- This is additional reading material for the Animation degree programme at QUST/Bradford
- It is uncontroversial to say that reading is probably the best way to extend your vocabulary and the more you read, the greater your vocabulary will be
- This week the main text below is more like a general English textbook than an academic essay so there may not be so much AWL vocabulary on display as in previous readings
Elements of a Formal letter
A formal letter should include the following elements: sender’s address; receiver’s address; date; polite and formal salutation that preferably addresses the recipient by name; a clear and concise statement of the purpose of the letter; the content of the letter itself; and a formal sign-off followed by the signature and printed name of the sender.
Addresses
The sender’s address is conventionally located in the top right hand corner of the paper. Below this is the date. The recipient’s address is placed above the salutation on the left hand side of the paper. This is typically below the level of the sender’s address as shown in the example below:
Salutation
Marketing strategists recognised that reducing the formality of the salutation whilst still keeping it very formal creates a closer relationship in the mind of the recipient. A perceived closer relationship between sender and recipient is more likely to result in money being exchanged (which is the ultimate purpose of marketing activities) so it is perhaps unsurprising that in today’s global ultra-capitalist economic system, it is now conventional to address the recipient by their first name rather than Mr/Mrs + family name. Nevertheless, there may be times where the sender wants to maintain the distance from the recipient and in this case the title and family name is preferred. Sir/Madam is reserved for occasions when the recipient’s name is unknown. Whichever of these options is selected, the name will be preceded by the capitalised word ‘Dear’ and followed by a comma (,). Where the recipient is an unknown worker in a faceless corporation, the phrase ‘To whom this may concern’ can be used instead.
First line of the letter
The aim of the first line of the letter is to make it 100% clear to the recipient what the letter is about as concisely as possible. Therefore, letters often start with ‘I am writing to you to ….’ or ‘The purpose of this letter is to…’ Sometimes the whole purpose of the entire letter might be achieved in just this one line. For example: Please find the requested information enclosed.
Letter Content
Where the entire letter does not conveniently fit into one sentence, go ahead and write the message in a standard paragraphed format. Remember to be clear and concise at all times as you do not want to waste the recipient’s time with unnecessary waffle. In this respect, formal letter writing is similar to academic writing – both value conciseness and clarity.
Sign-off
At the end of the letter it is conventional to add a one sentence paragraph expressing the wish for a prompt response if one is desired (e.g. I look forward to hearing from you soon). Then leave a line break before adding yours sincerely if you addressed the recipient by name and yours faithfully if you used Dear Sir/Madam. This would be followed by a comma (,), a line break, the sender’s signature, another line break and then the sender’s printed name. It is becoming increasingly acceptable to use Best regards or Best wishes which has developed through the use of email and the awkwardness of being excessively formal using that particular method of communication. For the time being, I would recommend using Best regards and Best wishes for emails only as it comes across as rather informal in a traditional letter format.
Finally, it is worth stating that the conventions are frequently ignored for functional purposes so you will see different approaches to formal letter writing. To witness this directly, have a look at the results of an image search for formal letters through the Bing search engine.