Letter writing

Letter writing
A business letter
Here is an example of a typical business letter, showing how you arrange the
different parts on the page.
Manesty Clothes Ltd
15 Clifton Court
Manchester MR3 5PY
England
UK
Tel: +44 (0)161 932 2628
Fax: +44 (0)161 932 2884
Email: enquiries@manesty.co.uk
Production Manager
Suntrek Fabrics
Box 167
Brown Street PO
Singapore
2nd January 2003
Dear Sir or Madam
Re: Visit to Singapore
I am now planning my next trip to South East
Asia, and would be very pleased if we could meet
to discuss our production requirements for next year.
I hope to be in Singapore on May 3 or 4.Would it be convenient to visit
you on May 3 at 10.30am? I would be grateful if you could tell me
exactly where your offices are located.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully
Christine Burrows
C. Burrows
Senior Buyer
This is the letterhead. It
can go on the left, right or in
the centre. In the US, it is
often on the left.
There is no space
here when you start a
new paragraph.
This is the subject
heading, a summary of the contents
of the letter. It helps the reader to
quickly understand what the letter
is about.
This is the salutation.
You do not need to put a comma
here. In US letters, you should use a
colon.
You do not need to
put commas after Dear Sir or Madam or Yours
faithfully. Be consistent: if you put a comma after
Dear Sir or Madam, put one after
Yours faithfully.
STUDY PAGES centre 33
Common phrases used in formal and informal letters
Formal Informal
Thank you for your letter of
22 January concerning...
Thank you for your letter about...
I am writing to inquire about... I’m writing to ask about...
I am writing to inform you that... I’m writing to say that...
I am pleased to inform you that... I’m pleased to say...
I regret to inform you that... I’m sorry to tell you that...
I hope this information has been of use. I hope this has been useful.
Please give my regards to Peter Hogan. Regards to Peter.
Thank you for all you have done. Thanks for all your help.
I look forward to hearing from you soon. Hope to hear from you soon
An example of an informal letter
Notes:
• In an informal letter you usually do not write your address but you write the date.
• The style is very much like speech. You can use short forms each as didn’t. In a
formal letter you would not use these.
4th Feb 2003
Dear Jo,
Just a quick word to thank you for a brilliant weekend. It
was lovely to see you again, and the kids really enjoyed
going round London – hope we didn’t tire you out too
much!
It would be great to see you up in Liverpool some time –
it’s ages since you’ve been. We’ll be celebrating Jim’s fortieth
(!) in September, and it would be great if you could come.
Anyway, let me know nearer the time if you can make it.
Take care, hope to see you soon.
Love,
Clare xxx