Writing letters

You have learned how to write official letters before (for details consult Part I which you used in the 2^nd year). Just to remind you of the structure of a standard remember that the major parts of the letter include:

1. Letterhead (usually a return address)

2. Date (remember the differences between the British and American ways of writing dates)

3. Your recipient’s address (including the name and the professional title (if any), the company or organization name, etc.)

4. An opening greeting (addressed to the same person as in 3)

5. Subject of the letter

6. The main body of the letter

7. A parting (depending on the form of address)

8. Signature (including your title)

9. Enclosures (if any).

If you send copies to a third party or parties, you should notify the recipient. You indicate it at the end of the letter like cc: Prof. J.Smith.

It is also possible to include a Postscript if you want to express an additional request or draw your recipient’s attention to some very important point. It is indicated by a special mark P.S. and is placed on the left below the body of the letter. In case you need to attach any supplementary materials or documents to the letter, you should indicate each document separately at the end of the letter like.