Letter

A letter is a hand-written, typed or printed communication which may require a response.

Structure
  • Sender’s address. Write the sender’s address in the top right-hand corner of the page.

  • Recipient’s name, position and address. If you include the recipient’s address, write this on the left-hand side of the page. The first line should be level with the last line of the sender’s address. Use any professional title the recipient has used in previous correspondence. Otherwise, write the recipient’s full name without Mr or Ms.

    Exemple adequatJanice Farrell
    The Organizing Committee
    Centre for Educational Research
    The Fairborn Exchange
    Manchester
    M13 4XL

  • Date. Write the date on the right-hand side of the page below the sender’s address. Do not write the name of the town or city from which the letter is sent.

    Exemple adequat17 November 2021

  • Salutation. Salutations most frequently begin with Dear and end with a comma.

    • When the letter is informal, follow Dear by a first name.

      Exemple adequatDear Mark,
      Dear Lucy,

    • When the letter is formal, follow Dear by Mr or Ms and the recipient’s family name.

      Exemple adequatDear Mr Jones,
      Dear Ms Benway,

      When you do not know the recipient’s name, use the phrase Dear Sir or Madam followed by a comma.

    • When the letter is addressed to a group of people, follow Dear by a common noun.

      Exemple adequatDear student,
      Dear colleague,

    • You can follow Dear by a capitalized noun to denote the recipient’s position.

      Exemple adequatDear Coordinator,
      Dear Head of Studies,

  • Body. The body of the letter should convey the information in a direct style and be paragraphed appropriately.

    The following phrases may be useful in both letters and e-mails.

    In reply to…
    With reference to…
    I am writing to enquire about…
    I am writing to inform you of…
    I was happy to learn that…
    I was sorry to hear that…
    I would be grateful if…
    I would appreciate it if…
    I am pleased to announce that…
    You will be happy to learn that…
    I regret to inform you that…
    I am sorry to say that…
    You are advised to…
    You are requested to…
    Please do not hesitate to…
    Please feel free to…
    I look forward to…
    I am looking forward to…

  • Close. The close is a formulaic way of ending a letter. Capitalize the first word and follow the last word with a comma. Leave some extra space above and below the close.

    Exemple adequatSincerely, [formal close]

    Exemple adequatKind regards, [informal close]


  • Signature line. The signature line consists of the signature followed by the sender’s printed name. If appropriate, write the sender’s position below the printed name.

    Exemple adequatImatge sense text alternatiu definit

    Laverne Forner
    Staff Week Coordinator

Model 1: giving information

Model 1Word

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Model 2: asking for information

Model 2Word

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Darrera actualització: 28-9-2022
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Recommended citation:
«Letter» [en línia]. A: Llibre d’estil de la Universitat de Barcelona. Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona. Serveis Lingüístics. <https://www.ub.edu/llibre-estil/criteri.php?id=2605> [consulta: 28 març 2024].
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