Correspondence Vocabulary

address n. the place to which a letter is to be sent

We still haven't got your invoice. Are you

sure you sent it to the correct address?

Best regards friendly close to a letter - also Kind

regards, Best wishes

I use "Best wishes" to close personal

correspondence, but for commercial
correspondence I use "Best regards".

Dear first word of most SALUTATIONS, formal or

not [eg: Dear Sir, Dear Mr Won, Dear Jo]

Starting a business letter with "Dear" seems

a bit too personal, but everyone still uses it.

Dear Madam formal SALUTATION to an unnamed woman

Can I use "Dear Madam" when writing to a

businesswoman who's already given me her
 name?

Dear Sir formal SALUTATION to an unnamed man

He'd assumed the CEO was a man and began

his letter with "Dear Sir", and then had to
apologize after being told she's a woman.

Dear Sir or formal SALUTATION to an unnamed person

Madam of either gender

It's generally more respectful to avoid "Dear

Sir or Madam" and to take the trouble to find
out your correspondent's name or at least
gender.

dictate v. to say or read aloud words that someone

else will write down, or that dictation
software will transform into text
- dictation n.

Which one of those speech-to-text dictation

apps do you use for dictating letters?

enc. abbr.1 enclosed [adj. (esp of a document)

 sent in an envelope along with a
letter]; 2 enclosure [n. a document or object
sent in an envelope along with a letter]

If you see "Enc. (2)" written at the bottom of

a business letter, it means two additional
items were sent with the letter.

Ladies and SALUTATION when writing to a firm and not

GentlemenUS to any particular individual in that firm

By using the salution "Ladies and

Gentlemen" (or "Dear Ladies and
Gentlemen") you are legally addressing the
firm or company.

letterhead n. a sheet of letter paper printed with a

person or company's name and address

As soon as the business cards, letterhead,

stationery and website are ready, we'll
launch the business.

Mr Ms Mrs abbr. of title for man, woman (married or

Miss unmarried), married woman, unmarried
woman
 Mr and Mrs Singleton would like to invite
you to the wedding of their
daughter Miss June Singleton and her
loving same-sex partner Ms Olivia
MacIntyre-Jones.

p.s. abbr. postscript [used to indicate a note

added at the very end of a letter]

If you've written a letter but then think of

something else you want to say, write "p.s."
down the bottom and add the extra bit there.

p.p. abbr. per pro, meaning "on behalf of" or

"through the agency of" [eg: A per pro B
(where B has written on behalf of A)]

When Anne writes a letter on behalf of her

boss, she puts "p.p. Anne Windsor" after his
name when signing off.

registered n. a secure postal service for important or

mail valuable letters or packages

Sending things by registered mail costs a

bit more, but at least you can track them
 online.

salutation n. opening or first line of a letter, usually

beginning with 'Dear...'

It's important to use the

correct salutation when sending
commercial correspondence.

shorthand n. a system of speed writing, esp. when

taking dictation

After leaving school, mum went to a

commercial college and learned how to type
and take shorthand.

sign v. to write one's name at the end of a

document - signature n.

Leave a space at the bottom of the letter

for signing your name.

To Whom It SALUTATION you can use when writing to a

May Concern company, government department or other
organisation and you don't have a contact
 name

If a letter begins with "To Whom It May

Concern", figure out which department it
should go to and pass it on to them.

Yours polite close to a letter that does not begin

faithfullyUK with the recipient's name, as in Dear Sir

Yours polite close to a letter that begins with the

sincerelyUK recipient's name, as in Dear Mr Smith

Yours trulyUS polite close to a letter; Sincerely yoursUS