Points to keep in mind while writing letters

Modern media like fax or e-mail are mostly used to send messages. But letters, especially official, still have not lost their importance although they are not sent by post so frequently as a few years ago. Here are some dos and donts about writing official letters.

Keep to the layout given below if you use unheaded paper. Some companies use a different format, but by using the format presented on
this page you never make a mistake.

A sample letter template

• Write the date like this: 23 January 2001 or January 23, 2001 if you write to the USA you avoid confusion.
• Use Our ref. and Your ref. only if you and the recipient use a letter filing system
• Start your letter with Dear Sir/Madamî if you do not know the recipient by name or Dear
• Sirs if you write to an institution. Then close your letter with Yours faithfully