(1) Official Company Letterhead (The Heading). Normally the official letterhead includes an emblem of the organization or trademark of the company at the top of a sheet of a letter paper. Most letterheads include one image on the paper to help identify the company's brand. Often the image comes from the organization logo. The image is typically located at the top of the letterhead, either across the top or off to one side. Quite often the company's contact information can also be found on the letterhead, namely the company’s name and address, its telephone and fax number, e-mail address, website address, the type of business it is engaged and sometimes the names of directors. This information further defines the company's identity. It also gives the recipient of the document easy access to contact information. It can be found along the top or bottom of the letterhead, depending on the selected layout. Here are some more examples of the letter heading:

The letterhead can be also as follows:

Here is the letterhead example of the academic letter:

(2)The Sender's Address. The first line starts with the first and the last name of the person who writes the letter or the name of the organization. On the second line there should be the street address including any directional notation (e.g. “700 West”). The city, region or state are written on the third line. The line beneath contains country. On the last line there should be ZIP code. Note: If the letter is sending from inside the country, the format of the address is slightly different. The city, region, state and ZIP code are written on the third line. The state is placed in the last line.

(3) The Date. The form in which the date can be written in the letter varies. The simplest and clearest of all the current forms is as follows: 14 March 2016. However, there are the alternatives, for example:

March 14 2016 (The Americans put the name of the month first),

14th March 2016 and

March 14th 2016

Another practice is to write the date in the abbreviated form – 12.03.2016. This should be avoided in letters written in English, since in Britain 12.03.2016 means 12 March 2016, whereas in the USA it means December 3 2016. It is obvious that the use of such form could lead to confusion.

Sometimes the name of months is omitted, instead, the following Latin words are used: instant (full form – istant mense) – the current month, ultimo (shortened form of ultimo mense) – the last month, proximo (shortened from proximo mense) – the next month. These words are commonly abbreviated to ult, inst and prox respectively. The examples of using of these Latin words are as follows:

“With reference to your letter of the 8th ultimo”, “We hereby confirm the receipt of your letter of the 11th instant”, or “The chief manager has the honour to invite you to attend our event on the 11th proximo”.

(4) The Recipient's Address. The first line starts with the first and the last name of the person to whom the letter is addressed or the name of the organization. The following lines are organized in the same manner as the sender's address.

(5) The Subject. This line contains the subject matter of a letter. It appears below the salutation. The word “Subject” is often shortened to “Sub”. (In the electronic letters the shortened form “Re” is also used. The full form is “Reply” or “Response”, in Russian “ответ”). In this line the phrase “For the attention of” can also be found.

(6) The Salutation (or Greeting). Between the recipient's address and the salutation at least double space is made. The most common British variant of salutation is “Dear Sirs” (Pay attention that “Dear” is translated here as “Уважаемый”; “Dear Sirs” in Russian is “Уважаемые господа”). This form is used in letters addressed to a company rather than to an individual within the company. Very often a comma is written after the salutation.

When writing to an individual within the organization, the salutation is “Dear Sir”, “Dear Mr _____” if you address to a man or “Dear Madam” if the recipient is known to be a woman. To married woman the salutation is “Dear Mrs ___”, whereas to unmarried one is “Dear Miss ___”. If you are not sure of the marital status of a woman, the form ‘Ms’ should be used.

In the USA the most common salutation is “Gentlemen”. (But never “Dear Gentlemen”).

                   Compose a letter comprising the heading, sender’s and recipient’s addresses, date, subject and salutation. Employ different variants of these elements.

(7) The Body of the Letter. It is the main and largest part of the letter. The body is made up of one or several paragraphs, which comprise the main idea of the letter. The first paragraph commences with the appeal to the recipient and includes the reason for writing. Additional paragraphs should go into more detail about the subject of the letter. The last paragraph as a rule summarizes the message and makes all the necessary clarifications. In this paragraph the addresser can also thank the recipient for his time (e.g. “Thank you for your time and attention on this matter”*) or express hope for the rapid response (e.g. “We look forward to hearing from you soon”).

(8) The Complimentary Close (or Closing). The complimentary close begins with a capital letter and ends with a comma. As a rule, if the salutation is “Dear Sirs” or “Dear Sir”, the complimentary close should be “Yours faithfuly” or “Yours Truly”. If you address to the correspondent by his or her name as in “Dear Mr Daly”, “Dear Miss Crospy”, the complimentary close is “Yours sincerely” (consider the scheme below). Besides, “Best Regards”, “Kind Regards” or “Best Wishes” can be used if the recipient is your close contact.

___________________

* For Phrases Expressing Gratitude and Hope for the Prompt Response see the Appendix.

 (9) The Signature. The signature is always placed in the space between the closing and the signature line. The signature should be a hand written. Use blue or black ink to write signature.

(10) The Contacts (Information Between Signature and Enclosure). This line comprises first name, last name, professional titles or academic titles** of the addresser, his telephone number and e-mail address.

(11) The Initials of Everyone Who Created the Letter. As a rule, it is the initials of the author of the letter and the initials of a person who types it.

(12) The Enclosure. Enclosure means any documents or papers attached to the letter (e.g. certificates, catalogues, brochures, etc.). If enclosure accompanies the letter, this fact is indicated both in the text itself and by the word “Enclosure” written beneath the signature. The word “Enclosure” is often reduced to “Enc.” or “Encl.”. You may specify the number of enclosures and what they are, e.g. Enclosures – 2 Certificates of Participation # DZX497; #DZX498 dated October 13, 2016.

Here is the list of phrases used in the text of the letter, which draw the recipient’s attention to the documents attached:

· Please find herewith …

· Please find enclosed …

· We are to rewarding to you herewith …

· I’m enclosing a …

· I have pleasure in enclosing …

· Please find attached a …

· Please find a … attached

· Attached please find …

· Attached is …

· I’m attaching …

(13) CC. This abbreviation stands for “carbon copy” (дословно: “копия, полученная через копирку”). This line contains the names of cc recipients, everyone who will also receive this letter (see the example below).

______________

** For The Academic Titles and University Positions Used in Academic Letters see the Appendix.

This letter would be sent to Mr. Rodman and copied to Mr. Stack and Mr. Normur.

                 Add to your letter complimentary clause, signature, contacts, enclosure and cc. Employ useful phrases for closing and enclosure. Pay attention to elements order.

Here is the example of the academic letter. In the box below there is the sample invitation letter for U.S. fulbright guest lecture. Tranlate it into Russian.

o |UNIVERSITY OF               OREGON   Michael C.Andreasen Vice President of University Advancement 1275 University of Oregon Eugene OR 97403-1275, USA     14 October, 2017   Professor Gilbert Wromty University of Loughborough Epinal Way, Loughborough LE 11 3TU, UK   Subject: Invitation for U.S. Fulbright Guest Lecture   Dear Professor Gilbert Wromty   On behalf of the University of Oregon I am very pleased to have the honor of inviting you to deliver lectures at our university as part of the Fulbright Guest Lecture Program. We would like you to devote the lecture to “Magnetically guided capsule endoscopy”.   We have arranged the lectures for December 16-18, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. We are expecting the audience of near 30 post-graduate students and 12 lecturers.   We will provide accommodation for the period of December 15-18. Please inform us if you will need any audio-visual aids or some other support.     We look forward to meeting you at our University.   Sincerely yours,     Michael C.Andreasen Vice President of University Advancement 541-346-0669 | miandrea@uoregon.edu   M C.A   Enclosure: The Invitation Form

As it is seen from the above example there is no difference in organization between business and academic letters. The main letter elements and their succession are as follows:

1) Official Organization Letterhead

2) Sender's Address

3) Date

4) Recipient's Address

5) Subject

6) Salutation (Greeting)

7) Main Body

8) Complimentary Close (Closing)

9) Hand Written Signature

10) Contacts

11) Initials of Everyone Who Created the Letter

12) Enclosure

13) CC

                   Compose your own academic letter that incorporates all essential elements (The topic of the letter may be same.)