3. Inside name and address

The recommended order in writing inside name and address is:

• Name of the person and/or company

• Name of house or building

• Number of building and name of street and road

• Name of town or city and postcode (Am zip code)

• Name of country

The inside address is usually put on the left against the margin:

Letterhead

Date

Mr. Richard Duke

The Managing Director

13, Queen’s Avenue

Knightsbridge,

Westminster, DU35 5B4

England

The name of the person to whom the letter is written should be preceded by an appropriate courtesy line. The following are in general use:

Mr – for a man

Mrs [misiz] – for a married woman

Miss [mis] – for an unmarried woman

Ms [miz] – both for married and unmarried woman

Mr and Mrs J. Smith – for a married couple, where the letter ‘J’ stands for the man’s first name

In many cases special titles precede the name of the addressee. Such titles are usually used in their abbreviated forms:

Prof. Josh F. Roberts

Dr Arthur Preminger

However, when abbreviating a doctor of medicine, you should put his/her title after the name:

David Duke MD, PhD, where MD stands for Medical Doctor and PhD indicates the person’s academic title.

Examples:

Ms Sylvia Selfridge Managing Director Duke Enterprises 8 Princes Square London AC3 7TH England

The Royal Bank Praise House Primrose Street Bath EC4 CB8 England

Prof. Josh F. Roberts Westminster University 56 Regent Street Westminster W1U 5LQ England

Note that punctuation in the addresses is not necessary except after words like Ltd. (for limited) or Co (for company or corporation).

4. Attention line

If an attention line is used it should be typed above the salutation. It indicates the name of the person or the post of a person to whom the letter is addressed.

The Chamber of Commerce

95 Berry Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 700385

For the Attention of the Marketing Manager

5. Salutation

If you know the name of the person to whom you are writing a letter, then you should use it in salutation:

Dear Mr Jones, (British style)

Dear Mr Jones: (American style)

Dear Mr Jones (no punctuation at all)

If you do not know the name of your addressee, you should begin your letter with Dear Sir or Dear Madam. If you do not know both the name and the gender of your addressee, you should begin your letter with Dear Sir or Madam.

6. Subject line or subject heading

This helps to ensure that the letter is passed without delay to the right person. It is typed below the salutation, over the body of the letter:

Dear Sir

Subject: Our Order No. 883/09.

The words ‘Subject’ or ‘Re’ (regarding) may be omitted.

7. Body of the letter

A typical business letter consists of 3 paragraphs:

• Writing introduction or acknowledgement, in case there has been any previous correspondence

• Giving information and stating the facts

• Referring to future action.