How do I start a letter of recommendation?

madam is not needed… you would start with Dear Sirs

Why not? How do you know if it is a lady or man reading the letter.

it doesnt matter if its a man or a woman. the correct way to start the letter is dear sirs. if the persons name is known then it would be mr. smith or ms. smith cus you never use miss or mrs. using sirs would end the letter in sincerely. using the persons name ends in faithfully

It doesn’t really matter if you say sir/madam either. I’ve always been using it and so has my father in his company.

but it does as its the incorrect way to address someone. ok lets look at it from a different angle. your in teh army and your sergeant whom is a woman tells you to drop and give her 20. what do you say yes madam or yes sir. youd say yes sir as its teh correct form of addressing somebody.. dear sir or madam sounds like your addressing a partial sex change person. you never start a letter dear sir or madam

I’ve alway started it like that and have always gotten a good response. There is no where that I can find that says that it is incorrect and I as a female would find it insulting that people use dear sirs. I am not a sir and I am not in the army.

as ive stated already you never start a letter dear sir or madam. its unethical

Actually, unless you know the name of the person you are writing to, you would write “To whom it may concern”. This might help a bit: http://funadvice.com/r/3kcffdcec5

Thanks ichi

to whom it may concern is used for people you dont know… as renee knows teh persons its dear sirs. what i mean is is that she knows the why shes writing. why am i still in this conversation :O

Lol. Unethical. You need a dictionary. Seriously, that was beyond amusing. Oh, and unless you’re beyond sexist, you dont refer to women as sirs. Even in letters when you dont know the gender.

I think it is both Sir/Madam, as salutation. If the name of the intended recipient is unknown, the most often acceptable salutations are Dear Sir or Madam: (If most likely a male or entirely unknown gender reader.) Dear Madam or Sir: (If most likely a female reader.) To Whom It May Concern: (If you wish to exclude gender from your salutation