A LETTER FORMAT

A good letter should consist of:

I. Opening:
1. SENDER’S NAME: with position if the sender sends the letter to a company,
department or organization.
Eg: Nguyen Van A – Manager of XYZ Ltd
Tran Thi B
2. SENDER’S ADDRESS: street, ward, district, city or province (country if the letter is
sent to another country)
Eg: 192 Ham Tu Street Ward 5 District 5, Ho Chi Minh City (national areas only)
192 Ham Tu Street Ward 5 District 5, Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam
(international areas)
3. ATTENTION LINE: the name of the receiver (with position if he or she has) or the
name of a company or department.
Eg1: Mr. William Shakespeare, Ms. Jenny Cao, Ms. Nguyen Thi Y
Eg2: Mr. Donald Trump – President of the United States of America
Ms. Tina Tran – Personal Assistant
Eg 3: Marketing Department, XYZ International Company, Green Peace Organization
Eg 4: Mr. Tran Hung Dao – Head of Human Resources
MN Joint Stock Company
4. RECEIVER’S ADDRESS: street, ward, district, city or province (country, state,
postcode if the letter is sent to another country)
5. DATE: day – month – year (Write the month as a word)
Eg: 13 February 2017, February 13, 2017
6. SUBJECT LINE (optional): the main content of the letter
Eg: Contents to review for Writing, meeting invitation
7. SALUTATION or GREETING:
Eg: Dear Sir/Madam, Dear Kim, Dear Mr. Brown
II. Body:
1. PARAGRAPH 1: an introduction clearly stating the reason you are writing
 Eg:
 With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday (about)…
 Thank you for your email regarding…
 I am writing on behalf of….
 I am writing to draw your attention to….
2. PARAGRAPH 2: the main content in which the subject is developed such as place an
order, apologize, and deal with problems. (Maximum 3 paragraphs for the main content)
Begin a new paragraph for each main point
3. THE FINAL PARAGRAPH: in which summing up the topic or express sender’s wish
for something to be done
Eg:
 Please feel free to contact me if you have further questions
 Hope to hear from you soon
III. Closing
1. AN APPROPRIATE ENDING or COMPLEMENTARY CLOSE
Eg: Best wishes, Regards, Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully
2. SENDER’S SIGNATURE: sender signs his or her name
3. SENDER’S FULLNAME (with title if sender mentioned his or her position above)
Eg1: Angelia Jolie
Eg2: Bill Clinton
The former Present of The United States of America
4. ENCLOSURE NOTATION: (optional) sender can enclose photos or files
Eg: Please find attached the file you requested
5. COPY NOTATION: (optional) mention one person some people who have the right to
read the letter by receiving the photocopies (the sender can mention the title of these
people)
Eg1: Mr. Le Van Luyen, Ms. Elsa Hoang
Eg2: Ms. Jenifer Lopez – The representative of Paramount
6. POST SCRIPT (PS): (optional) sender’s feeling or expectation
Eg: Ps: I am very excited about purchasing this limited version.
 USEFUL LANGUAGE
FORMAL LETTER INFORMAL LETTER

 Dear Sir or Madam, 1. Dear + receiver’s full name or first

= To whom it may concern: name
 Dear Mr/Ms + Receiver’s Full name, 2. Hi + first name or nothing
 Dear Mr/Ms + Receiver’s Surname, 3. Hello + first name or nothing
REMEMBER!
Beginning with Ending with
 Dear Sir/Madam Yours faithfully +
 To whom it may full name
concern

Dear Mr/Mrs + surname Yours sincerely +

full name
PARAGRAPH 1: an introduction clearly stating the reason you are writing
 With reference to our telephone conversation  It was nice to hear from you
yesterday about…  It’s been ages since I’ve heard from you
 Thank you for your email regarding…  How are you? Hope you and your family are
 I am writing on behalf of + N doing well
 I am writing to draw your attention to…  I’m writing to let you know
 I am writing regarding/as regards/with regards  I would like to tell/send/let …
to/in regards to...+N  I enjoy/ really like …

PARAGRAPH 2: the main content in which the subject is developed

Making a request
 I would appreciate if you could…  You don’t mind … for me, do you?
 I would be most grateful if you would  Do me a favor, will you?
 Would you be so kind and  Would it be possible for you to?
 I was wondering if you could  Can/Could I ask you to?
 I wonder if you could …  Could you please …? Could you tell me
 I would particularly like to know … something about …?
 I would be interested in having more details  Could you please help me …, please?
about …  I would like to ask your help …
Apologizing
 We apologize for any inconvenience caused  Sorry for any trouble caused
 Please accept our sincere apologies  We are very sorry about/for …
 I would like to apologize for …  I regret to tell/inform
 Please let us know what we can do to  I am afraid I will not be able to …
compensate you for the damages caused  I promise it won’t happen again
Complaining
 I am writing to express my dissatisfaction  I'm fed up with + someone/something
with…  I am not happy with
 I find it most unsatisfactory that  I’m rather annoyed with
 :I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with  We regret to inform you that ..
someone to complain about something  You said …, but in fact what happened
 I am interested to hear how your company can  We were supposed to …., whereas we
compensate us for the distress we suffered  I hope you won’t mind me saying that ..
 Knowing what a good reputation the restaurant  I am writing to complain about …
has, I was disappointed with…..  I’d like to complain about

THE FINAL PARAGRAPH: in which summing up the topic or express sender’s wish for something
to be done
 I look forward to hearing from you
 If you require any further information, please  Give my love to + somebody
don’t hesitate to contact me.  Hope to hear from you soon
 Please feel free to contact me if you have  Just give me a call if you have any questions
further questions  Please contact me if you have any further
 Thank you for your patience and cooperation questions.
 Thank you for your consideration  I am very happy to get your feedback.
 If you have any questions or concerns, don’t
 hesitate to let me know
 It is very kind of you if you drop me a line
back.
AN APPROPRIATE ENDING or COMPLEMENTARY CLOSE
 Yours sincerely, (more polite)  Lots of love,
= Sincerely yours, (friendlier) = Sincerely,  All the best, = Best, = Best wishes,
 Yours faithfully, = Yours truly,  Thanks, = Thank you,
 With gratitude,  Continues success,
 Regards, = Best regards, = Fond regards,  Take care,

Abbreviations used in letter writing:

 asap: as soon as possible
 btw: by the way
 bfn: bye for now
 brb: be right back
 iow: in other words
 cc = carbon copy: when you send a copy of a letter to more than one person, you
use this abbreviation to let them know
 enc. = enclosure: when you include other papers with your letter
 pp = per procuration: A Latin phrase meaning that you are signing the letter on
somebody else's behalf; if they are not there to sign it themselves, etc
 ps = postscript: when you want to add something after you've finished and signed it
 pto (informal) = please turn over: to make sure that the other person knows the
letter continues on the other side of the page
 RSVP (the short form of a French word: répondez s'il vous plait) = please reply
 A SAMPLE LETTER
Rita Wang
5 Hill Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53700

March 15, 2015

Ms. Helen Jones - President

Jones, Jones & Jones
123 International Lane
Boston, Massachusetts 01234

Dear Ms. Jones

It was very enjoyable to speak with you about the assistant account executive position at the
Smith Agency. The job, as you presented it, seems to be a very good match for my skills and
interests. The creative approach to account management that you described confirmed my desire
to work with you.
In addition to my enthusiasm, I shall bring to the position strong writing skills, assertiveness and
the ability to encourage others to work cooperatively with the department.
I understand your need for administrative support. My detail orientation and organizational skills
will help to free you to deal with larger issues. I neglected to mention during my interview that I
had worked for two summers as a temporary office worker. This experience helped me to
develop my secretarial and clerical skills.
I appreciate the time you took to interview me. I am very interested in working for you and look
forward to hearing from you about this position.

Yours sincerely,
(Signature)
Rita Wang