formal letter

Writing Formal Letters and e mails

•Try to write as simply and as clearly

as possible, and not to make the letter/e mail

longer than necessary.• Remember not to use informal

language like contractions.•LETTERS->

© Dulce Rosales- EOI Arucas

Your Address should be written in the top right-hand corner of the letter

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

Date: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.

2) Dear Mr Jenkins,If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the surname only.

Ending a letter:1) Yours faithfullyIf you do not know the name of the person2) Yours sincerelyIf you know the name of the person


3) Your signatureSign your name, then print it underneath the signature.

Content of a Formal Letter

The first paragraph should be short and state the purpose of the letter- to make an enquiry, to complain, request something, apply for a job, etc.

The paragraph or paragraphs in the middle of the letter should contain the relevant information behind the writing of the letter.

Keep the information to the essentials and concentrate on organising it in a clear and logical manner rather than expanding too much.

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


A covering letter is the one that accompanies your CV when you are applying for a job. Here is a plan for the layout of the

paragraphs.

Opening Paragraph

• Briefly identify yourself and the position you are applying for. Add how you found out about the vacancy.

Paragraph 2

• Give the reasons why you are interested in working for the company and why you wish to be considered for that particular post. State your relevant qualifications and experience, as well as your personal qualities that make you a suitable candidate

Paragraph 3

• Inform them that you have enclosed your current CV and add any further information that you think could help your case.

Closing Paragraph

• Give your availability for interview, thank them for their consideration, restate your interest and close the letter.


The following abbreviations are widely used in letters:

• asap = as soon as possible• enc. = enclosure (when you include other

papers with your letter)• 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 répondez s'il vous plaît,


Writing a formal e mail•Use a neutral e-mail address. It should be a variation of your real name, not a username or nickname.

• Use periods (.), hyphens (-), or underscores (_) to secure an e-mail address that's just your name,without extra numbers or letters, if you can.

•Use a short and accurate subject header. Avoid saying too much in the subject header, but make sure it reflects the content of your email .E.g:

>Inquiry regarding sales position>Request for volunteer application.


Use a proper salutation. Addressing the recipient by name is preferred. Use the person's title (Mr.

Mrs. Ms. or Dr.) with their last name, followed by a comma (,) or a colon(:).

• Optionally, you can precede the salutation with "Dear..." (but "Hello..." is acceptable as well).

• Using a last name is more formal and should be used unless you are on first-name terms with the recipient.

• If you don't know the name of the person you're writing to (but you really should try and find one) use "To Whom It May Concern".


Introduce yourself in the first paragraph. Also include why you're writing, and how you found that person's e-mail address, or the opportunity you're

writing about

• E.g. "My name is Pitt Rivers. I am writing about the traffic citation I received on December 31, 2009. I obtained your e-mail address for the Westchester County Clerk website.

• "My name is Pitt Rivers. I am contacting you to apply for the administrative assistant position listed on CareerAABB.com.“


• Write the actual message. Be sure to get your point across and do not ramble on! Be direct and to the point.

• The email should be no more than 5 paragraphs long, and each paragraph should be no more than 5 sentences long

• Use the correct form of leave-taking.– Yours sincerely,– Yours cordially,– Respectfully,– Best,


7. Sign with your full name.

• If you have a job title, include that in the line after your name, and write the company name or website in the line after that.

• If you do not have a job title but you have your own blog or website related to the content of the e-mail, include a link to that below your name.

• If the e-mail is about a job, only include a career-related website or blog, not hobbies or interests


The term cc stands for carbon copy, and bcc for blind carbon copy. The cc

addressee is visible in the email, but the bcc is not. These are old terms that originated with the use of typewriters to type letters. To make a copy before

photocopy machines, you had to use carbon paper


formal letter

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