One of the things instilled in me both at school and college was how to write and layout a letter correctly. Now with Social Media and texting taking over how we communicate, letter writing skills seem to be disappearing.
It is a bit of a bug bear of mine when I receive correspondence in the post with mistakes both in the content and the layout.
How to layout a letter
Addresses
– Your address is on the right hand side of the letter.
– The address of the person/company that you are writing to is on the left hand side of the letter.
Date
- The date is on the right hand side of the letter.
- The month written in full.
Salutation
- Use Dear Sir or Madam if you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, or;
- Use the name of the person
Content
- The first paragraph should be short and explain the purpose of the letter.
- The middle paragraph/s should contain the relevant information.
- The last paragraph should state action expected such as I look forward to hearing from you.
Ending a letter
- If you do not know the name of the person you are writing, the letter should end Yours faithfully.
- If you do know the name of the person you are writing, the letter should end Yours sincerely.
- Sign your name above your printed name.
- List enclosures.
Proofread
- Once you have written your letter, read it back and ask yourself: does it make sense?
- Check spelling and grammar.
If you have a letter that you send out regularly, then you can create a template or get your Virtual Assistant to do it!
Have any tips on letter writing? Let us know!
How to layout a letter
Share this
