1. The Letterhead

The letterhead expresses a firm's personality. It gives the name and ad¹ dress of the firm, telephone numbers, telegraphic addresses; the telegraphic codes, fax numbers, and states the company's business. For companies reg­istered in the United Kingdom with limited liability the word Limited (Ltd) must form part of the name. Companies formed with limited liability in the United States use the word Inc.

2. The Date

Always type the date in full, in the logical order of day, month, year, thus:

12th October 20...

Example:

Date: 20th September 20... Miss E. Hughes, 100 South Street, PURLEY, Surrey, CR2 4TJ.

Dear Miss Hughes,

3. Inside Name and Address

The usual practice is to write the name and address of one's correspondent at the head of the letter, though it is sometimes placed at the foot, in the bottom lefthand corner, in official (i.e. Government) correspondence.

Where the head of department is known, address the letter to him by his official title, thus:

The Sales Manager

The Hercules Engineering Co Ltd

Brazennose Street

MANCHESTER

M 60 8 AS

All the names must be spelled correctly. To address T.B. Cartside as T.B. Carside is impolite.

(a) Courtesy titles

The courtesy titles used in correspondence are Mr, Mrs, Miss, Messrs. When your correspondent has a special title, such as Doctor, Professor. Colonel, Sir, he is addressed by his title and Mr must not be used. We write, DrJ. Brown, Prof. L. Carter, Cot. W. Johnson, Sir Arnold Plant.

(b) Foreign correspondence

When you write letters to other countries, always include the name of the country, even if the town mentioned is the country's capital.

The Vice President The Eagle Press Inc 24 South Bank BOSTON Mass 02116 USA

4. The Salutation

This is the greeting with which every letter begins. The usual greeting in a business letter is Dear Sir, but others are used too. For example:

Dear Madam (for both single and married women);

Dear Sirs (when a company is addressed).

When your correspondent is unknown to you and may be either a man or a woman, always use the form Dear Sir.

These are the formal openings normally used, but at the present time, especially if your correspondent is known to you personally, or if you have traded with him for some time the warmer and more friendly greeting, Dear Mr..., is then preferred. The greetings Sir, Madam and Gentlemen are very formal and are now seldom used in English business letters, though Gentle­men is usually preferred by American writers.

5. The Message

This forms the body of the letter and is the part that is really important. Before you begin to write or dictate, ask yourself the following questions:

(i) What is the purpose of this letter? (ii) What do 1 hope to get by it? (iii) What is the best way to write It?

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Do not end letters with / am, We are, I remain, etc. These phrases are as old-fashioned, as sentences introduced by Thanking, Hoping and simi­lar participles.