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How to Write a Business Letter
Business
letters
encompass
1)the
styles;
2)the
elements;
3)the
envelopes;
4)the
writing
principles.
All
these aspects are
inseparable ingredients of business letter
writing.
Styles of Business Letters
There are normally three styles in
business letters: the indented, the blocked, and
the modified.
1.
The Indented Style
In this
style, the inside address and the paragraphs are
indented, and the date and the complimentary
close are near the right-hand margin.
Room 609, Building 11
Shenyang Sports University
Shenyang, Liaoning, 110102
China
March 18, 2010
Mr. Ronald Purvis
Department of Education
Michigan State University
East Lansing,
MI 48824
USA
Yours sincerely
(Signature)
2.
The Blocked Style
Room 609,
Building 11
Shenyang Sports University
Shenyang, Liaoning, 110102
China
March 18,
2010
1
Mr.
Ronald Purvis
Department of Education
Michigan State University
East Lansing, MI 48824
USA
Yours sincerely
(Signature)
3.
The Modified
Style
This
is
a
combination
of
the
indented
and
the
blocked
style.
Here,
the
heading
is
in
the
center,
the
paragraphs are indented, the date and
complimentary close are near the right-hand
margin.
Elements of Business Letters
Business
letters
are
composed
of
seven
major
parts: 1)heading; 2)date; 3)inside
address; 4)salutation;
5)body; 6)complimentary close; and
7)signature. However, some other parts may also be
includes or omitted
if it is necessary.
Here is a brief introduction to the different
parts of the business letters.
1.
Heading
The heading or letterhead
refers to the
sender’
s
address, which also includes the telephone number,
and
the fax number. Nowadays, it may
indicate the internet and e-mail information.
Generally speaking, this part
is often
printed on the writing paper of a company.
2.
Reference
Number
This refers to the coded number
created by the sender so that it is easy for him
to arrange and keep the
files.
The
reference
number
is
only
for
the
sender
’
s
convenience
and
is
irrelevant
to
the
addressee.
For
example:
Your
Ref. No. TG-7826
Our Ref. No. CQ-3892
Sometimes, the reference number is
mentioned in the first paragraph of the body.
Let
’
s take another for
example:
“
We
refer to your letter of September 20,2003,ref. No.
AD-31900
…”
3.
Date
The date is very important in business
correspondence and should be clearly stated after
the reference
number.
The
months
are
normally
not
contracted
and
the
days
can
be
written
with
cardinal
or
ordinal
numbers.
The British style is the day, the
month, and the year in sequence. For example:
18
th
March, 2010 or 18
March, 2010.
The American
style is the month, the day, and the year in
sequence. For example: March
18
th
, 2010 or
March 18, 2010.
4.
Inside Address
The
inside
address
may
include
the
attention
line,
which
indicates
that
the
letter
is
expected
to
be
2
passed
promptly
to
the
specific
person
in
charge
of
the
program.
The
usual
place
of
the
attention
line
is
between
the inside address and the salutation.
5.
Salutation
6.
Subject Line
The subject
line, sometimes called the caption, is the main
idea of a letter. It may include or omit the
word
“
Subject,
”
“
About,
”
or
“
Re,
”
and
it
is
often
placed
in
the
center
and
underlined
to
call
the
receiver
’
s
attention.
(Inside Address)
(Salutation)
Subject: Purchasing IBM Computers
(Body of the Letter)
7.
Body
The body is the most important part of
a business letter. It conveys the
writer
’
s message, so it
should be
carefully planned. In this
part, the writer should pay attention to the
following rules:
(1)
Organize the idea in a good order.
(2)
Write in
simple, clear, polite, and correct English.
(3)
Have a good
introductory opening paragraph.
(4)
Confine each
paragraph to the topic under discussion.
(5)
Call for some
action in the closing sentences.
8.
Complimentary
Close
9.
Signature
The signature is
made of four aspects: the name of the
writer
’
s company below the
complimentary close,
the signature, the
typewritten name, and the
writer
’
s business title or
position. All the four aspects should be
written on separate lines. The
signature is pen-written above the typed name, and
never signed with a rubber
stamp.
10. Business letters often require the
initials of the message director and the typist so
that it is easy to
identify and arrange
the files. The initials appear at the left margin
below the signature. The
dictator
’
s initials
are capitalized while those of the
typists are either capitalized or not. Colons or
slashes are used to separate
the
director and the typist. For
example
”
JFK:MT
JFK:mt
JFK/mt
11. Enclosure
An enclosure is anything in the
envelope other than the message itself. You need
to indicate them if you
include
documents, catalogues, invoices, price lists, and
so on. When more than one item is enclosure, you
may indicate the number. For example:
Encl: a/s (as stated)
Encls:
3 invoices
Encl 1: 2 certificates
Encl 2: 4 photos
12.
Carbon Copy
13. Postscript
PS: I will
meet you at the August Conference.
14.
Pagination
If a letter is more than one
page and continuation sheets are used, plain paper
of the same quality as the
letterhead
should be used and typed with the following
information on the top:
(1) the number
of the page (in the center)
(2) the
addressee or his company (on the left)
3
(3) the date (on the
right)
-2-
Standard Oil Co.
August 2, 2010
15. Spacing
Writing envelopes
From:
Stamp
To:
From:
4