Letter Writing Formats
Structures of letters
Indented form - traditional English layout. Still sometimes used for personal letters
Block form – now the standard business layout. Also used with personal letters.
Indented Form (Personal Letters)
Heading: your full address. In personal letters this can be simplified or left off.
Ex. <Street address> 1800 Lihu Road
<City, Prov/State, Country, P.C.> Wuxi, Jiangsu, China 214122
Date: Always write the month in letters to be clear. The British usually put the day first (Ex. 6 March 2007). North Americans usually put the month first (Ex. March 6, 2007)
Inside Address: The full address of the person you are writing to – the same address as what goes on the envelope. This is often left off of personal letters.
Salutation: Opening greeting to the person you are writing to. How formal you are depends on your relationship with the person. With friends it is common to use first names.
Ex. Dear Jane, Hello John, Hi Chris,
Body of letter: One or more paragraphs of content. Each paragraph is indented. No space between paragraphs. What you write depends on the purpose of your letter. You should have an opening (tell why you are writing), your main points, and a closing (wrap things up).
Complimentary closing: Again, level of formality varies. Common closings include: Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Yours sincerely,. Informal closings include: Yours, Love, Lots of love, Warmest regards, Regards,.
Signature: Make sure the person you are writing to will know who you are from this.
Block Form (Business Letters)
Try to keep a business letter to one page or less. Business people are very busy.
Heading: your full address. Include the name of the business. If letterhead stationary is used no additional heading is needed
Ex. <Company name> Henderson Supply Co., Inc
<Street address> 842 Dale Road
<City, Prov/State, Country, P.C.> Winnipeg, MB, Canada R2G 6K9
Date: Always write the month in letters to be clear. Do not abbreviate the month name in a business letter. The British usually put the day first (Ex. 6 March 2007). North Americans usually put the month first (Ex. March 6, 2007).
Inside Address: The full address of the person you are writing to – the same address as what goes on the envelope. Above the address include title line with the full name and/or the title of the recipient.
Ex. Dr. Jean Fairview OR Dr. Jean Fairview
<address> Director of Foreign Studies
<address>
OR Director of Foreign Studies
<address>
Salutation: Opening greeting to the person you are writing to. How formal you are depends on how well you know the recipient.
It is ALWAYS better to have the name for the person you writing to.
- Dear Sirs: When you are writing to an institution and not an individual
- Dear Sir or Madam, OR Dear Sir/Madam: When you don’t know the name or sex of the recipient
- Dear + <Mr./Ms/Mrs./Miss> + <Surname>: When writing to someone whose name and sex you know.
o These titles should be used with just the surname, not the full name (Ex. Dear Ms Smith NOT Dear Ms Emma Smith)
- Dear + <First name> + <Surname>: Ex. Dear Emma Smith.
o More formal ? Dear Ms Smith; more informal ? Dear Emma.
o DO NOT write Dear E. Smith
Paragraph 1/Paragraph 2/…/…: (adapted from “Formal”)
In the block form, paragraphs are not indented. You must leave a space between paragraphs.
- The first paragraph should be short and state the purpose of the letter (to make an enquiry, complain, request something, etc.).
- The paragraph(s) in the middle should contain the main information of the letter. Most business letters in English are not very long, so keep the information to the essentials and organize clearly and logically. Do NOT expand too much.
- The last paragraph should state what action you expect the recipient to take (to refund, send you information, etc.) or it may simply show appreciation.
Complimentary closing: Again, level of formality varies. Common closings include: Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Yours sincerely,
Signature: For business letters always print/type your name below your signature. Include your official title or courtesy title (Ms/Mrs./Miss/Mr.) if you like, so that the recipient has no doubts about who you are.
Ex. Sincerely yours,
? signature goes here
(Mr.) H. Jones
Sales Manager, Vigo International Trade
Abbreviations or expressions used in letter writing (from “Formal”)
• asap = as soon as possible
• cc = carbon copy (followed by who you are sending a copy of the letter to)
• enc(s) or encl(s) = enclosure (followed by what you are enclosing)
• 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)
• Private and confidential or Confidential: to mark a letter as private
• ps = postscript (when you want to add something after you ve finished and signed it). Note: business letters should not include postscripts.
• pto (informal) = please turn over (tells the person you are writing to that the letter continues on the other side of the page)
• RSVP = please reply
Reference Numbers: If the company or the official used a reference number in the letter previously sent to you, quote back this number as “Your ref:_____”. If your letter or the issue it deals with has a file number, it is written as “Our ref:_____”
Subject Line: Acts in the same way as the subject line in an email, it lets the recipient know what the letter will generally be about.
NOTE: A business letter is more formal than a personal letter. It should have a margin of at least one inch (2.5cm) on all four edges. It is always written on 8½"x11" (~21.5cm x 28cm) unlined stationery.
It should NOT be right-justified (in other words, the right side should be ragged).