Questions tagged [letter-writing]
Questions about writing letters (that is, a written communication between people, not the writing of individual alphabetic characters).
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Why, after the salutation and name of addressee, followed by a comma, is the following word capitalized?
In a letter of any sort, why do most people capitalize the first word after the comma that follows the name of the addressee? I was taught (at Cambridge, England) not to do so! For example:
Dear Mr....
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3
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What is the most formal way to address a respected person while referring to his name?
I'd like to know which form is more formal and respectful to address a respected person while referring to his name.
Should I mention the person's first name instead of writing "Sir" for example by ...
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Hello [Comma?] John,
I have a follow up question to this question: Should you use a comma/period after "Thanks"/"Regards" in email signatures?
My question is: when should you add a comma when starting ...
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Is it unprofessional to say "Sorry for my English"? [closed]
First of all I am sorry if this is wrong forum for this question.
I have come in a situation recently where I was needed to write a mail to a foreign company. And as you probably noticed by now my ...
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What is the "gratitude" at the end of the letter or post called? [duplicate]
What is the "gratitude" at the end of a letter or post called in English?
For example:
Hi everyone, <--- salutation
bla bla bla <--- body
Thanks in advance <--- what is that ...
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How to politely begin an email to a professor and a doctor? [closed]
Suppose I need to write an letter (email, actually), addressed to two academicians. One is a full professor, and the other does not yet have this title. What is a polite way of opening the letter?
If ...
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Why are abbreviations such as K/R (Kind Regards) not more common in English? [closed]
In German, it is very common to abbreviate letter closings. For example,
Mit freundlichen Grüßen --> MFG
Liebe Grüße --> LG
While these abbreviations are not acceptable in formal communication,...
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Address one known person and multiple unknown people in a letter
I am submitting my CV to a company for the purposes of an internship application, I know the name of the the person who manages the interns, but he has told me that he will pass my CV onto the rest of ...
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use English or local language for the address when writing a formal letter? [closed]
I am writing a cover letter in English to The Netherlands. I don't know whether to use English when writing the address or Dutch (in the letter, not on the envelope). All the terms are translatable to ...
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Is is more appropriate to salute the organization, or the members of the organization?
I am writing a thank-you letter for a scholarship I received from the AFCEA – Bethesda Chapter. I am not sure how to write the salutation though. Two alternatives I have considered are:
Dear AFCEA ...
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writing a letter for someone else
When writing a letter for someone, what is the best way to say so? Rather than simply use the words, "I am writing this letter for John Smith"
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Is usage of “Yours sincerely” still appropriate?
I am currently in the process of writing a cover letter for an application for a PhD position. Upon proofreading it, my girlfriend, who has had training as a European secretary, told me that her ...
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What is the correct way to respond to sender with full name
I recently received an email I need to respond to, but I am unsure of the correct way to address the sender.
Dear Mr Sayse,
[ . . . email body . . . ]
Regards
Joe Bloggs
Is it correct to respond ...
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Letter writing: Refering to enclosed items
I am writing a letter, in it I want to refer to other items enclosed within the letter, is there any proper way to do this?
As an example of what I mean, I was thinking something like:
... my id ...
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What can I replace the word “I” with in my cover letter? [duplicate]
When proofing my résumé’s cover letter, I found that I am writing I way too much. I have read that this is a potential turn-off for employers.
Does anyone have suggestions on how to replace I with ...
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Difference between using Hi and Hey?
I am not a native speaker. I really want to know what's the difference between Hi and Hey in writing an email? In daily conversation? Is it too girlish or childish for a man to say hey in his email? ...
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An alternative phrase or sentence for "With reference to the subject above"?
I have been using the following sentence for all my official communication, but I have become bored by its monotony.
With reference to the subject above
I am looking for a total change over of my ...
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Formal personal introduction to a letter
I've received an e-mail of a colleague that I meet once. He wrote as introduction, "I hope you're doing well" and then he continued directly with the matter of the mail.
I would like to use some ...
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Why is it "yours faithfully" and not "your faithfully"?
I've been taught to write "Yours" ever since I started writing letters. But today I realised that "your" is an adjective qualifying the person who is writing the letter.
Now, since the adjective for ...
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I want to refer to Bill Gates on his blog with respect in the comments section
One way to address Bill Gates with respect would be to simply write Sir, but I don't want other readers to get confused about who I'm referring to. How do I refer to him with respect without creating ...
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Polite way to inform that there is no need to reply (business language) [closed]
I am often requesting my colleges via email to update a status of a case they work on. The update (note) should be provided in application they work on which is also explained in my request. There is ...
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Salutation for two doctors (not married)
Does use of the salutation
Dear Drs. Apple and Banana,
imply that Dr. Apple is married to Dr. Banana? That is, would it be better form to use:
Dear Dr. Apple and Dr. Banana,
when Dr. Apple ...
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"My interest in becoming" vs. "my interest to become"
I was writing a letter of application for a university. I wanted to start my letter by writing:
I am writing this letter to express my interest in becoming part...
and then I got confused. I am ...
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Punctuating a salutation on a line by itself [duplicate]
In a salutation on a line by itself, which version is punctuated correctly?
Hi, Mr Lawler,
I am writing to say [...]
Hi Mr Lawler,
I am writing to say [...]
Hi, Mr Lawler.
I am ...
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What informal and formal letter/e-mail closings are used the most? [duplicate]
I often struggle with doubts about the correctness of the closings which I use. I'm not a native speaker and I'm worried that I'll make a mistake in the last part of the letter/e-mail.
Some examples:
...
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Addressing a formal letter to multiple people with unknown names
What is the most appropriate way to address a motivational letter for a graduate program? Multiple people will read the letter. How should I address it if I want to avoid the "To whom it may concern" ...
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Title in a letter to an unknown person
Many times when writing a letter asking to a department of my university, I'm hesitating for the appropriate title.
Say I want to email "Student Insurance Office" to ask about insurance coverage. ...
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Addressing religious authorities
I want to write letters with the same content but addressed to religious authorities of different religions and levels, from the local Christian priest to the Dalai Lama. Is there a greeting I can use ...
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Start a letter/email with a minuscule or a majuscule
So in German when you write a letter, you start the body with a minuscule letter because the salutation is seen as an interjection, I presume:
Dear Max,
We just saw [yada, yada, letter]
Dear Max, we ...
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What complimentary close to use in continuous formal email?
I am a student in contact with a business owner, and I am having a hard time deciding on a complimentary close. Should I use it for every email I send him? I don't want to make it redundant since it ...
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How does one address a blended family in which the members have different surnames?
I am confused about how to address a family in which all the members have kept their original surname. What is the proper way to address such a family in a note to a family which consists of a single ...
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Is this a signature or a sentence that requires punctuation?
Is a period needed at the closing of a greeting card that reads: "Happy holidays from John Smith and the Smith Realty family"?
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Does "Could I have hope of getting admission of your school with that score?" sound weird? [closed]
Does "Could I have hope of getting admission of your school with that score?" sound weird?
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A ligature "og"
I met a ligature "og" in one of the manuscripts. It is hard to see this ligature there (look at the word "logicae". Have you met anything similar? Is there a better manuscript with this ligature or it'...
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"Dear Sir (or Madam)" when gender unknown? [duplicate]
When writing a formal letter addressed to someone whose gender is unknown, how important is it to use "Dear Sir or Madam", instead of "Dear Sir"?
I was taught that "Dear Sir" is an acceptable gender-...
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... regarding the advertised position of a researcher in the ... department [closed]
Which of the following should I use:
I'm writing to you regarding the advertised position of a researcher in the ... department
I'm writing to you regarding the advertised position for a researcher ...
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How to correctly express a successful job (where others failed) in a cover letter [closed]
I was working on a project where the two other person before me failed to get the job done as expected. Basically that was the reason they hired me, and fortunately I did it better than expected.
How ...
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“Is there a way you could/would accept?” [duplicate]
Is it correct to write this in a formal letter:
My certificate is not valid anymore. Is there a way you could accept my expired certificate?"
Or should I use would instead of could? And what is ...
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Can closings be made up or must one of the common ones be used?
There are common closings such as "respectfully", "Best Regards", "Yours truly" etc. but if you have reason to make your own is that allowed or is it more of a formality that is set in stone to used a ...
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When to use double "L"? [duplicate]
First of all, English is not my first language, so please excuse me if my question sounds dumb.
Secondly, I've seen this question but I don't believe it applies, tho I've been wrong before :P.
For ...
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Opposite word for “cursive”, as related to writing
I looked up the etymology entry at etymonline.com for cursive, which reads:
1784, from French cursif (18c.), from Medieval Latin cursivus “running,” from Latin cursus “a running,” from past ...
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Salutation for job application [duplicate]
I don't the know the exact receiver for the job.I don't even know the company's name because i found the job position online.I only know the email.How should i start the letter?
I read that for that ...
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Short expression for "If you are not 100% convinced yet, this last thing will seal the deal"
I'm writing a LinkedIn recommendation for a colleague of mine. I praised his abilities far and wide; now I would like to throw in one last (ironic and informal) punch line to top it all off.
Here is ...
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Is it appropriate to add a postscript to an email? [closed]
Wikipedia says:
A postscript may be a sentence, a paragraph, or occasionally many paragraphs added to, often hastily and incidentally, after the signature of a letter or (sometimes) the main body ...
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Greetings when replying to the other party's response
Writing formal emails, When I reply to the other party's email, how should I start my e-mail?
Starting the email for the first time, I'd say Dear XXX. But should I say it again when I write to them ...
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Proper apostrophe usage? [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
What is the proper way to write the plural of a single letter? (another apostrophe question)
Plurals of acronyms, letters, numbers — use an apostrophe or not?
Take for ...
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Can I say "let me not speak about that matter"?
I was writing a letter and wanted to say let's not talk about something. I wanted to know if I can say "let me not to speak about that matter". Or I need to omit the "to" because of the verb let.
...
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How to address letter to a company [closed]
I want to send a letter to a company (specifically Microsoft). I've read some things that say one should write "To whom it may concern". I really don't like this; it sounds pretentious. Other sources ...
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Is it acceptable to use "Much Appreciated" as the closing for a letter or email?
When I send an email requesting assistance from someone, I am tempted to close the email with the phrase “Much Appreciated”. Is it acceptable to use that phrase outside of a sentence?
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Sincerely [comma?] name [duplicate]
Possible Duplicate:
Should you use a comma/period after “Thanks”/“Regards” in email signatures?
I see answers on how to end a letter putting a comma after for example sincerely, like:
...
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