Rules for Writing Formal Letters

In English there is avariety of settlements being used when writing a formal or business letter. Moreover, you should focus on writing as simply and clearly as possible, and not to make the letter longer than necessary. Bear in mind not to use informal language like contractions.

Addresses:

1) The Address of the sender (Yours address)
The address should be written in the top right-hand corner of the letter.

2) The Address of the receipant
The 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.

Salutatios:

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 (Ms) [Last Name],
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 is married, you can use Ms, which is for both married and single women.

Formal letter ending:

1) Yours faithfully
If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to, end the letter this way.

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

3) Signiture
Sign your name, then print it underneath the signature. In a case a person you are writing to does not know whether you are male of female, put you title in brackets after your name.

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