Phil Druker/ Department of English/ UI  English317

P. Druker / U of I / English 317

                                                               LETTER FORMAT

Your address
Moscow, Idaho  83843                           {heading
Date

                                                                (4 spaces)

Ms. Janet Smythe, Director of Employment
Johnson Corporation                                                                  {inside address
327 Jackson Drive
Los Angeles, CA 90211

                                                (3 spaces)
Attention:  Ms. Janet Smythe    [only use if no name is with the inside address]
                                               (3 spaces)
Subject:  Purchase Order #3987   [use if you need to call attention to the letter's main point]
  (2 spaces)

Dear Ms. Smythe:   {salutation: follow with a colon

Here are some cliches that you will want to avoid:

Avoid pompous, inflated, or overly formal diction.  Use short paragraphs that deal with one topic.  Above all, be clear and concise.

Try to develop what technical writing textbooks call the "you attitude."  This means that you should try to use "you" as often as you use "I," and you certainly want to avoid starting each sentence with "I."   The "you attitude" means that you try to empathize with the reader: What do they need to know?  What do they want?  What's in it for them?   Even if you are dealing with a dispute, you should remain polite.  Before you send a letter, consider how you would react to the letter if you received it.

Often, you will want to end you letter with a call to action that explains exactly what you want the reader to do or what you would like to get from the reader.

                                                                        (2 spaces)           

Sincerely, (Sincerely Yours, Yours very truly, . . .)                      {Complimentary close  
                                    (4 spaces)

                        {Signature
Phil Druker
Instructor

 PD:rst               {identification line: author's initials: typist's initials

 Enclosure / Encl: Resume / Enclosures (2)          {enclosure line

 cc: Ms. Georgia Williams                       {copy line: who else received a copy of the letter

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