Stewart Clark (Assistant Professor)
Tel
work: +47 73 59 52 45,
fax +47 73 59 52 10 E-mail:
stewart.clark@ntnu.no
E-MAILS AND LETTERS 10-POINT CHECK LIST:
1. Always use a standard.
There are
differences between British English and American English customs in letter
writing. British English is the standard in most public administrations in
2. Always use a salutation (greeting) in English.
In 99% of cases this will be with
"Dear... ,". The exception is letters of
recommendation that start: "To whom it may concern,".
3. Always place the heading under
the salutation.
4. Always try to round off a letter with "-ing forms".
These stress
that you have an on-going relationship and there is unfinished business. Some
examples are: "We are looking forward to receiving your comments on this
report, by the end of September". "We are looking forward to
discussing matters with you on 12 September".
5. Always use the ending that matches the salutation.
It is easy to make mistakes here, so
follow the summary given in the box below.
6. Always write the month in letters or use the ISO
standard for all-digit dates.
Write the month
in letters, e.g.,
7. Never use a place-name in front of the date.
Never write
"
8. Never use exclamation marks (!)
in business letters.
An exclamation mark in English is
used to express astonishment or surprise. You are very unlikely to need them in
normal business letters, faxes or e-mails.
9. Never use short forms like "I'm" and "don't" in
business letters.
Only use these in informal,
conversational writing and when reporting speech. Sometimes they are used in
e-mails.
10. Never capitalize "you" and "your" in mid-sentence.
Many people
have told me that they were taught this in school. Capitalized "You"
and "Your" in mid sentence disappeared a few hundred years ago, so
there must be some old teachers around.
Summary of how to start and end e-mails and letters in British English
(BE):
I. Formal tone,
where you write to an institution or an unnamed person:
These start with the following
salutations:
Dear Sirs, (when
writing to a company, organization, university)
Dear Sir, (to
an unnamed person, who is male)
Dear Madam, (to
an unnamed person, who is female)
Dear Sir or Madam, (the
safe option to an unnamed person, such as: Head of Legal Department)
These always end:
Yours faithfully,
II. Normal business e-mails and
letters, where you know recipient's name:
These start:
Dear Mr Jones, (to a named man. Never
"Mister")
Dear Ms Jones, (to
any named woman, no reference to her marital status)
Dear Professor Jones, (used for all
types of professors: (assistant, associate and adjunct)
Dear Dr Jones, (can be used
for someone holding a PhD, Dr. ing.
or other doctorate)
These two are
becoming rare:
Dear Mrs Jones, (to a named married women. Some write (Mrs) after their names
to ask for this salutation in the reply)
Dear Miss Jones, (to a named
woman, who is unmarried)
These always end:
Yours sincerely, (this is the
same tone as "Hilsen", "Vennlig hilsen")
Note that in British English, you do
not use a stop after abbreviations like Mr,
Mrs, Dr or Ms (pronounced
"miz"), as is the custom in AE.
III. E-mails and letters to
colleagues, associates and friends etc.:
These start:
Dear Jim, (if
a person signs his letter with "Jim", use this in your reply. If you
use "Dear Mr Jones", you signal coldness and distance to Jim)
Dear Mary, (same comments as for "Dear
Jim")
Dear colleagues, (useful in
group mailings, but could be more personal)
There are many endings. Here are
some on a scale from a business-like tone to close friendship:
Yours sincerely, (this
uses the same tone as "Hilsen", "Vennlig hilsen". Even though
you start "Dear Jim," you show that this is a businesslike e-mail or
letter)
Regards, (although
frequently used in e-mails and faxes, this is too informal for most business
letters and is "warmer" than "Vennlig hilsen")
Kind regards, ("warmer"
than "Vennlig hilsen")
Best wishes, (used to signal
friendliness)
Warm regards, (getting
slightly "hotter", frequently used for friends)
Love, (only
used for close friends)
Note on e-mails:
Most people tend to avoid the formal tone
(I, above) in e-mails. But sometimes this is inevitable.
Though e-mails tend to be more friendly than
letters, a salutation should still be used.
A typical e-mail from your company starts with "Dear Mary," or
just "Mary," (the use of "Hi" should be reserved for
personal e-mails). A typical ending is "Regards".
The ease with which e-mails can be forwarded is always a potential
source of danger – it is better to be safe than sorry.