42 Botlcy Close,

Colebourn,

RIPON,

Yorks,

R18 7QS

Your ref: 5/12A

17th May 2000

Messrs Brown & Page (Builders),

28A Long Lane,

RIPON,

Yorks,

R12 1AN

Dear Sirs,

Quotation for extension at 42 Botley Close

Thank you for your estimate dated 5th May 2000.

I am sorry to have to tell you, however, that the figure quoted is in excess of others that we have received and we shall not, therefore, be pursuing the matter further with you.

Thank you for supplying the quotation, nevertheless.

Yours faithfully,

John Smith

John Smith

As you can see all the indents are stepped, even the signature block. This is very time-consuming to do on a typewriter, word-processor or computer, hence its fall from popularity.

A few words about envelopes

The envelope provides the first impression of your letter, so it is important that it should be neatly typed. The wording of the address should be as given in the letter. The normal convention is to type the address lengthwise along the envelope, leaving the opening in long envelopes to the left. The address should start about halfway down the envelope, leaving at least 40mm or so above for the stamp and postal frank.

The post town should be given in capitals and all parts of the address should have separate lines as this makes it easier for the postal services to deal with the letter quickly and efficiently, especially where mechanised sorting is used. The postcode should always be the final line (except for overseas letters).

Any classification such as ‘PERSONAL’ or ‘CONFIDENTIAL’ should be indicated on the envelope (a couple of lines above the name and address) and you should also indicate, by typing or using sticky labels at the top left of the envelope, the postal service to be used (First Class, Recorded Delivery, Airmail, for example) especially if the letter will be posted by someone else or dealt with in a mail department.

With larger envelopes and packages, which tend to be more prone to damage in the post, it is particularly important to include the sender’s address both on the outside and inside of the package so that it can be returned if necessary – for example if the recipient’s address label comes off or becomes unreadable. The sender’s address should be clearly differentiated from the recipient’s address by its position and size and/or use of the word ‘From’.

Addressing envelopes

Envelope addresses are written in a similar way to inside addresses. But in the case of letters within or for the UK, the name of the town and the country are written in capital letters, and the postcode is usually written on a line by itself.

Dr Henry Fotheringay-Hunt

12 Juniper Avenue

Windyhill

Kettering

KT63AB

Figure 8

Figure 9

Messrs W. Brownlow & Co.

600 Grand Street

LONDON

WIN 9UZ

UK

The address should be aligned with the longer sides of the envel­ope. It should be positioned slightly to the left of the mid point between the two shortest sides, with the first line of the address about two thirds of the way down from the top edge of the envel­ope. This allows plenty of room for the stamp and postmark.

The address on the envelope should include: the name and title of the recipient; the house/building name or street number + street name; locality name (area of town or city); post town (in block capitals); country name or region (this is not required when the post town is a large town or city); and post code (always in block capitals with a space between the two parts of the code). Each element should he on a new line. Note that the post office prefers that no punctuation be used in the name and address on the envelope. This is so that the letter can be scanned and sorted electronically.