Guidelines
for Writing an Address
It is
important to type a name, address and telephone number in a
formal and clearly understandable manner that is suitable for use
throughout the world where English may not be well understood. It
may not be the way you have normally handwritten your address and
it may be different from the way you have learnt at an early age.
Here is an example:
Ms
Joanna Bloggs |
Title and name of person |
Telnet
Corporation |
Name of company, if
required |
15
High Street |
Number and name of road -
no abbreviations (St., Rd., Ave) |
Aston |
Name of village, if you
live in one |
DIDCOT |
Name of postal town -
normally all capital letters |
Oxfordshire |
Name of county - no
abbreviations (Oxon) |
OX8 3NR |
Post code - all capital
letters with a space in the middle |
Points
to remember:
- The
address normally has a straight left-hand margin, ie. no
indent at the start of each line. (Sometimes it may be
appropriate to centre every line but use your word
processor's centring tool.)
- Every
word in the address is a proper noun or name, and
therefore must start with a capital letter.
- Write
the names of places as they appear on local and national
maps, so that non-English speaking people can find it if
they need to. There is no such place called Nr Didcot or
even Near Didcot, this only causes confusion.
- Similarly,
never use abbreviations for international mail. Writing
St, Rd, Berks or Oxon is unnecessary and unsuitable for
international presentation.
- The
town name is the name of the town to which the post is
sent from anywhere in the country and when it arrives
from abroad. It is where the postman collects the mail to
bring to your door - it is a most important part of an
address. Many people who live in villages don't even
include it.
- Do not
use any punctuation at all - you are not writing a
sentence and they serve no purpose. However there is a
purpose for using commas where the address is written on
one line as it helps to clarify the separate parts:
Ms Joanna Bloggs, 15
High Street, Aston, DIDCOT, Oxfordshire OX8 3NR
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