Re: should have

igbruce — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 09:42:24 GMT

I would prefer: "The company should have given Mr Hung one month's notice of its decision to terminate his contract as stipulated by the current law, but it (the company) did not."
Note: in formal letters it is best to avoid contracted words like didn't. They wre more for conversation than formal writing.

Re: Best regards, Kind regards, or Yours sincerely, - which is correct

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:51:44 GMT

Yours sincerely and Yours faithfully

In the UK, traditional valedictions have been mainly replaced by "Yours sincerely" or "Yours faithfully".

(Do not paste and copy lengthy material without citing references-- MM)

I personally feel that Kind Regards or Best Regards sounds cold and distant. Yours Truely.....or anything starting out with YOURS is to personal. A simple Thank You is warm, professional, and friendly.

Petyon/ HR Manager

I would appreciate if you take a look at my reference letter

zink — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 18:51:10 GMT

Hello !
I am new to this forum and I have discovered it when I was looking for formal letter samples. I want to apply to a College in Denmark and I want to have a chance to be chosen, so I am requiring help from anyone that is kind enough to offer it. I would also like to use the experience of interacting with the users of this forum to get prepared for the English test (sort of TOEFL, but not exactly) that I am required to pass for that College.
This is my letter of reference that I wrote for my teacher to sign. (I know this practice isn't the right way, but my teacher was very busy, so he asked me to do so). I would appreciate if you could have a look at it and spot mistakes and unusual phrases, if there are any.

i have replaced - [me] = my name

~~begin~~

To Whom it May Concern,

I am writing this letter as a recommendation for [me], a student at â[my school]â National College, in the quality of Teacher and Class Master at â[my school]â National College.

I have known [me] for almost four years, and in this time he has proven to be an extremely valuable student, with a great potential for learning, surpassing many other students.

In my opinion, during the time I spent with [me] in class, I can say I got to know him quite well. He has proven to me that he has an ample knowledge in the field of technology, being capable of operating a PC and virtually any software and device. The student [me] is, without doubt, one of the most valuable students to whom I teach. He has participated in programming school contests, as well as other contests, like Kangourou European Contest of Applied Mathematics in 2007 and the Siemens Join Multimedia design contest, in 2006.

As far as I can say, he is a very conscious student, one of his greatest qualities is the ability to associate and use new information, so that he finds it very easy to understand a bigger concept and get the essential picture. Moreover, I have noticed that [me] progressed since I had first met him, in the way that now he is more mature, more capable of making right decisions. He has now reached a high level of intelligence and awareness and I can fully state that he is ready to meet the intellectual requirements that are demanded by a college course.

[me] is a talented person, and very passionate when it comes to his ambitions. In a conversation we had a little time ago, I had learned that he is inclined toward computer designing, especially web sites. He had told me that he was studying diverse designing techniques and programming languages at home, so that one day he could be prepared for a job as a web designer.

However, despite the fact that [me] has focused on the field of technology and computers, he has a vast general knowledge and he is aware that by also studying other fields he could solve problems that are related to his choice field. He is a sociable person that accommodates in a group rather quickly, being able to handle teamwork efficiently. He knows when to listen and how, and he adapts his ideas to fit the project he is working on, therefore proving to be extremely flexible.

All things considered, I strongly believe that [me] is the right choice for the Multimedia Design and Communication courses within the [my choice] College. His redoubtable qualities and abilities, along with his great potential render [me] able to respond to elevated academic standards and even to outperform them, in order to pursue his career prospects. I am utterly convinced that this student could be a valuable addition to a prestigious academic center, such as your college.

Yours Faithfully,

~~end~~

Thank you for your time.
p.s. I will also post my motivation letter as soon as it's finished.

Re: to be exacting

Selecter — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 17:11:55 GMT

Grammar Geek wrote:

You can use idiomatic language in formal letters - I see idioms as being different from slang. You should avoid slang in formal letters, in my opinion.

Of course, slang should be avoided in formal letters. As for me, I avoid it in everyday conversations as well. As I understand, the reason why slang is not acceptable in formal letters is that in business it's important to give information, making sure that the recipient understands it correctly. I thought that it applies to idioms as well. There are lots of them. And it creates problems for the recipient if he/she doesn't know what some of them mean.

Anyway, thank you Grammar Geek.

>"The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wiser people so full of doubts." - Bertrand Russell

This is so true and yet it is sad.

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Re: should have

Re: Best regards, Kind regards, or Yours sincerely, - which is correct

I personally feel that Kind Regards or Best Regards sounds cold and distant. Yours Truely.....or anything starting out with YOURS is to personal. A simple Thank You is warm, professional, and friendly.

Petyon/ HR Manager

I would appreciate if you take a look at my reference letter

Re: to be exacting