A. DEFINITION
A letter is a hand-written, typed or printed communication which may require a response.
B. STRUCTURE
1. Sender’s address
Write the sender’s address in the top right-hand corner of the page.
2. Recipient’s name, position and address
If you include the recipient’s address, write this on the left-hand side of the page. The first line should be level with the last line of the sender’s address (or immediately below this, as in Model Letter 2). Use any professional title the recipient has used in previous correspondence. Otherwise, write the recipient’s full name without Mr or Ms.
3. Date
Write the date on the right-hand side of the page below the sender’s address.
Do not write the name of the town or city from which the letter is sent.
4. Salutation
Salutations most frequently begin with Dear and end with a comma. When the letter is informal, follow Dear by a first name.
Dear Mark, Dear Lucy,
When the letter is formal, follow Dear by Mr or Ms and the recipient’s family name.
Dear Mr Jones, Dear Ms Benway,
When you do not know the recipient’s name, use the phrase Dear Sir or Madam followed by a comma.
When the letter is addressed to a group of people, follow Dear by a common noun.
Dear student, Dear colleague,
You can follow Dear by a capitalised noun to denote the recipient’s position.
Dear Coordinator, Dear Head of Studies,
5. Body
The body of the letter should convey the information in a direct style and be paragraphed appropriately.
The following phrases may be useful.
- In reply to…
- With reference to…
- I am writing to enquire about…
- I am writing to inform you of…
- I was happy to learn that…
- I was sorry to hear that
- I would be grateful if…
- I would appreciate it if…
- I am pleased to announce that…
- You will be happy to learn that…
- I regret to inform you that…
- I am sorry to say that…
- You are advised to…
- You are requested to…
- Please do not hesitate to…
- Please feel free to…
- I look forward to…
- I am looking forward to…
6. Close
The close is a formulaic way of ending a letter. Capitalise the first word and follow the last word with a comma. Leave some extra space above and below the close. An acceptable formal close is Sincerely and an acceptable informal close is Kind regards.
7. Signature line
The signature line consists of the signature followed by the sender’s printed name. If appropriate, write the sender’s position below the printed name.
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C. MODEL LETTERS