BUSINESS LETTER WRITING 1.2

 

BUSINESS LETTER WRITING 1.2

[Layout of a Formal Letter]

In English there are a number of conventions that should be used when writing a formal or business letter. Furthermore, you try to write as simply and as clearly as possible, and not to make the letter longer than necessary. Remember not to use informal language.

Addresses:

1) Your Address
The return address should be written in the top right-hand corner of the letter.

2) The Address of the person you are writing to
The inside address should be written on the left, starting below your address.

Date:

Different people put the date on different sides of the page. You can write this on the right or the left on the line after the address you are writing to. Write the month as a word.

Salutation or Greeting:

1) Dear Sir or Madam,
If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, use this. It is always advisable to try to find out a name.

2) Dear Mr. David,
If you know the name, use the title (Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms., Dr., etc.) and the surname only. If you are writing to a woman and do not know if she uses Mrs. or Miss, you can use Ms., which is for married and single women.

Ending a letter:

1) Yours faithfully
If you do not know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

2) Yours sincerely
If you know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

3) Your signature
Sign your name, then print it underneath the signature. If you think the person you are writing to might not know whether you are male of female, put your title in brackets after your name.

Content of a Formal Letter

First Paragraph: The first paragraph should be short and state the purpose of the letter- to make an enquiry, complain, request something etc. 

The paragraph or paragraphs in the middle of the letter should contain the relevant information behind the writing of the letter. Most letters in English are not very long, so keep the information to the essentials and concentrate on organizing it in a clear and logical manner rather than expanding too much.

Last Paragraph: The last paragraph of a formal letter should state what action you expect the recipient to take- to refund, send you information etc.

A business letter should include the following standard components –

• Date in the upper right hand corner
• The “To” address above the salutation in the upper left hand corner.
• The Salutation – When addressing a firm, “Messr” should be used before the name of the firm. Since business letters are formal, the appropriate salutation when addressing an individual is “Dear Mr./Ms.”, followed by the last name, rather than the first name, which is informal. If the gender of the reader is not known, it is better to use a neutral salutation, such as “Dear Customer or Investor.”
• Sometimes, an “Attention Line” may be included below the salutation, in order to ensure prompt action. For example, “Attention: John Smith, HR Manager”.
• A “Subject Line” indicates the purpose of the letter and is placed between the salutation and the first line of the letter.
• The “Body” of the letter includes an explanation of the main idea(s).
• The “Close” is the ending of the letter and should be polite and friendly, so as to retain goodwill. A standard close for a business letter is “Yours faithfully or sincerely.”
• Enclosures – Sometimes, a business letter may include an enclosure such as a pamphlet or a brochure, in which case this should be indicated at the end, below the signature line, as “Encl: 2”, meaning two enclosures.

Important Information

Abbreviations widely used but very less understood. 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); bcc = (Blind Carbon Copy An electronic mail header which lists addresses to which a message should be sent, but which will not be seen by the recipients. A normal, non-blind "CC" header would be visible to all recipients, thus allowing them to reply to each other as well as to the sender. The addresses listed in a BCC header are not included in the copies of the message sent to the recipients.); 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

 [to be continued...]