... (full name)
Member, ... (name of city) Board of Education
Address
Dear Mr. ...:
Dear Ms. Malloy:
Dear Ruth Malloy:
The Honorable ... (full name)
Mayor of ... (city)
City, State ZIP Code
OR:
The Mayor of the City of ...
City, State ZIP Code
Dear Mr. Mayor:
Dear Madam Mayor:
Dear Mayor ...(last name):
The Honorable ... (full name)
Secretary of ... (department)
Washington, DC (ZIP code)
Dear Mr. (or Madam) Secretary:
The Honorable ... (full name)
The State Senate
State Capital, State ZIP Code
Dear Senator ... :
The Very Reverend ... (full name)
Dean of ... (place)
Address
Very Reverend Sir:
OR:
Dear Dean ...:
Never, ever make a guess as to the gender of the person to whom you are writing the letter. If the name is not gender specific, or if it is an ethnic name that you do not know the gender rules, do not guess. There are many people named "Chris," for example, who are very annoyed by being called the wrong gender. When in doubt, play it safe and use the full name instead of a courtesy title.
The Reverend ... (full name)
Address
Reverend Sir:
Reverend Madam:
Dear Mr. ...:
Dear Ms. (Mrs., Miss) ...:
Sister ... (name, followed by comma and initials of order)
Address
Dear Sister ...:
Dear Sister:
The Reverend Dr. ... (full name)
Address
Or:
The Reverend ... (full name), D.D.
Address
Dear Dr. ...:
The Honorable ... (full name)
House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
OR:
The Honorable ... (full name)
Representative in Congress
(Local Address)
Dear Representative ... (surname):
The Chief Justice of the United States
Washington, DC 20543
OR:
The Chief Justice
The Supreme Court
Washington, DC 20543
Dear Mr. (or Madam) Chief Justice:
The Honorable ... (full name)
Judge of the ... (name of court)
Address
Dear Judge ... (surname):
(Full name, followed by comma and highest degree)
President, (name of college)
Address
Dear President ...:
Dear Dr. ...:
The Vice President
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
OR:
The Honorable ... (full name)
Vice President of the United States
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Mr. Vice President:
His (or "Her") Excellency ... (Full name)
Secretary General of the United Nations
United Nations Plaza
New York, NY 10017
Excellency:
Dear Mr. Secretary General:
Dear Madam Secretary General:
... (Full name, followed by comma and highest degree)
Dean, ... (name of school or division)
... (name of college)
Address
Dear Dr. ...
Dear Dean ...
The Honorable ... (full name)
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
OR:
The Honorable ...(full name)
United States Senator
Local Address
Dear Senator ... (surname):
Dear Sir or Madam:
Dear Madam or Sir:
To Whom It May Concern:
The Honorable ... (full name)
Governor of ... (state)
State Capital, State ZIP Code
Dear Governor ... :
The Reverend Mother Superior
Address
OR:
Reverend Mother:
Dear Reverend Mother:
Dear Mother ...:
Mr. Justice ... (surname) (Or "Madam")
The Supreme Court
Washington, DC 20543
Dear Mr. (or Madam) Justice:
The Reverend ... (full name)
Bishop of .. (place)
Address
Reverend Sir:
OR:
Dear Bishop ...:
The Reverend ... (full name, followed by comma and initials of order)
Address
Reverend Father:
Dear Father ...:
Dear Father:
His Holiness the Pope
OR: His Holiness Pope ... (given name)
Vatican City
00187 Rome
ITALY
Your Holiness:
Most Holy Father:
Dear Mr. Anderson, Mrs. Brodsky, Ms. Carmino, Mr. Dellums, and Miss Eustace:
Dear Friends (Colleagues, Members, or some other suitable collective terms):
His Eminence ... (given name)
Cardinal of ... (surname)
Archbishop of ... (place)
Address
Your Eminence:
Dear Cardinal:
Girls:
Address them as "Miss" or "Ms." and respect the individual's preference if you know it. For girls younger than 13, "Miss" or "Ms." may be omitted.
Boys:
Address as "Mr." For boys younger than 13, omit the title. ("Master" is now rarely used except with the names of very young boys.)
The Honorable ... (full name)
House of Representatives (OR: The State Assembly)
State Capital, State ZIP Code
Dear Mr. ...:
Dear Marion Parker:
Dear R. V. Moore:
The Right Reverend ... (full name)
Bishop of ... (place)
Address
Right Reverend Sir:
OR:
Dear Bishop ...:
The Most Reverend ... (full name)
Archbishop (OR: Bishop) of ... (place)
Address
Your Excellency:
Dear Archbishop (OR: Bishop) ...:
Dear Mrs. Allen, Ms. Ott, and Miss Day:
Dear Mrs. Jordan and Mrs. Kent:
Dear Mesdames Jordan and Kent: (more formal)
Dear Ms. Scott and Ms. Gomez:
Dear Mses. (or Mss.) Scott and Gomez: (more formal)
Dear Miss Winger and Miss Rossi:
Dear Misses Winger and Rossi: (more formal)
Dear Mr. (husband's surname) and Ms. (wife's maiden name)
Dear Sir or Madam:
Dear Madam or Sir:
To Whom It May Concern:
Dear Senator and Mr. (husband's surname):
If you write to a person with a hyphenated last name, the complete name needs to be listed in the salutation.
Example (letter is to John Smith and Jane Jones-Smith):
Dear Mr. Smith and Ms. Jones-Smith
If the name is not hyphenated, treat it as a middle name.
Example (letter is to John Smith and Jane Jones Smith):
Dear Mr. and Ms. Smith
Dear Mr. Gelb and Mr. Harris:
Dear Mssrs. Gelb and Harris: (more formal)
Gentlemen: (more formal)
Sirs: (more formal)
Dear Madam:
Dear Sir:
If you write to a person with a hyphenated last name, the complete name needs to be listed in the salutation.
Example (letter is to John Smith and Jane Jones-Smith):
Dear Mr. Smith and Ms. Jones-Smith
If the name is not hyphenated, treat it as a middle name.
Example (letter is to John Smith and Jane Jones Smith):
Dear Mr. and Ms. Smith
Courtesy Title Preference Known:
Dear Mr. Smith:
Dear Mrs. Gray:
Dear Ms. Simpson:
Dear Miss Wells:
Dear Dr. and Mrs. ... (husband's surname)
Dear Drs. (husband's surname)
or
Dear Major and Professor (husband's surname)
(or whatever the personal titles are)
Dear Ms. Kent and Mr. Winston:
Dear Mr. Fong and Miss Landis:
Dear Mrs. Kay and Mr. Fox:
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Green:
How do I format an inside address?
What´s an easy proofreading tip?
What is the difference between "affect" and "effect"?
What words should I capitalize?
How do I know if a phrase is essential or nonessential?
How do I punctuate an introductory phrase?
Do I capitalize a question in a sentence?
What´s the diff. between a compound sentence and a compound predicate?
What abbreviations need periods?
How do I use commas with abbreviations?
Which is correct--regards or regard?
What´s the difference between "indifferent" and "in different"?
How do I become a subject matter expert?
How do I format military addresses?
How do I use quotation marks with other punctuation?
Do I use a comma with an afterthought?
How do I improve my proofreading?
What common phrases should I avoid?
Do I use commas with essential and nonessential phrases?
What abbreviations need periods?
How do I use commas with dates?
What´s the difference between "flammable" and "inflammable"?
Do I add a comma with a city/state combination?
When do I capitalize compass points?
What´s the difference between "among" and "between"?
Which is correct: "different from" or "different than"?
Which is correct--allot or a lot?
Do I capitalize family titles?
What´s the difference between "there," "their," and "they´re"?
How do I punctuate a direct address?
How do I use parentheses with other punctuation?
How many spaces after a period?
How do I know when to use accept or except?
Do I capitalize words that used to be proper nouns?
Which is correct--first or firstly?
What´s the difference between "allude" and "refer"?
What´s the difference between "titled" and "entitled"?
Do I have to spell out acronyms?
Can I use commas for special emphasis?
How do I use a salutation if I don´t know the person´s gender?
What´s the difference between accede and exceed?
What is the difference between advice and advise?
Do I capitalize the word "state"?
How should I list numbers in my manuscript?
When do I capitalize a noun followed by a number?
What is the correct date format?
How do I format telephone numbers?
How do I write to a college dean?
How do I punctuate adjacent numbers?
How do I write a salutation for a hyphenated name?
Which is correct: cannot or can not?
What´s the difference between "good" and "well"?
How do I avoid masculine bias?
What is the difference between "irritate" and "aggravate"?
What is the difference in adapt and adept?
What is the difference in ad and add?
How do I address a letter to a doctor?
What´s the difference between "farther" and "further"?
What´s the difference between "lay" and "lie"?
Do I use a comma before Jr., Sr., etc.?
How do I punctuate addresses in a sentence?
What´s the difference between "principal" and "principle"?
What´s the difference between "nauseous" and "nauseated"?
What´s the difference between "each other" and "one another"?
What is a correlative conjunction?
What´s the difference in allusion and illusion?
How do I write to a professor?
How do I write to a college president?
What is a compound-complex sentence?
What are nonessential elements?
How do I format compass points in an address?
How do I use the word comprise?
What´s the difference between "disinterested" and "uninterested"?
What´s the difference between "you´re," "your," and "yore"?
How do I punctuate a question within a sentence?
What is the difference between aid and aide?
How do I write to the board of education?
What´s the difference between access and excess?
How do I know when to use -sede, -ceed, and -cede?
What is the difference between "imply" and "infer"?
How do I know whether to abbreviate a city name?
What´s the difference between "may" and "can"?
What´s the difference between "fewer" and "less"?
What´s the difference between "anxious" and "eager"?
What´s the difference between "to," "too," and "two"?
How do I write to a school principal?
How do I address a letter to a diplomat?
How do I address a letter to a government official?
What is the difference in ascent and assent?
What are parenthetical elements?
What is an independent clause?
What is a coordinating conjunction?
What´s the difference between biannual, biennial, and semiannual?
What´s the difference between "already" and "all ready"?
What´s the difference between "percent" and "percentage"?
What´s the difference between "anybody" and "any body"?
What is correct: birthdate, birthday, or date of birth?
What´s the difference between "bring" and "take"?
What´s the difference between "altogether" and "all together"?
What´s the difference between "amount" and "number"?
What´s the difference between agenda and addenda?
What´s the difference between air and heir?
What´s the difference between addition and edition?
What is the difference in alternate and alternative?
What is the difference between adherence and adherents?
What is the difference between adherence and adherents?
What is the difference between breath and breathe?
What is the difference in altar and alter?
What´s the difference in allowed and aloud?
What´s the difference between bridal and bridle?
What´s the difference between ail and ale?
What´s the difference between "adverse" and "averse"?
What´s the difference between "both" and "each"?
What´s the difference between IT´S and ITS?
What is correct: all right or alright?
What´s the difference between "ensure," "insure," and "assure"?
What´s the difference between bullion and buouillon?
What´s the difference between "allude" and "elude"?
What´s the difference between broach and brooch?
What´s the difference between ante- and anti-?
Does uninterested and disinterested mean the same thing?
What is the proper way to address correspondence to an ambassador of a foreign nation?
what is the proper usage of "obligated" vs. "obliged?"
in a business letter, which of the following is correct
When should you use I or me or myself when speaking and writing. What are the rules on this?
What are the deadlines for LifeTips projects?
How do I answer user questions?
What can I find on the job board?
How can I develop my story idea further or come up with a more indepth story to write?
How can I write a better press release for my new book?
How can I write better articles for the internet?
How can I deal with the lonliness of the writer's life?
What should I do when I get a rejection slip?
How can you improve your sentences?
When should you use the exclamation point?
Wehn are words lilke "east" and "west" capitalized?
How can you be more persuasive?
How long should your sentences be?
How do you use the hyphen as an adjective?
What is the difference between then and than?
What is the difference between whose and who's?
How do you develop characters that you are writing about in your novel?
Want to write a book? How do I begin?
How do I get reviews for my book I've written?
Which is correct--"seek" or "find"?
Guru Spotlight |
Sherril Steele-Carlin |