Addressing an e-mail or official letter

Hi,

Email is a pretty informal way of communicating. Many of the older, more traditional formalities like 'Dear Mr. Smith' and 'Yours sincerely' are not really used much at all.

My advice is that you should just start right in, by saying why you are writing and what you want, in  a polite way of course.

eg Just start with 'I'd be very grateful if you would send me an application form for . . . '

Best wishes, Clive (<<<< most people don't end in this way. They just end.)

Hi again,

So while e-mail can be more informal, what about written letters? Like job applications, how would you start those? Dear Mr. Smith, if you know the person's name. Dear Sir or Dear Madam, if you don't know the name.

Put 'Yours sincerely' at the end, sign below, and print your name below your signature.

Can you use things like "I'd", "can't" in formal written letters or should everything be written like "I would" and "can not"? Write things out in full.

Best wishes, Clive