Structure of a business letter (1)

16 Bellview Road

Stretchley

West Yorkshire JX2 6HG

Great Britain

The Manager 6 May 200…

Marlborough Hotel

Newtown-on-Sea

Devon CN31 4DX

Great Britain

For the attention of the Hotel Manager

Dear Sir or Madam,

This summer we would like to travel across Great Britain and stop for a couple of days in Newtown-on-Sea.

We have seen your advertisement in the “Where to Stay Guide” and would grateful if you could send us more information about your hotel, including room rates from July this year.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

B. Kaasen

S

16 Bellview Road

Stretchley

West Yorkshire

JX2 6HG

6th May 1990

The Manager

Marlborough Hotel

Newtown-on-Sea

Devon

CN31 4DX

For the attention of the Hotel Manager

Dear Sir or Madam,

We have seen your advertisement in the Where to Stay Guide and would grateful if you would send us more information about your hotel, including room rates from July this year.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully,

B. Kaasen

ender's address

D ate

I nside address (Receiver's address)

A ttention line

S alutation

B ody of the letter

C omplimentary close

S ignature

2 Title known

If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, you may know or be able to assume his/her title or position in the company, (e.g. The Sales Manager, The Finance Director, The Reservations Manager), in which case you can use it in the address.

3 Department known

Alternatively you can address your letter to a particular department of the company (e.g. The Reservations Department, The Sales Department, The Accounts Department).

4 Only company known

Finally, if you know nothing about the company and do not want to make any assumptions about the person or department your letter should go to, you can simply address it to the company itself (e.g. Louis Cruise Liners Ltd., Messrs Collier & Clarke & Co, Ambassador Hotel, Tour Agency “Amelia”).

The names of company types are usually abbreviated, as Plc — Public Limited Company; Ltd — Private Limited Company; Inc — Cor­poration.

Order of inside addresses

After the name of the person and/or company receiving the letter, the order and style of addresses in the UK, USA and Russia could vary:

The sequence of writing an address in Great Britain:

• Title and name of the addressee • Position in the company • Name of the company • Number of the building • Name of the street • Name of the city, town or locality • Postal district abbreviation • Postal service head-office abbreviation and number • Name of the country

Ms J. Evergreen Chief Manager Hartman & Hill Plc. 451 Old Farmer Road London EC4P 4EE England

The sequence of writing an address in the USA:

• Title and name of the addressee • Position in the company • Name of the company • Number or name of the building • Name of the street • Name of the city, town or locality • Name of the state • Postal index • Name of the country

Ms K. Ralf Production Manager McGraw-Hill Book Inc. 1221 Richmond Avenue New York, NY 10022 USA

The sequence of writing an address in Russia:

• Title and name of the addressee • Position in the company • Name of the company • Number or name of the building • Name of the street • Name of the city, town or locality • Name of the region (if necessary) • Postal index • Name of the country

Mr. D, Zaitsev Sales Manager Malachite Ltd. 75 Darvin Street St.-Perersburg, 195057 Russia

I f the letter is addressed to London, the name of the city 'London' should be followed by a shortened name of the corresponding postal district: e.g. EC — East Central; NW - North West; WC — West Central etc.

If the letter is addressed to the USA, the name of a city or town should be followed by the name of the state. Postal Service Abbreviations of the American states:

AK (Alaska)	GA (Georgia)	MD (Maryland)	NH (New Hampshire)	SC (South Carolina)
AI (Alabama)	HI (Hawaii)	ME (Maine)	NJ (New Jersey)	SD (South Dakota)
AR (Arkansas)	ID (Idaho)	Ml (Michigan)	NM (New Mexico)	TN (Tennessee)
AZ (Arizona)	IL (Illinois)	MN (Minnesota)	NV (Nevada)	TX (Texas)
CA (California)	IN (Indiana)	MO (Missouri)	NY (New York)	UT (Utah)
CO (Colorado)	IA (Iowa)	MS (Mississippi)	OH (Ohio)	VA (Virginia)
CT (Connecticut)	KS (Kansas)	MT (Montana)	OK (Oklahoma)	VT (Vermont)
DC (District of Columbia)	KY (Kentucky)	NB (Nebraska)	OR (Oregon)	WA (Washington)
DE (Delaware)	LA (Louisiana)	NC (North Carolina)	PA (Pennsylva-nia)	Wl (Wisconsin)
FL (Florida)	MA (Massachu-setts)	ND (North Dakota)	RI (Rhode Island)	WV (West Virginia)
				WY (Wyoming)

Some European addresses may place the numbers of the building after the name of the street. It is also common to substitute the name of the country with an initial before the district code number. Look at the two examples below: