BRITISH LETTER
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER: Your Address Your address, also known as the return address, comes first (leave this off if you re using letter-headed paper). Your return address should be right-justified. 123 Old Road Newtown London SW1 3AA The Date Directly beneath this, the date on which the letter was written: 15th May 2008 In the UK, the day comes before the month, and it is fine to put st, nd or th after the day s date, eg. 15th 1st or 2nd. You can position the date on the right or on the left of your letter. Recipent s name and address Beneath this, you should put the recipient s name and address, just as it would appear on the envelope. The recipient s name and address should be positioned on the left-hand side. The Greeting After their address, you should leave a line s space then put Dear Mr Jones, Dear Bob or Dear Sir/Madam as appropriate. Follow this with a comma. The greeting should be left-aligned. 1.When the recipient's name is unknown to you: Dear Sir/Madame/Sir or Madame... Yours faithfully 2.When you know the recipient's name: Dear Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms Hanson... Yours sincerely 3.When addressing a good friend or colleague: Dear Jack... Best wishes/best regards 4.Addressing whole departments: Dear Sirs... Yours faithfully
The Subject You may want to include a subject for your letter this is often helpful to the recipient, especially if they receive a lot of mail. If you do include a subject line, thsi should be directly below the Dear name, centered on the page, and can be in bold, uppercase or both to make it stand out. The Text of your Letter The main body of your letter should have: Single-spacing between lines A blank line (NOT an indent) before each new paragraph Each new paragraph should start at the left hand side. The Closing and Your Name and Signature After the body of text, your letter should end with an appropriate closing phrase such as Yours sincerely or With best regards, and a comma. Leave several blank lines after the closing (so you can sign the letter after printing it), then type your name. You can optionally put your job title and company name on the line beneath this. The closing and your name and signature should all be on the left hand side.! Joe Bloggs Marketing Director, BizSlutions Opening and closing lines Opening lines: Why do we need an opening line in a business letter or formal email? - to make reference to previous correspondence - to say how you found the recipient's name/address - to say why you are writing to the recipient. 10 Good Opening Lines: With reference to your letter of 8 June, I... (of June 8, (Am.Eng) I am writing to enquire about... After having seen your advertisement in..., I would like... After having received your address from..., I... I received your address from... and would like... We/I recently wrote to you about... Thank you for your letter of 8 May. Thank you for your letter regarding... Thank you for your letter/e-mail about... In reply to your letter of 8 May,... Closing lines: Why do we need a closing line in a business letter or email? - to make a reference to a future event - to repeat an apology - to offer help
10 Good Closing Lines: If you require any further information, feel free to contact me. I look forward to your reply. I look forward to hearing from you. I look forward to seeing you. Please advise as necessary. We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future. Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience. We hope that we may continue to rely on your valued custom. I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter. The following abbreviations are widely used in letters: ASAP.= as soon as possible CC. = carbon copy (when you send a copy of a letter to more than one person, you use this abbreviation to let them know) ENC. = enclosure (when you include other papers with your letter) PP. = per procurationem (A Latin phrase meaning that you are signing the letter on somebody else's behalf; if they are not there to sign it themselves, etc) PS. = postscript (when you want to add something after you've finished and signed it) PTO. (informal) = please turn over (to make sure that the other person knows the letter continues on the other side of the page) RSVP. = please reply