Department / Organization Letterhead (1)

REFERENCE: DPKO/FALD/04 (1): (2)

1 September XXXX (3)

Dear Ms Barton, (4)
.

     Thank you for your kind letter inviting me to attend the seminar on Interviewing Techniques which will be held 16 September XXXX.  Although I am sure that I would have greatly benefited from participating in such a seminar, I regret that I will be away on mission at that time. (5)

     I appreciate this invitation very much and hope to have a similar opportunity in the near future.

Yours sincerely, (6)

Martha Bell (7)
Secretary of DPKO/FALD (8)

Ms. Ralph Barton
International Communication Institute
Via delle Sette Chiese 142
00145 Rome , Italy (9)

(1) Letterhead

When writing letters for department or organization matters, use the official letterhead. This letterhead can be found in MS Word. For MS Word 2002, follow these directions:

Go to FILE NEW GENERAL TEMPLATES [Dept./Org.] TEMPLATES

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(2) Reference

According to the UN Correspondence Manual (UNHQ, 2000) a reference number should be assigned to each piece of outgoing correspondence to faciliate retrieval. This number may, for instance, consist of:

• the initials of the department in which the letter originated,
• the initials of the office/section/unit that drafted the letter,
• an indication of the year, and
• a serial number in parenthesis.

NOTE: Use of reference numbers can vary. If unsure, check with your supervisor to determine the system preferred in your Department or office.

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(3) Date

The date should be in the form “ 2 August 2005 ”. Use cardinal numbers. Do not abbreviate the names of the months. Do not use commas.

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(4)Salutation

Always begin a salutation with Dear [name] ,
This is a sign of formality (not intimacy!) in English.

For most letters , use the following:

• For men : Dear Mr. X*,
• For women : Dear Ms X *, (in most cases) OR DearMrs. X , (if you know she's married and prefers this)

*Replace ‘X' with the family name or names. Even if you know the reader well, do not use the first name in official letters.

For impersonal letters (rare)
When you do not know or cannot find the name of your reader, you may use the following:

• Dear Sir or Madam,

For very formal letters - to an Ambassador (very rare)
Letters to an ambassador should use the following saluation:

• For a man : Dear Mr. Ambassador,
• For a woman : Dear Madam Ambassador,
• For either a man or woman: Your Excellency,

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(5) Body Format

In letters written for the United Nations, identify paragraphs by indenting (click TAB at the beginning of the paragraph) AND by adding an extra line between paragraphs.

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(6) Closing

• For most letters , you should use Yours sincerely or Sincerely yours

• For impersonal letters beginning ‘Dear Sir or Madam',
  close with Yours Faithfully,

• For extremely formal letters beginning ‘Dear Mr./Madam Ambassador,' use:
  I remain,

Yours Sincerely,*

 *Please note the use of spacing and punctuation.

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(7) Your Name & Signature

Several lines below the closing, type your full name. Remember to sign your letter before sending it.

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(8) Your Job Title & Department

In the line immediately below your typed name, type your job title, Department and office/section/unit.

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(9) Name & Address
of Recipient

In the lower left corner, aligned with the beginning of the salutation, type Mr./Ms/Mrs. and your recipients full name. Under this, type their address.

This part of the letter format is still done at the United Nations, even though it often doesn't serve the use it once did. Until about 1995, all of the United Nations used envelopes with an ‘address window'. The typed address would show through this window.

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