What is the American and British writing style?

British English (BrE) is the form of English used in the United Kingdom. It includes all English used within the United Kingdom. American English (AmE) is the form of English used in the United States. It includes all English dialects used within the United States.

Written forms of British and American English as found in newspapers and textbooks very little in their essential features, with only occasional noticeable differences in comparable media[1] (comparing American newspapers with British newspapers, for example). This kind of formal English, particularly written English, is often called "standard English".[2][3] The spoken forms of British English vary considerably, reflecting a long history of dialect development amid isolated populations. Dialects, word use and accents vary not only among the countries of the United Kingdom, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, but also within these individual countries. Received Pronunciation (RP) refers to a way of pronouncing Standard English that is actually used by about two percent of the UK population. It remains the accent upon which dictionary pronunciation guides are based, and for teaching English as a foreign language. It is referred to colloquially as "the Queen's English", "Oxford English" and "BBC English", although by no means have all who live in Oxford spoken with such accent and the BBC does not require or uses it exclusively. An unofficial standard for spoken American English has also developed, as a result of mass media and geographic and social mobility, and broadly describes the English typically heard from network newscasters, commonly referred to as non-regional diction, although local newscasters tend toward more parochial forms of speech.

Compare British and American business letters

American Style Heading
According to the format but usually aligned to the left October 19, 2005 (month-day-year) According to the format but usually aligned to the left two lines below the heading) Dear Mr./Ms. Smith: Dear Sir or Madam: Gentlemen: After the salutation there is a colon (:)
Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Yours truly,

British Style
The heading is usually placed in the top right corner of the letter (sometimes centred) 19 October 2005 (day-month-year) Usually placed directly (or 1 blank line) below the heading.

Date

Salutation

Dear Mr./Ms. Smith, Dear Sir or Madam, Dear Sirs, After the salutation there is a comma (,)
Sincerely, Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully,

Complimentary close

The Format
The format (layout) is the visual organization of a business letter. The main business letter formats are: Full-Block Style - All the elements are aligned to the left margin and there are no indented lines. This is a standard block-style format that is accepted by most businesses. Modified Block Style - The return address, date, closing and signature start just to the right of the center of the page or may be flush with the right margin. All body paragraphs begin at the left margin.

Indented or Semi-Block Style - Similar to the modified block business letter style except that the first line of each paragraph is indented.

Business Letter Sample - Full-Block Style

If you are using company letterhead, your full address will already be centered on the page.

Letterhead Company Name (and logo) Address Phone/Fax number E-mail (optional)

(2 blank lines after letterhead) Current date ---> The date may be written as month-day-year (US style) or day-month-year (UK style). (4 blank lines) Mr./Ms. Name of person you are writing, title ---> The inside address includs the recipient's name, title, Company name company, and full address. Address City, Zip Country (use only if writing to another country) (2 blank lines) Dear Mr. /Ms. Last Name: or Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name, ---> The salutation is a greeting to the recipient. If you dont know the name of the individual, address it to the individuals title in the company or "Dear Sir/Madam". (1 blank line if there is a subject; 2 blank lines if there is no subject) Subject Line (Optional): Title of subject ---> Indicates the subject or purpose of the letter. It may be also placed before the salutation. (1 blank line)

Body Paragraph 1: Explain who you are and why you are writing this letter.................................................................. ............................................................................................................................................................ ................................ (1 blank line) Body Paragraph 2: Use facts, details and experiences to support your opinion or request.............................................. ............................................................................................................................................................ ................................. (1 blank line) Body Paragraph 3: Tell the reader what you want him to do or what you will do for him................................................ ............................................................................................................................................................ ................................. (1 blank line) Short sentence: End your letter by saying something courteous to your reader. (2 blank lines) Sincerely, or... Sincerely yours, ---> Capitalize only the first word in the complimentary close, and follow the phrase with a comma. (3/4 blank lines) ---> Your handwritten signature

Your name ---> You should type your first and last names. This can be followed by a title on the next line if appropriate. Your title (2 blank lines) NKA/wgs or NKA:wgs ---> The typist's initials (if someone else types your letters) follow the writer's initials, separated by a slash or colon. The writer's initials are in capital letters, the typist's are lowercase. Enclosure (2) ---> Include this if there are additional items with the letter. (2 blank lines) cc: The names of the other recipients ---> The copie line is used to let the reader know that other people are receiving a copy of the document. Follow the colon with the names of the other recipients, listed either alphabetically or according to organizational rank.

When printing on blank paper you should type your address (without your name or phone # ) as the heading. Align the heading according to the letter format.

Address City, ZIP Country (2 blank lines) Date of writing If the letter is long you may place the date immediately below the last line of the heading. Otherwise, place the date two lines below the heading.

Punctuation: The two styles of punctuation commonly used in business letters are mixed and open. The most popular style is mixed punctuation. Mixed punctuation requires a colon after the salutation and a comma after the complimentary close. When no punctuation follows Mr. or Ms, the salutation and the complimentary close, open punctuation has been used. This style is popular in the UK but it is not considered appropriate in the United States. Dear Mr. Last Name/Ms Last Name (no colon or comma) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sincerely (no comma)

Parts of A Business Letter

Date of The Letter should be mentioned in every letter. Either the left-hand side or the right-hand side can be used to add the date of the letter. Both sides are acceptable. But writing the date on the left-hand side of the letterhead is mostly practised among the business people. The date can be written in various formats. The formats which are widely used are

12 January 2010 12th January 2010 12 Jan 2010 12th Jan 2010 12.01.2010 12/01/2010 12.01.10 12/01/10

The last four formats are quite confusing, because they are not followed in USA where the date is written in either one of the first formats.

12.01.2010 12/01/2010 12.01.10 12/01/10

These four formats are widely used in UK, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Singapore and other Asian countries.

12 January 2010 12th January 2010

this formats are commonly used in USA.