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References are quoted to indicate what the letter refers to (Your Ref.) and the correspondence to refer to when replying (Our Ref.).
References may either appear in figures, e.g. 661/17 in which case 661 may refer to the chronological number of the letter and 17 to the number of the department, or, DS/MR, in which case DS stands for Donald Sampson, the writer, and MR for his secretary, Mary Raynor.
References – optional.
What is salutation followed by? When can we use the phrase “To Whom It May Concern”?
The salutation directly addresses the recipient of the letter and is followed by a colon (except when a friendly, familiar, sociable tone is intended, in which case a comma is used). Salutations add a personal touch to your letter.
Dear followed by a courtesy title and the person's surname. Initials or first names are not generally used in salutations: Dear Mr Smith, not Dear Mr J. Smith or Dear Mr John Smith.
If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to you may use:
Dear Sir opens a letter written to a man whose name you do not know.
Dear Sirs is used to address a company.
Dear Madam is used to address a woman, whether single or married, whose name you do not know.
Dear Sir or Madam is used to address a person of whom you know neither the name nor the sex.
"To Whom It May Concern" is also a salutation you may use when you know neither the person nor the organisation that could be interested in your letter.
The best solution is to make a quick, anonymous phone call to the organization and ask for a name; or, address the salutation to a department name, committee name, or a position name: " Dear Personnel Department," "Dear Recruitment Committee," "Dear Chairperson," "Dear Director of Financial Aid ".
What is the role of the subject line in a business letter?
This provides a further reference, saves introducing the subject in the first paragraph, immediately draws attention to the topic of the letter, and allows the writer to refer to it throughout the letter.
