SAMPLE LETTERS

Sample Business Letter

Dr. Michael Smith

123 ABC St.

New York City, NY 99999

April 17, 2012

Dr. Patricia Brown

University of California, Los Angeles Medical Center

777 Medical Dr.

Los Angeles, CA 11111

Dear Dr. Brown,

I am the chairman of the 2012 Metropolitan Medical Conference that is being held in Miami, Florida on July 5, 2012, and I would like to invite you to present your research on beta blockers. We would be delighted to listen to you discuss your work, and I hope you will also agree to run a short question-and-answer session after the presentation.

Additionally, Metropolitan Medical would be pleased to cover your travel and lodging expenses while you visit the conference, in addition to providing you with a per diem budget. 

Please reply with your answer as soon as you are able, so that we may begin to arrange your travel. I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns.

Kind regards,

Dr. Michael Smith  

Sample Semi Formal Letter

November 12, 2011

Dear Mr. Bigena,

Thank you so much for showing me around the city this past weekend. It was very beautiful. Your family is wonderful, and I couldn’t have felt more welcome. I also want to thank you for teaching me those useful phrases so I could speak a little Italian while I finished my business trip. My time in Venice was amazing, and it was just about the only time I could actually get a little rest. The remainder of my trip was busy, but I still enjoyed it immensely.

I would love to reciprocate by inviting you and your family to my home in London. (I’m sure you could use a break from your hard work!) I know the city very well and can show you all my favorite places. And of course you’d all be able to stay at my flat during your trip.

I do hope you are able to attend. Don't worry about the cost; it will be my treat. It’s the least I can do to pay you back for your amazing hospitality. Please write back if you would like to visit.

Yours truly,

Mike Ellis

Sample Friendly Letter

May 8, 2012

Dear Grandma,

How are you? I was really happy to see you and Grandpa at my graduation ceremony, and I hope you’re recovering from your cold.

Do you think it would be okay if I stopped by to visit you on Saturday? I’d really like to show you my new puppy. I think you’ll adore her. Her name is Sassy, and I got her last week. And she’s your favorite breed: a golden lab, just like Satchmo!

I’m excited to come see you soon. Let me know if Saturday will work for you.

Love,

Olivia

Sample Protest Letter to Manager

January 7, 2013

To Lawrence Wells, Manager at Windows Unlimited,

On January 5, I purchased blinds for my home and asked to have them installed the next day. I was willing to pay the additional cost and was told the installer would be by to install them in the morning. When he came with my blinds, I was very upset to find that not only were they a different color than what I had ordered, but one of them was ripped.

I was looking forward to having the beautiful blinds I had picked out installed in my new home, but I was upset at what I received instead.

To remedy this situation, I would like replacement blinds that are theexact shade I picked out, and all of them should be intact and working properly. I am also asking that the next-day installation fee be waived to make up for my trouble.

I have already sought assistance from the employee who sold me the blinds, Sally Jones, but she was not able to help me and referred me to you.

I don't think this is too much to ask in exchange for the inconvenience this has caused me.

Thank you for your quick reply in this matter.

Best,

Jane Doe

818-555-0198

Sample Critical Letter to Classmate

Hey Josh,

I wanted to talk to you about the group project in Sociology. You did really well on the first part with the interview. You asked the kids a lot of great questions, and the video was clear and stable. Kudos to you on that. However, I wanted to talk to you about the data section.

As great as the interview was, we’re going to lose a pretty decent amount of points because of the incomplete data chart you submitted. Your synopsis of the kids we studied made some really good points, but there was no evidence to back up your ideas. We need more than just general observations; we need concrete statistics, numbers, and facts that back up every hypothesis. Otherwise, we’re just sharing our opinions, and that’s not going to fly with Professor Liu.

I’m not sure what your schedule is like outside of Sociology, but if you need help with the data analysis, let me know. If you have a packed week, I’m sure the group can work something out so we can get all the pieces of the project completed and turned in on time. This project is half the grade, so it’s really important to all of us that we do as well as possible.

From what I saw in your first submission, you’re really talented, so I’m not trying to bash you or anything. I just wanted to bring up a concern. See you Wednesday.

Thanks,

Dara

Sample Critical Letter to Coworker

Dear Mr. Pavlos,

I am writing to discuss your exchange with Ms. Payton in the break room yesterday.

Because my desk being a very short distance from the break room, I overheard Ms. Payton express her disappointment at not having received a promotion last month. I very clearly heard you state in response, “Well, maybe you need to toughen up. I know it’s hard; women aren’t exactly aggressive people.”

While I assume that you were trying to give Ms. Payton some advice on the matter and had the best intentions, this sort of comment is completely inappropriate, not only in the workplace, but also in police society.

Denying someone a promotion purely based on that person’s gender violates anti-discrimination laws. Also, making that sort of generalization about an entire group of people is very hurtful.

While Ms. Payton filed no official complaint, this kind of talk needs to be discouraged in all facets of life. A more appropriate comment may have been something like, “People who get promotions in this office tend to be very aggressive and ask for the promotion directly. Maybe you should try that.”

It is my expectation that you will be more conscious of the implications of such statements and avoid them in the future at all costs. Knowing your character, I do not believe you meant any harm. It was simply carelessness in an isolated incident.

Sincerely,

Sample Letter to Publisher

November 29, 2012

Jane Doe

123 Main St.

Los Angeles, CA 90056

Children’s House Publishing

℅ Ms. Joan Smith

2435 W. 1st St.

New York, NY 10034

Dear Ms. Smith,

I am writing in regards to my 2,000-word manuscript, tentatively titled,Sophia’s Cooking Class.

Sophia’s Cooking Class is about a two-year-old girl, Sophia, who desperately wants to help her mother make dinner before her father gets home from work. However, everything that Sophia tries to do to help ends up causing a great big mess! Her mother is patient with her, but Sophia gets more and more frustrated. In the end, her mother explains to her that right now there are things “mommies” can do and things that “Sophias” can do. One day she’ll be able to do everything that “mommies” can do, but right now she can only try to be the best Sophia she can be. Sophia cheers up, helps her mother clean the kitchen, and surprises her father with an art project instead!

This book is geared toward one- to three-year-olds, and I have enclosed my manuscript for your perusal. I believe that Children’s House Publishing would be the best publishing house for this type of story because of your focus on books that help children who want to grow up too quickly. I also know that Children’s House Publishing strives to help unknown and first-time writers get their start.

Although this is my first attempt at publishing a full book, I have had two of my short children’s stories published, “A Time to Play” and “A Time to Read,” published in The Literary Journal. I am extremely excited about this process and think that Children’s House Publishing would be a great home forSophia’s Cooking Class.

Thank you for your consideration!

Sincerely,

Jane Doe

(818) 555-1234

jane.doe@mail.com

Sample Letter from Female to Male

Hiya, Matt!

Wow! Your last letter was packed with so much exciting news! I’m glad to hear that you got the job. I know how badly you wanted it. Didn’t I tell you that the interview couldn’t have been as bad as you were trying to make it sound? And I’m also glad to hear about the new girl in your life. I’ll certainly be wishing you well on that one, too.

Things here are fine. Well, hectic, but fine. I think I may have taken on too many classes this semester. Who in their right mind takes a on a full load of grad school classes while trying to balance a 30 hour/week job? (And if you answered, “Amy,” you’re wrong; I said “who in their right mind,” and I am clearly not in my right mind.) Coincidentally, that’s why my reply to your last letter is so late this time. Of course, as always, every major project is due all at once, which leaves very little time for things like staying in touch with friends or having fun...or, you know, eating or sleeping. On the plus side, I have rediscovered my love of coffee.

It doesn’t help that the neighbors in the apartment above mine are just about the most obnoxious, noisy people ever. It’s a group of three guys—undergrads from the look of it—who are up partying and stomping around until 4 am on a daily basis. It got so bad that last week, my roomie stormed up there and gave them all a scolding of a lifetime. Erika! The quietest, sweetest girl I’ve ever met. She was up there a good half hour. I was about to offer her my assistance when I saw a girl bolting down from their apartment (one of their girlfriends, I imagine), practically in tears, followed shortly after by my victorious roommate. Surprisingly, the boys have been quiet ever since.

Anyway, that sums up the excitement in my life. Back to books!

Amy

Sample Letter from Male to Female

Hey there, Amy!

So you know that job interview I mentioned last time? The really important one that I was sure I messed up at? Well, guess what? I actually got the job. Hoorah! I guess I didn’t stumble over my answers as much as I thought I did. Either that or they just didn’t care. At any rate, my first day of work is two weeks from now. Plenty of time to prepare. Actually, if you ask me, the next couple of weeks won’t be able to pass quickly enough.

In the meantime, I’ve just been hanging out with some of my friends here. A few old buddies and I went to catch a game the other day. I know you’re not into football, so I won’t bore you with any of the details. Besides, my team lost, so I’m not sure I really want to remember the details, anyway. But afterwards, we went out for a bite at a bar & grill downtown—a real swanky place called “The Red Ruby” that just opened up last month. (We should go the next time you’re in town for a visit. It’s a little on the pricey side, but the food there was worth it.)

That brings me to my next piece of exciting news: I met a girl at the bar. A real beauty, too. Her name is Emily, but goes by Millie. We got to talking for a bit, and I found out that she majored in History Education at the University of Washington around the same time we were both at the University of Wyoming. She said she had a lot of friends at our college, though, and she’d even been to visit a few times. Small world, hmm? To think the two of us would meet up on the other side of the country in some unknown bar. Anyway, we really hit it off. I got her number, and she and I are going out this Saturday.

Other than that, not much has changed in my life. But maybe all of that is plenty...

Talk to you later!

Matt