The Date In English Business Letters

Date

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The date in English letters

(Position and style of the date in business letters)

Contents

1. Writing the date
2. Further explanations

How is the date written?

The date in English business letters is usually located between the reference line and the inside address (in British correspondence) or between the letterhead and the special markings (according to the American style of writing). Horizontally, it appears on the left margin although it may also be written on the right if the reference line is on the same line. In private letters, it always appears on the right. There are several ways of writing the date, but the main distinction occurs between the British and American spelling:

• The sequence according to the British spelling is the day, month, year (Note that there is neither a full stop nor an abbreviation, such as ‘st, nd, rd, th’, for the ordinal numbers after the day.):
  • 13 September 2015
• The order the American spelling states is the month, day, year (Consider here that a comma separates the day from the year.):
  • July 12, 2016
• Information: For further details on how to use the date in English, review the following explanation:
  • Writing and saying the English date

Further explanations related to the ‘Date in English letters’

The following explanations relate to the topic ‘The date in English business letters (position and style)’ and may also be helpful:

• Structure of an English business letter
• Sample of a British business letter
• Sample of an American business letter

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  • Form/structure of an English business letter
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