http://www.englishforums.com/search/pro.htm?q=tag%3aFormal+letter+tag%3aContractionsSearch results for 'tag:Formal letter tag:Contractions' matching tags 'Formal letter' and 'Contractions'en-USCSMOD (Build: 3256.36449)http://www.englishforums.com/English/QuickQuestionWriteFormalLetter/jzlp/post.htm#45864Thu, 16 Sep 2004 16:00:43 GMT946f00bb-57d3-4b7b-a9a2-059b5341af52:45864anon1Dear Mrs. Guest, <br /> <br />I encourage you to register though it is not required. <br /> <br />As far as spacing is concerned, I would single space my sentences and I would leave a space between paragraphs. This is only a letter, not a manuscript. So it is no big deal either way. <br /> <br />I would encourage you to only ask questions that cannot be answered through other means. My guess is that most of the information about Australia is available on the Internet somewhere. People get upset if they believe you are passing your work onto them. But you are taking an International Honors Class, so I trust you have exhausted the normal sources of information. <br /> <br />Everything else seems fine, with the exception that you need a colon after Dear Sir. As a matter of personal style, I tend to avoid contractions in formal letters. I use "I am looking" as opposed to "I'm looking". To me, the latter seems a bit lazy. But that is just personal style. <br /> <br />Good luck. <br /> <br />MountainHiker <br /> <br />