Re: Shall I write my name and address at the top right side of my Motivation Letter..?

Tanit — Fri, 02 May 2008 08:41:02 GMT

Hi Tamguatlay,

I am not Nona, and you probably won't trust me because I'm not a native speaker of English. I only wanted to share my experience, which can add something to the topic.

As an ESL student of BrE, I was taught to end a letter with "Your faithfully" when it addresses an unknown addressee (i.e., when it begins with "Dear Sir or Madam") and with "Yours sincerely" when you know his/her name (i.e., the letter begins with "Dear Mr/Ms/Miss [+surname]").

However, during my year in the UK, I saw the expression "Your faithfully" only twice, in two letters written by members of my University staff. Funnily enough, the first one began with "To whom it may concern" (another extremely rare expression ) and the second with "Miss [+ my surname]", two opening formulae I was taught NOT to use, when having classes ... none of them actually began with "Dear Sir or Madam"! Both the letters I mentioned (I've still got them) come from a University, so I'm obviously not talking about illiterate writers.

Another thing I can say is that my British teacher on the one hand strongly advised us to close formal letters in our CAE and CPE exams with "Yours faithfully" or "Yours sincerely" (depending on the circumstances) because those were the expression the examiners were looking for. On the other hand, he also warned us that these day most people, also in the UK, will close those letters with "Sincerely", "Regards", "Kind regards".

If my experience is anything to go by, what we learn sometimes can differ from what is actually done nowadays, just as Clive said.

Re: Letter writing

tam — Wed, 12 Nov 2003 12:06:44 GMT

There are a few simply rules on letter writing:

1. To begin with your address (address of sender) should always be placed on the right hand side of the page, along with the date. If the letter is official then the receiver's address should on the left, below the sender's.

2. All letters should begin with Dear...., unless it is official and you do not know who you are writing to. In this case the letter can be addressed Dear Sir or Madam or To whom it may concern...

3. The first paragraph should be an introduction to the reason you are writing and the last should be a summing up and conclusion.

eg: I am writing in reference to your advertisement on the Forum on Monday 9th November......

eg: I look forward to receiving your reply..... / Please feel free to contact me for further information.....

4. You should end a letter with Yours Faithfully if you do not know the name of the person you are writing to. You should end a letter with Yours Sincerely if you know the name of the person.

There has also been alot written about letters in this forum. Check the threads from August/ September.

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Re: Shall I write my name and address at the top right side of my Motivation Letter..?

Re: Letter writing