Layout of a Spanish letter.

LETTER TYPES

There are three different types of letters: business letters, sociable letters and personal letters for special occasions.

A Spanish business letter should be written in a different style from the others, being written in a unique formal business language. Sociable letters are written when you are writing to friends to tell them your news or just to keep in touch, in this case the language style can become far less formal and possible mistakes in structure or style becomes less important when writing in a foreign language. On the other hand, you may have to write about sensitive issues such as illness or a death or perhaps the occasion requires a certain decorum by tradition such as wedding invitations. These letters for special occasions require careful attention to expression; some even follow a format which is rarely deviated from. The letters in this service of Letter-Writer Deluxe Spanish are of the commercial and special occasions types as these require greater skill in the writing and cannot simply be direct translations of English correspondence.

Explore the letter below with your cursor for links to notes about parts of a Spanish letter:

LAYOUT AND WRITING STYLES

Language styles between English and Spanish letters may be very different but the physical layout of Spanish letters is remarkably similar to their English equivalents.

Paper and envelope: - The paper used for commercial letters should be of A4 size (210mm X 297mm) plain, white and of good quality. Patterns and pretty borders may give the wrong impression! The corresponding envelope should be the same colour as the letter and preferably the size that is known in Spain as "formato americano" (226mm X 114mm). The A4 letter should be folded into three equal parts, which will then fit snugly in its envelope.

The text of the letter should be as short as possible; it is best trying to avoid needing a second sheet for most standard commercial letters. In any case, only write on one side of a sheet of paper and always type the letter - the only pen ink on the page should be the signature. 

The address on the front of the envelope should be started half way down its length with a left hand margin of one third of the envelope width. The left margin is usually vertical all the way down for commercial letters. The postal company Oficina de Correos of Spain advises that the sender's address (remitente) should be written on the flap on the reverse of the envelope. This advice seems to be adhered to for all types of letters both in Spain and in South America. In personal hand written mail, it is common to see REM: on the back flap followed by the sender's address. Commercial letters from companies with publicity in mind often have their logo on the front of the envelope, in which case it could appear on any part of the envelope.

Stamps should be arranged clearly and neatly at the top right with a small margin between them and the envelope edge.

Parts of a Spanish Letter. The parts of most formal-style letters are the following:

Logo or Company name and address (membrete) for business letters: - The logo should be situated at the top centre, right or left of the letter. If the company name and address (or private address of sender) are typed, then there seem to be several options as to where the sender's address is placed. These clashes of opinion are due to the influence of North American styles on South American correspondence. There is no 'official' view that I can discover and even Correos España when quizzed on the subject appeared vague as to a standard format. The various formats I encounter frequently are as follows. (The sender's address is C/ Portaceli, 32 - 6ºD).: