The main parts of a formal letter are:

- heading, where you may find the name of the firm, its kind of business, phone and fax numbers, e-mail address and web site;

- date, where you can use abbreviations. However it is not advisable to write the months in figures as it may be confusing with the American style;

- inside address, where you write the name and address of the firm; you can add the title "Messrs" before the name if it contains one or more personal names.

- salutation, where you can use "Dear Sirs" or "Dear Sir/Madam" ("Gentlemen:" in American style) if addressing to a firm; if you know the name of your correspondent, you can use his/her name, "Dear Mr Robertson/Mrs Simpson";

- subject line, where you can write the theme of the letter.

- The body of the letter is generally structured in paragraphs which can be considered as the different aims of the writer (providing the source of information, making some requests, giving information about the market, etc.)

- The most common complimentary close is "Yours faithfully," ("Yours very truly" in American style); "Yours sincerely," is more informal ("Sincerely yours," in American style).

- Since the signature is often illegible, the name is usually typed below the signature.

- The enclosures show the numbers of attachments sent with the letter.

The layout is as follows:

Heading

Inside address

Date

Salutation

Subject line

Body of the letter

Complimentary close

Signature

Enclosures