September 2016 ~ Winda Larasati

Parts of Business Letter

Business Letter

Business letter is a letter used by people or entities that conduct business activities such as trade, industry, and business services. For example: mail order and others. In general, the letter will be directed to a specific person and be about one topic. Sometimes, the business letter will be looking for a response, but might be to give important information about an up-coming change of address or telephone number. The letter might give information about new developments - a new website; launch a product. To allow the sender to handle any response more efficiently, the business letter might contain key information such as internal reference from the sender or related to the product in question.

Layout of Business Letter

From the picture above, the following section is an explanation of the parts:

1. The Heading

The heading contains the return address with the date on the last line. Sometimes it is necessary to include a line before the date with a phone number, fax number, or e-mail address. Often there is a line skipped between the address and the date. It is not necessary to type a return address if you are using stationery with the return address already imprinted, but you should always use a date. Make sure the heading is on the left margin.

2. Recipient's Address

This is the address you are sending your letter to. Be sure to make it as complete as possible so it gets to its destination. Always include title names (such as Dr.) if you know them. This is, like the other address, on the left margin. If a standard 8 ½” x 11” paper is folded in thirds to fit in a standard 9” business envelope, the inside address should appear through the window in the envelope (if there is one). Be sure to skip a line after the heading and before the recipient’s address, then skip another line after the inside address before the greeting. For an example, see the end of this sheet for a sample letter.

3. The Salutation

The salutation (or greeting) in a business letter is always formal. It often begins with “Dear {Person’s name}.” Once again, be sure to include the person’s title if you know it (such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr). If you’re unsure about the person’s title then just use their first name. For example, you would use only the person’s first name if the person you are writing to is “Jordan” and you’re not sure if he or she is male or female.
The salutation always ends with a colon.

4. The Body

The body is the meat of your letter. For block and modified block letter formats, single space and left justify each paragraph. Be sure to leave a blank line between each paragraph, however, no matter the format. Be sure to also skip a line between the salutation and the body, as well as the body and the close.

5. The Complimentary Close

The complimentary close is a short and polite remark that ends your letter. The close begins at the same justification as your date and one line after the last body paragraph. Capitalize the first word of your closing (Thank you) and leave four lines for a signature between the close and the sender’s name. A comma should follow the closing.

6. The Signature Line

Skip at least four lines after the close for your signature, and then type out the name to be signed. This often includes a middle initial, although it is not required. Women may put their title before had to show how they wish to be addressed (Ms., Mrs., Miss).
The signature should be in blue or black ink.

7. Enclosures

If you have any enclosed documents, such as a resume, you can indicate this by typing “Enclosures” one line below the listing. You also may include the name of each document.

Styles of Business Letter

Business letter can be written with different styles, such as :

1. Fully-Indented Style

This letter has used the fully indented style. The recipient’s name and address and the paragraphs of the body of the letter are indented five spaces. In few cases more spaces are used. The typists will decide the space level. Te subject of the letter is types just 2 lines below the salutations at the center. The difference between 2 paragraphs will be 2 lines. The complimentary closing is typed at the center 2 lines just below the body of the letter. The signature is written five line-spaces below the complimentary closing. Although this style looks beautiful, this style is not widely used these days. Because typing a letter in this style requires many keyboard strokes, this style is avoided.

2. Semi- Indented Style

This style is quite different from the fully-indented style. In this style, the recipient’s address is not indented. The recipient’s address is typed flushed on the left-hand side of the letter. The signature is also not indented. This style is also not used widely these days. Since the companies want to get their letters types in very short time, they started using computer generated methods. As fully-indented style, this style also takes more time to type the letters. So, the typists themselves started to avoid these styles.

3. Hanging-Indented Style

This very useful style places the first words of each paragraph prominently on the page. It is useful for letters that deal with a variety of different topics. However, for normal business communications, this style is very rarely used. The first line of the paragraph begins at the left-hand margin. And the other lines of the same paragraph are indented three to four spaces. This is the reversal of semi-indented style discussed in other page.

4. Fully-Blocked Style

This style is widely used across the globe. This style does not use any indent at all. Every single line is typed from the left-hand side. Since this style demands less number of keystrokes, this style increases the speed of the typist. Even for computer typing, this style is more convenient. Note that this style does not use comma after every line in the address. This is also reducing the number keystrokes required. But the proper punctuations are added properly.

5. Modified Block Style

This style is similar to the fully-blocked style. It differs in the positioning of few items. The date is typed on the right-hand side of the page rather than the left-hand side of the page as followed in the fully-blocked style. The subject of the letter and the signature and the name and the designation of the sender are centered. These modifications give the letter a balanced appearance. However this is not the only way to modify the fully blocked style. You may want to place other items in different places.

6. Simplified Style

This is another modification of the fully-blocked style. This style is used when you write a letter and you do not know the name and title of the person to whom you are writing the letter. The salutation and the complimentary closing are used in this style. The subject is mentioned din capital fonts and that subject need not be underlined. Today around all the business houses, this style is widely used when the writer of the letters does not want to give importance to formality. Since the formality is not adopted here, this style goes to the heart of the addressee. This style give more importance only to the core matter of the letter.

7. Memorandum

The memorandum (or memo) is primarily used as an inter-office letter. That means memorandum is used to send letters from one person to another who are working in the same company. This adopts, sometimes, business letter style. At the top left-side of the memo, the sender’s name, the recipient’s name, the date and the subject matter are mentioned.