Today is our topic of discussion Writing an official letter

Writing an official letter

 

Here is an application for a job. Read it carefully.

1. Letterhead/writer’s address – 3 Teen Aani Bazar Sherpur Town Sherpur 2100

2. Date – 20 September 1998

3. Inside address – The Director Department of Agricultural Extension Khamar Bari Farmgate, Dhaka 1215

4. Salutation – Dear Sir,

5. Subject – Field Officer

6. Body of letter – I saw your advertisement in The Daily Star yesterday for some Field Officers and would like to apply for a position.

I enclose my CV and the names and addresses of two referees.

I could come for an interview any day after 11.00am.

7. Ending – Yours faithfully

8. Signature with name – Kazi Md. Giasuddin

9. Left address on envelope – Supervisor Supervisor Non-Formal Education Programme Gonoshahajja Shangstha (GSS) Mymensingh

10. Right address on envelope – Same as the inside address

Read these notes carefully on different parts of a letter

Letterhead

If the letter-writer has a job he/she may use (for official letters) writing paper with his/her name and address printed on it. Or it could be just the writer’s address. In both the cases either just the top of the sheet or the top-right corner of the sheet could be used for this purpose.

Notice that no punctuation mark has been used in writing the address. However, a comma would be necessary to separate two names (e.g. those of a road and a town/city) if they are written on the same line. e.g. 3 Teen Aani Bazar, Sherpur Town

 

 

Date

The date could be written in different ways such as: 20th September 1998 September 20, 1998 20/9/1998
9/20/1998 (This form is usually written by the Americans or those who follow the American style).

Inside Address

In ‘Inside address’ the receiver’s name or just his/her designation with address appears. Notice the use of punctuation mark. (See 1 Letterhead under B above).

Salutation

If in ‘Inside address’ only the designation of the receiver is mention (e.g. The Director, The General Manager, The Chairman, The Principal, etc.), the salutation ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ is OK. If, on the other hand, the name of the receiver is mentioned (e.g. Mr. Abu Sadiq Khan, Professor Rokeya Khanam, Dr. Kamal Hamid Chowdhury, etc.), the salutation should be:

Dear Mr. Khan

Dear Professor Khanam

Dear Dr. Chowdhury Sometimes the form Dear Mr./Ms. Secretary or Chairperson (etc.) is used. You can put a comma (,) or a colon (:) after a salutation, e.g.

Dear Sir,/Dear Sir:

Dear Mr. Khan,/Dear Mr. Khan: Dear Ms./Mr. Coordinator: Or you can just use a salutation without any punctuation mark as shown in the model letter.

Subject

You can just write the name of the post (e.g. Field Officer, Assistant Manager, etc.), Or you can add some words to make the subject more specific (e.g. Field officer- Pirganj thana or Assistant Manager for the Marketing Division).

Body

The body of a job application should be short and precise, telling mainly about how you the applicant came to know about the post you are applying for, what papers/documents you are enclosing with the application, who will become your referee/referees and whether you are willing to come for an interview.

CV (= Curriculum Vitae) is a written account of the applicant’s education, experience and past employment. It is also called resume (rezum) in American English.

 

 

Referee: When you apply for a job your would-be employer might ask for a letter from your referee in which he/she describes your character and abilities.

Ending

The ending of a letter is related to its salutation.