H. Bevrani

University of KurdistanDepartment of Electrical & Computer Engineering

Fall Semester, 2011

Academic Letters and E‐mails

Academic Letters and E‐mails

Heading: Your address

Salutation: Greeting (Dear …)

Body: Introduction, development, conclusion

Closing: Sincerely yours, Regards, Best Regards, Best, …

Your Name and Signature

Academic Letters: Structure

Heading

Salutation

Body

Closing

Signature

Letter’s Body

Introductiono I was very happy when I received your letter yesterday,

o Thank you so much for answering my latter so quickly.

o I am writing to tell you …, or I am so sorry …

o I need a letter of invitation from you to …

Main text

Conclusiono I hop you will be able to…,

o I am looking forward to hearing from you soon,

o I appreciate your time and effort,

Feeling Sentences

Invitations: oIt is my pleasure to invite you to …, oI would like to invite you to …

Thanks: oThank you so much for…, oI would like to thank you for ..

Congratulations: oCongratulations! , Please accept my warmest congratulations!oWell done!

Feeling Sentences

Condolence:oI was so sorry to hear about the death of your father; please accept our condolence.

oI wish to express my sympathy for the death of your husband. 

oIt was a great shock to learn of the death of your brother. please accept our condolence.

ApologyI am so sorry to delay,

I apologies for doing such a mistake.

Invitation Letter

Some important points

If you do not know the receiver name, do not write "DearSir or Madam, or Gentlemen“. If necessary, you mightaddress the person by title, "Dear Technical OfficeManager" or by organization, "Dear IEEE OrganizationRepresentative“

In case of asking something, use polite statements, andcompose the letter with an appreciative tone.

use short and familiar/clear words.

use words correctly (commonly misused words: its/it’s,me/myself, to/too/two, their/there/they’re, affect/effect).

Use complete words (do not/don’t, I am/I’m)

Acceptance Letter

Cover Letter: Tips

Introduce yourself,

Focuses on your target,

Explains why you are writing and you should be hired,

Highlights and summarizes your key experiences properly,

Matches your skills with the target needs, fitness,

Prove yourself (quality of your writing, abilities and skills).

Cover Letter: Tips

Mention who referred you (ask them first),

Use concise terms (instead of lengthy terms):

You will please find enclosed… => Enclosed is…I am in receipt of… => I received…In reply, I wish to state… => In reply, …I wish to assure you that… => Please know that…I will take steps to… => I will…

Avoid overuse of “I” when starting a sentence,

I am submitting my letter for your consideration…Alternatives: This letter is being submitted…

This is to express my interest in…

Cover Letter: Tips

Use a proper ending phrase, for example:

o Thus, I feel I am well‐qualified…

o At this time, I would request that you consider myapplication for a position.

o Enclosed please find my credentials for yourconsideration.

o I look forward to hearing from you.

o If you should have any questions, please give me acall at …

Cover Letter: Phrases Examples

o This is to express my interest in… 

o I am seeking a position that utilizes my...

o To keep myself updated, …

o This year I successfully completed a research project on …

o I took part in a research study … under supervision of…

o As a member of a research team …

o I will continue to participate in research activities that will 

update my skills…

o Thus, I believe my skills would be an asset to ….

Cover Letter: Simple example

Cover Letter: better example

Complaint LetterNo. 10, University Street

Sanandaj, PO Box 416Kurdistan, Iran

10/12/2011

To Hassan Bevrani,

I am writing to inform you that your son, broke the kitchen window of myhouse while playing football yesterday evening. Hopefully, you will be able torepair it using your home insurance. Please check your insurance to see if it iscovered. If not, I will get two repair estimates for you so that you candetermine how you will pay for the repair.

Perhaps we could meet this Saturday afternoon to discuss our optionsThank you for your timely attention to this matter.

Sincerely, Mohammad AhmadiNo. 11, University StreetSanandaj, PO Box 416Kurdistan, Iran

Recommendation Letter

This letter makes a statement of support for a candidate.

It should present sufficient evidence and information to help a

selection committee in making its decision.

Allows the reader to get a clear idea of what the person is

“really” like.

Do not write a stronger letter than is deserved, Don’t give half-

truths or fail information.

Use effective words: exceeds expectations, shows initiative,

self directed, efficient, team player, confidence, motivated,

articulate, intelligent, …

Recommendation Letter

Recommendation Letter

Homework I

Writing a letter to me about your opinion onthis course, including your comments andsuggestions to improve the lecture quality.

E‐mail

bevrani@uok.ac.ir

A trip to Marivan

Dear Ahmad,

How are you doing?  Next weekend, I am going to take a trip to Marivanwith some friends. The weather will be fine and sunny.  My friends and I will go fishing at a wonderful lake called ZREBAR.

The next day, we will go to SHAHO. It is a big place with lots of rocks and mountains. 

Please, keep in touch …

Sincerely,

Hassan

o Advantages:

o Fasto Freedom of movemento Easy to useo Freeo Always availableo Safe mailing (e.g., damage, lost, …)

o Disadvantages:

o Limited storage space for messageso No offline access to your emailo Less spiritual effectso Risk of spam and virus attacks

E‐mail

E‐mail Structure

The Address: use Cc (carbon copy) or Bcc (blind carbon copy)

The Attachment (consider size, attach first-write second)

The Subject Line (clear statement)

The Body (short and effective)

Signature (Your name, title, organization, email address, website, phones)

Remember: Edit your message

E‐mail: SampleDear Professor Pai

I would like to thank you for all the time and effort that you have contributed duringreview of my book. The constructive comments and corrections have added clarification tomany points of the book and have helped to improve its quality and usefulness as areference for future power system frequency analysis and control developments.The revised manuscript has been prepared based on your review notes. The wholemanuscript has been carefully checked once again. All the misprints and/or grammaticalmistakes have been removed, and the complete work has been submitted to Katie. Therevised version of back cover text, following consideration of your comments has beenalso submitted.May I ask you to consider writing a foreword page for the book? It would really be anhonor to include your observations as part of the final product.

Best RegardsHassan

H. Bevrani (B.Eg, M.Sc‐Hons., PhD), SMIEEESchool of Engineering SystemsQueensland University of Technology2 George St., GPO Box 2434Brisbane QLD 4001, Australia.Tel: +61‐7‐31386602E‐mail: bevrani@qut.edu.au

E‐mail: Answer Sample

Dear Hassan

I just learnt from Katie that the book is in advanced stages of production and any change at this stage is difficult and expensive. When the book is published I will have it reviewed in PES as well as publicised in power globe where I will talk about highlights of the book.Hope you understand

Best wishespai.

M.A.Pai ProfessorDepartment of Electrical and Computer Engineering,EmeritusUniv of Illinois at Urbana ‐Champaign1406 W. Green st ,Urbana IL 61801 U.S.ATel 217‐333‐6790 (O) , 217‐344‐0977(R)Cell 217‐417‐9725

Homework II

Send an e‐mail to bevrani@uok.ac.ir, with afree subject.Please, write your full name (e.g. HassanBevrani) in the subject line.