Salutations and closings

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Writing tip of the week  

Salutations and closings

When opening and ending a letter or e-mail, people are often confused about the correct salutations or closings for any given situation. First, you should know if you are writing formally or informally. In a formal or semi-formal letter, the answer is usually straightforward; the appropriate phrase to use is always “dear”. Lots of people also use "dear" in emails and that's also acceptable.

Dear Top Admit.

Dear Mr. Johnson

If you are writing to a person whose name you do not know, it is common to address the person as "Sir or Madam"; another option is "To whom it may concern".

Dear Sir

Dear Sir or Madam (use if gender is unknown)

To whom it may concern

However, most professional editors and stylists will recommend you not use "Dear Sir or Madam" or "To Whom It May Concern". Instead, use either the title of the person you are emailing with "dear" if that's possible.

Dear Managing Director

Dear Contributing Editor

In any case, you should always make your best effort to find out the proper name of the person to whom you are writing. A salutation addressed to the reader personally is always more likely to be taken seriously than a form letter.

In e-mail, which is treated more akin to a memo than a formal letter in terms of style, it's also very common to use less formal salutations. This is certainly true if you know a person well, but also applies in professional communications or when contacting a company.

Hi Jack.

Hey Jack.

Closing a letter is a little more tricky; depending on the writer's relationship with the person, closing can be accomplished in many different ways.     

The most common closing for formal or semi-formal letters is "sincerely" or "sincerely yours".  These closings will always be appropriate for professional correspondence in email or written letters.  Variations, including "yours faithfully" or "yours sincerely" are more common in British English.

"Best regards" or "regards" is commonly used in e-mail whether it is formal or informal, and is another ready standard. In all but the most formal situations, it is also acceptable to close an email with a simple "thank you".