Writing Business Letters
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There are three main formats for business letters: block, modified block, and modified block with indented paragraphs. A business letter consists of a heading with the sender's letterhead and date, an opening with the recipient's address, a salutation, a body with the message, a closing that matches the salutation, a signature, and optional elements like enclosures. Business letters are still used to request or provide information, correct errors, refuse requests, explain procedures, or sell products and services. Personal business letters are written on one's own behalf regarding personal accounts or claims, while social business letters express thanks, congratulations, or sympathy in a business context.
Writing Business Letters
- 2. Letter Style Determined by visual factors such as Paper quality, weight, & color Letterhead & logo design Ink colors used in printing Style & size of font format
- 3. Format Types Block format: each line begins at the left margin Modified Block format: the date line, the closing, & the writer’s identification being in the middle of the page Modified Block with indented paragraphs: same as modified block format except the first paragraph of each line in the body is indented five spaces.
- 4. Parts of the business letter Heading Opening Body Closing
- 5. The Heading Letterhead: name, address, telephones numbers etc. of the company Letterhead projects the company’s image Date line: must be written out February 27, 2011
- 6. The Opening Directs the letter to a specific individual, company or department Most importantly—greets the reader Consists of the inside address (address of the person you are writing to) Attention line (optional) speeds the handling of a letter or used when a specific person is not being address. Needs to be typed in all caps! The salutation comes next.
- 7. The Salutation AKA the greeting If you know the person’s name that you are writing to, you should use it. Dear Dr. Jones: Dear Mrs. Smith: If you don’t know the person’s name, you should use the generic form salutation. Dear Sir or Madam: The salutation is always followed by a colon (:)!
- 8. The Body This the message & the most important part of the business letter. May include a subject line which tells the reader in advance what the letter is about. SUBJECT: RE: The body should contain at least 2 paragraphs.
- 9. The Closing The complimentary closing should match your salutation. Some commonly used closing include Yours very truly, Sincerely, Very truly yours, Cordially, Very sincerely yours, Sincerely yours, Respectfully yours, Best regards, Very cordially yours, Cordially yours,
- 10. The closing also includes the writer’s signature which is the handwritten signature of the letter writer. The writer’s identification is the letter writer’s name & job title TYPED below the signature. Reference initials are the initials of the person who prepared the letter; typed in lower case letters after the writer’s identification Example: KLC:xx Enclosure notation is optional if there would happened to be enclosures
- 11. Delivery notation is optional if there is special mail service used. Copy notation is also optional; this is used when the letter is sent to more than one person. Example: cc: John Doe “ CC” stands for carbon copy;
- 12. Why write a business letter? In a era of instant electronic communication, it is still necessary to write some form of business letter. You may need to Request information Send information Correct & apologize for an error Refuse a request Explain a procedure or present a problem Sell a product or service.
- 13. The Personal Business Letter A letter written by someone for himself as part of a business situation. This type of letter is not written as a representative for a company. This type of letter is written to Correct or clarify personal credit or accounts Establish credit Present claims to a manufacturer for defective products.
- 14. Social Business Letter This type of letter is written can be written as part of the business setting. This letter may express thanks to a vendor for a favor, congratulate a colleague who has been promoted, or express sympathy to a colleague who has experienced a death or some other negative situation.
- 15. Some tips to remember…. Pay attention to details. Be concise with your information. Use a combination of long & short sentences. Always thank the reader for their time & any assistance that can be given. Include any documentation that will help clarify or rectify a situation.