The Business or Formal Letter
Remember that English changes all the time. Given below are some suggestions about how to write a business/formal letter using a traditional style.
- When writing a business letter use formal English. This means avoiding abbreviations - I’m, he’s, what’s etc. - and slang (‘street’ language). For example, Hiya! Or, Howzit, bro!
- The salutation should be Dear Sir/Madam if you do not know the name of the person you are writing to. It should be Dear Mr X or Dear Ms or Mrs X, if you do. In British English it is not normal to write both the first name and the surname in the salutation. For example, do not write Dear Mr. Rob Marsh. It is more correct to write Dear Mr Marsh, or Dear Rob.
- Get to the point and avoid adding information that is not directly relevant to the matter in hand.
- End a business letter in a formal manner. Use either Yours faithfully or Yours sincerely. (The rule is: if the person who is going to receive the letter is named at the beginning, end with Yours sincerely. If you have begun your letter with Dear Sir/Madam, end it with Yours faithfully.)
- Leave lines between the various paragraphs. Spread your work out. It is very important that your letter looks
- The numbers one to nine should be written as words. The numbers 10 and above must be written as numbers. (For example: John is four. His brother is 17.)
- Do not ‘crowd’ all your writing into one paragraph. Divide your letter into clear sections (paragraphs). The layout and appearance of your letter is very important.
Report writing
When you write a report you are writing for a specific “audience” and this fact determines the content or information you include in the document. Imagine, for example, the different type of report you would write about a football competition if you were writing for (a) a community newsletter or, (b) a professional referees’ association. Similarly, the organisation you work for may also require either that reports are presented in a certain way, or contain certain information. However, all reports must contain three parts: (1) an introduction (that gives an overview of the report and describes the content and sometimes the format of the document), (2) a body or main part (that describes the main findings of the report, including a number of sub-sections) and (3) a conclusion & recommendations section (that draws together the main points of the report).
