Business letter layout
Can you name the components of a business letter?
Letterhead with the Sender’s or Return Address and the date
Inside Address
References
Attention Line / Private or Confidential
Salutation
Subject Line
Body
Complimentary Close
Signatures
Enclosure Lines
Copy Line
Why is it essential for business letter to have rather strict format?
When you write a business letter, you will follow a general format. However, your company may have specific requirements that you must use. For instance, a company might have a particular way of presenting a salutation or may even use a specific type of letterhead.
Because a business letter is an effective way to communicate a message, its format should allow readers to quickly grasp information. Information should stand out to readers as they scan the document. Remember, a business letter reflects your professionalism.
What makes up the heading?
How many pages could a business letter be? What pages can be printed on letterhead stationary? What is the layout for the subsequent pages?
The answer is, as long as necessary and this will depend on the subject of the letter; it may be a simple subject, e.g. thanking a customer for a cheque, or quite complicated, e.g. explaining how a group insurance policy works. It is a question of how much information you put in the letter: you may give too little (even for a brief subject), in which case your letter will be too short, or too much (even for a complicated subject), in which case it will be too long. Your style and the kind of language you use can also affect the length. The right length includes the right amount of information.
Readers should always be able to quickly locate your contact information. This information is located at the top of the business letter in the return address or by using the company's letterhead. The letterhead and the date the letter is sent (usually printed two lines below the letterhead) make up the heading.
Print only the first page of any letter on letterhead stationary, with subsequent pages on blank paper.
Do not number the first page.
What does the letterhead consists of? What types of companies can you came across in the letterhead? How should you write dates?
The printed letterhead of a company gives a great deal of information about it.
Type of company
The abbreviation Ltd. after the company's name tells you that the company has limited liability. The abbreviation PLC (Public Limited Company) is used to show that the company's shares can be bought by the public; Ltd. continues to be used for private limited companies whose shares are not available. In the USA the term Incorporated (Inc.) is used.
The abbreviation & Co. tells you that the company is a partnership between two or more people. If it is a family concern, the word Son, Sons, Bros (Brothers) or, very occasionally, Daughter(s) may be added. Partnerships may have limited liability or unlimited liability.
If neither Ltd. nor & Co. appear after the company's name, then it may be a sole trader, a single person doing business in his own name and on his own account.
If the company is a joint stock company, the names of the directors will appear on the letterhead.
Board of Directors
The name of the Chairman (or, in the USA, the President). The Managing Director (in the USA, Chief Executive).
c) Addresses
In addition to the address of the office from which the letter is being sent, the letterhead may also give the address of the head office or registered office if different and the address of any branches or other offices the company owns.
Name of house or building
Number of building and name of street, road, avenue, etc.
Name of town or city and postcode
Name of country
Telephone, telex, fax numbers may also be given. These days, it’s also common to include an email address.
d) Date
The date is written below the sender's address, sometimes separated from it by a space. In the case of correspondence with a printed letterhead, it is also usually written on the right-hand side of the page.
The month in the date should not be written in figures as they can be confusing.
Many firms leave out the abbreviation 'th' after the date, e.g. 24 October instead of 24th October. Other firms transpose the date and the month, e.g. October 24 instead of 24 October. These are matters of preference, but whichever you choose you should be consistent throughout your correspondence.
Sender's address
In correspondence that does not have a printed letterhead; the sender's address is written on the top right-hand side of the page.
In the UK, in contrast to the practice in some countries, it is not usual to write the sender's name before the sender's address.
What courtesy titles do you know? What other titles can you use to address the person you are writing to?
Courtesy titles used in addresses are as follows:
Mr (with or without a full stop; pronounced ['mistq]) is the usual courtesy title for a man.
Mrs (with or without a full stop; pronounced ['misiz]) is used for a married woman.
Miss (pronounced [mis]) is used for an unmarried woman.
Ms (with or without a full stop; pronounced [miz] or [mqz]) is used for both married and unmarried women. Many women now prefer to be addressed by this title, and it is a useful form of address when you are not sure whether the woman you are writing to is married or not.
Messrs (with or without a full stop; pronounced ['mesqz]; abbreviation for Messieurs) is used occasionally for two or more men (Messrs P. Jones and B.L.Parker) but more commonly forms part of the name of a firm (Messrs Collier & Clerke & Co.).
There are a lot of special titles which could be included in addresses. They include academic or medical titles: Doctor (Dr.), Professor(Prof-); military titles: Captain (Capt.), Major (Maj.), Colonel (Col.), General (Gen.); aristocratic title: Sir (which means that he is a Knight; not to be confused with the salutation Dear Sir and always followed by a given name - Sir John Brown, not Sir J. Brown or Sir Brown), Dame, Lord, Baroness, etc.
Esq (with or without full stop; abbreviation for Esquire and pronounced [es'kwai ]) is seldom used now. If used, it can only be used instead of Mr and is placed after the name. Don't use Esq and Mr at the same time: Bruce Hill Esq, not Mr Bruce Hill Esq.
All these courtesy titles and special titles, except Esq, are also used in salutations.
What are the ways of addressing the letter? (When you know only the department, the company etc.)
b) Title known
If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, you may know or be able to assume his/her title or position in the company, (e.g. The Sales Manager, The Finance Director), so that you can use it in the address.
Department known
Alternatively you can address your letter to a particular department of the company (e.g. The Sales Department, The Accounts Department).
d) Company only
Finally, if you know nothing about the company and do not want to make any assumptions about the person or department your letter should go to, you can simply address it to the company itself (e.g. SoundsonicLtd., Messrs Collier & Clerke & Co.).
What do we need references for? Is attention line is optional or compulsory?
References are quoted to indicate what the letter refers to (Your Ref.) and the correspondence to refer to when replying (Our Ref.).
References may either appear in figures, e.g. 661/17 in which case 661 may refer to the chronological number of the letter and 17 to the number of the department, or, DS/MR, in which case DS stands for Donald Sampson, the writer, and MR for his secretary, Mary Raynor.
When you cannot address a business letter to a particular person, use an attention line.
Use the attention line if you want an organization to respond even if the person you write to is unavailable. In this instance, put the name of the organization or division on the first line of the inside address, and the attention line immediately afterwards:
What is salutation followed by? When can we use the phrase “To Whom it May Concern”?
The salutation directly addresses the recipient of the letter and is followed by a colon (except when a friendly, familiar, sociable tone is intended, in which case a comma is used). Salutations add a personal touch to your letter.
Dear followed by a courtesy title and the person's surname. Initials or first names are not generally used in salutations: Dear Mr Smith, not Dear Mr J. Smith or Dear Mr John Smith.
If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to you may use:
Dear Sir opens a letter written to a man whose name you do not know.
Dear Sirs is used to address a company.
Dear Madam is used to address a woman, whether single or married, whose name you do not know.
Dear Sir or Madam is used to address a person of whom you know neither the name nor the sex.
"To Whom It May Concern" is also a salutation you may use when you know neither the person nor the organisation that could be interested in your letter.
The best solution is to make a quick, anonymous phone call to the organization and ask for a name; or, address the salutation to a department name, committee name, or a position name: "Dear Personnel Department," "Dear Recruitment Committee," "Dear Chairperson," "Dear Director of Financial Aid".
What is the role of the subject line in a business letter?
Some firms open their letters with a subject line. This provides a further reference, saves introducing the subject in the first paragraph, immediately draws attention to the topic of the letter, and allows the writer to refer to it throughout the letter.
What are the paragraphs of a business letter? What does each of them serve for?
The actual message of course is contained in the body of the letter. The body of a business letter is typically single-spaced and has three paragraphs:
introductory (first) paragraph
one or more main (middle) paragraphs
concluding (final) paragraph
Introductory paragraph
The first sentence or paragraph of a letter is an important one since it sets the tone of the letter and gives your reader his first impression of you and your company. Generally speaking, in the first paragraph you will thank your correspondent for his letter (if replying to another one), introduce yourself and your company if necessary, state the subject of the letter, and set out the purpose of the letter.
Main paragraph(s)
This is the main part of your letter and will concern the points that need to be made, answers you wish to give, or questions you want to ask. As this can vary widely with the type of letter that you are writing, it will be dealt with in the relevant units. It is in the middle paragraphs of a letter that planning is most important to make sure that your points are made clearly, fully and in a logical sequence.
Concluding paragraph
When closing the letter, you should thank the person for writing, if your letter is a reply and if you have not done so at the beginning. Encourage further enquiries or correspondence, and mention that you look forward to hearing from your correspondent soon. You may also wish to restate, very briefly, one or two of the most important of the points you have made in the main part of your letter.
What complimentary close can you use?
Your letter begins with:
|
You close it with: Yours faithfully,
Yours sincerely, |
personal name - Dear
Mr James, Dear Mrs Robinson, Dear Ms JasminThe comma after the complimentary close is optional.
Note that Americans tend to close even formal letters with “Yours truly” or “Truly yours”, which is unusual in the UK in commercial correspondence. But a letter to a friend or acquaintance may end with “Yours truly” or the casual “Best wishes”.
What does the signature block include? What does p.p. stands for?
Always type your name after your handwritten signature and your position in the firm after your typed signature. This is known as the signature block.
It is, to some extent, a matter of choice whether you sign with your initial(s) (D. Jenkins) or your given name (David Jenkins), and whether you include a courtesy title (Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms) in your signature block. But if you give neither your given name nor your title, your correspondent will not be able to identify your sex and may give you the wrong title when he/she replies. It is safer, therefore, to sign with your given name, and safest of all to include your title.
It is also possible to include the title in the typewritten signature, usually in brackets.
The term per pro (p.p.) is sometimes used in signatures and means for and on behalf of. Secretaries sometimes use p.p. when signing letters on behalf of their bosses.
What are the last two components of a business letter? What do the abbreviations cc: and bc: stand for?
Enclosure Lines
To make sure that the recipient knows that items accompany the letter in the same envelope, use such indications as "Enclosure," "Encl.," "Enc.," "Enclosures (2)." For example, if you send a resume and writing sample with your application letter, you'd do this: "Encl.: Resume and Writing Sample." If the enclosure is lost, the recipient will know.
Copy Line
cc: Stands for courtesy copies (formerly carbon copies). List the names of people to whom you distribute copies, in alphabetical order. If, for example, you were upset by a local merchant's handling of your repair problems and were sending a copy of your letter to the Better Business Bureau, you'd write this: "cc: Better Business Bureau." If you plan to send a copy to your lawyer, write something like this: "cc: Mr. Raymond Mason, Attorney." If you do not want your reader to know about the other copies, type bc (blind copy) on the copies only, not the original.
What are the formats of business letter? What are the differences between them?
If you are writing a business letter, select one of the common formats:
the full block style
the modified block style
the modified semi-block style.
Which of these formats to use depends on the ones commonly used in your organization or the situation in which you are writing. Try to keep your letter to one page, but if your letter is longer, begin your continuation page 3 blank lines below the heading. Continuation page should include at least three lines of text, otherwise, evaluate the contents of previous pages.
Full block format.
The main characteristic of full block letters is that everything (except maybe a pre-printed letterhead) is flush with the left margin. Full block letters are a little more formal than modified block letters.
Modified block format.
The main characteristic of modified block letters is that everything is flush with the left margin (except the sender’s address, date, references, complimentary close, signatures and your title). Modified block letters are a little less formal than full block letters.
Modified semi-block format
Modified semi-block letters are the same as modified block letters, except the paragraphs are indented. Modified semi-block letters are a little less formal than full block letters.