WRITING LETTERS OF THANKS

BUSINESS SKILLS

1. Formal

Dear Professor Olsen

I am writing to express my thanks for yesterday evening’s party on the occasion of your 60th birthday. It really was a most enjoyable evening, and Jane and I were delighted to attend.

The food was absolutely delicious, and it was a great pleasure to meet your wife and children.

Yours sincerely

1. Formal

The first letter starts off formally with expression “I am writing to…”,

which is often used in business letters. To “express your thanks” is a

formal way to say thank you, and “on the occasion of” is more formal

than “to celebrate”. Also, to say that something is “most enjoyable” is

more formal than “very enjoyable”. Other expressions in this letter that

are more formal include “delighted” instead of “pleased”; “attend”

instead of “come” or “be there”; and “a great pleasure” instead of

“great”. Note the formal ending to the letter.

2. Neutral

Dear Judy

Thank you for the great party last night. It was a very nice evening, and it was lovely to be able to get together to celebrate your birthday. Jane and I both had a wonderful time and hope you enjoyed the party as we did.

Best wishes / Best regards

2. Neutral

This letter is friendly and more informal than the first one, but it is still not

too informal. Words such as “great”, “lovely” and “wonderful” are

neutral ways of describing something positive. The letter ends with the

neutral expression “Best wishes” (or “Best regards”).

Also possible is simply “Regards”.

3. Informal

Hi CarlaThanks a million for the fabulous party last night. Jane and

I had a hell of a time, although both of us were suffering quite a bit this morning!

What a scream your kids are! It was great to see them again. Say hi to them both from us.

Hope to see you again soon.Love / Best(s)

Jill

3. Informal

This is a very informal letter (or, more likely, an e-mail) to some Jill

clearly knows well. “Thanks a million” (or, even more informally,

“Thanks a mil”) is a common way of thanking a friend. To “have a hell

of a time” here means to joy yourself a lot. In contrast, if you say that

you are “suffering quite a bit”, this probably means that you have a

hangover after drinking too much alcohol.

3. Informal

If you describe somebody or something as “a scream”, this means that

he, she or it is very funny. For example, you might say: “Did you see

that film on TV last night? It was an absolute scream.”

“Say hi / hello to XXX for / from us” are typical ways of passing on your

greetings to a third person. Informal letters or e-mails often end with

expressions such as “Love”, ”Best wishes”, ”All the best”, ”Best” or

even ”Bests”.

The end