It will also ensure that your company has the ability to resolve any issues that they might be facing in the future. Ultimately, you should remember that the only way to truly make an apology meaningful is by owning your mistakes and committing to change. This will help to reduce any feelings of guilt that you may have about what happened and will allow you to move on with your life without carrying the baggage of past mistakes. How to Write an Apology Letter: It’s a good idea to practice what you’re going to say before you send your letter out. You can even write it out in a journal or write it down on a piece of paper so that you can read it later. It’s also a helpful tip to wait a day or two before mailing your letter out. This will help to give your reader time to process the apology and it will also make it more personal. A sincere apology is a key part of any successful business, but it can be difficult to put into words. This article will provide you with some tips on how to write a business apology letter that is both genuine and effective.

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Letter of Apology • Apology Letter

Free sample letters of apology for personal and professional situations.

559 apology letter templates you can download and print for free. We have advice on writing letters of apology plus sample letters for personal, school, and business situations.

Here are the 10 most popular Apology Letters:

• Apology Letter for Behavior
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• Apology For Not Attending
• Late Apology
• Apology For Additional Expense Personal
• Apology For Complaining About Expense
• Apology For Late Submission
• Apology For Rejecting Offer
• Apology For Rushing You
• Apology For Tight Budget
• Apology For Car Causing Damage
• Apology For Child Breaking Item
• Apology For Complaining So Much
• Apology For Condition Of House Or Yard
• Apology For Dog Poop
• Apology In Advance For Loud Party
• Apology To HOA
• Sorry Cannot Attend Due To Human Rights Issue
• Apology For Adding To Schedule
• Apology For Error College Admissions Process Administration
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• Apology For Being Late Happy Reason
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• Apology For Huge Mistake
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• Sorry For Gallows Humor
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• Sorry You Dont Feel Well
• Apology For Missing Rehearsal
• So Sorry For Bothering You
• Apology For Dog
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• Apology For Not Leaving A Tip
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• Apology For Aggressive Behavior
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• Apology For Stealing Poem
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• Sorry For Bothering You
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• Apology For Downplaying Pandemic
• Apology For Spreading Covid
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• Apology For Using Leverage
• Sorry For Dismissing Pandemic Concerns
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• Sorry For Hoarding Products
• Sorry For Not Following Health Guidelines
• Sorry For Violating Shelter-In-Place Orders
• Apology All My Fault
• Apology For Being Insensitive
• Apology For Making Fun
• Apology For Outburst
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• Sorry For Being Defensive
• Sorry For Falsely Accusing You
• Apology For Clogging Toilet
• Apology For Invading Privacy
• Apology For Mansplaining
• Apology For Wedding Behavior
• Sorry For Being A Jerk
• Sorry For Being Mean
• Sorry For NSFW Message
• Apology For Allergen
• Apology For Bad Housesitting
• Apology For Borrowing Without Asking
• Apology For Insult
• Apology For Insulting Your Child
• Apology For Insulting Your Ex
• Apology For Being Lazy
• Apology For Body Slamming
• Apology For Bringing Up Painful Subject
• Apology For Abandoning Child
• Apology For Abandoning Partner
• Apology For Affair
• Apology For Avoiding Someone
• Apology For Cursing
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• Apology for Vandalism
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JK Rowling slams Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson over their trans rights support: They ‘can save their apologies’

Hogwarts will not be welcoming Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson home anytime soon.

After JK Rowling shared a recent review “of the medical evidence for transitioning children” that found that NHS did not know the longterm effects of gender-affirming healthcare for minors, fans were curious if the report could change the author’s relationship with the former “Harry Potter” child stars.

The British author was blunt when questioned whether she could forgive Watson, 33, and Radcliffe, 34, if they apologized for previous criticism of her anti-transgender comments.

“Just waiting for Dan and Emma to give you a very public apology … safe in the knowledge that you will forgive them …” one social media user wrote to Rowling.

“Not safe, I’m afraid,” Rowling, 58, responded on Wednesday.

Rowling went on to blast the celebrities who spoke out against her when she wrote an essay that was deemed transphobic in 2020.

“Celebs who cosied up to a movement intent on eroding women’s hard-won rights and who used their platforms to cheer on the transitioning of minors can save their apologies for traumatised detransitioners and vulnerable women reliant on single sex spaces,” she wrote .

Radcliffe, who played the titular character in the franchise’s eight films, affirmed his support for transgender rights and his disapproval of Rowling’s stance that same year.

“It’s clear that we need to do more to support transgender and nonbinary people, not invalidate their identities,” he said in a letter to the Trevor Project.

Watson, who has been a staunch advocate for LGBTQ+ and women’s rights since she stopped portraying Hermione Granger, also chimed in.

“Trans people are who they say they are and deserve to live their lives without being constantly questioned or told they aren’t who they say they are,” the actress said .

Fellow members of the “Harry Potter” franchise like Rupert Grint and “Fantastic Beasts” star Eddie Redmayne shared their support for the transgender community after Rowling’s controversial essay.

Rowling has been open about her views on the transgender community, and said she’d “happily” do jail time for her beliefs.

After a new hate crime law — which bans hatred on the basis of age, disability, race, religion, sexual orientation and transgender identity — began earlier this month, Rowling has taunted Scottish police to try to arrest her for misgendering people.

India Willoughby, the first transgender national news anchor in the UK, reported Rowling to authorities for misgendering her as a “man” on social media.

“Freedom of speech and belief are at an end in Scotland if the accurate description of biological sex is deemed criminal,” the billionaire  wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

My formal 2024 solar eclipse apology

Maybe celestial wonder is just an economy based on resource scarcity.

Since April 8, when I witnessed a total eclipse of the sun, I've been feeling progressively more melancholy. It isn't because I was underwhelmed, or because my vantage point wasn't ideal, or because of some depressing epiphany I had while watching the moon turn our planet's star into a wispy white halo. I've actually been struggling to find the right words to explain my sullenness all week.

I've been scribbling random thoughts in my iPhone notes app as they've emerged. They've come up as I sat in a Lyft, ate pretzel bites at the airport and slumped in my aisle seat while listening to "Weird Fishes" on the flight home from Indianapolis to New York. I think these ideas, though not all related, share a certain yearning. What I realized is, the 2024 solar eclipse felt so intrinsically dream-like, confusing and surreal that, the more time passes from those few minutes of totality, the more my body accepts it as truly a dream. And it feels sad to distance myself so quickly. We usually get to have at least a few months, maybe even a few years, before yesterday becomes cemented in the past. I'm not quite sure I had a few hours.

The eclipse has already started to feel like a childhood memory that may have been concocted after watching old home videos — a memory attached to one vivid visual, maybe two, and a deep cradle of emotions. The image of totality is burned in my brain, but my mind was scattered during those moments because I was panicked about where to focus my eyes and what to think about that's important enough to be in the same room as an event most call "once-in-a-lifetime." I was overthinking it. One of my grammatically incorrect notes app scribbles literally says, "i didn't know where to look what to do with myself." The result is that I have only jumbled thoughts swiftly merging into a single echo, as I'm sure this story makes clear. 

Related: I'm headed to Indiana to prove myself wrong about solar eclipses

On April 8, soon after it was announced the eclipse had begun, I didn't rush out of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway press room where I was sitting to catch a glimpse of the sun. There was no haste; I have even previously written about how I mostly classify myself as an eclipse cynic. I knew it'd be cool, even existential, but I wasn't sure I'd need to watch a bit of space traffic to be emotionally moved. I'm the type of person who can be emotionally moved by anything philosophical, so why would I need to physically see an eclipse? I already cared about the concept.

When I put on my cerulean paper Warby Parker solar eclipse glasses and peered up at the sun, I have to be honest: I thought I was going to be right about my skepticism. The sun looked very interesting. There's no doubt about that. I even texted our Space.com group chat saying I might wish the sun always looked like this, like a "bitten cookie" as my father described in a parallel text thread I had with him and my mother. It did. It resembled an orange ginger snap with a chunk knocked off in the shape of someone's dentition. Still, I wouldn't say I felt a profound shift. But as the clock continued ticking and totality began to approach, I grew aware of my breathing. It was alarming. I did not expect it.

Surrounded by thousands of people on a racetrack who were involuntarily shouting with glee as a crescent sun slipped into a sliver, I could sense the Earth turning. I could notice that we weren't standing on top of our planet, but rather were stuck to it somewhere on the side due to the curvature of space and time, and Earth itself. The crisp winds flowing through my hair started feeling like streams of individual molecules. The temperature dropping made me think about thermodynamics. I wondered where the birds were. A guy standing next to me, who had just asked me for advice about his solar eclipse glasses in a serious tone, was screaming "bro, look at the sky." I almost cried, and I didn't know if it was because of the eclipse or if it was because of myself.

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Suddenly, I couldn't see anything through my lenses anymore. The sun was gone. Someone nearby yelled "take them off!" to no one in particular. I did, and I saw totality.

I've concluded that, as my pictures do not do totality justice, neither do my words. It would be like trying to explain what a new color looks like, or attempting to equate a photo of a sunset to a magenta-streaked sky, and that's why I have to end this story here. I needed to see this in person because it's something that language can't quite capture; there was something out there that seemed like it should not exist. Imagine seeing the moon for the first time after decades of living under an empty night sky. It is very visceral to see such a strange cosmic scene with only your eyes, as though you've traveled to an alien planet with a cold, black sun. They were right, whoever they are. 

Another one of my notes app thoughts is a lyric from the song "Holy Shit" by Father John Misty. I'm not surprised I wrote this down. It's one of my favorite lyrics ever, and I think it can be interpreted in many different ways.

"maybe love is just an economy based on resource scarcity"

Related: I proposed to my fiancée under the diamond ring of the 2024 total solar eclipse

In this case, it made me think about how the rarity of a total solar eclipse, a rarity that owes itself in part to the sheer coincidence of our sun and moon appearing the same size from our perspective on Earth, is why my memory of this experience is so treasured, and one I wish wouldn't fade away. It's why it had the power to make me give the sun space in my mind next to the spot I've always reserved for the moon.

It would probably be better if we had more love in the world; I don't believe love needs to be an economy based on resource scarcity, and have always taken that lyric as a sarcastic point about how we've come to view love. But, maybe it's best we don't have more total solar eclipses. My cynicism might've actually held true if the solar eclipse market was saturated. Yet, total solar eclipses will remain rare. Therefore, so will the way they make us feel. 

Maybe it was never purely about the sun, or the moon, and that's where my mistake was in thinking these events aren't really worth the hype; maybe it was just about resource scarcity, and a human desire to see the abnormal in such a way that we become aware of our existence. I don't think that's a bad thing, to be clear. It's simply perhaps why a total solar eclipse is considered so remarkable. Indeed, the one I saw was remarkable. So, if you would, please accept this article as my formal apology for being an eclipse hater.

Join our Space Forums to keep talking space on the latest missions, night sky and more! And if you have a news tip, correction or comment, let us know at: [email protected].

Monisha Ravisetti is Space.com's Astronomy Editor. She covers black holes, star explosions, gravitational waves, exoplanet discoveries and other enigmas hidden across the fabric of space and time. Previously, she was a science writer at CNET, and before that, reported for The Academic Times. Prior to becoming a writer, she was an immunology researcher at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York. She graduated from New York University in 2018 with a B.A. in philosophy, physics and chemistry. She spends too much time playing online chess. Her favorite planet is Earth.

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• GalacticDaddy All of this. I was "narrating" the eclipse for a crowd in our small downtown area. Upon removing my glasses my voice cracked and I almost teared up, but I remembered that I told my 14 yo daughter that I wouldn't embarrass her. During the next four minutes, I forgot that she was there, I called Venus Saturn, forgot the word "corona" and really just kind of lost mental faculties while staring at this hole in the sky. Afterwards, it really bothered me that I didn't connect with my kid while she was sitting there. That was the whole reason for keeping her out of school that day. Yes, our schools stayed in session. But during the eclipse I was just agog at what I saw and forgot to have that moment with my daughter. And now three days after, I'm still in this melancholy mood. What's next? My memories of the event are as you described. Did I really witness this or did I dream it? For the four minutes that we had, was I mysteriously transported somewhere else and NOT there with my daughter and friends? Did they disappear too? Great piece and thanks for the thoughts. Reply
• jimbo5 Really enjoyed your writing Monisha. Unfortunately was not able to witness this eclipse but your words capture such attentive awareness of the event. I draw parallels with my experience of watching a transit of mercury back in 2019. Reply
• apcantonphotog Excellent article and thoughts. I can relate so much to what you're feeling and what you experienced. Why, I've been wondering, after such an event, did I feel depressed all of a sudden? It was a moving, chaotic, and totally awesome adrenaline rush (my hands were shaking ), but why this feeling of anhedonia? Maybe I am still so overwhelmed to the point that I can't process it correctly. I've been asked many times what it was like to see the total eclipse by people who didn't see it, and the words escape me. I won't attempt to describe it to anyone because I realize it's a "feeling" you get from the experience and the ultimate "you had to be there" moment, so my response is always, "it was unreal". And I don't say much else because I don't know if I truly understand what I experienced because it was so surreal. I'm in a strange existential crisis at the moment. I can't stop thinking about it. I've been trying to replay the total eclipse in my head with accuracy the last few nights while lying in bed, with images of me standing by my aging parents as we looked up at the sky, the exclamations of nearby people, the dimming light, the cooling, the black dot hovering above us, alive and like a portal to another world. Reply
• kabrown633 You describe it perfectly. I saw totality in 2017 in South Carolina and I unexpectedly cried. I remember feeling disoriented and like I didn't know where to look. A bald eagle flew right over my head and people were screaming. It was so remarkable. I still get chills when I think about it. Unfortunately, clouds arrived in Buffalo three minutes before totality this time. But the collective feeling we all shared as we were plunged into darkness was still wonderful. Thanks for describing something that is impossible to describe. Reply
• Helio Converts are always fun to hear from! Apology accepted. ;) Nice article and well-written! It takes talent to better define the world during moments when it exhibits strange behavior. A total eclipse is one of these moments. It's uncommon for people to look up, especially at the painful Sun; it's outside our normal mindset. To help get folks on the above things, a PowerPoint on the Sun and eclipses was presented just prior to the beginning of the eclipse. Perhaps the knowledge gained helped us transition into the surreal. Only a sum of several seconds of the eclipse was visible through the ubiquitous clouds. Ironically perhaps, the thick overcast boosted our experience by adding to the surprising degree of darkness we experienced. I couldn't see the courtyard fence only 30 feet away. People nearby vanished as they were gently bathed in darkness. A PP astro trivia contest was done after the eclipse, which was a way to keep our minds elevated on the things above a little while longer, and in a fun way. Though many had to leave their home early to fight the traffic and some had to take off from work to attend, I was surprised at how everyone were so openly excited from their time together. Reply
• Fogcollectordan Here's my reflection of this event: The Mist Eclipse The tension was building for months, if not for years. The last total solar eclipse to pass North America for 20 years! The news of the event portrayed people crying in Mazatlan at the sight, clouds parting in Texas enough to see the event, an airplane flying right under it in Indiana visible to those on the ground, viewers in Niagara Falls catching a priceless glimpse during an in-and-out break in the weather, and my family and I in Rochester, NY (along with the population that was there and the 100,000 visitors) only seeing the thickening clouds darken to late twilight and then lighten back. Having seen the eclipse of 2017 in Oregon, I knew the spectacle we had missed and the gem that lurked behind the clouds in a direction that I had to guess due to their thickness. A phenomenon that demonstrates the incredible serendipity of the sizes and distances of our moon and sun that leads to an enigma that is both sun-and-moon and is neither sun-nor-moon in an amazing specter of contradiction. An event where the invisible disk of the moon covers the blinding brightness of the sun for long enough to reveal what is there, but which we can otherwise never see. A cosmic distraction of opposites that provides a momentary respite from our own earthly challenges based on our own differences and polarizations that appear miniscule before the grandeur in the heavens. My disappointment in missing this was heightened by my desire for my childhood family, my sister and my parents, who are in their eighties, to witness their first of this rare and unearthly treat, much less right from our own driveway where I had spent many an hour scanning the skies 45 years earlier. As a person who researches and captures fog (itself a form of cloud) and an astronomy enthusiast as a child, this contradiction was also apparent to me. I love both the clouds and the mysteries in the skies, just not at the same time. What this eclipse did bring, however, was my childhood nuclear family of four together once again, a rare ‘eclipse of opportunity.’ It was also a reflection for me of the relatively minor disappointments that we endure in light of the suffering many face in the world right now. It provides a drop of hope that those who were fortunate enough to witness the eclipse may take with them to help reveal a deeper truth and opportunity for opposites to come together to produce a positive reality that none of us could have imagined. Reply
• Jeanne Loring This was my 16th total solar eclipse, and it still evoked the response in my reptilian brain that something is very wrong - a touch of fear that the sun is gone forever. For some reason, I like this! Reply

Admin said: I used to be an eclipse hater, and now I'm not. That's the story. My formal 2024 solar eclipse apology : Read more

• TrailX I was lucky to have clear skies and a couple of cameras recording during the event, the most important was the camera facing us, recording our reactions. I've watched them over and over now, and I think that has helped eliminate the melancholy that may otherwise be there. I still can't help but tear up about it. Where's this emotion coming from? I feel humbled to have witnessed it with my family by my side, sharing in the immensity. However, its really hard to describe it to anyone that wasn't there, even with my video in hand. I saw your skeptical article, and was looking forward to reading your follow-up after witnessing it myself. It was also my family's first eclipse. My son is 4, and will be 26 on the next eclipse. I find the ability to have a known commitment that far out on the calendar to be a helpful reminder of time passing in a truly meaningful chunk. Years can almost feel short sometimes, but when you're talking about marking the passing of 21 years, that's something that really has some gravitas. What will the next eclipse bring and be like? Reply
• FizzyLinn I agree! My boyfriend had a video camera running during the totality in 2017 and when I've watch it and hear my teary freak out, it brings me back to the moment more than any picture of the eclipse itself. He had a GoPro filming us this last one and I've watched a time lapse of the entire event which was interesting, but I think watching real time of the moment of totality will definitely help bring me back. Thank you! Reply
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NPR defends its journalism after senior editor says it has lost the public's trust

David Folkenflik

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

NPR is defending its journalism and integrity after a senior editor wrote an essay accusing it of losing the public's trust.

NPR's top news executive defended its journalism and its commitment to reflecting a diverse array of views on Tuesday after a senior NPR editor wrote a broad critique of how the network has covered some of the most important stories of the age.

"An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don't have an audience that reflects America," writes Uri Berliner.

A strategic emphasis on diversity and inclusion on the basis of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation, promoted by NPR's former CEO, John Lansing, has fed "the absence of viewpoint diversity," Berliner writes.

NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, wrote in a memo to staff Tuesday afternoon that she and the news leadership team strongly reject Berliner's assessment.

"We're proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories," she wrote. "We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world."

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She added, "None of our work is above scrutiny or critique. We must have vigorous discussions in the newsroom about how we serve the public as a whole."

A spokesperson for NPR said Chapin, who also serves as the network's chief content officer, would have no further comment.

Praised by NPR's critics

Berliner is a senior editor on NPR's Business Desk. (Disclosure: I, too, am part of the Business Desk, and Berliner has edited many of my past stories. He did not see any version of this article or participate in its preparation before it was posted publicly.)

Berliner's essay , titled "I've Been at NPR for 25 years. Here's How We Lost America's Trust," was published by The Free Press, a website that has welcomed journalists who have concluded that mainstream news outlets have become reflexively liberal.

Berliner writes that as a Subaru-driving, Sarah Lawrence College graduate who "was raised by a lesbian peace activist mother ," he fits the mold of a loyal NPR fan.

Yet Berliner says NPR's news coverage has fallen short on some of the most controversial stories of recent years, from the question of whether former President Donald Trump colluded with Russia in the 2016 election, to the origins of the virus that causes COVID-19, to the significance and provenance of emails leaked from a laptop owned by Hunter Biden weeks before the 2020 election. In addition, he blasted NPR's coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On each of these stories, Berliner asserts, NPR has suffered from groupthink due to too little diversity of viewpoints in the newsroom.

The essay ricocheted Tuesday around conservative media , with some labeling Berliner a whistleblower . Others picked it up on social media, including Elon Musk, who has lambasted NPR for leaving his social media site, X. (Musk emailed another NPR reporter a link to Berliner's article with a gibe that the reporter was a "quisling" — a World War II reference to someone who collaborates with the enemy.)

When asked for further comment late Tuesday, Berliner declined, saying the essay spoke for itself.

The arguments he raises — and counters — have percolated across U.S. newsrooms in recent years. The #MeToo sexual harassment scandals of 2016 and 2017 forced newsrooms to listen to and heed more junior colleagues. The social justice movement prompted by the killing of George Floyd in 2020 inspired a reckoning in many places. Newsroom leaders often appeared to stand on shaky ground.

Leaders at many newsrooms, including top editors at The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times , lost their jobs. Legendary Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron wrote in his memoir that he feared his bonds with the staff were "frayed beyond repair," especially over the degree of self-expression his journalists expected to exert on social media, before he decided to step down in early 2021.

Since then, Baron and others — including leaders of some of these newsrooms — have suggested that the pendulum has swung too far.

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Legendary editor marty baron describes his 'collision of power' with trump and bezos.

New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger warned last year against journalists embracing a stance of what he calls "one-side-ism": "where journalists are demonstrating that they're on the side of the righteous."

"I really think that that can create blind spots and echo chambers," he said.

Internal arguments at The Times over the strength of its reporting on accusations that Hamas engaged in sexual assaults as part of a strategy for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel erupted publicly . The paper conducted an investigation to determine the source of a leak over a planned episode of the paper's podcast The Daily on the subject, which months later has not been released. The newsroom guild accused the paper of "targeted interrogation" of journalists of Middle Eastern descent.

Heated pushback in NPR's newsroom

Given Berliner's account of private conversations, several NPR journalists question whether they can now trust him with unguarded assessments about stories in real time. Others express frustration that he had not sought out comment in advance of publication. Berliner acknowledged to me that for this story, he did not seek NPR's approval to publish the piece, nor did he give the network advance notice.

Some of Berliner's NPR colleagues are responding heatedly. Fernando Alfonso, a senior supervising editor for digital news, wrote that he wholeheartedly rejected Berliner's critique of the coverage of the Israel-Hamas conflict, for which NPR's journalists, like their peers, periodically put themselves at risk.

Alfonso also took issue with Berliner's concern over the focus on diversity at NPR.

"As a person of color who has often worked in newsrooms with little to no people who look like me, the efforts NPR has made to diversify its workforce and its sources are unique and appropriate given the news industry's long-standing lack of diversity," Alfonso says. "These efforts should be celebrated and not denigrated as Uri has done."

After this story was first published, Berliner contested Alfonso's characterization, saying his criticism of NPR is about the lack of diversity of viewpoints, not its diversity itself.

"I never criticized NPR's priority of achieving a more diverse workforce in terms of race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. I have not 'denigrated' NPR's newsroom diversity goals," Berliner said. "That's wrong."

Questions of diversity

Under former CEO John Lansing, NPR made increasing diversity, both of its staff and its audience, its "North Star" mission. Berliner says in the essay that NPR failed to consider broader diversity of viewpoint, noting, "In D.C., where NPR is headquartered and many of us live, I found 87 registered Democrats working in editorial positions and zero Republicans."

Berliner cited audience estimates that suggested a concurrent falloff in listening by Republicans. (The number of people listening to NPR broadcasts and terrestrial radio broadly has declined since the start of the pandemic.)

Former NPR vice president for news and ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin tweeted , "I know Uri. He's not wrong."

Others questioned Berliner's logic. "This probably gets causality somewhat backward," tweeted Semafor Washington editor Jordan Weissmann . "I'd guess that a lot of NPR listeners who voted for [Mitt] Romney have changed how they identify politically."

Similarly, Nieman Lab founder Joshua Benton suggested the rise of Trump alienated many NPR-appreciating Republicans from the GOP.

In recent years, NPR has greatly enhanced the percentage of people of color in its workforce and its executive ranks. Four out of 10 staffers are people of color; nearly half of NPR's leadership team identifies as Black, Asian or Latino.

"The philosophy is: Do you want to serve all of America and make sure it sounds like all of America, or not?" Lansing, who stepped down last month, says in response to Berliner's piece. "I'd welcome the argument against that."

"On radio, we were really lagging in our representation of an audience that makes us look like what America looks like today," Lansing says. The U.S. looks and sounds a lot different than it did in 1971, when NPR's first show was broadcast, Lansing says.

A network spokesperson says new NPR CEO Katherine Maher supports Chapin and her response to Berliner's critique.

The spokesperson says that Maher "believes that it's a healthy thing for a public service newsroom to engage in rigorous consideration of the needs of our audiences, including where we serve our mission well and where we can serve it better."

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media Correspondent David Folkenflik and edited by Deputy Business Editor Emily Kopp and Managing Editor Gerry Holmes. Under NPR's protocol for reporting on itself, no NPR corporate official or news executive reviewed this story before it was posted publicly.

AI Index Report

Welcome to the seventh edition of the AI Index report. The 2024 Index is our most comprehensive to date and arrives at an important moment when AI’s influence on society has never been more pronounced. This year, we have broadened our scope to more extensively cover essential trends such as technical advancements in AI, public perceptions of the technology, and the geopolitical dynamics surrounding its development. Featuring more original data than ever before, this edition introduces new estimates on AI training costs, detailed analyses of the responsible AI landscape, and an entirely new chapter dedicated to AI’s impact on science and medicine.

Read the 2024 AI Index Report

The AI Index report tracks, collates, distills, and visualizes data related to artificial intelligence (AI). Our mission is to provide unbiased, rigorously vetted, broadly sourced data in order for policymakers, researchers, executives, journalists, and the general public to develop a more thorough and nuanced understanding of the complex field of AI.

The AI Index is recognized globally as one of the most credible and authoritative sources for data and insights on artificial intelligence. Previous editions have been cited in major newspapers, including the The New York Times, Bloomberg, and The Guardian, have amassed hundreds of academic citations, and been referenced by high-level policymakers in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, among other places. This year’s edition surpasses all previous ones in size, scale, and scope, reflecting the growing significance that AI is coming to hold in all of our lives.

Steering Committee Co-Directors

Ray Perrault

Steering committee members.

Erik Brynjolfsson

John Etchemendy

Katrina Ligett

Terah Lyons

James Manyika

Juan Carlos Niebles

Vanessa Parli

Yoav Shoham

Russell Wald

Staff members.

Loredana Fattorini

Nestor Maslej

Letter from the co-directors.

A decade ago, the best AI systems in the world were unable to classify objects in images at a human level. AI struggled with language comprehension and could not solve math problems. Today, AI systems routinely exceed human performance on standard benchmarks.

Progress accelerated in 2023. New state-of-the-art systems like GPT-4, Gemini, and Claude 3 are impressively multimodal: They can generate fluent text in dozens of languages, process audio, and even explain memes. As AI has improved, it has increasingly forced its way into our lives. Companies are racing to build AI-based products, and AI is increasingly being used by the general public. But current AI technology still has significant problems. It cannot reliably deal with facts, perform complex reasoning, or explain its conclusions.

AI faces two interrelated futures. First, technology continues to improve and is increasingly used, having major consequences for productivity and employment. It can be put to both good and bad uses. In the second future, the adoption of AI is constrained by the limitations of the technology. Regardless of which future unfolds, governments are increasingly concerned. They are stepping in to encourage the upside, such as funding university R&D and incentivizing private investment. Governments are also aiming to manage the potential downsides, such as impacts on employment, privacy concerns, misinformation, and intellectual property rights.

As AI rapidly evolves, the AI Index aims to help the AI community, policymakers, business leaders, journalists, and the general public navigate this complex landscape. It provides ongoing, objective snapshots tracking several key areas: technical progress in AI capabilities, the community and investments driving AI development and deployment, public opinion on current and potential future impacts, and policy measures taken to stimulate AI innovation while managing its risks and challenges. By comprehensively monitoring the AI ecosystem, the Index serves as an important resource for understanding this transformative technological force.

On the technical front, this year’s AI Index reports that the number of new large language models released worldwide in 2023 doubled over the previous year. Two-thirds were open-source, but the highest-performing models came from industry players with closed systems. Gemini Ultra became the first LLM to reach human-level performance on the Massive Multitask Language Understanding (MMLU) benchmark; performance on the benchmark has improved by 15 percentage points since last year. Additionally, GPT-4 achieved an impressive 0.97 mean win rate score on the comprehensive Holistic Evaluation of Language Models (HELM) benchmark, which includes MMLU among other evaluations.

Although global private investment in AI decreased for the second consecutive year, investment in generative AI skyrocketed. More Fortune 500 earnings calls mentioned AI than ever before, and new studies show that AI tangibly boosts worker productivity. On the policymaking front, global mentions of AI in legislative proceedings have never been higher. U.S. regulators passed more AI-related regulations in 2023 than ever before. Still, many expressed concerns about AI’s ability to generate deepfakes and impact elections. The public became more aware of AI, and studies suggest that they responded with nervousness.

Ray Perrault Co-director, AI Index

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Guest Essay

The Age of the Open Letter Should End

By Roxane Gay

Contributing Opinion Writer

Once upon a time, it is often suggested, people with starkly different viewpoints were able to convene and compromise and find hallowed common ground. This all happened in a “better time,” one invoked in fraught political discussions in which the discourse is not happening in exactly the way the invoker prefers. If only we could get back to that place, we could solve all our problems. We could overcome our differences. We could create lasting change.

It’s easy to look upon the past with rose-colored glasses, to assume that whatever compromises people were once able to make came easily to well-mannered gentlemen and perhaps a few gentlewomen engaged in debates. Our assumption that the past was more civil is such a beautiful lie, one that serves only the people so desperately willing to believe it.

Open letters are not new; they have served as rhetorical tools for at least two centuries, from Émile Zola’s “J’accuse” to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter From Birmingham Jail.” As a means of personal empowerment, they allow people to use their voices, to advocate causes for which they hold affinity, to bring attention to important social issues, to express outrage, to defend decisions, to chastise ignorance, to affirm humanity. Open letters are persuasive arguments, but they are also entreaties. Please, hear me, the writers of open letters implore. Please act. Please change. Please.

I am not a fan of open letters, though I recognize their value. I’ve signed a few over the years because doing so felt urgent and necessary. But once the letter was released, I felt a little lost and had no idea where to put the energy of the letter and its pleas. The open letter, as a genre is, in this way, far too limited. We speak with conviction, and then what?

We need not have solutions to every issue we bring attention to, but the constant volley of open letters does not really address the problems with which they are concerned. In some cases, these letters only encourage audiences to become even more attached to their convictions. If, in the best case, an open letter really influences people to change their minds, where do they go with their newfound perspectives? If an open letter offers practical steps forward, how does it create space for what happens after we vote or bring awareness about an issue to our social circles?

In 1962, James Baldwin wrote a searing letter in which he grappled with the fraught, racist future into which his nephew would come of age. Mr. Baldwin wrote, “You were born where you were born and faced the future that you faced because you were black and for no other reason. The limits to your ambition were thus expected to be settled. You were born into a society which spelled out with brutal clarity and in as many ways as possible that you were a worthless human being. You were not expected to aspire to excellence. You were expected to make peace with mediocrity.”

This was a message for his nephew, but it was also for any Black person or other person of color trying to reconcile the realities of racism. And it was a reckoning for a white audience about the ways bigotry seeks to limit the Black imagination. That’s the beauty of open letters: There is your intended audience and then all the ancillary audiences to which you have access, by virtue of the open message.

But open letters are not always as profound or noble or edifying. At their worst, they are thinly veiled opportunities for the writer(s) to air grievances to like-minded individuals or share unfiltered, unrefined opinions of little substance. They purport to reach a specific audience for a specific reason, but really, these letters are often undisciplined monologues. The writers are preachers, standing at powerful pulpits, all call and little interest in response.

Before the rise of the internet, open letters could have a significant impact because most people had few avenues for expressing their ideas to a large audience. But now, when we send a tweet or post an image on Instagram or make a TikTok, we are, in a sense, sharing a tiny open letter. Please, we say, please hear me. Please see me.

I cannot nor would not dare try to adjudicate a decades-long conflict no person or entity has ever been able to resolve. But over the past several months, I have been struck by the sheer number of open letters various individuals and groups have written in support of Israel, in support of the Palestinians, in support of war, against war, demanding cease-fire, rejecting cease-fire and on and on.

Instead of having conversations, many people have taken to talking at their intended audiences, composing arguments as unimpeachably as possible and trusting that little more needs to be said. Or, because someone else has done the work of crafting an argument, people co-sign a letter’s sentiments without having to expend unnecessary effort or original thought — all reward, little risk.

We are six months past Oct. 7 and the brutal Hamas incursions into Israel. Hamas is still holding more than 100 hostages. At least 33,000 Palestinians, according to the local Health Ministry, have been killed by Israeli military attacks. There is no end in sight to the hostilities. A great many of us are feeling helpless in the face of such an intractable conflict. We want to say and do the right thing without necessarily knowing what that looks like. Open letters have allowed us to scream into the void, innumerable calls begging for some kind of response that might bring an end to so much suffering.

Open letters about Gaza are not a recent phenomenon. In 2014, physicians and scientists wrote a letter for the people of Gaza, denouncing Israeli aggression. In December 2023, Doctors Without Borders and other humanitarian groups wrote an open letter to the U.S. secretary of defense, Lloyd J. Austin, sharing concerns about the civilian casualties of war and requesting that the United States take steps to protect civilians in Gaza. Jewish elected officials in New York wrote a letter, articulating the effects the war has had on their constituents and urging the Israeli government to find a peaceful resolution and protect Palestinians from settler violence. Museum employees and volunteers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote an open letter encouraging the museum to call for an end to the bombing in Gaza and showcase more Palestinian artwork. Workers at several other museums took similar stands. American political appointees wrote an open letter decrying President Biden’s stance on Israel.

These open letters are not solely an American endeavor. More than 60 nongovernmental agencies in Britain wrote an open letter to members of Parliament about the extent of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and requesting support for a cease-fire motion. Journalists from around the world have written open letters in support of Palestinian journalists and demanding better access to Gaza to report on the destruction and demanding that media outlets more effectively and accurately report on the brutal realities of the war.

In Hollywood there has been a slew of open letters. In one such letter, released days after Oct. 7, actors and entertainment industry executives wrote passionately in defense of Israel, condemned Hamas and demanded the release of the Israeli hostages. In another, actors and artists wrote an open letter to Mr. Biden, calling for a cease-fire. Poets and writers have written open letters, and so have university faculty, lawyers, artists and art workers, philanthropists, college students, researchers, congressional staff members, philosophers and even Holocaust survivors .

Each open letter, no matter what stance it adopts, is earnest, incisive and unequivocal. All the writers and co-signers believe they are right and know the best way forward. As the war continues, so does this chorus of open letters. They are coalescing into a historical record of how people are responding to one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our lifetimes. We need this record, but we also need so much more.

As with the conflict itself, there is, seemingly, little common ground beyond a collective desire to speak and be heard and remain confident in one’s correctitude. This reveals one of the biggest weaknesses of the open letter. We know what the writers of these letters think and feel. We know what they want. But we don’t really know if anyone is listening. We don’t know how to translate those words into meaningful action. We don’t know what could happen if, instead of talking at one another by way of open letters, we found better ways to talk with and listen, truly listen, to one another — to participate in both the call and the response.

Change is difficult. It is incremental. Sometimes, compromise and progress demand sacrifice. Rarely do all people get everything they want. And, I suspect, that’s why we keep turning to open letters. They may not lead to workable solutions, but they do allow us to speak. They won’t provide food and medical care to the people of Gaza, and they won’t bring the hostages home or bring about a cease-fire, but we can articulate what we want without having to engage in the messy and unsatisfying but necessary work of compromise. We can hold fast to our deeply held beliefs without having to question them or grapple with doubt. We can mitigate any helplessness with performance rather than practice.

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Roxane Gay  is the author, most recently, of “Opinions: A Decade of Arguments, Criticism, and Minding Other People’s Business” and a contributing Opinion writer. Write to her at  [email protected] . @ RGay