Business letter: Difference between revisions
No edit summary |
|||
| Line 22: | Line 22: | ||
==Example of a Block Style Letter== |
==Example of a Block Style Letter== |
||
April 17, 2007 |
April 17, 2007 |
||
''< |
''< blank lines>'' |
||
| Line 39: | Line 39: | ||
Sincerely<br> |
Sincerely<br> |
||
'''''< |
'''''<''' blank lines for hand written signature>''<br> |
||
<br> |
<br> |
||
<br> |
<br> |
||
Revision as of 00:25, 6 July 2007
A business letter is a letter written in formal language (English), usually used when writing from one business organization to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. The overall style of letter will depend on the relationship between the parties concerned;[1] however, there is a general consensus on style,[2] for example, Business letters usually follow a left-blocked format, other points of general style are outlined below.
Parts of a Business Letter
Business Letters in the United States usually contain the following information (in this order):
- Letterhead or sender's address
- Date
- Inside address
- Salutation or Greeting
- Letter body
- Complimentary closing
- Signature, printed name, and position of sender
In some situations, a business letter may also include the following optional information:
- Reference (RE:)
- Carbon Copy Recipients (CC:)
- Enclosures (ENC:)
- Reference Initials (of the typist)
Example of a Block Style Letter
April 17, 2007 < blank lines>
Ms. Dorothy Gayle
1925 Dogwood Lane
Munchkinland, KS 66123
<1 blank line>
Dear Ms. Gayle
<1 blank line>
This is an example of a block style business letter. All major parts of the letter start at the left margin. Business letters have a 2" top margin to allow room when printing on letterhead stationery, and 1" side and bottom margins. This example uses open punctuation, but you may use either open or mixed punctuation. Mixed punctuation requires a colon after the salutation (Dear Ms. Gayle:) and a comma after the complimentary close (Sincerely,).
<1 blank line between paragraphs and do not indent the first line of each paragraph>
Quadruple space (leave three blank lines) after the date and double space (leave one blank line) between the inside address and the salutation. You should double space after the salutation and between each paragraph. After the last paragraph, double space and enter the closing (Sincerely or Sincerely yours). Then, triple space (leave three blank lines) so the writer has enough space to enter his or her signature and enter a typed signature and the writer's title.
The letter writer's title may be one line below the typed signature or on the same line as the typed signature but with a comma separating them (Glenda Goodwitch, Office Manager). The initials of the person who keyed (typed) the letter is entered at the left margin a double space below the title of the writer.
Sincerely
< blank lines for hand written signature>
Glenda Goodwitch
Office Manager
jke <typist's initials>
Business Letter Layout Guidelines
Format for the Header on the Second Page of a Letter
Sometimes a letter has a second page. A second page requires a heading that consists
of three parts: (1) the name of the person who will receive the letter, (2) the date, and
(3) the page number. Usually, there is a one inch blank margin that precedes those three items.
The quality and weight of the paper used for a second page should be the same as that
used for the first page. The second page header can be created in one of the following
two formats:
Format 1
Jenny Stout April,20, 2007 2
Format 2 (Note: this format requires that each line of the header start at the left margin.)
Jenny Stout April 20, 2007 Page 2
Open vs. Mixed Punctuation
When using open punctuation, no punctuation is used after the greeting or the complimentary closing.
Ex.
Dear Ms. Smith (greeting)
{BODY}
Sincerely (closing)
When using mixed punctuation, there is a colon after the greeting and a comma after the closing.
Ex.
Dear Ms. Smith: (greeting)
{BODY}
Sincerely, (closing)
Unbound Report
UNBOUND REPORT
Margins
In an unbound report, the title is centered in all caps. The lines are double spaced and margins are one inch on each side and two inches on
top. Page numbers are provided and side headings can be used. If side headings are used they should be on the left margin and underlined.
Other Necessities
Unbound academic reports must have a heading including name, professor's name, class name, and date in upper left-hand corner and
include page numbers on all page, excluding the first page. Side headings can be capitalized or underlined, as long as they properly incidicate
what is discussed in the following paragraphs.
Addresses
The address is usually written from the most specific information (i.e. the recipient's name) to the most general (i.e. the city, state, ZIP Code or country). If the writer knows the recipient's gender, a courtesy title (Mr. or Ms.) should be included. Please note that the sender's name should not be included with the address.
Example of an Address Line:
| Leo B. Perez |
| WEBLINQ Philippines, Inc. |
| Magsaysay Ave. |
| Gensan City, WS 10000\ |
Dates
The date usually goes between your address and the recipients address. In formal business writing, it is best to completely write out the date to avoid confusion. For example, the writer should write October 8, 2002, instead of 10/8/02. One reason for writing out the date is date-formats; in the US, 10/8/02 is October 8, 2002, but most of the world would read this as 10th August 2002.
Body
The body of your letter should be written clearly and concisely. It includes as many paragraphs as are necessary to communicate the information. Paragraphs are generally short, no more than 4 or 5 lines.
If additional documents are being enclosed with a business letter they should be mentioned in the body of the letter.
Closing
A closing is included after the last paragraph of a business letter. Examples of closings in business letters include "Cordially (yours)", "Respectfully (yours)", "(With) best regards" and "(With) kindest regards". The closing that is used will depend on the contents and formality of the letter, the writer's familiarity with the recipient, and the recipient's level of authority. "Yours truly" and "Very truly yours" are often considered more affectionate and omitted from modern Business Letter style guides[3], but you will find them listed in older style manuals[4], and are often taught to non-native writers as a catch-all phrase[citation needed], for use when the writer is uncertain how to close the letter. Still, most attorneys close legal correspondence with "Very truly yours."
In UK English, a closing is followed by a comma ("Yours sincerely,") only if the salutation included a comma. If a comma is omitted from the salutation, the letter should be considered written in 'open punctuation', and the comma should therefore be omitted from the closing also ("Yours sincerely").
In the UK, the use of the closing "Yours sincerely," is generally reserved for a recipient whose name is known, substituting "Yours faithfully," where it is not known.
Signature
The sender's signature is included after the closing. The sender's name and title should be typed under the signature. The sender's name should come before their title.
Typist's reference
The typist's reference is optional and follows the sender's typed name and title. Typically, these are the last items in a business letter.
Typist's Initials
If the letter was typed by someone other than the sender, the initials of the typist are typically included at the end of the letter. The sender's initials are typed in capital letters followed by the typist's initials in lower case. The initials are separated by a slash.
Example: JM/ab
Enclosures
If additional documents are being included, such as a resume or price list, an enclosure notation is used to indicate that they are included with the letter. Enclosures should be mentioned in the body of the letter.
Examples: Enclosure Enc: Resume
Carbon Copy
If a business letter is being sent to people other than the recipient at the top of the letter it should be noted on the letter with the 'copy' or 'carbon copy' reference.
Example: cc: John Doe, Jane Doe
Different countries, different styles
Culture and society influence styles. Especially in German speaking countries, formal rules are considered very important. An extreme example is the German industrial norm DIN 5008, which prescribes how to write]
External links
- "Writing letters". Our Lady Queen of Peace School. Retrieved 2007-02-06. - Website with examples of Letter Style taken from "Book 5, Basic Skills in English"[5].
- Library of business letters Free download sample business letters
References
- ^ Truss, Lynne (2005-10-31). Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Profile Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1861976772.
- ^ Burchfield, R W (1998). The New Fowler's Modern English Usage. Clarendon Press Oxford. ISBN 0-19-860263-4.
- ^ Collins (2004 (Reprint 2005)). Collins Letter Writing: Communicate Effectively by letter or Email. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-720853-7.
{{cite book}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ Poe, Roy (1994). The McGraw-Hill Handbook of Business Letters, 3rd Edition. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-113589-8.
- ^ Littel (1981). Book 5, Basic Skills in English. McDougal, Littell & Company.