How to properly sign a business letter sample. How to write a letter - sample

How to write a business letter that will not get lost in the “information garbage” and will be read? Rules, recommendations, examples

The word is an accessible business tool. In the business world, it is impossible to find a person who does not use words in his work.

Modern business is gradually turning into a correspondence business. With the help of letters - electronic or traditional - communication occurs with clients, business partners, and employers. The letter positions the author either as a professional or as a person with whom you should not continue a relationship.

A professional must be able to write

• It's clear
• effectively
• earnestly
• Interesting

And it’s never too late to learn this. Let's start with the basics: understand the difference between business and regular writing.

How is a service letter different from a regular letter? Specifics of a business letter

A letter is a short text of one or two pages, the purpose of which is to convey information about something to the addressee.

The nature of the information and the relationship between the sender and the recipient of the letter divide correspondence into

• business (formal)
• personal (informal)

A business letter is characterized by:

• brevity
• accuracy
• reasoning and logic
• information content
• evaluative and emotional neutrality
• standardization:
• official forms are used
• stable figures of speech, special clerical terms and constructions are used
• number of topics - 1-2
• targeting
• clearly defined chain of command (if necessary)

What types of business letters are there?

The type of business letter determines

1. Purpose of writing it

Commercial purposes

• You want to conclude a deal and propose its specific terms - draw up a letter of offer (offer) for the addressee

• If you have not decided on the terms of the transaction acceptable to you, send a letter of request
• Do you want to inform your recipient about a violation of contractual obligations on his part? Write a letter of claim (complaint)

Non-profit purposes

• Give thanks in a thank you letter
• Confirm your obligations with a letter of guarantee and your consent with a letter of confirmation
• Write newsletters if you think your information will be of interest to the recipient
• Remind about important agreements, obligations, penalties with reminder letters
• Congratulate in letters of congratulations, ask in letters of request, condole in letters of condolences
• If you need to send important documents or material assets, be sure to prepare a cover letter for your cargo

2. Recipient

If you are addressing a letter to several recipients at once, then you are writing a circular letter

Your letter can touch on several topics at the same time, which automatically makes it multifaceted

4. Structure

Regulated letters involve compiling the text part of the letter according to a certain pattern, while unregulated letters have a free form of presentation

5. Form of departure

• in an envelope
• electronic
• by fax

Structure of a business letter: introduction, body, conclusion

The structure of a standard business letter requires more careful consideration.

A correctly formatted letter should correspond to the following outline:

Let's take a closer look at some points of the scheme:

1. Heading

Typically, this is a brief summary of the subject of the letter.

Important: Write the title correctly if you want the recipient to read your letter.

The absence of headings in business correspondence is typical for beginners who do not have basic skills in conducting business correspondence.

2. Appeal

• has the traditional form "Dear"
• capitalized in the middle of the line

Important: The use of abbreviations is prohibited!

3.Preamble

• introduces the addressee to the main idea of ​​the letter
• prepares the addressee for the correct perception of subsequent information contained in the letter

4. The main body of the text substantiates the key idea set out in the preamble

In this part of the letter

• you clearly indicate the essence of the proposal/appeal
• provide arguments: facts, figures, other specifics on the topic of the letter. expert opinion, own positive/negative experience

For ease of justification, you can use the following diagram:

Important: The last paragraph should contain a phrase indicating a specific step or expected result and encourage the addressee to take action

5. In conclusion:

6. In the “Signature” window, information about the addressee must be indicated:

• job title

How not to make a mistake in choosing a writing style?

In business correspondence, you constantly have to make choices regarding the style of writing and the tone of communication with the addressee. How dry, formal, or, conversely, how lively, warm, and human should your message be?

• Personal style in business correspondence emphasizes the individual qualities of the person writing the letter
• When using a formal style, facts are presented and appropriate conclusions are drawn based on them.
• Personal style involves communication between the author of the letter and the addressee on equal terms
• Formal style demonstrates a clear chain of command and a force that the reader of the letter is forced to reckon with.

To choose the right communication style in a business letter, consider:

• what weight categories are you and your recipient in?
• Do you want to negotiate amicably or apply pressure from a position of strength?

How to stick to the chosen style?

Personal style

• Presence of personal pronouns: I, we, you
  For example: I apologize to you and sincerely hope that similar mistakes will not happen again.
• Direct appeals and requests
  For example: Please do not leave personal items unattended
• Use of emotional evaluative expressions: star youth, deafening failure

Formal style

• Replacing personal pronouns with abstract nouns
  For example: The cinema administration apologizes sincerely for changing the evening show schedule
• Replacing personal appeals and requests with statements
  For example: Please do not leave personal items unattended
• Use of common clericalism: I bring to your attention, due to the fact that

A formal style is absolutely not suitable if you are writing a letter of gratitude or a letter of condolence, that is, those business letters in which you need to express feelings. In a situation where you are writing a letter of request or a letter of offer, it is also better to stick to a personal style.

What is a letter of complaint and how to write it? How is it different from other types of letters?

Important: When composing a letter, focus the addressee’s attention on exactly what actions you expect from him. Also indicate specific deadlines for the implementation of the tasks you have set.

The complaint letter template will help you compose it correctly:

What is a response letter and how to write it?

There are two types of advice letters:

• letter of refusal
• letter with a positive response

The drafting of both types of letters has two general rules (provided that the initiative letter was drafted correctly):
1. The response letter retains the vocabulary and speech patterns of the initiative letter
2. The text of the response letter should not contain information about

• date of drawing up the initiative letter
• its registration number

An example of a friendly and correct refusal letter is given below:

However, refusal does not always have to be soft. There are situations when a tough and strict communication style is necessary. Below is a template of rejection letters for all occasions, from hard to soft:

Information letter: its difference from response letters and complaint letters

The information letter is multifunctional:

• reports (for example, about price changes in price lists)
• notifies (of re-election of members of the board of directors)
• notifies (about the shipment of goods)
• declares (of intentions)
• confirms (receipt of goods)
• reminds (of the fulfillment of obligations assumed under the contract)
• advertises and informs (about the company in general, about goods/services in particular)

Perhaps the most pressing issue today is the question of how to correctly compose an advertising and information letter.

1. Lack of structure
2. Presence of slang or informal language in the text of the letter
3. Sloppy design
4. Abundance of spelling, syntactic, stylistic errors
5. Lack of reliable facts and objective information in the letter
6. Violation of basic rules of politeness (especially in letters of complaint)
7. Use of cumbersome and unclear sentences in the text
8. Lack of logic in the presentation of the material
9. Lack of explanations of abbreviations
10. General blurriness of the text if it is compiled aimlessly

What else do you need to know about business letters?

1. For modern business correspondence, the block structure method of text composition is used.
This method saves time and maintains the overall style of all business documentation. A characteristic feature of the method is open punctuation or the absence of periods/commas (for example, when creating lists)

2. A sans-serif font (for example, Arial) can be used for the title of the letter. Such a font is perceived on a subconscious level as stable and solid.

3. Serif fonts (Times News Roman) should be used in body text. Serifs make it easier for your eyes to move from letter to letter, making reading faster.

Important: There are letters that are always written only by hand!
These are letters of congratulations, letters of condolences, letters of gratitude

A large amount of useful information regarding the composition of business letters can be found in the video from Sasha Karepina.

Video: How to write cover letters and resumes

Video: “Learning from storytellers.” Secrets of selling texts

Nowadays, it is simply necessary to be able to write a letter correctly, regardless of who your message is addressed to (a possible employer, an arrogant official or a close friend) and the method of sending the correspondence (by regular mail or e-mail, maybe by fax).

Options with example letters can be viewed in the “” section on this site. Now let's talk about some rules of writing and formatting. Letters fall into three general categories:

• personal – to your loved ones, family members, close and not so close friends (use an informal style),
• semi-official - correspondence with various organizations on issues concerning you personally (for example, with a bank about the status of your account, with the social security authority about the benefits provided, with a retail chain about receiving goods, etc.),
• business (official) letters - a formal business style of presentation is required and strict requirements for formatting are required.

How to write a personal letter correctly

Personal letters Writing is mostly pleasant, because you communicate with family and people close to you. First you need to say hello, just the word “Hello!” will do.

If you are late in responding, it is polite to apologize and mention the reasons. If you are already in correspondence with the recipient and have been asked questions, then the time to answer them is now. Then, after the introductory phrase “I’m fine,” you can move on to a statement of events, write about what worries you.

Since the communication style is informal, jokes, gossip (your own assessment of events or a description of the opinions of others) and retelling an article from a fashion magazine are suitable. In short, use everything that will make your letter interesting. Smileys and questions like “how’s it going?”, “isn’t that great?” can be a good way to enliven a personal letter.

Try to be sincere. Ask how your recipient is doing, and ask questions to continue the correspondence. At the end, express your feelings, for example, “I love you,” “I would like to meet you,” “I’m looking forward to your answer,” etc. Be sure to put your signature (e-mail is often missed), but the recipient may not guess who the letter is from (it is not always clear from the e-mail address). Re-read the letter and correct errors if necessary. They usually irritate people and show a lack of respect.

How to write a semi-formal letter correctly

Semi-official letters should be as brief as possible and clearly state the essence of the issue. Simplicity and logic are welcome. You cannot write a good letter in a bad mood. And it is better to exclude any lyrical deviations from the topic and manifestations of emotions, and focus on the evidence base (especially important for complaints).

I recommend writing a letter using a computer, then printing it on a regular white A4 sheet and signing it with a pen. Handwritten letters are allowed. In this case, write legibly and accurately, especially your last name.

Once it's legible, it's easy to read. Nowadays, serious organizations often register documents electronically. Your last name (it may be beautiful, but complicated) is well known only to you. If, during the registration of your letter, you change at least one letter in your last name, then an electronic search in a huge database will not seem to find your message. And it will be difficult for you to find out whether it is registered at all, although later the answer may come.

It is customary to always indicate the addressee in the upper right corner of the letter. I will give you several options to help you, they are all acceptable. It all depends on your preferences, and whether you know the name of the structural unit or officials of the recipient:

federal Service
on labor and employment

Head of the Federal Service
this or that
AND ABOUT. Surname

differently

Administration of Volgograd
Department such and such - its name

To the editor-in-chief
Publishing house "Pshik"
E.F. Kagailovsky

Perepolokh LLC
Chief accountant
A.I. Kvochinskaya

any individual

Tugrikov S.M.
st. Lusnaya, 207, apt. 1375,
Voronezh, 400001

Below the addressee, write your last name, first name, patronymic, full address for sending a response by regular mail, it is better to also provide a telephone number.

If you are already applying somewhere again, then you must indicate link to the number and date of the letter received(possibly several). This greatly facilitates the processing of correspondence, and you will definitely receive a response, taking into account previous correspondence on the issue in question. It is written “To No. (digits) dated 08/31/2014.” This link is located on the left above the text; you can see it in the figure with a diagram of the elements of the letter.

If you know the name of the person you are addressing, then you can start the text with “Dear ...!”, Then you should end it with “Regards.”

If there are any supporting documents, then this fact must be noted below the text. Then in the future you can easily prove what exactly you sent along with the letter. Which specific documents (or copies) are sent can be indicated in the text or directly in the application availability mark. It is placed below the main text, for example:

Application: for 2 l. in 1 copy.

Enclosure: copies of payment receipts... 2 sheets. in 1 copy.

It should be remembered that you should always indicate in your application:

• surname, first name, patronymic,
• your address for sending a response,
• number and personal signature.

Otherwise, your letter may be considered anonymous. Such letters are not subject to consideration, which means you will not receive a response to your appeal. The authorities are obliged to respond within no more than a month from the date of registration of your letter.

The letter must be written by you in duplicate. You can contact the organization you need in person. In this case, be sure to ask the office management service (secretary, office or general department) to put a dated receipt stamp on your copy of the letter. It is better to immediately enter a registration number, but in large organizations letters may not be registered immediately due to the large number of them. Therefore, at the time of submitting the application, it is enough for your copy of the letter to be stamped with the name of the organization and the date. This is very important if you need to meet the deadline or later confirm the fact of the application.

But it is not at all necessary to go somewhere in person. It may be easier for you to go to the nearest post office. In this case, send by registered mail with notification. The effect will be the same. After some time, you can call the organization and find out the fate of your letter. Or you don’t have to call anyone, just wait for an answer.

If, in the end, you receive a reply instead of a clear answer, please contact us again. In government bodies, for example, the fact of repeated appeals on the same issue is monitored. Or write a letter in the form of a complaint, you can try to send it to a higher organization. Such requests are also treated with great attention.

As for - this is one of the most important topics in office work and it deserves to be devoted to a separate article.

Evgeniya Polosa

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8 comments on this post

Good day, friends.

Once while corresponding with his future partner from Ireland, one of my acquaintances used words and phrases like hereby And acknowledge receipt of in your messages. He was quite embarrassed when they met in Russia, and John (that was his partner’s name) joked (very delicately) about his excessive officialdom. Their further communication led to the fact that my friend’s business style became more natural, and with his help John began to understand the different semantic shades of Russian obscene language...:)

Today I will be happy to tell you how to correctly compose a business letter in English. You will become familiar with both the basic principles and rules of business correspondence and some of its nuances. Let's look at the main types of letters, the structure common to all, as well as the typical phrases often used in them. Perhaps, after reading this article, you will not become an ace in writing business messages, but you will definitely increase your level.

Contents:

Nowadays, proper formatting, proper construction and a well-chosen style of business writing are very important. By the way you conduct business correspondence, your partner creates the first impression about your professionalism and the solidity of the company you represent.
Let's take a look at some of the features of preparing such messages.

Basic types of business letters

• Congratulations –
• Offer -– sent to your potential business partner with your terms and proposals for cooperation.
• About hiring -– notifies you that you have been hired.
• Statement -– contains your resume and your offer as an employee.
• Refusal-– a businesslike “turn-and-go” response to your statement or proposal.
• Complaint -– contains a complaint or claims about the quality of the purchased product or services provided.
• Letter of apology –- This is a response to a letter of complaint.
• An inquiry-– sent when it is necessary to obtain information about a service or product.
• Letter of response to a request –– it actually contains the requested information.
• Letter of gratitude -– here, it seems, everything is clear.

There are also a huge number of types and subtypes of business messages ( Order, Response to Order, Invoice, Statement etc.), and it will take more than one article to pay attention to the majority.

Kind regards is an excellent and serious guide from a foreign author, a communications specialist, who has collected in this book her and others’ experience of conducting business correspondence in English. There you will find many live examples and tips.

Business correspondence in English is also a popular book. There are many samples, even more common clichés, as well as a lot of advice and recommendations from the authors. As they say, study and apply!

Steep online course in business English from Lingualeo - after completing it, you can gain confidence both in correspondence and in conversation on business topics. By the way, you can try it for free before purchasing.

General principles

Graphic design must comply with the following:

1. All sentences start from the same vertical line.
2. The text is divided into paragraphs without red lines.
3. To simplify perception, we divide the written text into semantic blocks of approximately equal size.
4. The white space should evenly surround the text. Don't put one or two lines of text at the top of the page if the letter is small. Do not print to the bottom edge of the sheet and do not narrow the margins; if the message is long-winded, it is better to use the second page.

By style:

1. Do not use colloquial abbreviations in correspondence - write You are instead of You"re, etc.
2. Do not solve two problems at the same time in one letter - it is preferable to write two letters.
3. Decide which tone will be more appropriate - formal or relaxed.
4. It is necessary to take into account those rules that we do not have, but have a specific meaning for them, national and territorial characteristics.

Components

And now we will analyze the so-called skeleton of a business letter, its structure and arrangement of elements:

• Heading(a cap):
  A) The sender's address is in the upper left corner. If the letterhead is branded, then the address has already been entered.
  B) The recipient's address is on the left, below the sender's address. Format: from smallest to largest (Name, house number, street, city, zip code, country).
  IN) Date - three lines below the recipient's address or in the upper right corner. Format: day/month/year. No commas are used.
• Greetings(appeal), or how to start a letter.
• the main idea(the main text of the message) - in the central part of the letter.
• Final phrase(expression of gratitude and further intentions).
• The final formula of politeness; Signature; First name, last name and position of the sender.
• The attachment– indicates that the letter contains additional materials (advertising booklet or brochure).
• May contain P.S., initials of the performer.

Here is a sample business request letter with translation into Russian:

John Stewart
1304 Sherman Ave.
Madison, Wisconsin

Lemann & Sons
3597 43rd Street
New York, NY 12008

With reference to your advertisement in Business Weekly Journal could you please send me a more detailed description of your monitors.
I would also like to know about discounts that you provide.

Yours faithfully,

Translation:

From: John Stewart, 1304 Sherman Avenue, Madison, Wisconsin
Attn: Lehmann & Sons, 3597 43rd Street, New York, NY 12008
May 24, 2015

Dear Sirs,

With a link to your advertisement in the business weekly
could you please send me a more detailed description of your monitors.
I would also like to know about the discounts you provide.

Sincerely,
John Stewart
Sales Manager

Now let's take a closer look at the elements.

The address or greeting should look like this:
Dear Sirs, Dear Sir or Madam-if you do not know the recipient's name
Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms[last name] - if you know the recipient's name
Dear Frank, - if the person is familiar to you
Dear sales manager– if only the position is known (in this case, sales manager)

The politeness formula before signing looks like this:

Kind regards, - Sincerely…

Yours faithfully, Sincerely yours - if the addressee’s name is not known to you

Yours sincerely, - if you know the name

Now you have a general idea of ​​how to write messages to business partners and various companies.

Standard Expressions

Here are some typical phrases as an example:

It is very kind of you to- it's very kind of you

We apologize for- We apologize for

Please let me know-Please tell me

According to- In accordance with

In case- When

As you requested– At your request

Until now- Still

With reference to your– Regarding your

Unfortunately- Unfortunately

We enclose– We are enclosing

We are sorry- We regret

How to end a business letter? A few more polite phrases:

Thank you for responding to my offer— Thank you for responding to my proposal.

We look forward to hearing from you soon— We hope to receive your response in the near future

And at the end before the signature:

With best regards- Best wishes

With respect- Sincerely

With thanks for your cooperation– With gratitude for your cooperation

With best wishes- Best wishes

Are you tired of theory yet? Then a little practice!

This time a letter of refusal (such a letter must be written in a correct and delicate style):

Mr Robert Brown
General Manager
KLM Co Ltd
32 Wood Lane
London
Great Britain WC37TP

John Stewart
1304 Sherman Ave.
Madison, Wisconsin

Thank you for sending us your resume.
We are sorry to inform you that your candidature does not suit us/
kind regards,

Translation(translate the address and date yourself):

Dear Mr. Stewart

Thank you for sending us your resume.
We regret to inform you that your candidacy is not suitable for us.

Sincerely,

Robert Brown

CEO

Who is not yet familiar with EnglishDom, Run there to sign up for a free trial lesson! There, you will be matched with the ideal teacher—one who matches your personal preferences, language learning goals, and your lifestyle.

You will begin to understand business English, speak it and write excellent business letters that will impress all your partners and colleagues.

This is what you dream about, right?

And for my guests and readers there is a special offer - 2 lessons free when you pay for 10 lessons . To receive a gift, you need to enter a special promotional code Partner2 upon payment.

Emails

Everyone's favorite e-mail messages account for about 80% of business turnover. It differs from ordinary correspondence in being more specific and concise. They try to use unnecessarily long phrases avoid In addition, they use acronyms (phrases formed from the first letters of a phrase), as IMHO. Electronic correspondence is characterized not only by personal messages, but also by mailing lists (the BCC field is used when confidentiality is required). Well, the main difference is that most people prefer to refrain from transmitting confidential information by email.

Of course, in the era of “OK Google!” You don’t have to look for difficult ways and simply paste the typed text into an online translator. You will most likely be understood, but you are unlikely to achieve a favorable impression. Remember, the quality of your business correspondence is an indicator of the quality of your company.

Thank you for reading my article to the end. Advise your friends to read it on social networks! Who knows, maybe someone needs this information here and now!

Subscribe to new portions of English.
Bye everyone! Take care of yourself!

In recent decades, it has become an integral part in any area of ​​business. In addition to drawing up contracts, acts and annexes to them, document specialists are engaged in drawing up various kinds of appeals and letters. At the legislative level, the principles of their design and the general template, of course, are not defined. In such a situation, the question arises: “How to correctly draw up this or that legally weak, but business document?” The answer to this is extremely simple and comes down to drawing up such papers according to generally accepted standards in office work.

Today our resource decided to consider the principles of writing an official letter and the features of this document. Information on the summarized topic and a template for the paper itself can be found below.

Official or is one of the basic types of documents in the field of office work of modern business. It is a universal way of transmitting information, implemented in the simplest possible manner, but in compliance with all the rules and regulations of business relations.

Naturally, the information presented in official letters is not of an entertaining nature. Such papers can be invitations, partly advertising, informational and others, but in no case entertaining.

There are many differences between an official letter and a regular one. The main one is purpose. If a business document always has a precise purpose of sending or transmitting to the addressee, then regular letters are often used for “communication for the sake of communication.” In addition, business messages:

• are not anonymous - they always have information about the sender and recipient
• written on behalf of a specific person or organization or association represented by him
• (if the sender has a stamp)
• compiled according to generally accepted rules in office work
• cannot be entertaining, as mentioned earlier

An optional, but also common difference between an official letter and a regular message is that the former is written on company letterhead. This approach gives the address the highest level of solidity and generally indicates its business status.

A few words about the details and general content of the document

Official letters are issued for various reasons, as a result of which the content naturally varies. Despite this, the general structure of business messages cannot be taken away. It is this that is defined as true in the field of office work, is not subject to dispute and forms the basic requirements for the relevant documents. Typical details of an official letter include:

• full name of the sending company or full name of a specific citizen
• information about checkpoint, checkpoint, and OKUD (for organizations)
• address and all possible contacts of the sender
• similar information about the addressee
• the essence of the message
• date of its composition
• and printing (for organizations)

Important! The type of business documents we are considering today is one of the few that do not need to include a title. The absence of the latter is by no means a mistake, but compliance with basic office work standards.

It is advisable to issue the letter itself on letterhead, of course, if its sender is a company. For government agencies, such forms have an image of the coat of arms, for commercial organizations - their emblem.

1. Clear and understandable for the recipient.
2. Without the use of profanity, not to mention insults and obscenities.
3. Neat, concise and competent.

In principle, document experts do not make any other requirements for official letters. It is enough to comply with the noted norms, rules and general content of the document.

You can download a template for an official letter to the organization below:

Types of official letters

An official letter is a fairly extensive group of business papers. The most used of them include:

• , reflecting the sender’s desire to do something for the benefit of the addressee
• Letters of request
• Requests
• Event Invitations
• Invitations to cooperation
• Papers that remind the recipient of something
• Commercial offers
• Requirements
• Instructions
• Advertising and information letters

By the name of each type of official letter, you can understand its general purpose and the purpose of sending the message. As practice shows, the transfer of various types of requests in the business environment is carried out for a variety of reasons, and the list of their types noted above is far from final.

Features of the design and transmission of the message to the addressee

At the end of today’s article, let’s pay attention to the transfer of official letters to the Russian Federation. First of all, it should be noted that the main nuance of successful business relationships is a competent approach to their management. In the case of drawing up the relevant documents, we are talking about their:

• neatness
• full compliance with business standards
• purposefulness (sending an official letter to someone in the form of spam will significantly undermine the authority of the sender)

In addition, it is advisable to approach the composition of the message extremely responsibly. Its text should be literate, concise and understandable. The use of complex verbal structures and terms is undesirable. The general tone of the address should be kept within limits. Restraint is welcome, but familiarity is never.

As for the transmission of business letters, the sender has no restrictions. You can deliver a message to the addressee:

• via the Internet in electronic form
• via mail
• via courier or even in person

Transmitting official letters is a vast field. All senders will be able to choose a convenient message.

This concludes the most important provisions on the topic of this article. We hope that the information presented has helped all readers understand the essence of official letters in the Russian Federation and the rules for their execution.

Write your question in the form below

Constant correspondence and emails have become everyday means of communicating with friends today, but writing a letter is a more traditional, effective way that can bring a smile to your friend's face. If you're writing an email the old-fashioned way, the form of writing still remains the same: the letter to a friend should include a greeting, questions for the friend, an update from your life, and an appropriate ending.

Steps

Beginning of the letter

Main part

Start with pleasant things. The first part of a friendly letter is usually warm and cheerful. This can set the tone for the entire letter, letting the recipient know what's coming next and making the letter sound more serious or businesslike. Write a greeting in a few lines, tell a joke or write about the weather.

• "How are you?" or “How are you?” - the most common ways to start a letter. Ask a question to make the letter feel like part of a longer conversation. If you want a response to a letter, fill it with questions.
• You can use the first paragraph of the letter to ask the recipient more about their life. For example: “I hope that little Yulenka likes it in kindergarten. I can’t believe she’s grown so much!”
• Letters often begin with reference to the time of year. Think about how to start small conversations that grow into deep conversations. For example: “I hope autumn doesn’t dampen your mood. The trees in the area have become so beautiful. I still think the winter will be cold.”

1. Share news and details from your life. Now is the time for the main part of the letter and the purpose of writing it. Why did you start this correspondence? Do you want to reconnect with an old friend, express how much you miss him, or thank him for his help? Be honest, open, and try to convey your thoughts clearly on paper.

   • Write about what is happening in your life. Regardless of the nature of the letter, your letter will be appreciated, but stories about your life will bring your recipient and you closer. This way the letter will be more effective and open. Tell us what happened, what emotions you experienced, and what your plans are for the future.
   • Don't describe your life in too much detail, otherwise the purpose of the friendly letter will be lost. Avoid the newspaper holiday template - your friend will immediately start reading the letter from the end if you list all your merits. You don't need to get caught up in your own problems, but be realistic when talking about yourself.

2. Choose topics that directly relate to your friend. What was your friend doing the last time you met him? Maybe he broke up with his soulmate? Perhaps he was going through a tough time on the football team? Adapt by referencing familiar topics and ask questions to show your interest in your friend's business.

   • You can discuss topics that interest you both. State your views on art, politics, recent events, or other areas of life that you would like to discuss with your friend.
   • You can suggest watching movies or reading books that you think your friend might like. Exchange of valuable information is always welcome in letters.

   Completing the letter

   1. Close the discussion. Write the last paragraph conveying your best wishes to your friend or loved one. The last paragraph is usually lighter in emotional load, but it should be consistent with the overall atmosphere of the letter. End your letter on a positive note to make your friend feel better about you.

      • Repeat the purpose of the letter again. For example, if you invited a friend to a party, write the following: “I hope you come!” If you just want to wish your friend a good time, write something like: “Happy New Year!”
      • Inspire your friend to write back. If you want an answer, write: “I hope for a quick answer,” or: “Please write a reply!”

   2. Write the ending. It should convey the mood of your letter depending on its tone: formal or informal. Like the greeting, the ending is determined by the nature of your relationship with the recipient. End the letter with your name.

      • If you want to formally end the letter, write: “Sincerely,” “Sincerely,” or “Best wishes.”
      • If the letter is written in an informal tone, use phrases such as “Your...”, “Take care of yourself,” or “Bye.”
      • If the letter is personal, write “Love,” “Love you very much,” or “Miss you.”

   3. Consider the postscript. A postscript (lat. post scriptum (P.S.) - “after what is written”) is usually used at the end of a friendly letter as a method of additional information that is not worth devoting a separate paragraph to in the body. You can also add an interesting joke, or simply omit the postscript. In any case, make sure that the postscript matches the tone of the letter and makes your recipient feel like you want to see them.