How to Write a Formal Letter: Format, Content, and Examples, Lecture notes of Urban Services Design and Administration

Download How to Write a Formal Letter: Format, Content, and Examples and more Lecture notes Urban Services Design and Administration in PDF only on Docsity! Centre for Academic Success Birmingham City University 0121 331 7685 success@bcu.ac.uk bcu.ac.uk/cas 1.06 How to write a formal letter With the advent of email, it is becoming less and less common to write letters, but the few letters that you will write will probably be very important ones, such as covering letters for job applications, covering letters for questionnaires or surveys which are part of your research, or letters of complaint to your bank manager. It is very important, therefore, that your letters have the desired effect on the reader. In order to achieve this, they should be:  in the correct format  short and to the point  relevant  free of any grammatical or spelling mistakes  polite, even if you’re complaining  well presented This guide will give some general advice on letter writing and includes some sample letters. If you are replying to a letter it can be a good idea to note how that letter has been formatted and expressed. Format There are certain conventions that your reader will expect you to follow; if you don’t, you will create a bad impression. On the following page there is a letter in standard format. Refer to the notes afterwards for explanation. Centre for Academic Success Birmingham City University 0121 331 7685 success@bcu.ac.uk bcu.ac.uk/cas 42, Greyhound Road Perry Barr Birmingham B42 6HJ Mr. E. Scrooge The Manager Barclay’s Bank Ltd 113 Mammon Street Andover HU4 9ET 5 April 2008 Dear Mr. Scrooge, Application for post of trainee manager Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Maecenas porttitor congue massa. Fusce posuere, magna sed pulvinar ultricies, purus lectus malesuada libero, sit amet commodo magna eros quis urna. Nunc viverra imperdiet enim. Fusce est. Vivamus a tellus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy pede. Mauris et orci. Aenean nec lorem. In porttitor. Donec laoreet nonummy augue. Suspendisse dui purus, scelerisque at, vulputate vitae, pretium mattis, nunc. Mauris eget neque at sem venenatis eleifend. Ut nonummy. Yours sincerely Jane Teller Centre for Academic Success Birmingham City University 0121 331 7685 success@bcu.ac.uk bcu.ac.uk/cas though, and make your language too formal or maybe old fashioned; don’t look through a thesaurus and put in lots of unnecessarily long words. Having said this, British people tend to be fairly informal, even in business and academic circles, so it is normal to start using first names at an early stage. Make sure the letter is well presented First impressions are important, so use good quality paper, centre the letter on the page, don’t leave coffee stains on it, make sure you’ve spelt the person’s name correctly and don’t forget to sign it! Centre for Academic Success Birmingham City University 0121 331 7685 success@bcu.ac.uk bcu.ac.uk/cas Sample letter 1: Covering letter 12, Kenmore Road Littletown LT12 9BH 1st December 2007 Mr G. Sands Fitness First Lake Road Littletown LT1 5MX Dear Mr Sands Re: Fitness Instructor FF/32 I am writing to apply for the job of Fitness Instructor, as advertised in Thursday's Courant. This is an ideal job for me given my enthusiasm for sport, my related experience and qualifications. Sport and fitness training have always been important to me, which is why I chose to take a BTEC Diploma in Sports Science. I obtained distinctions in the Sports Anatomy & Physiology and Sports Injuries modules last year and am confident that I will get similar marks in Exercise Physiology, Mechanics of Sport and Sports Supervision & Management this year. I am a confident user of Microsoft Office 2000 and have worked extensively with Fitness Publisher, a program for analysing fitness. As you can see from my CV, I've taken the opportunity to gain extra qualifications that were on offer at college, which has helped me get part-time work as a pool attendant. I'm called on to provide cover during busy times so am used to working irregular hours at short notice. I've also run a lunchtime aerobics class at college since the start of this year. I finish college in six weeks and am keen to find a job rather than carry on with further full-time study. I could start any part time work or training sooner as many of my classes are finishing and most of my assignments are done. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely Louise Longford Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/onelife/work/applications/example.shtml Centre for Academic Success Birmingham City University 0121 331 7685 success@bcu.ac.uk bcu.ac.uk/cas Sample letter 2: Business letter Whitcomb Polytechnic 20-30 Newcastle Road Whitcombe Tyne and Wear WT5 4AH 11 October 2007 The General Manager Fukuoka Motors (UK) Ltd PO Box 137 York Road Loughton Durham LT3 5HD Dear Sir I understand from my colleague, Professor William Jones, who visited your Loughton plant last month, that you sometimes allow groups of students to tour the factory and see for themselves how Japanese production techniques operate in a European environment. Professor Jones himself was most impressed by his own visit, and recommended that I write to you. Would it be possible for a group of 20 Business Studies students - male and female, aged between 18 and 22 - from Whitcomb Polytechnic to visit you before the end of this term, which is on the 21 December? I realise that you must receive many requests for such visits, and that the time available may already be booked up. If it is not, and you able to see us, I should be most grateful if you could suggest a date and let me know of any normal conditions you lay down for visits of this kind. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours faithfully B Farrant (Dr) Senior Lecturer Source: http://www.henley- cov.ac.uk/public/xfiles/general/progarea/Overseas/LCCI/Level2/Letter/Lesson1.doc