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ESL forum > Grammar and Linguistics > Letter writing    

Letter writing



brahmam
India

Letter writing
 
Hi, can someone clarify my doubts? In a formal letter, should we use Salutation first or the subject? In India, people use �Thanking you � at the end of a formal letter. Is it correct?

20 Mar 2013      





alex1968
Greece

Hi Brahmam,
Usually we follow these rules for formal letter writing:

If the letter begins:
Dear Sir/Madam,

Yours faithfully,
First name, Surname

If the letter begins:
Dear Mr Smith,

Yours sincerely,
First name, Surname

20 Mar 2013     



yanogator
United States

If it �s a business letter, use a colon after the greeting, rather than a comma.
 
Do not put a comma between your first name and surname. Alex just put the comma there to separate the two words.
 
Bruce

21 Mar 2013     



dillydi
United Kingdom

In formal letter writing, you would sign the letter i.e. Mr F Wild using the initial of your first name, rather than your first name in full.

Also Dear Sir/Madam, the letter would be signed as (yours truly,)

You would only use �thanking you � to someone you know, the other terms are �best wishes �, �kind regards � or �regards �.

21 Mar 2013     



Jayho
Australia

Hi brahmam
 
I think all English speaking countries use slightly different formats.
 
Down here at the bottom of the world we don�t put punctuation after the greeting. In fact, comas and fulls stops generally no longer appear in address fields, after greeting or closing or after Ms/Mr.  Gov�t letters usually follow a set format which private business then also follows. Naturally, there are many exceptions though with non-gov�t letters as we have all been taught differently over the years.
 
One thing is standard though and it�s the closing which is the same as what Alex has written
 
You can see an example business letter here (with a subject) and read more info here.
 
Cheers
 
Jayho

21 Mar 2013