How to Write a Letter

How to write a letter? A common question that puzzles the minds of those who have never written a letter and those who are not familiar with letter writing rules. For even those of us who know how to write a letter are not particularly aware of various letter writing techniques. And there are even those who think that their letter writing skills are great but they too end up making mistakes. So whether you are a letter writing expert or novice, it is always better to have guidance towards letter writing or a mere brush up of the knowledge which might have lost its sheen with the passage of time. It is after all, only human to forget. But why bother writing a letter? Letter writing is a skill which we should acquire as it is a means of communication and one which in spite of being old is still used widely. Many dealings are done through paper mail and it doesn’t appear that writing paper letters is going to stop. Letter writing in English requires knowledge about its rules, formats, examples, and the ability to put your feelings, ideas and thoughts in your words. Towards this goal we have provided you valuable information in the below mentioned paragraphs which will help you in writing a good letter.

• Parts of Letter
• Letter Writing Rules
• Letter Head: Rules
• Sender’s Name and Address: Rules
• Letter Date: Rules
• Receiver’s Name and Address: Rules
• Letter Re or Sub: Rules
• Letter Salutation: Rules
• List of Salutations and their usage
• Letter BODY: Rules
• Letter CLOSING: Rules
• Closings used in Letter Writing
• SIGNATURE: Rules
• Abbreviations Used in Letter Writing

Parts of Letter

A letter is made up of different parts and when they combine a letter becomes whole or complete. These parts can be called the “layout of letter” or “elements of letter” and you will find them common amongst all letters. Without these elements a letter wouldn’t be called a letter. These elements can also be called the basic structures of a letter. Generally it is considered that there are 5 main parts of a letter but all letters are not same and all letters follow one or the other format of letter writing. To conclude we can come up to a common ground of agreement as to which can be considered as the basic or main parts of a letter. This is based on the fact that without these parts it wouldn’t be called a letter in proper terms.

The Main or Basic Parts of a letter are:

 

  (a) Letter Head
 
  (b) Sender’s Name and Address

  (c) Date

  (d) Receiver’s Name and Address

 

  1. HEADER

  (e) Sub or Re

  (f) Salutation

 

 

 

 

 
  2. BODY

  3. CLOSING


  4. SIGNATURE

HEADER

The term ‘Header’ is adequately named, the reason being that it is “The head of the letter”. The letter begins from the header. The term Header is not used in actual writing of the letter; it is meant to provide guidance towards letter writing.  Header is composed of certain sub parts, all of which may not be used or required. Their use depends upon the type of letter. Thus a Header can comprise of just a single sub part or many.

Parts of Header

a) Letter Head – Letter Head is simply the printed name and address of the organization from whom the letter is being sent. Its purpose is to show that the letter has been authorised by the organisation or is being authorised via its official. It is mostly used in informal letters where it is important to document the correspondence for future reference or any other purpose as and when required. Letter head may or may not be accompanied by a logo otherwise it will simply have a texted material with bold letters or coloured to make it appear different from the other parts of the letter.

b) Sender’s Name and Address – Sender’s Name and Address means the person who is sending the letter. In other words, the writer of the letter. Sender’s name and address maybe mentioned in the letter head in formal letters but it is not a common norm in informal letters.

c) Date – The day the letter has been written has to be mentioned for reference and archival purposes. Date is an indicator of timely delivery and is also essential in determining a fault or delay.

d) Receiver’s Name and Address - Receiver’s Name and Address means the person to whom he letter is being sent. In other words, the Recipient of the letter or the Receiver of the letter.

e) Sub or Re – Sub stands for Subject and Re stands for Reference. Subject means the highlight of the letter or briefing line to introduce the motive of the letter. Re is a short form for the Latin phrase "in re" which means concerning or regarding.

f) Salutation - Salutation is a word of greeting written to begin a letter. It is a type of courteous greeting like ‘Hello’ when we meet someone in our day to day lives. Dear is the most common form of salutation used in a letter.

BODY

 The body of the letter is the focus point of the letter. It contains the most important information in the letter. This part of a letter requires creativity. The language of the letter can be formal, informal or a bit of both depending upon the type of the letter and the relationship of the writer and the recipient.

CLOSING

The term clearly states that the letter is about to end or is ending. Valedictions are used to end the letter. A valediction is the liturgical act of saying farewell. It is the opposite of salutation as it is used to ‘Close the letter’ whereas the salutation is used to ‘Start the letter’. It is also known as ‘Complimentary Close’ or a ‘Complimentary Gesture’. Just like we say ‘Good bye’ in our day to day social meetings when we leave someone’s company, valediction is the same in letter writing.

SIGNATURE

Signature is like a broadcaster “signing off” while announcing the end of a radio or television programme. While Signature literally means the signature of the writer but it also means a sign seal, printed name of the writer. Signature shows that the letter has been indeed written by, prepared by or authorised by the writer. Signatures are generally part of formal correspondence and are as such used.

Letter Writing Rules

Letter writing etiquettes refer to ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ followed whilst writing a letter. It is important to know that Formal Letters are the ones that have rules to be observed whilst writing. As such majority of these rules are applicable to only Formal type of Letters. Informal Letters don’t have binding rules and as such they have few norms whilst writing. For more information on Formal and Informal visit the link - http://letters.targetstudy.com/

These rules provide guidelines for writing various parts of the letter.

Letter Head: Rules for writing< style="font-weight: bold;"> 

• Letter Head comes pre-printed and is mostly used for official purposes

• If you don’t have a letter head for whatever reason, you can create your own letter head graphically or typed

• Letter Head always comes at the top of the letter, it can be published on the right, left, centre of the letter

• Letter Head should not come after Receiver’s name or address

• Letter Head never comes after Sender’s Name or Address

• Letter Head is never placed after Receiver’s Name and/or address

• Letter Head is never placed after Sub or Re

• Letterhead can be pre-printed, post printed, self made or written

• Letterhead having a Logo or Design give a professional look however it is not mandatory

 

Sender’s Name and Address: Rules for writing

•  Sender’s Name can be written on left, right or the centre of the letter

• It cannot be placed above the letter head

• You can skip the Sender’s name if  it has been provided in the letterhead or mentioned in the Closing of the of the letter

      Sender’s Address

• Sender’s Address may not be inclusive of Sender’s Contact Details or if mentioned at the end of the letter

• Sender’s Address can be written after the signature at the end of the letter

• If the sender’s name is mentioned in the letter head then the sender’s address will come after the date

• It will always come under the Sender’s Name unless and until the Sender’s name has been mentioned in the Letter Head or written at the end of the letter

 

Letter Date: Rules for writing

• Date can be written in DD/MM/YY format like 20^th September 2011 or 20^th Sep 2011 and also in MM/DD/YY format like July 1, 2011

• Date can be placed either Left or Right side of the letter and not center

• Date can be placed after the letter head, after the receiver’s address or sender’s address

• Date should not be written after senders name or receiver’s name

• If the date is not written after the letter head then you can write the date after the Sender’s Address

 

Receiver’s Name and Address: Rules for writing

• Receiver’s Name can be written on left, right or the centre of the letter

• It should not be placed above the letter head  

         Receiver’s Address

• Address can include Receiver’s Contact Details like phone number, mobile number, pager or email but not necessarily

• Receiver’s Address will always go along with the Receiver’s name to maintain continuity.

Letter Re or Sub: Rules for writing

• Reference is mostly used in business letters or where there is a need to highlight a matter otherwise not

• You cannot use both Re or Sub, either use Subject or Re

• Subject or Re can be typed in Bold or CAPITAL LETTERS

• Subject or Reference can be written after the Receiver’s Address or after the salutation

• It has to be short and provide a short indication of the subject matter of the letter

 

Letter Salutation: Rules for writing

• Salutations are always followed by ‘Name of the Recipient’ or a ‘Title of the Recipient’ or both
  For example: Dear Mr. Smith
  Dear is the Salutation
  Mr. is ‘Honorific Title’
  Smith is ‘Last name of the Recipient’

• Salutations can be formal or informal

• A comma or a colon follows the salutation and name

• Salutation with name is always written beneath the subject or reference if present. If not then salutation is to be placed beneath Receiver’s Name

• Salutation never comes before sender’s name and neither before receiver’s name

• Titles like Mr., Ms., Mrs. and Dr. Are to be used in abbreviated forms only. Others titles like Admiral, Captain, Dean, Governor, Imam, Judge, Professor, Rabbi, Senator and Sister can be spelled out.

•  ‘To Whom It May Concern’ is used as salutation or in place of it when the recipient’s name or title are not known

List of Salutations and their usage

Salutation	When to use
Dear Mr. Singh	When you are not well known to the Recipient
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Singh	When the Recipient’s are a Couple
Dear Mr. Miglani and Ms. Sharma	When the Recipient’s are Male and Female
Dear Darcy Smith Dear Jordan Taylor	When the gender of the Recipient isn’t obvious, use full name (this happens with unisex names)
Dear Ms. Jane	When you are well known to the Recipient
Dear Hiring Manager Dear Human Resources Manager	When the name of the Recipient is not known but job title is known
Dear Madam	When the Recipient is Female and Name is not known
Dear Sir	When the Recipient is Male and Name is not known
Dear Sirs	When the Recipients are Male and Names are not known
My dear Father My dear Mother My dear Brother	When writing to blood relations
Dear Jai, My dear Ajay	When writing to friends or with whom you are intimate
To whom it may concern	When you are not sure who to address the letter

 

Letter BODY: Rules for writing

• Technically speaking the body of the letter lies between the salutation and the closing of the letter

• The body of the letter may have several paragraphs but 2-3 paragraphs are the norm of most of the letters. Long letters will obviously require more paragraphs

• There is no word limit for the text contained in the body, it depends upon the writer and the purpose of his letter

• Different paragraphs in the body of the letter should be evenly indented. If the paragraph has been aligned to left other paragraphs should also be aligned to the left

 

Letter CLOSING: Rules for writing

• Valedictions are always used before signature and never after it

• These are words which express esteem, regard or respect for the recipient

• The type of valediction used depends upon the formality or informality of the correspondence

• The first word of a valediction should be ‘Capitalised’ and end in a comma. For example - Yours sincerely,

 

Closings used in Letter Writing

Closings most appropriate for Formal Letters	Closings most appropriate for Informal Letters
Awaiting your response	As usual
Best regards	As ever
Best wishes	All my love / All my love forever
Best wishes for your future	Always/Always and forever / Always and truly
Cheers	Always in my heart
Cordially/ Cordially yours	Always yours / Always your baby
Fond regards	Adoringly yours
Faithfully	Affectionately / Affectionately yours
Faithfully yours	Be well
Godspeed	Bye for now
God be with you	Catch ya later
In appreciation	Can't wait to see you again
In sympathy	Cheers
I look forward to hearing from you / I look forward to hearing from you soon/I look forward to your reply	Cordially / Cordially yours
I look forward to seeing you	Especially yours
I hope to receive news from you soon	Eternally Yours
I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter	Fond regards
If you require any further information, feel free to contact me	Forever my love / Forever yours / Forever and always
Looking forward to seeing you again	Forgive me please
Kind regards	Goodbye
Kind thanks	Hoping to see you soon
Kind thoughts	Hug ya
Many thanks	Hugs and kisses
Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience	Hugs and pogo sticks!
Our sincerest apologies	Hugs, kisses and broken fingers
Please advise as necessary	I am forever yours
Please accept our sincere apologies	I'll be thinking of you
Please take action ASAP	I love you very, very much
Regards	I will love you always / I'll love you always
Respectfully	Kind wishes
Respectfully yours	Keep smiling
Seasons Best Wishes	Keep the faith
Sincerely / Sincerely yours	Kisses / Kisses for you
Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me	Kiss ya / Kiss you
Take care	Lots of love
Thanks / Thank you	Love you / Love ya / Luv ya
Thank you for your help	Love always / Love forever
Thank you for your time	Love always and forever / Loving you always and forever
Thank you for your consideration	Love you so much / Loving you always
Thank you for your kindness and consideration	Love and kisses / Love and many kisses / Love, hugs and kisses
Thank you for your assistance in this matter	Love and best wishes
Thank you for your recommendation	Love you now and forever
Thank you for your attention to the request	Love, peace, and chicken grease
Truly	Loving you with all my heart
We hope that we may continue to rely on your valued custom	Longing to see you again
We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future	Many thanks
Warm regards	Much love
Warm wishes	Missing you / Missing you already / Missing you every moment
Warmest Regards	My pleasure, always
Warmest greetings to all	My Best
Wishing you all the best of everything	My heart belongs to you always
Wishing you the best	One Love
With appreciation	Regards
With gratitude	Respectfully / Respectfully yours
With best wishes / With all the best wishes	Remembering us / Remembering us the way we were
With deepest sympathy	Patiently yours
With sympathy	See you soon (just not too soon)
With sincere thanks	Sending you all my love
Yours cordially	Soon to be your wife
Yours faithfully	Sweet Kisses
Yours humbly	Still thinking of you
Yours respectfully	Thanks
Yours sincerely	Take care
Yours truly	Thank you for caring
Your help is greatly appreciated	Thanks again for yesterday
	Thanks for understanding
	Thinking of you
	Unabashedly yours
	Unconditionally yours
	Wanting you more
	With affection
	With appreciation
	With all my love/ With hope and love
	With love / With purest love
	With love and kisses
	With love and anticipation / With love and expectation
	Written hopefully
	Xoxo
	Your / Yours
	Your darling
	Your endless love / Your devoted lover
	Your loving / Your love always
	Your eternal soul mate
	Your wife always
	Your hubby / Your faithful hubby
	"Your girl" always
	Yours always / Yours and only yours
	You have all my love / You know I love you

 

While it is true that many closings are most appropriate for either formal or informal letters but at the same time the usage of such depends on case to case basis. Sometimes formal letters have informal language and because of that informal closing maybe used. Where informal letters are concerned it is not much of a concern but when writing formal letters it is necessary to know the most appropriate usage to have utmost professionalism in your work. Many closings are apt for both the types of letters. For example ‘Respectfully’ can be used for both types of letters.

Within these closings are certain closings whose usage a letter writer should know

• Best Regards, Cordially and Yours Respectfully – These are the most appropriate when you are somewhat known to the recipient. By somewhat known means that you may have met the person few times, talked on phone or have corresponded through email or paper letter

• Sincerely, Regards, Yours Truly and Yours Sincerely - These are the most conventional closings and can be used safely or when you are not sure which closing to use

• Warm Regards, Yours Faithfully, Best Wishes, With Appreciation - These are the most appropriate when you are well known to the recipient either personally or correspondence wise

 

SIGNATURE: Rules for writing

• Where signature is not required, the name of the writer has to be written

• Signatures can be handwritten or electronically signed

• Signatures can be written either on the left side or the right side

• Signatures generally have Typed Name of the writer under it

 

Abbreviations Used in Letter Writing

The following abbreviations can and are used in letter writing

ASAP	As Soon As Possible (when an early action is required)
CC	Carbon Copy (when copy/copies of letter are sent to more than one person this abbreviation is used)
Enc.	Enclosure (when other papers are attached or included with the letter)
PP	Per Procurationem (A Latin phrase meaning that you are signing the letter on somebody else's behalf; if they are not there to sign it themselves, etc)
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	Respondez S'il Vous Plait (A French term for Please Reply)