Writing formal letters

When you’re writing informally to friends you probably don’t pay much attention to your style, however, with formal letters there are certain rules you have to remember and respect. This might be tricky for foreigners as it would seem that conventions surrounding formal writing vary from country to country.

Start with your address. It should be located in the top-right corner. Include your phone number and email address too, if relevant. Move to the left-hand side now and give the name and address of whom you’re writing to. You can sometimes skip their address if you know them well. Don’t forget about the date - again, this should be on the right-hand side.

Now, formally address the letter starting at the left-hand edge of the page. Use Dear with the addressee’s title and name e.g. Dear Mrs Wilkinson or Dear Sir/Madam if you’re writing to an organisation or institution and don’t know who will read the letter. The phrase “To whom it may concern” is commonly used if you’re writing a reference for someone. Women’s titles tend to be rather problematic in English as some of us ladies prefer Mrs or Miss (Miss for unmarried females and Mrs for married ones) and some of us prefer Ms (this option doesn’t reveal their marital status)

In the main body of the letter pay attention to proper grammar, punctuation and spelling. Do not use contractions (write Do not rather than don’t, I am rather than I’m etc.). Write in a polite manner, with a logical paragraph sequence. Avoid phrasal verbs and colloquialisms or idioms. Be concise and specific. I don’t think it bears mentioning that emoticons and text speak are not acceptable.

As an ending, starting your writing on the left-hand side, Yours sincerely is traditionally used when the addressee’s name is known and Yours faithfully when it isn’t, however, I keep seeing these two used interchangeably nowadays so I wouldn’t worry much about choosing between the two. Best wishes/Kind Regards is commonly used too. Underneath write your signature. It’s worth printing your name too and sometimes your title, company or qualifications if relevant.

Make sure the envelope is correctly addressed - remember that if addressing a couple, the man’s name/title appears first, followed by the female’s e.g. Mr and Mrs Smith. This is especially unnatural for us Polish speakers as etiquette dictates that we always write the lady’s name first. Shows you how different our cultures are! Once ready, stick your letter in the post box and await the reply!