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The format of writing a formal letter
Your address, but not your name, usually goes in the top right hand corner. You would not
usually include your telephone number or email address here, but this would be
permissible.

2 The name and address of the person you’re writing to goes below this, on the left. If you don’t have a specific name, always at least try to put some sort of title. You
should always, however, address the letter to a particular person if at all possible.

3 The position of the date is more flexible. It can go on the left or the right, usually below
the addressee details. The format of the date is also flexible; it could be written
5 April 2003, 5th April 2003, 5/4/03 or 05/04/03. Avoid putting the day and month the
other way round.

4 The salutation at the beginning of the letter depends on whether or not you have the
name of the person.

If you do, write Dear Mr. X, Dear Mrs. B, Dear Miss C or, if you don’t know
the marital status of a woman, or if she has written this, Dear Ms. Terry. It is possible
to write Dear Robert or Dear Alis but many people consider this
awkward. If the person has a specific title, use this: Dear Dr. Gopal

If you don’t know the name of the person, you would traditionally write Dear Sir. Dear Sir/Madam or Dear Sir or Madam.

The ending of the letter depends on how you have started: see below.

5 It is common now to put the subject of the letter directly below the salutation. This
would be in bold or underlined. The purpose is to give the reader an idea of what the
letter is about before reading it, and to be able to pass it on to a more appropriate
person if necessary.




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