My dear Father / My dear Friend / My Dear Sister etc.

Note that My Dear is more intimate and affectionate than Dear.
In letters to friends, the salutation should be:

Dear Peter / My dear Peter

If you are writing to an older person, you should address him as Dear Mr

Peter or Dear Ms Alice.

In letters to strangers, the salutation should be Dear Sir or Dear Madam.
Avoid phrases like ‘Honored Sir’ and ‘Respected Sir’. Native English speakers don’t use expressions like these.

After the opening salutation, Americans may put a colon or a comma. In British English, a comma is more common.

Subscription
There is no apostrophe in yours, either before or after the s.
Write

Yours sincerely (NOT Your’s sincerely)

Before the leave-taking phrase most people write an expression like With kind regards, With every good wish or Hoping to hear from you soon.

Informal letters may finish, for example, Yours, See you or Love. Note that Love is not usually used by one man to another.

Letters which begin Dear Sir or Dear Madam usually finish Yours faithfully. Formal letters which begin with the person’s name usually finish Yours sincerely. In American English, Yours faithfully is not used.

In a personal letter we can touch on many subjects just like we do during casual conversations. We may also discuss these subjects in any order we like. Note that the use of colloquial expressions which would be totally out of place in a formal letter is also permissible in personal letters. But this does not mean that personal letters should be written in a careless and slovenly manner. In fact, it must be remembered that however friendly your tone may be, we are all bound by the rules of spelling, grammar and punctuation. Note that grammatical and spelling errors will instantly get you stamped as uneducated.

Forms of address

In friendly letters to friends and relatives, the proper form of address is the name (without title) of the person to whom you are writing. You may prefix the name by such qualifying terms as Dear, My Dear, Dearest etc.

Examples are:

My dear Mummy

Dear Charles

Dearest sister

The forms of subscription are varied. In letters to close friends and relatives you may write: ‘Yours affectionately’, ‘Your affectionate son/daughter/sister/brother’, ‘Your loving son/friend’ etc. In informal letters written to your superiors or teachers, you may use subscriptions such as ‘Sincerely’ or ‘Truly’.

Before the subscription some people use expressions such as ‘regards’, ‘kind regards’ or ‘with best wishes’.

Not that ‘sincerely’ should not be used in letters which begin with the formal Dear Sir, after which the proper form of subscription is ‘faithfully’ or ‘truly’.

Divide the letter into neat paragraphs. Each paragraph should be an expansion of a single idea. If the letter is too short, you don’t have to divide it into paragraphs.

Write in a simple language. Use short sentences. Be clear about what you want to say and say it as directly as possible.

Before you start writing think out what you want to say. Put down your thoughts in a logical manner. While it is possible to add postscripts at the end of the letter, they are usually a sign of slovenly thinking.

Write legibly. Remember that your correspondent has to read what you write. Do not give him/her unnecessary trouble by writing illegibly.

Use proper punctuation. Put your commas and full stops in their proper places. Remember that incorrect punctuation may alter the whole meaning of a sentence.

The subscription or leave-taking
A letter must not end abruptly, simply with the writer’s name. This would look rude. So certain forms of polite leave-taking are prescribed. Examples are: Yours sincerely, Yours truly, etc.

Letters which begin Dear Sir or Dear Madam usually finish Yours faithfully. Formal letters which begin with the person’s name usually finish Yours sincerely. Informal letters may finish, for example, Yours or Love. Note that Love is not usually written by one man to another.

It is also common to put a closing formula before Yours… Common examples are: With best wishes and With kind regards.

Note that the first word of the subscription must begin with a capital letter.

Example: Sincerely yours

Signature
The signature or name of the writer should be put below the subscription. Sign with your first name or full name, but do not write any title (Mr/Miss/Dr/etc) before your name.

Example:

Yours sincerely
John Mathews

Addressing the envelope
On the envelope write the full address of the person to whom the letter is written to. While writing the address, put the first name before the surname. It is also common to write a title (Mr/Miss) before the name.

Americans usually put commas at the ends of lines in addresses; full stops may be used at the ends of addresses.
After the opening salutation, Americans may put a colon or a comma.

Note that Yours faithfully is not used in American usage. Common endings are Sincerely, Sincerely yours or Yours truly, followed by a comma.

There are several different kinds of letters. For examples, there are personal letters and business letters. The form of each letter is determined by its kind. For example, personal letters are written in a friendly tone. Business letters, on the other hand, are written in a formal style.

Parts of a letter

There are six important parts to all letters. They are:

1.    Heading
2.    Salutation
3.    Body of the letter
4.    Subscription or leave taking
5.    Signature
6.    Superscription on the envelope

Heading
The heading usually consists of two elements – the writer’s address and the date. The purpose of the heading is to inform the reader where the letter was written and when.

The heading should give the full postal address of the writer to which the reader may reply. The heading is usually given in the top right-hand corner of the first page. The date is given below the heading. Don’t put your name with the address. The address and the date may alternatively go on the left.

The date may be written in any of the following formats:

18 October 2003
18th October 2003
October 18, 2003

The date may also be written entirely in figures.

12-10-2003
12.10.2003
12/10/2003

Notes

All-figure dates are interpreted differently in British and American English. For example, 12.10.2003 means 12th October 2003 to British people. To an American it means 10th December 2003. Americans put the month before the day.

Salutation or greeting
The form of greeting depends upon the relationship between the writer and the reader of the letter.

In letters written to family members and close friends, the greeting could be –
Dear Father, My Dear Mother, Dear Uncle, Dear John etc.

In business letters the greeting should be Dear Sir/Dear Madam/Dear Sirs etc.

Note that here the use of the term dear does not imply any special affection. It is a merely a polite expression.

Put the salutation at the left-hand corner of the page. It should be put at a lower level than the heading.

‘I shall be obliged if you will send me …’
‘Please dispatch the —– at your earliest convenience’

There are also certain phrases of business jargon that should be avoided.

Examples are: ‘Dispatch the same at once’.

Expressions of this kind are commonly used in business letters, but note that they are not good English. In many cases it is also possible to convey the meaning in simple, everyday English.

Avoid abbreviations as far as possible.
For instance, write advertisement, and not advt. Write examination, and not exam.

Also avoid the tendency to omit the subjects I and we.
Write ‘We have received’ instead of ‘Have received’

Directions for shipping (by rail, air, post etc.) should be given. Also clearly state the manner in which the payment will be made.

While ordering goods, give clear and exact descriptions of the articles in the letter. It is also a good idea to provide an itemized list of the articles wanted with the quality and quantity clearly specified.

In replying to business letters always quote the number of reference if there is any and the date of the letter you are answering. For example, ‘In reply to your letter no. 304/p, dated January 5th, 1010, I would like to say’

When should I write an acceptance letter?

Acceptance letters are written in the following situations:

• To accept a formal or informal invitation to a social or private event
• To accept a job offer
• To accept a resignation
• To accept or decline a gift
• To accept an assignment or something similar
• To accept an honor or award

How to write an acceptance letter:

You are accepting a job, a promotion or a gift. So be gracious. The acceptance letter should convey your gratitude. Thank the person or the organization in the beginning of the letter itself. State how happy or grateful you are about accepting the offer. You may also want to thank those people who have helped you.

If you are accepting a job offer or some other assignment, formally restate the terms as you understand them. For example, you can write about your joining date, your expectations regarding the job and the rate of compensation. By restating these terms you are giving the other person a chance to review them and this will help prevent several misunderstandings from arising in future.

In your letter be enthusiastic about the job or assignment if you are accepting one. While accepting a resignation, try to keep the tone of the letter positive. Don’t make remarks that would prompt the other person to take legal action against you. Also don’t rule out the possibility of working with him or her again.

If you are accepting an invitation to an event thank the person for the invitation. You may also want to clarify details about the event – date or time, location and dress code.

At the end of the letter restate your appreciation for being offered the job, gift etc.

What if you must decline to accept an offer?

You will not be able to accept every job or invitation. Sometimes you may want to decline an offer. In your letter thank the person for the invitation or offer. State clearly that you are not able to accept the offer. You may also want to express why you are unable to accept the offer. Close the letter by restating your appreciation for the person’s consideration.

Once you have finished writing, read the letter and carefully check for errors. Make sure that your acceptance letter is well-worded and free of grammatical or spelling errors.

What to write?

Your letter should be interesting to your reader. Don’t devote the whole space to yourself. Write about people your reader is interested in. You may also want to write about the things that are of common interest to you and your reader. The purpose of writing a personal letter is to make the reader feel happy so show genuine interest in him/her. If you have a particular purpose in writing the letter – say, to convey a message – state it clearly so that it would not be obscured by the other details in the letter.

In personal letters the salutation could begin with Dear or My Dear. Note that My Dear expresses more intimacy and affection than Dear. The subscription could be Sincerely yours, Yours, or Yours affectionately. Many people also write ‘love’, ‘see you’ or ‘cheers’. Note that ‘love’ is not usually used in letters written by a man to another man.

Sample Personal Letter

M 1014, Sector 17
MG Road, Mumbai
October 10, 2009

Dear Alice

Many thanks for your letter which arrived this morning. We are thinking of visiting you one of these days. By the by, how is Tom? You said nothing about him. Isn’t he studying well?

Convey my regards to everybody at home.

See you soon, I hope.

Thanks again

Yours
Ann

Forms of letters

Each type of letter has its own particular form, but there are certain features common to all types.

Heading

The heading consists of the writer’s address and date. It is written at the top right-hand corner of the letter paper. Note that the heading is not usually written in official notes of invitation. The date can be written in a number of ways. Examples are: 17 July 2009 or July 17, 2009.

Greeting or salutation

The salutation goes below the address and date, beginning from the left hand side of the page. Put a comma or nothing at all after the salutation. The form of the salutation varies according to the type of letter you write. In personal letters the salutation could be ‘My dear X’ or ‘Dear X’. In letters to strangers the salutation could be Dear Sir or Dear Madam. In letters to teachers and superiors the salutation should be Dear Sir or Sir.

The body of the letter

The body of the letter is the main part of the letter. It should be written in a simple style. Use formal language in official letters. A familiar, colloquial style may be used in letters to friends and relatives. A log letter should be divided into paragraphs.

Leave taking or subscription

After you have completed the body of the letter you should write the leave-taking phrase to the left side of the page and put your signature below it.

Note that in letters which begin Dear Sir/Madam, the leave-taking phrase should be ‘Yours faithfully’. In formal letters which begin with a person’s name write ‘yours sincerely’. In informal letters you can write ‘Love’, ‘Yours’ or ‘See you’. In an informal letter, sign with your first name. In a formal letter, sign with your full name. Do not write any title (Mr/Ms/Dr) with your name.

Note that there is no apostrophe in ‘yours’, either before or after the s. After sincerely/faithfully, put a comma or nothing at all. Before the leave-taking phrase, many people write expressions such as ‘With best wishes’ and ‘With kind regards’.