Formal letter: "I am writing this..." OR "I write this..."

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi,
Is it preferable to open a formal letter by “I am writing this to…” or by “I write this to…”, or are they completely interchangeable?
Thanks.

2

Hi,

There is greater formality when you say: I write …It suggests that your letter is going to contain some important information/ something of a serious nature. Look at these:

I am writing to tell you about our latest offers in laptops.
I write to inform you that we are now closing your account.

Alan

3

Thank you.
On a related note, is it better NOT to use “this” in this construction, as in “I write to inform you” as opposed to “I write this to inform you”?

4

Hi,

I would say that ‘this’ is redundant here/not needed.

Alan

5

thanks, much appreciated