According to the official data tens of thousands of letters, e-mail messages and faxes come to the White House every day. There is a special service that carefully selects useful and important letters to be placed in President Obama’s briefing book.

The following letters should provide President with the idea what Americans are thinking, and dreaming about. And sometimes Mr. President reads them on his own and even answers by hand.

Writing letters to the President, is not only our desire, it is our right and privilege as well. I’ve even written it ones but I’ve never got an answer. But I am sure that Mr. President will definitely answer your letter if  you ask him what he plans to do with the current economic situation or so. And don’t worry if you didn’t get an answer.

Before actually writing a letter – think of the following options:

1. Updated and great resume.
2. Find everything you can about the organization you are going to work in.
3. Study the job.

Letter itself:

• heading

It should be kept in a correct format. Line spacing and address are essential for a paper cover letter. For an online version the date alone may will be enough. Put your in the right hand corner. Skip down 4 lines and write the date. Skip down 4 lines again and write the Contact Person, and write something like “Dear Sir/Madam”.

• body

It shouldn’t be more than 3 or 4 paragraphs. Write why you’re writing, then state the exact position you are applying for, specify what you can do and how you became aware of this position. Mention than you resume is included and leave all the necessary contact information. 

• ending

Something, like “Yours faithfully” or “Regards” will be OK.

• proofread

Make a proofreading of your letter and be 100 percent sure you have spelled everything completely correctly. Don’t use any contractions (I mean “I’ve” or “I’ll”). Don’t use colloquial style. Don’t write too long letter – keep it simple and straight to the point. Try to sound professional and informative.

1. The letter should include all the necessary data as to:
   • your contact information;
   • exact date and time of arrival and departure;
   • number of days of your are planning to stay;
   • type of room you would like to book;
   • the way you are going to pay;
   • some special requests, for example, floor, colours, air-conditioner and etc.
2. Look like a professional, I mean try your best and use formal language in order your letter to look great and authoritative. Your salutation should be something like “Dear Sir or Madame.”
3. Write the date of the letter in the upper corner of the sheet.
4. Please, be polite and let your letter end with something like: thank you.
5. Be sure you have left all the needed contact information.

• from whom

State who is giving the following invitation. As a rule people write their own names and formal names of the bride’s parents.

• request line

There are some popular clichés as to writing the request line. Everything depends on your ceremony, if it will be a religious one, you should write “request the honour of your presence” and if you are going to have a formal one, simply state “request the pleasure of your company.”

• couple

As to the names  – only bride’s first and middle names should be used.

• date and time

The information as to the date and place of wedding should be correct, clear and written out in full in order to avoid mistakes.

Use your imagination and creativity and remember – it’s you wedding and you can make it the way you like!

You can face numerous difficulties, for example, it is really challenging to find out what to write, and how to be both friendly and official. Believe me, no matter how serious your boss is, he or she definitely likes and needs gratitude and appreciation.

There are many ways to write a thank you note to your boss. And it is an important question to be solved because handwritten cards seem to be too personal and a printed note is purely official. However, you’d better choose from this two variants because emails are two impersonal .

The following tips will help your letter look the best possible:

• greeting

Start with a greeting or salutation. It depends on your relations with a boss whether it should be casual or professional. However, simply don’t forget!

• address

Address it the way it is accepted in your office.

• note

Go straight down to business and let your note be short and sincere.

• reason

Clarify and explain the reason why your write to your boss.

• sign

Don’t forget to sign it and express your regard.

• salutation

Your letter should open by addressing the person you’re writing to. It should be polite. For example, Dear Mr Smith …, Tom …

• short paragraphs

Keep your letter as short and as simple as possible. Get straight to the point – don’t flood. Let each new idea be expressed in a new paragraph.

• stick to one topic

Express only one idea or problem in one letter. If you have to discuss a couple of problems or projects, put them in different letters.  

• grammar

Mind your grammar and remember that emails should follow the same rules of punctuation and grammar as other types of writing.

• end

As to the ending part, don’t forget to type your name and add something like Yours sincerely …

• keep your letter brief, precise and clear;
• emphasize the main points and don’t even try to sidestep;
• you’d better type the letter instead of writing it on your own;
• make a copy of your letter and leave it to yourself;
• be friendly and polite;
• contact only the individual who has the authority to solve your problem;
• include as many details as possible;
• write one more letter if there is no response for a long period of time;
• always remember about proofreading.

Structure of a letter:

1. Background: here you will write a greeting, then describe a situation with all the details, and make it as precise and clear as possible.
2. Problem: the problem or difficulty itself and its aftermaths.
3. Solution: explain the way you think this problem can be solved or what kind of solution you want.
4. Warning: if the problem is really serious you can make a warning.
5. Closing: polite and short.