How to Address a Letter

How to Address a Letter How to Address a Letter The heading and address of the letter is the first thing noticed by the recipient. So it is one of the most important and primary aspect of writing letters. A person must spend some time in recognizing the exact recipient of the letter along with the basic purpose of writing the letter. Further, the nature and type of the letter also have an impact on the way to address a letter. If it is an informal letter, you can use some of the more fancy and casual terms while addressing the recipient. At the same time, an official and formal letter must be addressed in a more exact and specific manner. You can consider various aspects of the letter, before deciding the exact style and manner of addressing a letter.
Instructions

When you address a letter, you need to ensure that it is matching with the overall writing style and theme of the letter. If you are writing the letter using word processing software, use the same software to type in the address. Similarly, if the letter is handwritten, then write the address with the same pen used for writing the original letter.
The address should carry the name of the recipient with the exact spelling and words used by him. When you are replying to a letter, it becomes much easier to address the recipient in the exact way mentioned on the received correspondence. At the same time, you must find the exact name used by the recipient, while writing a letter from your side.
If you are using a printed stationary or letter pad to write the letter, then it will contain the name and address of your organization. But if you are writing the correspondence on a plain paper, include your return address at the upper right-hand corner of the sheet. It will help in establishing your identity before the recipient, before he starts reading the letter written by you.
The letter must be dated based on its type and purpose. If it is an informal letter, you can mention the day of the week like Monday. But if you are writing a formal or official letter, make sure to mention the complete date along with the month and year.
Now allow a couple of blank lines and start writing the subject of the letter by addressing the person receiving the letter. It becomes tougher for you to address a person, whom you have never met in person. So you need to ensure that the letter must appear professional and business like. Most of the recipients give much more importance to the way they are exactly being greeted or referred. The effect of your letter also depends on the way a person is greeted and is addressed as.
It is a common practice to greet a person as Dear and the mention his salutation and full name as noted by your earlier. However, the salutation will differ based on the age, sex, and marital status of the recipient. You can use Mr for a man, Mrs for a married woman, Miss for a young or unmarried girl, and Master for a young boy. If you are not sure about the marital status of a woman, you can always use the salutation as Ms.