Business English 2.- Greetings and closings in Letters and E-mail messages (II)

Closings

The way you end a letter is very different from the way you end an e-mail message.

Guidelines

In letters, you need a closing above your signature and name.

1. Capitalize the first letter of the closing.
2. Use a comma (,) after the closing.
3. “Regards” is not in this list. It is used in e-mail and letters to friends.

Examples:

Sincerely,

Sincerely yours,

Yours truly, (formal)

Very truly yours, (formal)

Cordially, (informal)

1. Leave four lines for your handwritten signature.
2. Type (first name last name).
3. You may also put your position title below your typed name.

Sincerely,

Pedro Martínez

Customer Service Manager

1. Put Mr. or Ms. Before your typed name the first time your write. This clearly shows that you are male or female and is very helpful to the reader.

Yours truly,

           Ms. Lee Sanchez

In e-mail it is not necessary to include a closing such as “Sincerely” or “Yours truly”, although is you began the message with Dear Mr. Smith:, you may want to close just as formally.

1. A common informal closing is “Regards” or “Best regards,” followed by a comma (,).
2. You do not need any punctuation at the end of your name.

Example:

Thanks for your help.

Jim

Regards,

Jim

1. If there´s a possibility that your reader´s e-mail system does not put the address in the “From:” line, include your e-mail address at the end of the message.

I look forward to your reply

Martha

Martha Hamlin

mhamlin@aol.net

1. If you have never written to the person before, or if you want to maintain a formal relationship, use both your first and last name (in that order).

I look forward to hearing from you.

Bill Cleary