How to Make an Envelope and Fill It Out
How to fill out an envelope – step by step
Filling out an envelope is important as it ensures your letter reaches its destination or the intended person or audience. This includes three particular items; the name and address of the person that is the recipient your letter is intended for. Filling out an envelope is essentially useful for mailing purposes.
- Address of the recipient.
This is also known as the mailing address. It is important that you address your envelopes properly to ensure that there is no confusion during the delivery process. The address of the intended recipient should be written at the center of your envelope. The address can either be written horizontally or vertically.
Write the recipient’s address in at least three lines. The address should begin with the recipient’s name followed by the salutation. The address should start with his/her street name and accompanied by the zip code which is very essential. However, it should be confirmed before the fill out process.
- Return address.
A return address is usually your address. It is written at the top left corner of the document, usually in small letters. And just like the recipient’s address, the return address can be written vertically or horizontally but depends on how you have written the recipient’s address in the beginning. The return address should also be written in three lines; the three lines should include your zip code, the area you stay in and of course your name.
- Stamp.
You will require the postage stamps after you have written the recipient’s address and the return address. The envelope’s weight, the destination of the envelope and the size determine the number and type of postage stamps. Postage stamps are found in post offices, and you will require assistance to know the number and type of stamps that you require. The postage stamps should be glued (to avoid losing them) at the top right-hand corner of the envelope.
Depending on how quick you want your envelope letter to arrive at the intended destination, you may be required to purchase express stamps which are much more expensive than the ordinary ones but ensure fast mail delivery. If you are not in much of a hurry, you can just use the ordinary stamps. Therefore, it is really important to take note and even know the appropriate postal charges.
After all the three steps are accurately included in the envelope, your letter can now be successfully mailed to the recipient.
Postal abbreviations should also be implemented. There exist various postal abbreviations. For example:
State abbreviations such as:
- Arizona- AZ
- Colorado- CO
- Alaska- AK
- California- CA
Building name;
- Building- Bldg.
- House- Hse
Street direction;
- North- N
- South- S
- Lower- Lwr
- Central- Ctrl
- Extension- Ext
Street type;
- Avenue- Ave
- Drive- Dr
- Heights- Hts
- Hill- Hl
- Highway- Hwy
- Square- Sq
- Street- St
What to write on an envelope?
The components that should be included on the envelope include:
The return’s and recipient’s addresses should both be written in small letters and printed clearly.You should write the addresses in a vertical or horizontal alignment. The recipient address will follow the alignment you first chose while you wrote the return address.
- The return address or the sender’s address which includes the name and the address of the sender’s address. It provides the recipient a means of determining how to respond to the sender of the message if needed. This is written in the top left corner and on separate lines.
- The recipient’s address which also includes that name of the recipient and the address of his or her residence. Which ensures that the letter is delivered to the appropriate destination.
Envelope format – how to follow it
The components of the envelope should be in the following order:
- Return address – this is the information of the sender and includes the name and address. This information is important, especially when the recipient is not at the written address or maybe the letter falls into the wrong hands and hence should be returned to the owner.
- Address – this includes the name and address of the recipient. This is typically written at the center of the envelope, and each of the above-stated information should be written on separate lines such that the name comes first followed by the street address and lastly the city, state, and zip code. For example;
Smith Rogers
14- 3098, Bluebird Avenue
Minnesota, USA, 5308.
How to address an envelope correctly
Proper address of an envelope enhances the delivery speed and the reliability. Hence, the post’s office service quality depends on how careful you label the envelope.
To write right, there are simple steps to follow;
- Font used;
Always choose the best font.
You should try using proper fonts that are not too decorative, condensed or not formal. The weight and size of the letters should also be considered. They should neither be too light nor too heavy. The ideal maximum font size should be between 8 and 12 points. You should also try spacing your characters and lines to avoid condensing your words. The recommended fonts in your letter are; Courier, Tahoma, Tunga, Verdana, Raavi, and Arial.
- Address area.
Carefully write the address area on your envelope.
You should try aligning your address to the left-hand side of your envelope.
Should have at least a maximum of six lines.
Your lines should be properly spaced, not too much or too little.
Leave everything underlined.
Your postcode should be clearly stated out. It is the most important part of your envelope.
While writing your address area, use the correct layout. The layouts are either vertical or horizontal.
Avoid unnecessary information in your address area; this can be done by not repeating some details.
To avoid common numbering in your address area, it is recommended to at least use the first number only.
- Sender’s address.
The sender’s address should not be forgotten to facilitate an easy return of the letter if it is not delivered. The sender’s address allows easy location of the sender. For registered mail, you can write the sender’s address on the flap, top right side of the envelope, or the back of the envelope.
- Street addresses.
Instead of using a building’s name, the street number is preferred while writing your address. Avoid giving the street number in a range and also giving corner addresses. The address should also not contain the name of district, province or any other territory either in addition to or in place of the city or town name to minimize confusion. In the case where a letter is included in the street number, do not write the two separately such as D 34 instead of D34.
- Rural addresses.
This should be used in place of the suburb. This address is abbreviated as ‘RD,’ and you should write it together with the RD number without any punctuation such as RD24, not R D 24.
In case there is no street number, you should include the name of a registered occupant. Moreover, you should include the appropriate town name of the mail route (does not necessarily have to be the place where the address is located). It may come in handy to use the floor level of the registered occupant’s name that you write.
- PO BOX and Private Bag addresses.
When using this kind of addresses, do not include the street address. Such addresses do not take the format of the letter address and should not have any punctuations or spaces.
For example: PO Box 456378 and not P.O. Box 456378 or P O Box 456 378. Always remember to include the postal code.
- Unique postal address.
Mostly used in New Zealand where each delivery point has a postal address. These addresses are made up of many lines of information which are different depending on the type of address.
You should be careful not to mix the styles for the urban, rural or private bag and PO Box addresses.
Envelope address template examples
The envelope template is very important because it acts as a guide on how you should plan your work. I would advise you to go through various online templates of envelopes so that you can be able to master the recommended format and orientation of the envelope. Beside the templates the envelope examples will also help you in perfecting your writing.
Important points to note:
Decide on only one address format which you will write on your envelope. Your decision should be influenced by your place of residence and that of the recipient that is, whether urban or rural.
The addresses should not have any punctuation marks whether full stops or commas or spaces in between the address numbers and letters.
Each of the addresses and the stamp should be written in their respective locations. Do not interchange the arrangement of these components as this will confuse.
You are certain to perfect your skills in writing an envelope from the above guide, feel free to contact us for more of such articles in the future.
