WRITING A BUSINESS LETTER

Dr. Ramnita Saini Sharda

Overview of Letter Parts

• Letterhead
• Dateline
• Letter Address
• Salutation
• Body
• Complimentary Closing
• Writer’s Name and Title
• Reference Initials

Letterhead

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

Return Address

• Shop # 33, Johal Market, Jalandhar

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

Return address

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• Shivam Sharma
• Shop number – 33
• Johal Market
• Phone 1 801 5000 0000

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• September 17, 2022

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Date Line

• The date line is used to indicate the date the letter was written.
• If your letter is completed over a number of days, use the date it was finished and mailed.
• When writing to companies within the Country, use the country date format. (In India, the DD-MM-YY is the predominant short form of the numeric date usage)

Date Line Cont.

• If you are writing to England use the day/month/ year
• If you are writing to China use the year/month/day
• Depending which format you are using for your letter, either left justify the date or center it horizontally. See pages 12 and 15
• Write out the date two inches from the top of the page.

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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.

• Follow a woman’s preference in being addressed as:
• Miss, Mrs., or Ms.

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• If you are unsure of a woman’s preference in being addressed, use Ms.

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INSIDE ADDRESS Cont

• If there is a possibility that the person to whom you are writing is a Dr. or has some other title, use that title.

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• Usually, people will not mind being addressed by a higher title than they actually possess.

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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.

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.
• In all other cases, however, use the personal title and full name followed by a colon.
• Leave one line blank after the salutation.

Salutation Cont.

• 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 Raman:

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 Goldy (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

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• With reference to your advertisement in the Tribune,
• your letter of 23 rd March,
• your phone call today,
• Thank you for your letter of March 5 th

The Reason for Writing

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• 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

• 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

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• otherwise, there is no punctuation after the closing.

Finish The

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• 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�

• Typist initials are used to indicate the person who typed the letter.

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• If you typed the letter yourself, omit the typist initials.

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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.
• For instance, if you have included many documents and need to insure that the recipient is aware of each document, it may be a good idea to list the names.

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 in front of the information.

Postscript

• The postscript is used to add an afterthought.

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• In sales letters, it is used mainly as added punch.

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• Use the initials PS before the message.

Overview of Letter Parts

• Letterhead
• Dateline
• Letter Address
• Salutation
• Body
• Complimentary Closing
• Writer’s Name and Title
• Reference Initials

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.

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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.

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The final, and least used, style is semi-block.

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It is much like the modified block style except that each paragraph is indented instead of left justified.

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Format Cont.

PAGE SETUP

• Leave a good margin on both sides (2-5cm) and on top and bottom (3-5cm)
• Use quality paper for both your letter and envelope
• Use a good printer, preferably a laser printer, to achieve the best possible effect
• Eliminate spelling and grammar errors

Additional Helps and Practice

• If you need more help you may go to the following website.
• On this website there are many different letters for you to read.

www.liveabout.com/how-to-format-a-business-letter-2062540

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WISH YOU ALL THE BEST

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