Search results for 'tag:Whom tag:Universities' matching tags 'Whom' and 'Universities'

Re: Please edit funding request letter

26TMNTJG2PG — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 05:11:30 GMT

My name is â¦ and I am a 2008 honors graduate of â¦... I have been accepted to (university), where I plan to further my education. (University) is a prestigious, highly selective, college that prepares students to change the world. Its liberal arts education empowers students to excel intellectually, think creatively, serve wholeheartedly, act globally, and lead boldly.
I am currently seeking financial sponsors to help me with tuition, and hope I can count on your support. In case you havenât heard of (University), please allow me to share some history with you. Missionaries taught the first class in the basement of a church in (date) (If the date includes day, then the preposition should be 'on'). Since ~~itâs~~ its founding, (University) has grown to become one of the nationâs prominent institutions for higher learning in the liberal arts tradition. (University) has educated more than six generations of students who have reached the highest levels of academic, community, and professional achievement. (University) has a legacy of empowering students to succeed and to lead.
Personally, I am looking forward to broadening my perspectives of the world and gaining a better understanding of the person who I am and ~~who~~ whom I want to become. By continuing my higher education at (University), I plan to study biology with a concentration in pre-medicine. After completing my foundation studies, I plan to attend medical school to become a physician. I want to become a doctor because I want to help those who are less fortunate, and specifically ~~I want~~ to provide my service to alleviate the AIDS epidemic in Africa. That is the essence of being a doctor and why I will be one.
The total funds needed is ($amount) which includes tuition, room and board, living expense, books, supplies,, and transportation. I am asking [number] contributors to each donate [$amount] to help me reach my goal. Is it possible for you to assist me by making a contribution? Any amount of contribution would be greatly appreciated. You can make a check, money order or cashierâs check out to (name). Attached is additional information that outlines my budget and how donations can be made. I can provide proof of attendance and once I graduate (I think you mean 'finish') my first year I will send to the contributors a copy of my certificate.
My program tuition is due (date). I have enclosed a contribution form for your payment reference. Please return it and whatever sum you can contribute to me at the following address.
***
Please feel free to contact me at (number) if you need more information. Your generous contribution would enable me to share in this wonderful opportunity. Thank you in advance for your consideration, support, and generous response. I look forward to ~~thanking you for~~ your support, and will of course be writing to let you know how my college experience goes.
Respectfully yours,
(Name)

Motivation letter for a Ph.D.

djoe — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 11:45:29 GMT

Hi everyone,

I have written a draft for a motivation letter, which i'll include in a Ph.D. application.

Because, at the moment, I don't have acces to someone from whom I can get feed back, I'll post it here, and hopefuly someone will be able to read it and comment.

Thank you in advance to whom might read it.

To whom it may concern,

Application for the *** Ph.D. Program

The present letter will explain the reasons why I'm applying to a Ph.D.
degree.

By enrolling on the undergraduate course on Systems and Informatics
Engineering at the *** University, I came in contact with different
paradigms, technics and methodologies for software development.

In the early years of my studies at the university I was a student of
Professor *** which introduced
me to the basis of Formal Methods for software development and verification.

Soon I discovered the interest for Formal Methods, and
got involved in the Grand Challenge in Computer Science initiative.
This experience gave me a taste of what research in Formal Methods is.

Before terminating the under-graduation I entered another challenge like
project, forming a team of students like my self for the ***
contest, under the category of Software Design.
We made it through to the *** finals with a project for a
distributed environment where mobile devices could be used to increment the
contents already available on social data sources like Wikipedia, and others.

Enrolling in the MSc on Informatics at *** was a natural choice in order to
keep working with, and in, Formal Methods,
allowing me to continue the research in the context of the Grand Challenge.
My thesis subject is ***, which includes
building formal models of a informal specification and it's correction
verification.

Under Professor ***'s supervision I have done research on the
possibility to use different tools for different aspects of the formal
development and verification of software.
Which lead to a paper submitted and, presented by me, on the ***
Workshop at the *** symposium.

The contact with researchers from all over the world made me want to keep
doing research on Formal Methods, and push the Grand Challenge initiative
further with my contribution.

In 2007 I was invited to join a development team, as a junior developer, to
design and build an information system for the "*** *** ***" (***).
From November/2007 to May/2008 I worked at the *** facilities together with
domain experts to design and build the software system, while maintaining the
research related with my MSc studies at the university.

I believe that through Formal Methods one can achieve true engineering
concepts for software correction by construction, and that, due to the
overwhelming expansion of software applications, not only critical systems
should be proven safe and correct.

Nowadays software is embedded in almost every system we use, and in most
cases,
the producers os these artifacts not only don't provide warranty, but will
relieve themselves from any obligation with disclaimer notices.

Formalizing software development, as other engineering driven development
communities have done in the past, will give it scientific grounds to hold on,
and probably increase its quality.

Kind Regards,

***

Character Reference Letter to the court

makubexho — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 07:56:26 GMT

Flat *** / x YYYY Rd

Deeky (<--fictitious name)

July 10, 2008

The Presiding Magistrate:

Re: Character Reference â Judy (<--ficticous name)

My name is Deeky and I am an overseas student from LL and currently, full time doing my master of accounting at *** University. The purpose of this is to provide a character reference for Ms. Judy whom I have known as a friend, university fellow and workmate for a period of 3 years.

I first met Judy in a fast food franchised retail shop (kkk), when we were both part time employees while Judy had been in the shop longer than I was. It was shortly we became friends and noticed we were school mates at the same university.

As a student, Judy was a studious student and enthusiastic in involving group discussions of her studies. Although we were not in the same faculty, we often gathered with some of other students as a study group and did our study in university library until late. In fact, she was quite popular with her fellow students. Judy studied hard and accomplished her degree of bachelor of commerce in professional accounting.

As a workmate, Judy was a great choice. I have worked with her for more than 14 months coincidently in two different companies. The Judy I knew was a responsible, hard-working and caring employee to her jobs. Judy, a girl of full of smile, often received compliments of her customer service from customers she had serviced. Due to her hard-working and excellent working performance, she was once entrusted and appointed by our shop manager to be the shop supervisor. Patience, diligence and devotion were the things I saw from Judy when she taught me through about how the workplace operated. Not to mention, she was also popular among her workmates.

As a friend, Judy is a standout. She is a passionate, honest, smart, considerate and supportive individual who always generously lend out a hand to friends in difficulty. As friends, Judy, friends of ours and I sometimes had outgoings together and lovingly shared fun. Still we have maintained these activities these days.

To tell the truth, after being informed of Judy's recent incident at Myer (<---a complex department store), I really can not think of anything of consequence on the negative side of the personality ledger when it comes to Judy. Moreover, so far as I know Judy has just granted her Permanent Residence few months ago and also has been just employed by a local company as a sale assistant two months ago. Last not the least, her attention and eligibility to becoming an Australian citizen has become forthcoming. All in all, with my utmost good faith I would have to say that Judy is a fine, well-balanced person with positive qualities.

If you need any further information, please contact at 000 000 000.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Deeky

Re: To Whom It May Concern

Anonymous — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 02:29:50 GMT

I recently wrote a letter of explanation to a board of members who oversee the disbursement of financial aid to university students. Not knowing their names / gender / position / titles, I used the phrase, "To whom it may concern:". I double-checked with the English department before sending my statement and I was told that it was perfectly fine to use this phrase.

Re: creams and detergents

Goodman — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:19:09 GMT

Mr. Miclawer,

I wasnât going to expand this pluralization discussion on âcreamsâ and âwinesâ.
But it really bothered the heck out of me for two reasons.
1) I really wanted to find out if I was really blowing hot air on this subject
because of my misunderstanding of this topic, and 2) if there is another side of the usage
I am not aware of.
This is perhaps not relevant to the discussion but to establish my point, I think it needs
to be said. Mrs. Milton whom I learned English from was an excellent English teacher who
also had taught for 5 years at the Beijing University, which is a top University in China, by
invitation of the Government. Many of her students had landed positions working for the
Chinese Government and the U.N. as translators and interpreters. I was very blessed to be
among her students. Most of my English foundation was learned from her. And I was really
surprised to see your examples pluralizing âcreamâ and âwineâ. By your earlier examples, which I
compared with the information found on the WEB, I must ask this question. Am I to understand
that itâs completely grammatical to say in a restaurant âmay I have 2 waters and soups?â. I know
we hear that all the time but if we are discussing the whether a particular usage is grammatically
correct, running into this type of scenario is inevitable. Here are some âsupportsâ you had
asked for which may not may not be validated to your satisfaction. No doubt, you are the
English authority and perhaps possess âsuperiorityâ over many frequented this forum and I donât
mean to sound like challenging your examples, let alone to waste anymore of your time.
Nonetheless, as a serious learner, Iâd owe the real answers to myself and the learners if I just
accepted your answers as given. I may be wrong with my search result and you are correct.
And If so, here is my âadvanced apologyâ.

Nouns only countable nouns can be either singular or plural. ... He had some ice cream on
his face. He had an ice cream. mass. countable ...
www.phon.ucl.ac.uk/home/dick/tta/wc/nouns.htm - 21k - Cached - Similar pages

http://ajaja.paradoxinc.org/Basic/Grammar/CountAndNoncount.ht

Liquids: beer, milk, coffee, blood, cream, juice, honey, gasoline, oil, shampoo, soup, tea, water, wine.

Solids and semi-solids: Bread, butter, cheese, ice, ice cream, lettuce, toast, meat, beef, chicken, fish, ham, lamb, pork, chalk, 
copper, cotton, glass, gold, iron, , soap, tin, toothpaste, wood, wool,

http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/grammar/countnon.html

A Revision of the RulesThe exceptions require that the rule for pluralizing be revised: count nouns and nouns used 
in a count sense can be pluralized; noncount nouns and nouns used in a noncount sense cannot.

	Pluralizes with -s	Does not Pluralize
Count Noun	X
Count Use	X
Noncount Noun		X
Noncount Use		X

http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080425090142AAom2ui

Answers (4)

If coffee is an uncountable noun, cream certainly is by common sense. Thus the rule applies.

Â· Answerer 1

Many nouns can be used as countables or uncountables. It depends on whether you are thinking of a substance or
a single serving or object made of the substance. So:

Beer is fattening (uncountable - the substance)
Don't drink more than three beers a day. (Countable - servings)

I love chocolate (uncountable - the substance)
Get me a box of chocolates (countable - individual pieces)

A vase made of blown glass (uncountable - the substance)
A glass of wine (A single piece / artifact)

Coffee gives me indigestion (the substance - uncountable)
I need at least three coffees to wake up on a morning (countable - individual servings)

2 months ago

http://www3.law.cuny.edu/wc/students/multilingual/articles.html

Uncountable nouns often refer to drinks and food, other general substances, or concepts (meat, tea, steel, information, justice):

Examples of Uncountable Nouns in English:

Food and Drink: bacon, beef, beer, bread, butter, cabbage, candy, cauliflower, chicken, chocolate, coffee, corn,
cream, fish, fruit, juice, lettuce, meat, milk, oil, pasta, rice, salt, spinach, sugar, tea, water, whiskey, wine, yogurt.
General Substances: air,cement, clay, coal, copper, dirt, dust, foam, gasoline, gold, ice, leather, paper, petroleum,
plastic, rain, rubber, silver, soap, steel, wood, wool.
Abstract nouns: abandonment, access, adultery, advice, alimony, anger, anguish, arson, authentication, beauty, capacity,
conduct, confidence, courage, deprivation, desperation, discretion, employment, empowerment, evidence, extortion, fortune,
fun, happiness, health, honesty, housing, information, insurance, intelligence, intent, knowledge, land, love, malice, negligence,
poverty, privacy, real estate, sadness, satisfaction, strength, truth, wealth.
Others: biology, clothing, darkness, equipment, furniture, gossip, homework, jewelry, luggage, machinery, mail, money, music,
news, poetry, pollution, research, scenery, traffic, transportation, violence, weather, weight, work.

Some uncountable nouns (except for concepts) can be turned into countable nouns by preposing a phrase to them
(two bottles of wine, a bar of soap, a piece of information, an act of violence, a burst of anger, a piece of evidence).

e.g. The defendant's lawyer is sure the judge will accept new evidence in this case.

vs. The defendant's lawyer is sure the judge will accept three new pieces of evidence in this case.

Some uncountable nouns can be used in the plural, but their meaning changes:

experience / experiences: e.g., He had to rely on experience / I lived unforgettable experiences

Re: wife/girlfriend...advance/further

Yoong Liat — Thu, 29 May 2008 10:01:56 GMT

Hi New2grammar

The following is what I found. There is nothing on "He married his current wife."

We should let our native guru/s confirm whether the above usage is, strictly speaking, correct..

Oxford University > Search Oxford University > Search Results

powered by

Search the Web Search ox.ac.uk

He married his current wife.

Introduction to Logic: Level Seven Tutorials

(Fails test 3: she didn't become the wife of Prince Philip in 1952.) ... (Fails test 3: he doesn't believe that he has married his mother. ...
logic.philosophy.ox.ac.uk/tutorial7/T ut7-01.htm - 29k - Cached - Similar pages

No account of Henry would be adequate without reference to his bravery in the face of ill health. He ... He leaves a wife, Nancy, whom he married in 1975. ...
www.oxfordtoday.ox.ac.uk/2002-03/v15n2/11.shtml - 7k - Cached - Similar pages

Re: Letter of recommendation check

Grammar Geek — Wed, 14 May 2008 17:20:10 GMT

Hi tazeri, and welcome to the forums.

It's not clear if X actually created the advertising campagns, wrote the leaflets and brochures, etc., or if she coordinated their delivery. It's a big difference, but I can't tell from your description.

To whom it may concern: There is a lot of discussion about the use of this phrase. Grammatically it's correct, but some advocate for Dear Sir or Madam:

X.Y. has been with our company's marketing department for a year, working as a paid intern as a Brand Manager trainee, under my direct management. I enthusiastically recommend her to postgraduate Mass Communications programme at the University of Leicester.

[Company name] is one of the largest producers of medical equipment and hygiene products in the Czech Republic. X has worked on advertising campaigns and the creation of marketing materials, including leaflets and product brochures. Her skills and understanding of our business was such that I placed her in charge of developing some of our new product launch packets. She has repeatedly demonstrated both her creativity and her sense of responsiblity. Her studies have enabled her to offer very useful tips and on-point recommendations concerning our media activities. As just one example, her rating analysis of radio stations helped us in our selection of the right station and advertising time slot to reach our target audiences.

X has put into practice the theory she had learned about research methods, preparing surveys and questionnaires for our customer briefs. I'm not sure what a customer brief is. Her most recently research project was our regional "mystery shopper," focusing on pharmacies. X created the questionnaires for our mystery shopping agents and analysis of the data obtained, and also provided administrative support for the whole project.

I'm confident that Xâs tenure at our company has been extremely beneficial to both parties. She is a valued asset to our company. We will be sorry to see her move on and continue her studies. I'm also confident in her future success, both in business and academically in your programme.

If you have any questions concerning my recommendation or require further information on Xâs work performance, please donât hesitate to contact me.

Best regards, There has also been a lot of comment about closings in letters. As an American, I use "sincerely" for everything, but I think that "Yours truly," is correct in this case. You'll want to confirm that though!

Ing. A.B.

X is lucky that she had a great manager in her internship and should be very happy with this letter.

Letter of recommendation check

tazeri — Wed, 14 May 2008 16:59:37 GMT

Hi everybody,

this is my first letter of recommendation. As I'm not a native speaker I would be really glad if somebody could help me with proofreading and general correction...

Thanx!

To whom it may concern:

X.Y. has been with our companies marketing department for a year. X.Y is one of the largest producers of medical equipment and hygiene products in the Czech Republic. X is taking part in a paid internship program as a Brand Manager trainee. As her manager she is directly accountable to me.

X is responsible for provisions to advertising campaigns and management of promotional materials such as leaflets and product brochures. She was also in charge of developing and capitalizing for some of our new product launch packs. During her work she proved to be creative and responsible. Her field of study has empowered her to offer very useful tips and recommendations concerning our media activities. For example her rating analysis of radio stations has helped us to choose right station and time to reach our target group with advertisements.

Practical theory development within research methods has enabled X to comprehensively prepare surveys and questionnaires for our customer briefs. Last research task X was involved in was our regional mystery shopping project focused on pharmacies. X responsibilities were creating the questionnaires for our mystery shopping agents, general administrative support for the whole project and final processing of the obtained data.

As Iâve outlined above Xâs stay within our company has been extremely beneficial to both parties. She is a valued asset to our company. Although we would be sorry to see her go I realize X is a very ambitious young lady and therefore I understand her intentions to carry on with her studies. I wish her all the best in her future endeavours and recommend her with no hesitation for your postgraduate Mass Communications programme at the University of Leicester.

If you have any questions concerning my recommendation or require further information on Xâs work performance, please donât hesitate to contact me.

Best regards,

Ing. A.B.

Paper on Dracula (why he is a monster), can you please help improve?

aerorock — Sat, 10 May 2008 22:00:01 GMT

The Monstrosity of Bram Stokerâs Dracula

Fictional writers often represent evil as an entity, or âindividualâ with inhuman abilities and sinister objective. This is what we refer to as a monster. They are often personified with repulsive attributes and give a story a strong sense of immorality and central conflict. A more than fitting paradigm of a story that truly epitomizes a monster is Bram Stokerâs suspenseful gothic novel, Dracula. The antagonist in this epistolary narrative, Count Dracula, is a vampire who resides in a vast Transylvanian fortress. He is intelligent and well mannered in his faÃ§ade yet holds a malevolent state of mind. From the beginning of the novel, it is stated that Count Draculaâs intended destination is London. Here he could inhabit his race more effectively. The story begins with a compilation of Jonathan Harkerâs journals. Jonathan Harker is a British solicitor who travels to Count Draculaâs castle in the Carpathian Mountains to aid him with the legal documents for his move to England. Credulous at first, Harker sees Dracula as a sophisticated elderly man who wants to relocate due to his isolation. His suspicions begin to mature as he notices some very unusual behavior by the count. Ultimately, the Count imprisons Harker in his castle with pitiless intentions in mind and then makes his way to England to begin his conquest where he commits most of his violent acts. By sucking the blood of his victims (whom are all female), they eventually become vampires themselves, thus adding to Count Dracula's line of vampirism. Analogous to common vampire legend, he is immortal unless pierced through the heart with a stake and then decapitated. Dracula also commits many other âmonstrousâ actions throughout the story. According to an article by Hanna Meretoja: ââ¦monstrosity refers to something inhuman, unnatural, abnormal, and freakish.â Contrary to the common assertion that Dracula is not a monster due to his human-like manifestation (or lack thereof), he possesses the majority of characteristics that Meretoja lists with his atypical powers. Meretoja further suggests; ââ¦those who do terrifying, evil deeds are designated as monsters.â Dracula is a well-defined instance of a monster in literature due to his inhuman abilities, malicious acts toward the human race, and most significantly, his intended conquest of England.

Chris Martinez, a student at Texas A&M University, states; âA monster doesn't have to be a beast that rises out of the water causing death and destruction to millions of people. It can be a man, or men, who let greed and corruption take hold of their lives.â Several of the hideous actions Count Dracula commits in this novel could have been achievable by a highly troubled individual. This does not make him any less of a monster. His complete disregard for human survival is a factor that grants him added horrific elements. The first section of the novel entails Jonathan Harkerâs imprisonment by the means of Count Dracula. If you look at a monster through Meretojaâs perspective, you can say that this is truly a monstrous act. By the fourth chapter, it becomes evident that the Count had no intentions of releasing Harker. In one of Harkerâs journal entries, he writes:
Last night the Count asked me in the sauvest tones to write three letters, one saying that my work here was nearly done, and that I should start for home within a few days, another that I was starting on the next morning from the time of the letter, and the third that I had left the castle and arrived at Bistritz â¦ He knows that I know too much, and that I must not live (Stoker 64). Dracula with murderous mindset. Another instance of monstrous behavior is when Dracula provides his three wives a child for âdinnerâ. Jonathan Harker writes in his journal:

âAre we to have nothing tonight?" said one of them, with a low laugh, as she pointed to
the bag which he had thrown upon the floor, and which moved as though there were
some living thing within it. For answer he nodded his head. One of the women jumped
forward and opened it. If my ears did not deceive me there was a gasp and a low wail, as
of a half smothered child. The women closed round, whilst I was aghast with horror. But
as I looked, they disappeared, and with them the dreadful bag (Stoker 63).

This was one of Draculaâs most repulsive acts as it is now evident that children are not spared. Claiming Dracula is not a monster after committing such a despicable act would be complicated since murdering a child is commonly seen as something only a monster is capable of.

Noel Caroll, author of The Philosophy of Film: Introductory Text and Readings, defines a monster as âany being not believed to exist now according to contemporary scienceâ (168) His definition describes Count Dracula accurately. Draculaâs inhuman strengths are added distinguishing characteristics of a monster based on Carollâs classification. One of the first noticeable instances in the book is when Jonathan Harker catches a glimpse of him out his window. âI saw the whole man slowly emerge from the window and begin to crawl down the castle wall over the dreadful abyss, face down with his cloak spreading out around him like great wingsâ (Stoker 58). It is highly improbable that any scientific occurrence similar to the latter could happen in the time period that this novel was written in. While itâs not evident that this particular action could be used for evil, it does give Dracula a monstrous ambiance in Carollâs respect. Dracula is also spellbinding in several different fashions. For instance, he is able to possess other humans and they must submit to his powers. All of Draculaâs outlandish mind control capabilities are used for acquiring further supremacy. An example of a character that is possessed by Dracula is R.M. Renfield. He is the âmadmanâ of the story who is isolated in a âlunatic asylumâ. Later in the novel, it is learned that Dracula in fact, possessed him after he gains consciousness. He pleads with Jonathan Harkerâs wife, Mina Murray to flee from the trance that Dracula also has over her. In this regard, Count Dracula is manipulative for power and malice. Another peculiar ability of Draculaâs is how he is able transform into various animals. Once again in reference to Carollâs definition, this isnât logical in that time period.

It becomes very evident of Dracula's cruel intentions as the reader submerges deeper into the novel. His sinister objective to conquest England becomes more than apparent in one particular quotation.
You think to baffle me, you with your pale faces all in a row, like sheep in a butcher's. You shall be sorry yet, each one of you! You think you have left me without a place to rest, but I have more.

My revenge is just begun! I spread it over centuries, and time is on my side. Your girls that you all love are mine already. And through them you and others shall yet be mine, my creatures, to do my bidding and to be my jackals when I want to feed. Bah! (Stoker 304)

This makes Count Dracula monstrous in the relation to terrorism. âTerrorism becomes a monstrous evil because it threatens to expose self-subverting characteristics in the global systemâ (Derian 334-35). Itâs apparent that Dracula feels no hesitance in invading England. He clearly lacks any respect for human life and would go great lengths to take others against their will and turn them into vampires. This makes his monstrous in both Chris Martinezâ and Hanna Meretojaâs definition. After 9/11 Most Americans look at terrorists as monsters.

Dracula is a monster in many different aspects. Hanna Meretoja and Chris Martinezâs description of a monster describe it to be nothing more than an evil entity. According to them, attributes such as size and intelligence are completely irrelevant. On the contrary, Caroll explains a monster as something that cannot exist according to contemporary science. Dracula fits all of their definitions. With his utter disrespect for the human race, his disgusting behavior toward humanity, and his intended conquest of England, calling him anything less than a monster would be absurd. Stoker purposely gave him all of these monstrous characteristics to give the novel central conflict.

I'm not a great writer when it comes to content. I feel that this paper is pretty weak-- espeically towards the end. Any suggestions, critiques, etc. would be GREATLY appreciated.

Thank you for your time!

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.