You letter will not be able to get to its destination on time if you don't have addressed it properly. A lot of people do not understand that there is a right way to address an envelope. It is especially important to write the address correctly if you are writing an address on an envelope going to a business contact, so that you look professional. Addressing a letter in a proper manner is also a skill that will be frequently used in your work. The issue how to address a letter can be illustrated clearly below.

How to Address a Letter

1

Heading

This will include your address and the date, rather than your name. Email addresses and telephone numbers aren't generally included here, but they are OK to use. The heading goes in the top left-hand corner of the page using a block format.

123 State Ave.

Akron, OH 33445

January, 21, 2011

2

Inside Address

This will have the name and address of the person whom the letter is addressed to. You should attempt to address the letter to someone in particular, however, if you don’t know their names try to at least include his or her title. This address is generally put four lines under the heading if a word processor is used or one line under the heading if it is handwritten.

Mr. B. Arnold (name)

Manger of Productions (title)

Paper House Inc.

123 Lowry Lane

Albany, GA 40321

3

Salutation

Dear

Skip a line after the inside address, then type the salutation. It depends on whether or not you know the recipient of the formal letter as to what kind of salutation you’ll use. The most common greeting is Dear which is followed by the name of the person and

Dear Mr. or Mrs.

If you don’t know if the person you are addressing is a woman or a man you can start with Dear Mr. or Mrs. and follow it with a colon.

Ms. may be used if you don’t know if the woman is married. Plus, if they have a particular title like Dr. make sure you use this.

Dear Mr. Hatch:

Dear Ms. Acorn:

Dear Mrs. Setter:

Dear. Dr. Root:

How to Address on Envelope

1

The recipient’s address on the envelope

The front of the envelope will need to tell the postal person exactly where the letter is going. The name on the letter is for more or less and to make sure the correct person opens the letter after it should be delivered. If you follow the instructions below on how to address a letter, step-by-step, your letter will be sent to the right place and the right person in the fastest possible time, each and every time.

  1. The name of the person you are sending the letter to

  2. Street address, consisting of the house number and name of the street

  3. Suburb and state/territory in capital letters

  4. Postcode: If postcode squares are given and the address is written by hand or after the state/territory on the last line

  5. Place the stamp for postage in the top right-hand corner

2

Your address on the envelope

You have to make sure to write your return address on the back of the envelope in the case of the letter getting delivered accidentally to the incorrect address. It will also be helpful in case the person whom you sent the letter to has moved away. In this way, your letter can be returned to you and you can keep it or put it in a different envelop and readdress it to the right address.

The return address should be written at the top of the envelope neatly and shouldn’t take up a lot of room, or it could be mistaken for the address of the recipient instead of the return address. Follow the format below to correctly include your return address on the envelope:

  1. Your name

  2. Your street address

  3. Your suburb and state/territory, capitalized

  4. Your postcode

3

Address an international letter

The issue how to address a letter can be extremely important when you are sending an international letter. The formats for addressing a letter will vary from country to country, however you should ideally have these items:

  • Name of person you are addressing the letter to

  • Building number and name of street

  • Name of city or town

  • Name of the province, department or state and the postal code

  • Name of the country, capitalized

When addressing international mail:

  • Write the name of the country last and make it capitalized.

  • Write in your address on the back of the envelope, making it easy to return to you if it can’t be delivered to the person the envelope is addressed to.

  • Begin each line on the left, not the center.

  • For any international items being shipped by International Economy, place an Air Mail sticker on them.

For more addressing formats of different countries, click HERE:

4

Want to know more on how to address a letter? Watch the video below:

Tips
  • Carefully write in neat, clear print.
  • Don’t forget the postal code. Hand write it in the postal squares. It’s not even a bad idea to double check that you have written the right postcode.
  • Keep the address straight in the left-hand margin.
  • Don’t draw any scribbles or doodles on the envelope which can confuse the machines or postal person who is reading the address.
  • If sending the letter overseas, don’t forget to write the name of the country clearly in capitalized letters and put an Air Mail sticker on it.
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