Date Writing, Salutation and Closing in Business Letters

Date writing

It is always better to write the dates as words in international letters, because date formats vary in different cultures. For example, 06.05.04 could be 6^th May in the UK or June 5^th in the USA. The ways of writing the date in words in the UK and the USA also differ:

The British write:

10 December, 2008

Americans write:

December 10, 2008

Salutations

Always use the name written in the inside address, don’t forget to include the personal title. Leave one line blank after the salutation.

The rules of punctuation are important to follow in business letters. If you know the person well and your personal relations allow you to address him or her by the first name, it is acceptable to use only the first name in the salutation and put a comma after it. For example: Dear Mary,

In more formal situations, use the personal title and name followed by a colon. For example: Dear Mr. Davies:

It is acceptable to use the full name in a salutation if you cannot determine the gender. For example, if you are unsure of Chris’s gender, you can write “Dear Chris Morgan:” instead of “Dear Mr. Morgan” or “Dear Ms Morgan”.

Closing

The closing begins one line after the last communication paragraph. Leave four lines between the closing and your printed name for a signature. The closing is usually followed by a comma.

“Yours sincerely” is addressed to a person you’ve met or talked to. “Yours faithfully” is more formal and addressed to people you don’t know. “Sincerely yours” and “Yours truly” are American ways of closing letters.

Notes:

blank-пустой

comma-запятая

colon-двоеточие

to determine-определять

gender-пол

to be unsure-быть неуверенным

7. Mark the following statements as true (T) or false (F). Correct the false ones.

1. You can use the first name of the addressee only if you know him/her personally.

2. The title and name are followed by a comma.

3. Two lines should be left after the salutation.

4. You better write the first name of the addressee as well if you don’t know or cannot determine the gender.

5. The closing is put one line after the body paragraphs.

6. Three lines should be left between the closing and your name.

7. The closing is followed by a comma.

8. There’s no difference between British and American ways of closing letters.

Language Tips

The next line after the start of the letter should begin with a capital letter. For example,

Dear Mr. Smith:

With reference to our recent telephone conversation…

Write 15^th October, not the 15^th of October – it’s not usually accepted in writing. If you start a sentence with a number, this number should be written in a word. E.g. Twenty-six people attended the meeting.

Don’t use short forms such as I’m, we’ll, hasn’t, I’d, orisn’tin formal writing. These forms are used in speaking and informal letters. In formal writing words are normally written out in their full forms.

Avoid using the ‘have got’ form as it sounds informal, use ‘have’ instead. E.g. I have (not have got) experience in translating scientific texts.

Avoid starting sentences with the words ‘And’ or ‘But’. It is not a proper style for a formal communication.

Print your name and job title together with your signature – some signatures are difficult to read. E.g.

Brian Smith

Brian Smith

Sales and Marketing Manager

Some word combinations might contain words that are unnecessary (redundant) in business letters. These are the ways of reducing them:

8:00 a.m. in the morning = 8:00 a.m. in spite of the fact that = although

at this point of time = now in the event that = if

both together = both just exactly = exactly

bring to an end = end letter under date of = letter of

during the time that = while make a decision = decide

enclosed herein = enclosed make a speech = speak

for the month of July = for July make a recommendation = recommend

for the purpose of = to make changes in = to change

for the sum of = for on the occasion of = on

give an answer = to answer send an answer = to reply

have an ability to = can take action = act

hold a meeting = meet take into consideration = consider

inform of the reason = tell why write your name = sign