Anonymous  +  313501 Wed, 10 Jan 07 04:24 PM Hi everyone I'm doing a cover letter for a resume, however I'm not sure about: 1. Whether to indent at the start of each paragraph 2. Whether to put a comma after 'Dear Sir/Madam' and 'Yours faithfully' What is the formal way to do this? Cheers Anonymous Yours Faithfully, Grammar, Resume, Commas, Paragraphs, Cover Letter

	Ant_222  +  313512 Wed, 10 Jan 07 04:44 PM Dear Sir/Madam, 1. No first line intents. But a 1-line intent after each paragraph. I mean, separate your paragraphs by one empty line and use left justification. 2. See above and below Yourth faithfully, Anton P.S.: All that is just my guess. Ant_222 Joined on Sun, May 21 2006 Podolsk, Russia Contributing Member 1,717 Grammar, Paragraphs

	Cool Breeze  +  313547 Wed, 10 Jan 07 05:41 PM Hi Anon You can by all means have a lot of intent in your letter but no indention is necessary these days. (Just referring to a previous reply.)  I have got(ten) the impression from my British friends' letters that commas are out of style in British English. (However, I don't know your nationality at all.) In BE most up-to-date people don't use commas after Dear Sir and Yours faithfully. They don't even use commas in dates nowadays: January 10 2007. Americans are another breed. They want you to put a comma after Mr in Mr. Smith. It's a free world (at least to an extent). Take your pick. Cheers CB Cool Breeze Joined on Fri, Apr 7 2006 Senior Member 3,979 "I hope you'll all live to be 150 years old - and the last voice you hear is mine!" Frank Sinatra on stage in Oslo, Norway, 28 September 1991 Yours Faithfully, Grammar, Dates, British English, Commas

	Feebs11  +  313607 Wed, 10 Jan 07 08:25 PM When writing formally, a comma after the greeting and after the end salutation is required. Whether you indent paragraphs without a space between the paragraphs or don't indent the paragraphs but do insert a space between them is entirely up to you. Either is acceptable. Feebs11 Joined on Thu, Nov 23 2006 UK Veteran Member 5,015 Grammar, Commas, Salutation, Paragraphs

	Clive  +  313647 Wed, 10 Jan 07 10:30 PM Hi, They want you to put a comma after Mr in Mr. Smith. I think you meant to say 'a period' rather than 'a comma'. Clive. Clive Joined on Thu, Oct 28 2004 Canada Veteran Member 29,668 El tango argentino es un pensamiento triste que se puede bailar (The tango argentino is a sad thought which can be danced) Enrique Santos Discépolo Grammar, Commas

	Cool Breeze  +  313651 Wed, 10 Jan 07 10:46 PM  Clive wrote: They want you to put a comma after Mr in Mr. Smith. I think you meant to say 'a period' rather than 'a comma'. Hi Clive Yes, of course. Sorry about that. In BE they call it 'a full stop', I think. Cheers CB Cool Breeze Grammar, Commas

	Grammar Geek  +  313763 Thu, 11 Jan 07 04:33 AM I'd just like to point out that this isn't grammar - this is "style." And different style guides will tell you different things. American: Colons after the salutation in a business letter, comma after the closing. Do NOT indent the paragraphs in a business letter. Save that for letters between friends, thank you notes, etc. Dear Mr. Smith: Blah Blah blah Blah blah blah Sincerely, me Grammar Geek Joined on Tue, Jan 10 2006 Veteran Member 19,683 Barbara, who answers in American English. My housekeeping skills attest to the truth of the second law of thermodynamics: Left to themselves, things get more and more random! Grammar, Colons, Commas, Salutation, Paragraphs, Business Letters