Formal / Informal Letters

Formal letters

• Formal letters are sent to organizations, government departments, chair holders, etc to make complaints, requests, inquiries, orders etc. 
• In case of formal letters, the person to whom you are addressing the letter is not a friend or any other person known to you. 
• Your tone is full of respect making use of formal words and sentences to create a nice impression on the recipient. 
• Formal letter follow a set format where you write the name, designation, and address of the recipient on the top left while your own name and address at the top right. 
• You sign off at the bottom left under yours truly or yours faithfully.

Informal letters

• Informal letters are written to friends and relatives. 
• The purpose of writing a letter is not to make a complaint or inquiry, and the tone is also casual. 
• The words used can be colloquial and slang, and you are not there to create an impression. 
• Informal letters can be considered a freestyle swimming where you are free to write in the style and tone as you wish. 
• There is no set format, and there is no need to be using formal style and tone.

                                                                  From www.eslbuzz.com

Alternatives to Dear Sir/Madam

Read More: https://www.grammarly.com/blog/dear-sir-or-madam/

Writing to a Friend

A Thank-You Note

The secret of an excellent Cover Letter

The cover letter is –coupled with the CV– one of the first-contacting and first-impression papers through which an applicant has to get in touch with a recruiter. It’s important because it’s the candidate’s show case. It’s delicate because it’s the candidate-company’s first contact.  

Some of the best practices which a candidate should follow to make his application intrigued:

Structure: 
On the top right of the page:

•  your name and you personal address only, no email no phone, nothing else

On the top left:

• the date. 
• the full name of the company followed by its address 
• mention only the last name of the person to whom you are addressing.

Layout: a cover letter should contain 3 visible, well-separated, main parts

• an introduction
• a body (that could be divided to 3 sub-parts as well)
• conclusion. 
• At the end, your full name (on the left or on the right, it doesn’t matter).

The introduction:

• First thing’s first, a typical good introduction usually begins with how you knew the company and how you found the job position (the company website, through an alumni, during a career related discussion…). 

• Then you should mention why this position is interesting and exciting for you, and what makes you motivated to work for this the company as well. Here comes the part where you should mention some key-details about the company. Numbers are preferred, because they are concrete and easily-memorable. This is a typical good stream of a cover letter introduction.

The Body: the main part of the cover letter.

• The first part is useful for a brief introduction of the applicant (newly graduated, final year, current position…) and what he/she is planning to do in the near future (acquire more experience, get better in a specific field…).  
• 
  The second part should contain a brief overview of your technical background (what type of school you are from, main points of strength, and the aim and caracteristics of the eventual most important internships fulfilled. No details, this paragraph should be an appetizer to push the recruiter and trigger its curiosity to go to the CV to see what you are talking about. 
• 
  The last part should be dedicated to your extra-curricular activities, it’s the best place where to mention what positions you have held and what soft-skills you learnt.

The conclusion:

• You should mention something related to getting an opportunity to introduce yourself better through an interview and discus more how you will be useful for the company. 

• Invite the recruiter to know more about you through taking a look at your CV. 
• Finally, don’t forget to mention that you are available through any contact data mentioned in the CV and thank the recruiter for his/her time and consideration.

Some fatal typical mistakes that applicants usually make, like: mentioning your own name, evaluating yourself (I am good at… I have excellent knowledge about…) that is the job of the recruiter not yours. Or also mentioning too much details about your education or your internships and activities. That would be boring an that will make your CV obvious, predictable and not worth to see. Remember: a cover letter should push the recruiter to check the CV, not the other way around.

Adapted from The secret of an excellent Cover Letter
Posted by Achraf on February 10, 2013

Cover Letter

Source: www.grammarcheck.net

Formal Letter

Writing a Cover Letter

Useful Phrases for Your Business Emails

http://languagelearningbase.com

How to Write a Formal Letter. Howcast Video

Learn how to pen a proper letter with the tips in these Howcast videos. Advice includes how to write a love letter, a letter of complaint, a thank you note, a sympathy card, a letter to the editor, and much more. Because there are some situations where email just won't do.

Script

Business Letter Format and Templates

 What is the Business Letter Format?

The format of business letters has slowly changed over time with the culture of business getting less and less formal.
Here are the components of a traditional full block business letters (shown in picture form and with explanations).

The format shown here is just a guide - variations and customizations are common - and not all elements are needed in every type of letter such as job application cover letters or thank-you letters.
(http://www.4hb.com)
                    TEMPLATES
Generate your English business letters per mouse click.
Choose the template and mark the checkboxes for the sentences you want to use in your business letter. The result can be copied into the clipboard or saved as TXT or RTF file (e.g. for MS-Word).

Choose a Template 

Enquiry 

Offer 

Order 

Order Confirmation 

Dispatch Note and Acknowledgement of Receipt 

Invoice and Overdue Notice

                                                                                                        ( ego4u.com)

                                                                                          

Business Letters. Useful Phrases

Useful Phrases

Salutation

·         Dear Mr Brown

·         Dear Ms White

·         Dear Sir

·         Dear Sirs

·         Dear Madam

·         Dear Sir or Madam

·         Gentlemen

Starting

·         We are writing to inform you that ...
                      to confirm ...
                      to request ...
                      to enquire about ...

·         I am contacting you for the following reason.

·         I recently read/heard about  . . . and would like to know . . .

·         Having seen your advertisement in ... , I would like to ...

·         I would be interested in (obtaining/receiving) ...

·         I received your address from ...      and would like to   ...

·         I am writing to tell you about ...

Referring to previous contact

·         Thank you for your letter of March 15 ...

·         Thank you for contacting us.

·         In reply to your request ...

·         Thank you for your letter regarding ...

·         With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday ...

·         Further to our meeting last week ...

·         It was a pleasure meeting you in London last month.

·         I enjoyed having lunch with you last week in Tokyo.

·         I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed on Tuesday . . .

Making a request

·         We would appreciate it if you would ...

·         I would be grateful if you could...

·         Could you please send me . . .

·         Could you possibly tell us/let us have...

·         In addition, I would like to receive ...

·         It would be helpful if you could send us ...

·         I am interested in (obtaining/receiving...)

·         I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.

·         Please let me know what action you propose to take.

  Offering help

·         We would be happy to ...

·         Would you like us to ...

·         We are quite willing to ...

·         Our company would be pleased to ...

Giving good news

·         We are pleased to announce that ...

·         I am delighted to inform you that ...

·         You will be pleased to learn that ...

Giving bad news

·         We regret to inform you that ...

·         I'm afraid it would not be possible to ...

·         Unfortunately we cannot/we are unable to ...

·         After careful consideration we have decided (not) to…

 Complaining

·         I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ...

·         I am writing to complain about ...

·         Please note that the goods we ordered on (date) have not yet arrived.

·         We regret to inform you that our order n°--- is now considerably overdue.

·         I would like to query the transport charges which seem unusually high. 

Apologizing

·         We are sorry for the delay in replying ...

·         I regret any inconvenience caused

·         I would like to apologize for (the delay/the inconvenience) ...

·         Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience….

Orders

·         Thank you for your quotation of ...

·         We are pleased to place an order with your company for ...

·         We would like to cancel our order n°...    

·         Please confirm receipt of our order.

·         I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your order n°...

·         Your order will be processed as quickly as possible.

·         It will take about (three) weeks to process your order.

·         We can guarantee delivery before ...

·         Unfortunately these articles are no longer available/are out of stock.

Prices

·         Please send us your price list.

·         You will find enclosed our most recent catalogue and price list.

·         Please note that our prices are subject to change without notice.

·         We have pleasure in enclosing a detailed quotation.

·         We can make you a firm offer of ...

·         Our terms of payment are as follows :

Referring to payment

·         Our records show that we have not yet received payment of ...

·         According to our records ...

·         Please send payment as soon as possible.

·         You will receive a credit note for the sum of

    

Enclosing documents

·         I am enclosing ...

·         Please find enclosed ...

·         You will find enclosed ...

Closing remarks

·         If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know

·         If I can help in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me

·         If you require more information ...

·         For further details ...

·         Thank you for taking this into consideration

·         Thank you for your help.

·         We hope you are happy with this arrangement.

·         We hope you can settle this matter to our satisfaction.

 Referring to future business

·         We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future

·         We would be (very) pleased to do business with your company.

·         I would be happy to have an opportunity to work with your firm.

Referring to future contact

·         I look forward to seeing you next week

·         Looking forward to hearing from you

·         "           "      to receiving your comments

·         I look forward to meeting you on the 15th

·         I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience.  

·         An early reply would be appreciated.

Ending business letters

·         Yours faithfully,

·         Sincerely,          }

·         Yours sincerely, } (for all customers/clients)

·         Sincerely yours, }

·         Regards,             (for those you already know and/or
                                   with whom you already have a working relationship.)