Writing a Business Letter

Business Letters
Return Address
Date
Inside Address
Salutation
Body
Complimentary Close
Typewritten Signature

Letterhead
Reference Initials
Dateline
Special Mailing Indication
Inside Address
For the Attention of
Salutation
Body
Complimentary Closing
Writer’s Name and Title
[Reference Initials]
Enclosures
Postscript

Letterhead
The letter head is the heading at the top of a letter.
The letterhead can be typed out but it is usually printed on the company’s stationery
It usually consists of the logo, name, address, telephone number and fax number of the company, e-mail and site address.

Letterhead
It also can indicate:
company line
names of the CEO and members of the Board of Directors
name of the main company (for subsidiaries)
SWIFT number

The company name can be
followed by:
Ltd (Limited)
Inc (Incorporated - US)
PLC (Public Limited Company)
Co (company)
Corp (Corporation - US)
Son(s) or Bros
Ex. Mitchel Diesel, Limited; Johnson & Johnson Inc;
Levi Strauss & Co; Wholesalers PLC etc.

Design it Yourself: Logos, Letterheads, & Business Cards
Step 1 Establish Your Mission
Step 2 Do Some Research
Step 3 Create a Name
Step 4 Write a Defining Phrase
Step 5 Choose a Style
Step 6 Design a Logo
Step 7 Choose a Technique
(Custom, Clip Art, Photo, Symbol, Silhouette)

Design it Yourself: Logos, Letterheads, & Business Cards
Step 8 Lay Out a Letterhead
Step 9 Lay Out a Business Card
Step 10 Lay Out an Envelope
Step 11 Choose Paper
Step 12 Prepare for the Press
Step 13 Print and Proof It

Return Address
(Sender’s Address)
If you do not have a letter head you must write your name, address and telephone number at the top of the page or above the inside address
Gayle McNeal
2650 Jean Way
West Jordan Utah 84084
Phone [phone]

Reference Line
771/21 (771 – account number, 21 – department number)
DS / MR (DS – author’s initials, MR – secretary’s initials)
Your reference: HND/RP
Our reference: LA/DR/187
or
Your ref. HND/RP
Our ref. LA/DR/187

Date Line
The date line is used to indicate the date the letter was written.
American date format: month /day / year
Ex: June 11, 2011; June 11th, 2011
British date format: day/month/ year
Ex: 11 Jun. 2011; 11th June, 2011; 11 June, 2011
Chinese: year/month/day 2011, June 11
11/06/2011
ISO – 2011-06-11 or 20110611

Special Mailing Indications
Express Mail
Air Mail
Urgent
Registered
Private
Confidential
To be called for

Inside Address
The inside address is the recipient’s address.
It is always best to write to a specific individual at the firm to which you are writing.
If you do not have the person’s name, do some research by calling the company or speaking with employees from the company

INSIDE ADDRESS Cont.
Women
Follow a woman’s preference in being addressed as: Miss, Mrs., or Ms. If you are unsure use Ms.
Ms Hillary Briggs
or
Hillary Briggs

INSIDE ADDRESS Cont.
Men
William Sykes Esq.
Mr William Sykes
William Sykes
(pp. 6-7 of handouts)

INSIDE ADDRESS Cont
If there is a possibility that the person to whom you are writing is a Dr. or has some other title (Prof., Capt., Maj., Col., Gen., Messrs), use that title.

INSIDE ADDRESS Cont
For international addresses, type the name of the country in all-capital letters on the last line.
The inside address begins two lines below the date.
It should be left justified, no matter which format you are using.

Attention line
Attention line comes below the inside address and indicates a specific person you want to read the letter
For the Attention of
Attention:
Attn:

Salutation
Use the same name as the inside address, including the personal title.
If you know the person and typically address them by their first name, it is acceptable to use only the first name in the salutation (i.e., Dear Lucy:).
In all other cases, however, use the personal title and full name followed by a colon.
Leave one line blank after the salutation.

Salutation
If you don’t know a reader’s gender, use a nonsexist salutation, such as "To Whom it May Concern."
It is also acceptable to use the full name in a salutation if you cannot determine gender.
For example, you might write Dear Chris Harmon:
Below the Salutation line:
Heading (Subject, Re: - regarding)

Examples or Salutations
Dear Personnel Director,
Dear Sir or Madam (use if you don't know who you are writing to)
Dear Mr., Mrs., Miss or Ms (use if you know who you are writing to).
VERY IMPORTANT use Ms for women unless asked to use Mrs. or Miss)
Dear Frank (use if the person is a close business contact or friend)

Body
For block and modified block formats, single space and left justify each paragraph within the body of the letter.
Leave a blank line between each paragraph.
When writing a business letter, be careful to remember that conciseness is very important.

Body (Cont.)
In the first paragraph, consider a friendly opening and then a statement of the main point.
The next paragraph should begin justifying the importance of the main point.
In the next few paragraphs, continue justification with background information and supporting details.
The closing paragraph should restate the purpose of the letter and, in some cases, request some type of action.

The Reference
Give a reference for the reason you are writing
With reference to your advertisement in the Times,
your letter of 23 rd March,
your phone call today,
Thank you for your letter of March 5 th

The Reason for Writing
I am writing to enquire about
I am writing to apologize for
I am writing to confirm

Requesting
Could you possibly?
I would be grateful if you could
Agreeing to Requests
I would be delighted to

Giving Bad News
Unfortunately
I am afraid that
Enclosing Documents
I am enclosing
Please find enclosed
Enclosed you will find

Closing Remarks (Courtecy line)
Thank you for your help.
Please contact us again if we can help in any way.
If there are any problems.
If you have any questions.

Reference to Future Contact
I look forward to ...
hearing from you soon.
meeting you next Tuesday.
seeing you next Thursday.

Closing
The closing begins at the same horizontal point as your date.
One line after the last body paragraph.
Capitalize the first word only (i.e., Thank you)
Leave four lines between the closing and the sender’s name for a signature.
Put your position if you would like to.

Closing (Cont.)
If a colon follows the salutation, a comma should follow the closing
otherwise, there is no punctuation after the closing.

Complimentary Close
Yours faithfully, (If you don't know the name of the person you're writing to)
Yours sincerely, (If you know the name of the person you're writing to)
Best wishes,
Best regards, (If the person is a close business contact or friend)

Typist Initials can be indicated here
If the letter is dictated by one person but signed by another:
Yours faithfully,
Diana Childs
(signature)
Pp Nicola Dunnet
Sales Manager
Pp = per pro/curationem

Name of the organisation above the name of the signatory
For Basset and Higgins Ltd
Desmond Kelly
Marketing Director

Enclosures Notation
If you have enclosed any documents along with the letter, such as a resume, you indicate this simply by typing Enclosures one line below the closing.
As an option, you may list the name of each document you are including in the envelope.
Enclosures
Enc.

Copy Notation
If you are sending a copy of the letter to another person or company, include that information at the bottom of the page.
It should have the letters cc or bcc (fyi) in front of the information.
cc. Prof. S. Johnson

Postscript
The postscript is used to add an afterthought.
In sales letters, it is used mainly as added punch.
Use the initials PS before the message.

Format
When writing business letters, you must pay special attention to the format and font used.
The most common layout of a business letter is known as block format.
Using this format, the entire letter is left justified and single spaced except for a double space between paragraphs.

Format Cont.
Another widely utilized format is known as modified block format.
the body of the letter is left justified and single-spaced.
the date and closing are in alignment in the center of the page.

The final, and least used, style is semi-block.
It is much like the modified block style except that each paragraph is indented instead of left justified.
Format Cont.