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Centre for Academic Success Birmingham City University 0121 331 7685 [email protected]
1 .06 How to write a formal letter
With the advent of email, it is becoming less and less common to write letters, but the few letters that you will write will probably be very important ones, such as covering letters for job applications, covering letters for questionnaires or surveys which are part of your research, or letters of complaint to your bank manager. It is very important, therefore, that your letters have the desired effect on the reader. In order to achieve this, they should be: in the correct format short and to the point relevant free of any grammatical or spelling mistakes polite, even if you’re complaining well presented This guide will give some general advice on letter writing and includes some sample letters. If you are replying to a letter it can be a good idea to note how that letter has been formatted and expressed.
Format
There are certain conventions that your reader will expect you to follow; if you don’t, you will create a bad impression. On the following page there is a letter in standard format. Refer to the notes afterwards for explanation.
Centre for Academic Success Birmingham City University 0121 331 7685 [email protected] 42, Greyhound Road Perry Barr Birmingham B42 6HJ Mr. E. Scrooge The Manager Barclay’s Bank Ltd 113 Mammon Street Andover HU4 9ET 5 April 2008 Dear Mr. Scrooge, Application for post of trainee manager Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Maecenas porttitor congue massa. Fusce posuere, magna sed pulvinar ultricies, purus lectus malesuada libero, sit amet commodo magna eros quis urna. Nunc viverra imperdiet enim. Fusce est. Vivamus a tellus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy pede. Mauris et orci. Aenean nec lorem. In porttitor. Donec laoreet nonummy augue. Suspendisse dui purus, scelerisque at, vulputate vitae, pretium mattis, nunc. Mauris eget neque at sem venenatis eleifend. Ut nonummy. Yours sincerely Jane Teller
Centre for Academic Success Birmingham City University 0121 331 7685 [email protected]
- Sign you name directly below this and then print it below the signature.
Be concise and relevant
The person you are writing to may be deluged with letters and if yours is 3 sides of dense text, then there is every possibility it will end up in the bin. Letters should take seconds rather than minutes to read. As a result, get straight to the point and stick to it, don’t include any unnecessary or supplementary information, don’t use any flowery language or long words just for the sake of it, and don’t repeat too much information which may already be included in a CV, for example.
Check your grammar and spelling very carefully
Mistakes will create a very bad impression, will lessen the effect of what you’re saying and in the case of a job application letter, could well also consign it to the bin. So: Use the spellchecker if you’re using a computer Check the spelling yourself, as the spellchecker won’t recognize incorrect use, for example, of dose and does. Use a good dictionary. Check your grammar carefully. If it’s been pointed out to you that you make mistakes, look especially for these kinds of errors. Get someone else to check it for you if necessary. Check your sentences and punctuation. Are the sentences complete? Does the punctuation help to make what you’re saying clearer? Don’t rush the letter; many mistakes occur because of this. Allow plenty of time for checking, and if necessary, for rewriting. The letter may well help to decide your future.
Use the right tone of language
It’s important to use the right type of language, the right ‘register’. Most letters you write will need to be formal, but not overly so. In fact, you should use similar language to that which you use in your academic writing. This means you should: Avoid everyday, colloquial language; slang or jargon Avoid contractions (I’m; it’s etc.) Avoid emotive, subjective language (terrible, rubbish etc.) Avoid vague words such as nice, good, get etc. You should always be polite and respectful, even if complaining. One way of doing this in English, which is common in formal letter writing, is to use ‘modal verbs’ such as would, could and should. Instead of simply writing Please send me , you could express this more formally as I would be grateful if you could send me … Don’t overdo it
Centre for Academic Success Birmingham City University 0121 331 7685 [email protected] though, and make your language too formal or maybe old fashioned; don’t look through a thesaurus and put in lots of unnecessarily long words. Having said this, British people tend to be fairly informal, even in business and academic circles, so it is normal to start using first names at an early stage.
Make sure the letter is well presented
First impressions are important, so use good quality paper, centre the letter on the page, don’t leave coffee stains on it, make sure you’ve spelt the person’s name correctly and don’t forget to sign it!
Centre for Academic Success Birmingham City University 0121 331 7685 [email protected]
Sample letter 2: Business letter
Whitcomb Polytechnic 20 - 30 Newcastle Road Whitcombe Tyne and Wear WT5 4AH 11 October 2007 The General Manager Fukuoka Motors (UK) Ltd PO Box 137 York Road Loughton Durham LT3 5HD Dear Sir I understand from my colleague, Professor William Jones, who visited your Loughton plant last month, that you sometimes allow groups of students to tour the factory and see for themselves how Japanese production techniques operate in a European environment. Professor Jones himself was most impressed by his own visit, and recommended that I write to you. Would it be possible for a group of 20 Business Studies students - male and female, aged between 18 and 22 - from Whitcomb Polytechnic to visit you before the end of this term, which is on the 21 December? I realise that you must receive many requests for such visits, and that the time available may already be booked up. If it is not, and you able to see us, I should be most grateful if you could suggest a date and let me know of any normal conditions you lay down for visits of this kind. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully B Farrant (Dr) Senior Lecturer Source: http://www.henley- cov.ac.uk/public/xfiles/general/progarea/Overseas/LCCI/Level2/Letter/Lesson1.doc
