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preliminary note

Every letter is something special and unique. It's difficult to give strict rules how to write a letter.
Nevertheless, there are guidelines how to start and finish a letter. Like in English we have
typical standard experssions and there are clear features which distinguish a formal and informal letter.

I'd like to give some advice how to write a formal letter (business letter).
I wrote this discribtion to help people to achieve the "Zertifikat Deutsch" (level: B1).

A word about the use of "du" and "Sie"

As you know, we've got two different forms in German to address people:

du (you)
Sie (you)

We call the use of du "duzen" and the use of Sie "siezen".

Du is used for children, friends, family members, colleagues and people at your age.
Sie is used for people who are older than you and people you are not familiar with.

The use of "Sie" is a sign of respect and if I used "du" for a 70 years old woman I've
never met before it would be rather offending. If you are not sure about the age of your
counterpart use "Sie".

The use of "Sie", however, has become less strict than years before. When I met my colleagues
in our office for the first time and they were apparently at my age I used "du"
even though I'd never met them before. Another example is my table tennis club where everybody is using "du".
It doesn't matter if 8 or 80 years old. We all "duzen" each other.

The rule for formal letters is easy: Use always "Sie".
Do so in the B1-exam.

Consider:
You have to capitalise both "Sie" and "Ihr | Ihre | Ihres".

example letter

1: Adresse des Absenders (addresser)

In a formal (business) letters you have to put your address on the top of the letter.
The simplest way is to put it on the left, top corner as shown in the example.
There are many other ways to do it. Most companies design a nice head in the middle (top)
and integrate their company logo and address.

In the B1-exam you will get a clear order to leave out the address. Follow the order and safe time.

2: Adresse des Empfängers (addressee)

In a formal (business) letters you have to put the address of the receiver on the top of the letter as well.
I suggest the top, left corner as shown in the example. There is a simple reason why.
Many people use envelopes with a transparent window so that they don't have to put an address label
on the outide. This place is common in Germany.

In the B1-exam you will get a clear order to leave out the address. Follow the order and safe time.

3: Ort und Datum (location and date)

You start with the place, followed by a comma and the date.
Consider:
We write in German the date in the following order: day | month | year

4: Betreffzeile (subject heading)

The subject heading should summarise the content of your letter. Write in one line
what is the letter about so that the reader knows immediatly he is the right addressee
and that he knows what you want.

It's not usual anymore to start the subject heading with: "Betreff" (Re:).
Just start your text with a capital letter and emphasize the subject heading (bold letters).

Here some typical subject headings:

German	use
Ihre Anzeige vom 19.01.2009	answer to an advertisement in a newspaper
Bewerbung als Au-Pair-Mädchen in Ihrer Familie	application as au pair
...	...

In the B1-exam you have to write a semiformal letter. There is no need to write a subject heading
in a semiformal letter. So leave it out and safe time.

5: Begrüßung/Anrede (salutation)

Typcial salutations for a formal letter are:

German	English	explanation
Sehr geehrte Frau Müller,	Dear Mrs Müller	formal salution for woman (married or unmarried*)
Sehr geehrter Herr Müller,	Dear Mr Müller	formal salution for man
Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren,	Dear Sir or Madam	formal salution if the name is unknown

* The term "Fräulein" (Ms) for an unmarried woman is old-fashioned and not used anymore.

Consider:
The salutation ends with a comma.

6: Einleitungssatz (introduction)

Typcial introductions for a formal letter are:

German	use
vielen Dank für Ihren Brief. Ich habe mich sehr darüber gefreut.	standard introducution to answer a letter
vielen Dank für Ihre Einladung. Gerne kommen meine Frau und ich ...	introducution to say thank you for an invitation
mit großem Interesse habe ich Ihre Zeitungsanzeige gelesen.	standard introducution to answer an advertisement in a newspaper
entschuldigen Sie, dass ich erst jetzt auf Ihren Brief antworte.	standard introducution to answer a letter (belated answer)
...	...

Consider:
The introductions starts with a small letter!

7: Hauptteil (main part)

There are no strict rules for the main part.
In the B1-exam you will get 3 or 4 points you have to cover.

My suggestion:

make at first some short keynotes to every points to make clear what you want to say
It's absolutly ok if you do it in your language.
bring the 3-4 points in a logical order
write 1 - 2 sentences about every point.
structure your text: use e.g. for every point one paragraph
It makes it much easier to read the text.

The task for the examle letter could have been to cover the following points:

8: Abschlusssatz (closing)

Typcial closings for a formal letter are:

German	use
Ich würde mich freuen, bald etwas von Ihnen zu hören.	standard closing (with request for an answer)
Ich hoffe, bald etwas von Ihnen zu hören.	standard closing (with request for an answer)
Vielen Dank im Voraus.	closing (say thank you in advance)
Im Voraus vielen Dank für Ihre Mühe.	closing (say thank you in advance)
Ich freue mich sehr darauf, Sie und Ihre Familie kennen zu lernen.	closing (with looking forward to meeting)
...	...

9: Grüße (greetings)

Typcial greetings for a formal letter are:

German	English	explanation
Mit freundlich Grüßen	Yours faithfully	the standard greetings which always fit
Mit freundlichem Gruß	Yours faithfully	also a standard greeting that always fits
Hochachtungsvoll	Yours respectfully	very respectful greetings (a bit old-fashioned)

Consider:
The greeting starts with a capital letter and ends without comma.

10: Unterschrift (sign)

Don't forget to put your name at the end.
In business letters it's even common to put at first the handwritten sign and underneath
again the full name with degree or title because most signs can't be identified.

For the B1-exam it's enough just to write clearly your full name (handwritten).

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	Formeller Brief (Theorie)