A business
letter is usually a letter from one company to another, or between such
organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. The
overall style of letter depends on the relationship between the parties
concerned. Business letters can have many types of contents, for example to
request direct information or action from another party, to order supplies from
a supplier, to point out a mistake by the letter's recipient, to reply directly
to a request, to apologize for a wrong, or to convey goodwill. A business
letter is sometimes useful because it produces a permanent written record, and
may be taken more seriously by the recipient than other forms of communication.
Part Of
Business Letters:
1. The Heading (The Retern Address) or Letterhead - Companies usually use printed paper where heading or letterhead is specially designed at the top of the sheet. It bears all the necessary information about the organisation’s identity.
2, Date -
Date of writing. The month should be fully spelled out and the year written
with all four digits October 12, 2005
(12 October 2005 - UK style). The date is aligned with the return address. The number of the date is pronounced as an ordinal figure, though the endings st, nd, rd, th, are often omitted in writing. The article before the number of the day is pronounced but not written. In the body of the letter, however, the article is written when the name of the month is not mentioned with the day.
(12 October 2005 - UK style). The date is aligned with the return address. The number of the date is pronounced as an ordinal figure, though the endings st, nd, rd, th, are often omitted in writing. The article before the number of the day is pronounced but not written. In the body of the letter, however, the article is written when the name of the month is not mentioned with the day.
3, The
Inside Address - In a business or formal letter you should give the
address of the recipient after your own address. Include the recipient's name,
company, address and postal code. Add job title if appropriate. Separate the
recipient's name and title with a comma. Double check that you have the correct
spelling of the recipient 's name.
The Inside
Address is always on the left margin. If an 8 1/2" x 11" paper is
folded in thirds to fit in a standard 9" business envelope, the inside
address can appear through the window in the envelope.
4. The
Salutation
The
salutation (or greeting) in a business letter is always formal. It often begins
with “Dear {Person’s name}.” Once again, be sure to include the person’s title
if you know it (such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr). If you’re unsure about
the person’s title then just use their first name. For example, you would use
only the person’s first name if the person you are writing to is “Jordan” and
you’re not sure if he or she is male or female. The salutation always ends with
a colon.
5. The Body
The body is
the meat of your letter. For block and modified block letter formats, single
space and left justify each paragraph. Be sure to leave a blank line between
each paragraph, however, no matter the format. Be sure to also skip a line
between the salutation and the body, as well as the body and the close.
6. The
Complimentary Close
The
complimentary close is a short and polite remark that ends your letter. The
close begins at the same justification as your date and one line after the last
body paragraph. Capitalize the first word of your closing (Thank you) and leave
four lines for a signature between the close and the sender’s name. A comma
should follow the closing.
7. Signature
and Writer’s identification - . You should sign your first and last names.
The signature line may include a second line for a title, if appropriate. The
signature should start directly above the first letter of the signature line in
the space between the close and the signature line. Use blue or black ink.
8.
Enclosures
If you have
any enclosed documents, such as a resume, you can indicate this by typing
“Enclosures” one line below the listing. You also may include the name of each
document.
Style Of
Business Letter
A. Full Block.
Full block
style is a letter format in which all text is justified to the left margin. In
block letter style, standard punctuation is placed after salutations and in
other headings. Open punctuation, however, refers to a modification of style where
all nonessential punctuation is omitted. A few key factors will help you
understand block style format and the difference that open punctuation makes.
1. Return
Address: If your stationery has a letterhead, skip this. Otherwise,
type your name, address and optionally, phone number. These days, it’s common
to also include an email address.
2. Date: Type the date of your
letter two to six lines below the letterhead. Three are standard. If there is
no letterhead, type it where shown.
3. Reference
Line: If the recipient specifically requests information, such as a job
reference or invoice number, type it on one or two lines, immediately below the
Date.
4. Special
Mailing Notations: Type in all uppercase characters, if appropriate.
5. On-Arrival
Notations: Type in all uppercase characters, if appropriate. You might
want to include a notation on private correspondence.
6. Inside
Address: Type the name and address of the person and/or company to whom
you’re sending the letter, three to eight lines below the last component you
typed. Four lines are standard.
7. Attention
Line: Type the name of the person to whom you’re sending the letter.
8. Salutation: Type
the recipient’s name here. Type Mr. or Ms. [Last Name] to show respect, but
don’t guess spelling or gender.
9. Subject
Line: Type the gist of your letter in all uppercase characters, either
flush left or centered. Be concise on one line.
10 Body: Type
two spaces between sentences. Keep it brief and to the point.
11. Complimentary
Close: What you type here depends on the tone and degree of formality.
12. Signature
Block: Leave four blank lines after the Complimentary Close to sign your
name. Sign your name exactly as you type it below your signature. Title is
optional depending on relevancy and degree of formality.
13. Identification
Initials: If someone typed the letter for you, he or she would typically
include three of your initials in all uppercase characters, then two of his or
hers in all lowercase characters.
14. Enclosure
Notation: This line tells the reader to look in the envelope for more.
Type the singular for only one enclosure, plural for more.
15. cc: Stands
for courtesy copies (formerly carbon copies). List the names of people to whom
you distribute copies, in alphabetical order.
B. Semi-block
style
Semi-blok fromat:
in a format this text parallel left and all paragraphs in the letter is
indented. Format shape on this letter on letter head, date, complementary a
close, and signature being in a position flattened right. In the layout uneven
right, but can dibilangg flattened middle. Other parts on a letter as inside
address, subject, salutation, body of letter, and enclosure if terdapatnya
attachment letter,Being flattened on the left.
C. Modified Block Style
A modified block style letter is a letter that
uses a format that is slightly different from the full block letter. The return
address, date, complementary closing and the signature line are put slightly to
the right of the paper's center. In addition, this letter are the most common
in organisations
D. Hanging-Indented
Style
This very
useful style places the first words of each paragraph prominently on the page.
It is useful for letters that deal with a variety of different topics. However,
for normal business communications, this style is very rarely used. The first
line of the paragraph begins at the left-hand margin. And the other lines of
the same paragraph are indented three to four spaces. This is the reversal of
semi-indented style discussed in other page.
E. Simplified-style
Simplified-style
business letters contain all the same elements as the full-block and semi-block
letters. Like the full-block format, the simplified format left-justifies every
line except for the company logo or letterhead. The date line is either slightly
right of center or flush with the center of the page. Letters written in the
simplified format have fewer internal sections, such as the body, salutation
and date line.
Using the
simplified style is the most useful at times when you don’t have a recipient’s
contact name. Because the simplified style does not require a salutation, you
don’t need the person’s name. The simplified format does away with unneeded
formality while maintaining a professional approach.
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