DEWI SHINTA .P: BUSINESS LETTER

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.

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.