Writing Letters using the English Language
Business
letters
English
letters always begin with ‘Dear ...’ unless you are writing to a friend or
an informal note in which case you might prefer to write ‘hello ...’ or
‘hi ...’
For
example:
Dear
John (informal, or if you know the person very well)
Dear
Mr Smith
Dear
Ms Smith (always use ‘Ms’ when writing to a woman, unless you know that she
prefers ‘Mrs’ if married or
‘Miss’ if single)
Dear
General Manager,
Dear
Sir or Madam (use this if you don't know who you are writing to)
Possible
beginnings
In
reply to your letter,
With
reference to our phone call,
Thank you for your letter of September 3rd.
Further
to our conversation yesterday
I
enjoyed our conversation last week
The
reason for writing
I
am writing to enquire about
I would like to enquire about
I
would like to confirm my reservation/ my order / apologise for my behaviour/
reply to your phone call / organise a meeting / suggest that we meet up
Requesting
I
would be grateful if you could
Would
it be possible for
Could
you possibly
Agreeing
to Requests
I
would be delighted to (accept your invitation)
Giving
Bad News
Unfortunately,
I have to inform you that
I am afraid that
It
is with sadness that I must inform you that (you will no longer be required) /
of (your redundancy)
Enclosing
Documents
Please
find enclosed
I am enclosing
Enclosed,
you will find
Closing
Remarks
Thank
you for your help
Thank
you for your time
Thanking
you in advance
Please
contact us again if we can help you in any way / there are any problems / you
have any questions.
Reference
to Future Contact
I
look forward to hearing from you soon / seeing you on Friday / meeting you.
Signing
off
Yours
faithfully, (Formal, if you don't know the name of the person you're writing to)
Yours
sincerely, (Formal, if you know the name of the person you're writing to)
Best
wishes/ Best regards / Kind regards (more informal, If the person is a close
business contact)
Sample
Business Letter
|
45
Red Lane
Balderton
Newark
NK1
4SY
Tel: :
Email:
September
3rd 2009
Mr
T. Clark
General Manager
Furniture Warehouse.
73 Table Avenue
Totnes
Devon
TN6
789
Dear Mr Clark,
Thank
you for sending me the new kitchen furniture brochure, which I received
yesterday.
Further
to our telephone conversation, I would like to place an order for the large,
green table with mahogany legs. Please find enclosed my order form with payment
details.
I
would be grateful if you could let me know when I should expect delivery.
I
look forward to hearing from you.
Yours
sincerely,
J Smith.
John
Smith
|
Letter
Structure
A
well-structured letter creates a good impression. Formal business letters are
best typed, rather than hand written, as this looks professional and also
ensures handwriting does not get in the way of sense or style.
Your
address is at the top on the right. The rest of the letter can be in
"block" format, with each line starting on the left. There should also
be plenty of white space.
1
Your details
Put
your address, telephone, fax and/or email at the top on the right.
2
The date
The
date comes next, below your address. In British English, the numerical date is
written day/month/year (e.g. 27/3/09), but in American English it is written
month/day/year (e.g. 3/27/09). It always looks good to write the date in full
(27 March 2009 or March 27th 2009).
3
Destination name and address
This
is the name of the person to whom you are writing, his/her job title, the
company name and address. This should be the same as on the envelope and written
on the left side, lower down than your own address.
4.
Reference
If
you have a reference code which you are replying to or writing about you should
put it here before the body of your letter.
5.
Salutation (Dear...)
A
letter in English almost always begins with 'Dear...', even if you do not know
the person. There are several possibilities:
