The complimentary close follows the body of the letter, about two or three spaces below it. It begins about in the center of the page under the body of the letter. Only the first word should be capitalized and a comma is placed at the end. The wording may vary according to the degree of cordiality or friendship. In business letters the forms are usually restricted to the following:
Yours truly (or) Truly yours (not good form)
Yours very truly (or) Very truly yours
Yours respectfully (or) Respectfully yours
Yours very respectfully.
If the correspondents are on a more intimate basis they may use
Faithfully yours
Cordially yours
Sincerely yours.
In formal official letters the complimentary close is
Respectfully yours
Yours respectfully.
The informal social letter may close with
Yours sincerely
Yours very sincerely
Yours cordially
Yours faithfully
Yours gratefully (if a favor has been done)
Yours affectionately
Very affectionately yours
Yours lovingly
Lovingly yours.
The position of "yours" may be at the beginning or at the end, but it must never be abbreviated or omitted.
If a touch of formal courtesy is desired, the forms "I am" or "I remain" may be used before the complimentary closing. These words keep the same margin as the paragraph indenting. But in business letters they are not used.
The signature is written below the complimentary close and a little to the right, so that it ends about at the right-hand margin. In signing a social letter a married woman signs herself as "Evelyn Rundell," not "Mrs. James Rundell" nor "Mrs. Evelyn Rundell." The form "Mrs. James Rundell" is used in business letters when the recipient might be in doubt as to whether to address her as "Mrs." or "Miss." Thus a married woman would sign such a business letter:
Yours very truly,
Evelyn Rundell
(Mrs. James Rundell).
An unmarried woman signs as "Ruth Evans," excepting in the case of a business letter where she might be mistaken for a widow. She then prefixes "Miss" in parentheses, as (Miss) Ruth Evans.
A woman should not sign only her given name in a letter to a man unless he is her fiancé or a relative or an old family friend.
A widow signs her name with "Mrs." in parentheses before it, as (Mrs.) Susan Briggs Geer.
A divorced woman, if she retains her husband's name, signs her letters with her given name and her own surname followed by her husband's name, thus:
Janet Hawkins Carr.
and in a business communication:
Janet Hawkins Carr
(Mrs. Janet Hawkins Carr).
A signature should always be made by hand and in ink. The signature to a business letter may be simply the name of the writer. Business firms or corporations have the name of the firm typed above the written signature of the writer of the letter. Then in type below comes his official position. Thus:
Hall, Haines & Company (typewritten)
Alfred Jennings (handwritten)
Cashier (typewritten).
If he is not an official, his signature is preceded by the word "By."
In the case of form letters or routine correspondence the name of the person directly responsible for the letter may be signed by a clerk with his initials just below it. Some business firms have the name of the person responsible for the letter typed immediately under the name of the firm and then his signature below that. This custom counteracts illegibility in signatures.
In circular letters the matter of a personal signature is a very important one. Some good points on this subject may be gathered from the following extract from Printers' Ink.
Who shall sign a circular letter depends largely on circumstances entering individual cases. Generally speaking, every letter should be tested on a trial list before it is sent out in large quantities. It is inadvisable to hazard an uncertain letter idea on a large list until the value of the plan, as applied to that particular business, has been tried out.
There are certain things about letter procedure, however, that experience has demonstrated to be fundamental. One of these platforms is that it is best to sign the letter with some individual's name. Covering up the responsibility for the letter with such a general term as "sales department" or "advertising department" takes all personality out of the missive and to that extent weakens the power of the message. But even in this we should be chary of following inflexible rules. We can conceive of circumstances where it would be advisable to have the letter come from a department rather than from an individual.
Of course the management of many business organizations still holds that all letters should be signed by the company only. If the personal touch is permitted at all, the extent of it is to allow the writer of the letter to subscribe his initials. This idea, however, is pretty generally regarded as old-fashioned and is fast dying out.
Most companies favor the plan of having the head of the department sign the circular letters emanating from his department. If he doesn't actually dictate the letter himself, no tell-tale signs such as the initials of the actual dictator should be made. If it is a sales matter, the letter would bear the signature of the sales manager. If the communication pertained to advertising, it would be signed by the advertising manager. Where it is desired to give unusual emphasis to the letter, it might occasionally be attributed to the president or to some other official higher up. The big name idea should not be overdone. People will soon catch on that the president would not have time to answer all of the company's correspondence. If he has, it is evident that a very small business must be done.
A better idea that is coming into wide vogue is to have the letter signed by the man in the company who comes into occasional personal contact with the addressee. One concern has the house salesman who waits on customers coming from that section of the country when they visit headquarters sign all promotion letters going to them. The house salesman is the only one in the firm whom the customer knows. It is reasoned that the latter will give greater heed to a letter coming from a man with whom he is on friendly terms. Another company has its branch managers take the responsibility for circular letters sent to the trade in that territory. Another manufacturer has his salesmen bunched in crews of six. Each crew is headed by a leader. This man has to sell, just as his men do, but in addition he acts as a sort of district sales manager. All trade letters going out in his district carry the crew leader's signature.
There is much to be said in favor of this vogue. Personal contact is so valuable in all business transactions that its influence should be used in letters, in so far as it is practicable to do so.
The signature should not vary. Do not sign "G. Smith" to one letter, "George Smith" to another, and "G. B. Smith" to a third.
A man should never prefix to his signature any title, as "Mr.," "Prof.," or "Dr."
A postscript is sometimes appended to a business letter, but the letters "P.S." do not appear. It is not, however, used as formerly—to express some thought which the writer forgot to include in the letter, or an afterthought. But on account of its unique position in the letter, it is used to place special emphasis on an important thought.
In the outside address or superscription of a letter the following forms are observed:
A letter to a woman must always address her as either "Mrs." or "Miss," unless she is a professional woman with a title such as "Dr." But this title is used only if the letter is a professional one. It is not employed in social correspondence. A woman is never addressed by her husband's title, as "Mrs. Captain Bartlett."
A married woman is addressed with "Mrs." prefixed to her husband's name, as "Mrs. David Greene." This holds even if her husband is dead.
A divorced woman is addressed (unless she is allowed by the courts to use her maiden name) as "Mrs." followed by her maiden name and her former husband's surname, as: "Mrs. Edna Boyce Blair," "Edna Boyce" being her maiden name.
A man should be given his title if he possess one. Otherwise he must be addressed as "Mr." or "Esq."
Titles of those holding public office, of physicians, of the clergy, and of professors, are generally abbreviated on the envelope except in formal letters.
It is rather customary to address social letters to "Edward Beech, Esq.," business letters to "Mr. Edward Beech," and a tradesman's letter to "Peter Moore." A servant is addressed as "William White."
The idea has arisen, and it would seem erroneous, that if the man addressed had also "Sr." or "Jr." attached, the title "Mr." or "Esq." should not be used. There is neither rhyme nor reason for this, as "Sr." and "Jr." are certainly not titles and using "Mr." or "Esq." would not be a duplication. So the proper mode of address would be
Mr. John Evans, Jr.
or
John Evans, Jr., Esq.
The "Sr." is not always necessary as it may be understood.
Business envelopes should have the address of the writer printed in the upper left-hand corner as a return address. This space should not be used for advertising.
In addressing children's letters, it should be remembered that a letter to a girl child is addressed to "Miss Jane Green," regardless of the age of the child. But a little boy should be addressed as "Master Joseph Green."
The address when completed should be slightly below the middle of the envelope and equidistant from right and left edges. The slanting or the straight-edge form may be used, to agree with the indented or the block style of paragraphing respectively.
Punctuation at the ends of the lines in the envelope address is not generally used.
The post office prefers the slanting edge form of address, thus:
| (not) | |
| ____________________ | ____________________ |
| ____________________ | ____________________ |
| ____________________ | ____________________ |
If there is a special address, such as "General Delivery," "Personal," or "Please forward," it should be placed at the lower left-hand corner of the envelope.
Under this head are grouped a few of the more common offenses against good form in letter writing; some of these have been touched on in other chapters.
Never use ruled paper for any correspondence.
Never use tinted paper for business letters.
Do not have date lines on printed letterheads. This of course has to do with business stationery.
Do not use simplified spelling, if for no other reason than that it detracts from the reader's absorption of the contents of the letter itself.
"Enthuse" is not a word—do not use it.
Avoid blots, fingermarks, and erasures.
Do not use two one-cent stamps in place of a two-cent stamp. Somehow one-cent stamps are not dignified.
Never use "Dear Friend," "Friend Jack," "My dear Friend," or "Friend Bliss" as a form of salutation. In the case of a business letter where a salutation for both sexes may be necessary, use "Gentlemen."
Never cross the writing in a letter with more writing.
Never use "oblige" in the place of the complimentary close.
Do not double titles, as "Mr. John Walker, Esq." Write either "Mr. John Walker" or "John Walker, Esq."
A woman should never sign herself "Mrs." or "Miss" to a social letter. In business letters (See Chapter 3) it may be necessary to prefix "Mrs." or "Miss" in parentheses to show how an answer should be addressed to her.
Never omit "Yours" in the complimentary close. Always write "Yours sincerely," "Yours truly," or whatever it may be. Never write a letter in the heat of anger. Sleep on it if you do and the next morning will not see you so anxious to send it.
In some business offices it has become the custom to have typed
at the bottom of a letter, or sometimes even rubber-stamped,
such expressions as:
Dictated but not read.
Dictated by but signed in the absence of ——.
Dictated by Mr. Jones, but, as Mr. Jones was called away, signed
by Miss Walker.
While these may be the circumstances under which the letter was written and may be necessary for the identification of the letter, they are no less discourtesies to the reader. And it cannot improve the situation to call them to the reader's attention.
In the matter of abbreviations of titles and the like a safe rule is "When in doubt do not abbreviate."
Sentences like "Dictated by Mr. Henry Pearson to Miss Oliver" are in bad form, not to speak of their being bad business. They intrude the mechanics of the letter on the reader and in so doing they take his interest from the actual object of the communication. All necessary identification can be made by initials, as: L. S. B.—T.
Do not write a sales letter that gives the same impression as a strident, raucous-voiced salesman. If the idea is to attract attention by shouting louder than all the rest, it might be well to remember that the limit of screeching and of words that hit one in the eye has probably been reached. The tack to take, even from a result-producing standpoint and aside from the question of good taste, is to have the tone of the letter quiet but forceful—the firm, even tone of a voice heard through a yelling mob.
Do not attempt to put anything on paper without first thinking out and arranging what you want to say.
Complimentary closings in business letters, such as "Yours for more business," should be avoided as the plague.
There are certain expressions, certain stock phrases, which have in the past been considered absolutely necessary to a proper knowledge of so-called business English. But it is gratifying to notice the emphasis that professors and teachers of business English are placing on the avoidance of these horrors and on the adoption of a method of writing in which one says exactly what one means and says it gracefully and without stiltedness or intimacy. Their aim seems to be the ability to write a business letter which may be easily read, easily understood, and with the important facts in the attention-compelling places. But for the sake of those who still cling to these hackneyed improprieties (which most of them are), let us line them up for inspection. Many of them are inaccurate, and a moment's thought will give a better method of conveying the ideas.
"We beg to state," "We beg to advise," "We beg to remain." There is a cringing touch about these. A courteous letter may be written without begging.
"Your letter has come to hand" or "is at hand" belongs to a past age. Say "We have your letter of ——" or "We have received your letter."
"We shall advise you of ——" This is a legal expression. Say "We shall let you know" or "We shall inform you."
"As per your letter." Also of legal connotation. Say "according to" or "in agreement with."
"Your esteemed favor" is another relic. This is a form of courtesy, but is obsolete. "Favor," used to mean "communication" or "letter," is obviously inaccurate.
"Replying to your letter, would say," or "wish to say." Why not say it at once and abolish the wordiness?
"State" gives the unpleasant suggestion of a cross-examination. Use "say."
"And oblige" adds nothing to the letter. If the reader is not already influenced by its contents, "and oblige" will not induce him to be.
The telegraphic brevity caused by omitting pronouns and all words not necessary to the sense makes for discourtesy and brusqueness, as:
Answering yours of the 21st inst., order has been delayed, but will ship goods at once.
How much better to say:
We have your letter of 21st October concerning the delay in filling your order. We greatly regret the delay, but we can now ship the goods at once.
"Same" is not a pronoun. It is used as such in legal documents, but it is incorrect to employ it in business letters as other than an adjective. Use instead "they," "them," or "it."
Incorrect:
We have received your order and same will be forwarded.
Correct:
We have received your order and it will be forwarded.
"Kindly"—as in: "We kindly request that you will send your subscription." There is nothing kind in your request and if there were, you would not so allude to it. "Kindly" in this case belongs to "send," as "We request that you will kindly send your subscription."
The word "kind" to describe a business letter—as "your kind favor"—is obviously misapplied. There is no element of "kindness" on either side of an ordinary business transaction.
The months are no longer alluded to as "inst.," "ult.," or "prox." [abbreviations of the Latin "instant" (present), "ultimo" (past), and "proximo" (next)] as "Yours of the 10th inst." Call the months by name, as "I have your letter of 10th May."
"Contents carefully noted" is superfluous and its impression on the reader is a blank.
"I enclose herewith." "Herewith" in this sense means in the envelope. This fact is already expressed in the word "enclose."
Avoid abbreviations of ordinary words in the body or the closing of a letter, as "Resp. Yrs." instead of "Respectfully yours."
The word "Company" should not be abbreviated unless the symbol "&" is used. But the safest plan in writing to a company is to write the name exactly as they write it themselves or as it appears on their letterheads.
Names of months and names of states may be abbreviated in the heading of the letter but not in the body. But it is better form not to do so. Names of states should never be abbreviated on the envelope. For instance, "California" and "Colorado," if written "Cal." and "Col.," may easily be mistaken for each other.
The participial closing of a letter, that is, ending a letter with a participial phrase, weakens the entire effect of the letter. This is particularly true of a business letter. Close with a clear-cut idea. The following endings will illustrate the ineffective participle:
Hoping to hear from you on this matter by return mail.
Assuring you of our wish to be of service to you in the future.
Thanking you for your order and hoping we shall be able to please you.
Trusting that you will start an investigation as soon as possible.
More effective endings would be:
Please send a remittance by return mail.
If we can be of use to you in the future, will you let us know?
We thank you for your order and hope we shall fill it to your satisfaction.
Please investigate the delay at once.
The participial ending is merely a sort of habit. A letter used to be considered lacking in ease if it ended with an emphatic sentence or ended with something that had really to do with the subject of the letter.
It might be well in concluding a letter, as in a personal leavetaking, to "Stand not on the order of your going." Good-byes should be short.
General Directions
The format of an invitation is not so important as its taste. Some of the more formal sorts of invitations—as to weddings—have become rather fixed, and the set wordings are carried through regardless of the means at hand for proper presentation. For instance, one often sees a wedding invitation in impeccable form but badly printed on cheap paper. It would be far better, if it is impossible to get good engraving or if first-class work proves to be too expensive, to buy good white notepaper and write the invitations. A typewriter is, of course, out of the question either for sending or answering any sort of social invitation. Probably some time in the future the typewriter will be used, but at present it is associated with business correspondence and is supposed to lack the implied leisure of hand writing.
The forms of many invitations, as I have said, are fairly fixed. But they are not hallowed. One may vary them within the limits of good taste, but on the whole it is considerably easier to accept the forms in use and not try to be different. If the function itself is going to be very different from usual then the invitation itself may be as freakish as one likes—it may be written or printed on anything from a postcard to a paper bag. The sole question is one of appropriateness. But there is a distinct danger in trying to be ever so unconventional and all that. One is more apt than not to make a fool of one's self. And then, too, being always clever is dreadfully hard on the innocent by-standers. Here are things to be avoided:
Do not have an invitation printed or badly engraved. Hand writing is better than bad mechanical work.
Do not use colored or fancy papers.
Do not use single sheets.
Do not use a very large or a very small sheet—either is inappropriate.
Do not have a formal phraseology for an informal affair.
Do not abbreviate anything—initials may be used in informal invitations and acceptances, but, in the formal, "H. E. Jones" invariably has to become "Horatio Etherington Jones."
Do not send an answer to a formal invitation in the first person.
A formal invitation is written in the third person and must be so answered.
Do not use visiting cards either for acceptances or regrets even though they are sometimes used for invitations. The practice of sending a card with "Accepts" or "Regrets" written on it is discourteous.
Do not seek to be decorative in handwriting—the flourishing Spencerian is impossible.
Do not overdo either the formality or the informality.
Do not use "R.S.V.P." (the initials of the French words "Répondez, s'il vous plaît," meaning "Answer, if you please") unless the information is really necessary for the making of arrangements. It ought to be presumed that those whom you take the trouble to invite will have the sense and the courtesy to answer.
In sending an evening invitation where there are husband and wife, both must be included, unless, of course, the occasion is "stag." If the invitation is to be extended to a daughter, then her name is included in the invitation. In the case of more than one daughter, they will receive a separate invitation addressed to "The Misses Smith." Each male member of the family other than husband should receive a separately mailed invitation.
An invitation, even the most informal, should always be acknowledged within a week of its receipt. It is the height of discourtesy to leave the hostess in doubt either through a tardy answer or through the undecided character of your reply. The acknowledgment must state definitely whether or not you accept.
The acknowledgment of an invitation sent to husband and wife must include both names but is answered by the wife only. The name of a daughter also must appear if it appears in the invitation. If Mr. and Mrs. Smith receive an invitation from Mr. and Mrs. Jones, their acknowledgment must include the names of both Mr. and Mrs. Jones, but the envelope should be addressed to Mrs. Jones only.
Wedding invitations should be sent about three weeks—certainly not later than fifteen days—before the wedding. Two envelopes should be used, the name and address appearing on the outside envelope, but only the name on the inside one. The following are correct for formal invitations:
For a church wedding
(A)
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Request the Honour of
———— (Name written in)
Presence at the Marriage of Their Daughter
Dorothy
and
Mr. Philip Brewster
On the Evening of Monday, the Eighth of June
at Six o'Clock
At The Church of the Heavenly Rest
Fifth Avenue, New York City
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Request the Honour of Your Presence at
The Marriage of Their Daughter
Dorothy
and
Mr. Philip Brewster
On Monday, June the Eighth
At Six o'Clock
At the Church of the Heavenly Rest
Fifth Avenue, New York
For a home wedding
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Request the Pleasure of
———— (Name written in)
Company at the Marriage of Their Daughter
Dorothy
and
Mr. Philip Brewster
On Wednesday, June the Tenth
At Twelve o'Clock
Five Hundred Park Avenue
Or either of the forms A and B for a church wedding may be used. "Honour of your presence" is more formal than "pleasure of your company" and hence is more appropriate for a church wedding.
It is presumed that an invitation to a home wedding includes the wedding breakfast or reception, but an invitation to a church wedding does not. A card inviting to the wedding breakfast or reception is enclosed with the wedding invitation. Good forms are:
For a wedding breakfast
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Request the Pleasure of
———— (Name written in)
At Breakfast on Tuesday, June the Fourth
at Twelve o'Clock
500 Park Avenue
For a wedding reception
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Request the Pleasure of Your Company
At the Wedding Reception of Their Daughter
Dorothy
and
Mr. Philip Brewster
On Monday Afternoon, June the Third
At Four o'Clock
Five Hundred Park Avenue
For a second marriage
The forms followed in a second marriage—either of a widow or a divorcée—are quite the same as above. The divorcée uses whatever name she has taken after the divorce—the name of her ex-husband or her maiden name if she has resumed it. The widow sometimes uses simply Mrs. Philip Brewster or a combination, as Mrs. Dorothy Evans Brewster. The invitations are issued in the name of the nearest relative—the parent or parents, of course, if living. The forms are:
(A)
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Request the Honour of Your Presence
At the Marriage of Their Daughter
Dorothy
(Mrs. Philip Brewster)
to
Mr. Leonard Duncan
On Thursday, April the Third
At Six o'Clock
Trinity Chapel
(B)
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Request the Honour of Your Presence
At the Marriage of Their Daughter
Mrs. Dorothy Evans Brewster
to
Mr. Leonard Duncan
On Thursday, April the Third
At Six o'Clock
Trinity Chapel
If there are no near relatives, the form may be:
(C)
The Honour of Your Presence is Requested
At the Marriage of
Mrs. Dorothy Evans Brewster
and
Mr. Leonard Duncan
On Thursday, April the Third
At Six o'Clock
Trinity Chapel
In formal invitations "honour" is spelled with a "u."
Recalling an Invitation
The wedding may have to be postponed or solemnized privately, owing to illness or death, or it may be put off altogether. In such an event the invitations will have to be recalled. The card recalling may or may not give a reason, according to circumstances. The cards should be engraved if time permits, but they may have to be written.
Convenient forms are:
(A)
Owing to the Death of Mr.
Philip Brewster's Mother,
Mr. and Mrs. Evans beg to
Recall the Invitations for
Their Daughter's Wedding on
Monday, June the Eighth.
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans beg to Recall
The Invitations for the Marriage of
Their Daughter, Dorothy, and Mr. Philip
Brewster, on Monday, June the Eighth
Wedding announcements
If a wedding is private, no formal invitations are sent out; they are unnecessary, for only a few relatives or intimate friends will be present and they will be asked by word of mouth or by a friendly note. The wedding may be formally announced by cards mailed on the day of the wedding. The announcement will be made by whoever would have sent out wedding invitations—by parents, a near relative, or by the bride and groom, according to circumstances. The custom with the bride's name in the case of a widow or divorcée follows that of wedding invitations. An engraved announcement is not acknowledged (although a letter of congratulations—see page 101—may often be sent). A card is sent to the bride's parents or whoever has sent the announcements. The announcement may be in the following form:
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Announce the Marriage of Their Daughter
Dorothy
to
Mr. Philip Brewster
On Monday, June the Tenth
One Thousand Nineteen Hundred and Twenty-Two
The acceptance or the declination of a formal invitation is necessarily formal but naturally has to be written by hand. It is better to use double notepaper than a correspondence card and it is not necessary to give a reason for being unable to be present—although one may be given. It is impolite to accept or regret only a day or two before the function—the letter should be written as soon as possible after the receipt of the invitation. The letter may be indented as is the engraved invitation, but this is not at all necessary. The forms are:
Accepting
Mr. and Mrs. Frothingham Smith
accept with pleasure
Mr. and Mrs. Evans's
kind invitation to be present
at the marriage of their daughter
Dorothy
and
Mr. Philip Brewster
on Monday, June the twelfth
at twelve o'clock
(and afterward at the wedding breakfast)
Or it may be written out:
Mr. and Mrs. Frothingham Smith accept with pleasure Mr. and Mrs. Evans's kind invitation to be present at the marriage of their daughter Dorothy and Mr. Philip Brewster on Monday, June the twelfth at twelve o'clock (and afterward at the wedding breakfast).
Mr. and Mrs. Frothingham Smith
regret exceedingly that they
are unable to accept
Mr. and Mrs. Evans's
kind invitation to be present
at the marriage of their daughter
Dorothy
and
Mr. Philip Brewster
on Monday, June the twelfth
(and afterward at the wedding breakfast)
Or this also may be written out. The portion in parentheses will be omitted if one has not been asked to the wedding breakfast or reception.
For the formal dinner
Formal dinner invitations are usually engraved, as in the following example. In case they are written, they may follow the same form or the letter form. If addressed paper is used the address is omitted from the end. The acknowledgment should follow the wording of the invitation.
(A)
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Request the Pleasure of
Mr. and Mrs. Trent's
Company at Dinner
On Thursday, October the First
at Seven o'Clock
and Afterward for the Play (or Opera, etc.)
500 Park Avenue
Mr. and Mrs. John Evans
Request the Pleasure of
Mr. and Mrs. Trent's
Company for Dinner and Opera
on Thursday, October the First
at Seven o'Clock
Accepting
Mr. and Mrs. George Trent
accept with much pleasure
Mr. and Mrs. Evans's
kind invitation for dinner
on Thursday, October the first,
at seven o'clock
and afterward for the opera
788 East Forty-Sixth Street
Regretting