What to Write or How to Address an Envelope

Addressing an envelope is simple, right? Well it is not complicated but there are a few basic rules. Believe it or not the postal services receive plenty of envelopes that have been written as the one shown above.

It is not simply that this envelope looks a mess and is poorly written, more that is is likely to be undeliverable. Without the appropriate information included on an envelope the mail person may find your mail impossible to deliver.

How to address an envelope and write a letter was something that at one time was included in the school curriculum. I do not know whether or not it still is, but I doubt it. Let's face with the Internet and email sending a letter is rarely necessary.

Remember though that one of these days you may have to and, when this happens, wouldn't it be good to be able to address an envelope properly?

There is no need to write the necessary details almost regimental style. For those who have watched Hyacinth Bucket in Keeping Up Appearances. you do not need to use a ruler, and place the stamp and writing in a perfectly measured style. However you can if you want to!

So let's get started:-

• The stamp should be placed in the top right hand corner of the envelope. Ideally leave a little space at the top and to the right of the stamp, between it and the edge of the envelope.
• For an envelope to look neat and professional make sure that the stamp is nice and straight.
• Until you feel confident write down the address on a piece of scrap paper so that you know how long it is and what it will look like. Do this by quickly writingeach lne of the address under the previous line.
• Now you know how much space will be needed start by writing the name of the person or company that you are writing to in the middle of the envelope. That is the middle from the sides. Aim to have the address in a neat square or oblong type of shape in the middle of the envelope. In other words the name of the addressee will be in the middle but toward the top.
• Write the first line of the address directly under the name of the addressee. At one time addresses were written to slope to the right but not these days.
• The left side of the name and address should be nice and straight vertically.
• Do not place a comma at the end of each line of the address.
• The name and address should read:-

Name:

House number or name on the same line as the avenue, street or road;

additional details which may be a road;the town or city;

the postcode or zip code;

the county or state;

if you are writing to another country the last line would be the actual country.

So there you have it. Not easy to put into words but a simple task to perform. Some people draw feint lines on the envelope for precision and then erase them once the address has been written.

If you want to write, on the outside of the envelope, the name and address of the sender, namely you, I would say write it on the back of the envelope. It can be written on the flap. In one of my example images though it is recommended that you write this in the top left hand corner at the front of the envelope. Bear in mind though that some countries use this space for franking and the like,

Here is an example of the way you would address an envelope. The name and address are of course fictitious.

Mr and Mrs Peter Pan

10 Tinkerbell Lane

Green Acres Garden

Nut Wood Road

FAIRYTOWN

FL6 7UP

East Yorkshire

FAIRY COUNTRY

I think that the county or state can either be written before the postcode or zip code or after it. Obviously there would not be a space between each line of the address. That is simply the only formatting option on here for me. Points to note:-

1. Do not write all the words in capitals. Simply use capital letters as you would normally.
2. However the name of the Town or City, Postcode or Zip Code and Country should be written in capital letters.
3. If punctuation is needed in an actual line of the address use it.

Many countries these days have postal systems that use electronic scanners. This means that it is more important than ever before to address the envelope of you letter appropriately. Using an incorrect postcode for example could mean that your letter is delivered late, if at all.