Business letters are formal paper
communications between, to or from businesses
Business letters are sometimes called "snail-mail"
(in contrast to email which is faster).
Business letters includes:
· Letter
· Memo
· Fax
· Email
Lettersare written from a person/group, known
as the sender to a person/group, known in
business as the recipient.
Some examples of senders and recipients:
· business «» business
· business «» consumer
· job applicant «» company
· citizen «» government official
· employee «» employee
· staff member «» staff member
· To persuade
· To inform
· To request
· To express thanks
· To remind
· To recommend
· To apologize
· To congratulate
· To reject a proposal or offer
· To introduce a person or policy
· To invite or welcome
· To follow up
· To formalize decisions
What do I want the reader to know?
What kind of business letter am I writing?
Letter of inquiry
Letter of application
Letter of complaint
Letter of regret
Thank you letter
Be clear, brief and businesslike
Do not write confused, overlong or pointless
letter
Be polite and friendly
Do not be rude or patronizing
Write concise and purposeful letter
Do not try to write in a litrary style
Do not try to impress with your writing
Use block style - do not indent paragraphs.
Include address of the person you are writing to at the
top of the letter, below your company address.
After the address, double space and include date
Double space (or as much as you need to put the body of
the letter in the center) and include the salutation.
Include Mr. for men or Ms for women, unless the recipient
has a title such as Dr.
State a reference reason for your letter (i.e. "With
reference to our telephone conversation..."
Give the reason for writing (i.e. "I am writing to you to
confirm our order...")
Make any request you may have (i.e. "I would be grateful
if you could include a brochure..."
If there is to be further contact, refer to this contact (i.e.
"I look forward to meeting you at...")
Close the letter with a thank you (i.e. "Thank you for your
prompt help...")
Finish the letter with a salutation (i.e. "Yours sincerely,")
Include 4 spaces and type your full name and title
sign the letter between the salutation and the typed
name and title
1. Short
2. Simple
3. Strong
4. Sincere
Keep the letter brief and to the point
Do not use shortened verb forms - write them
out (i.e. "don't instead of do not")
Always keep a copy of correspondence for
future reference
How well do I know
them?
How much do they
know about my
subject?
How will they feel
about my message?
What vocabulary will
set the tone?
Choose a font that is easy to read.
1 to 1½ inch left and right margins.
1 to 1½ inch top and bottom margins.
Present information
completely
concisely
professionally
Be consistent – block or modified block.
Heading 1” - 1 1/2”
Writer’scomplete
address (Return
Address) QUAD
Current date
Inside Address
Receiver’s complete
name, title, company
and address (Letter
Address)
Ifyou have a letterhead, you don’t need the
Return Address…
123 Pine Street
Oak Ridge, NJ 07438
Salutation
Begin with Dear:
Use Mr. or Ms. before the receiver’s name
Use Dear or Attention followed by an
appropriate title, such as Customer Service
Department or Sales Manager.
Use Dear Sir or Madame or Ladies and
Gentlemen. Include BOTH genders for a general
audience.
AVOID ABBREVIATIONS EXCEPT FOR STATES AND
TITLES.
(Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc. – FL, NJ, OH)
PLACE A SINGLE WORD TITLE AFTER THE NAME
SEPARATED BY A COMMA.
Mrs. G. DeGraw, President
PLACE A LONGER TITLE ON A SEPARATE LINE.
Mrs. G. DeGraw
Executive Director of Safety
Body
1” - 1 1/2”
Single-space paragraphs,
double-space between
paragraphs.
Two paragraphs.
QUAD Avoid long phrases.
Avoid making business
letters longer than one
DS page.
Heading on Page 2.
DS Ms. Moss 2 or Ms. Moss
Page 2
Complimentary
closing
UseSincerely, Sincerely
yours, or Yours truly.
Capitalize only the first
word; end with a
comma.
Signature lines
Leave four lines (QS) for your handwritten
signature
Type your name and title below the signature
line.
Type the words Enclosure(s) two lines below the
typed signature.
Sending a copy of the letter elsewhere?
cc: PLUS the person or department name.
This line goes beneath the enclosure line.
Reference initials…
Doublespaced after the typed signature line
Lowercase initials
Examples:
/ged Sincerely,
HE:ged
GED Mrs. G.
DeGraw
Mrs. G. DeGraw, President
/ged
PARTS OF A PERSONAL-BUSINESS LETTER:
Return Address (includes DATE)
Inside Address
Salutation
Body
Complimentary Close
Reference Initials
Enclosures (if any)
123 Pine Street
Oak Ridge, NJ 07438
October 30, 2005
ABC Company
345 Spruce Street
Whatever, IL 01233
Dear Mr. Brown:
Insert the part of the body of the letter here. The
body of the letter should tell something about what
you hope to convey.
It should also have a closing paragraph in it. There
should be at least two sentences per paragraph.
Sincerely,
Mrs. DeGraw
Mrs. DeGraw, Chairperson
/ged
Enclosure
BLOCK MODIFIED BLOCK
All parts of the The heading and
letter begin at the complimentary
left margin. close begin at the
Paragraphs are center of the
NOT indented. page.
Paragraphs ARE
indented.
Problems:
1. Wordiness
2. Sentence fragments
3. "Apostrophe’s" for plural nouns
4. Subject/verb inconsistency
5. Awkward sentences (rude)
6. Lack of transitions between
paragraphs
7. Wrong words
8. Repetition of words or phrases
Sample Business Letter
(Please revise it the way that fit your needs and print it out on your company
letterhead.)
Date:
Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China
Visa Office
500 Shatto Place, 3rd. Floor
Los Angeles, CA 90020
Dear Sir/Madam:
This letter is to inform you that John Smith, General Manager of ABC
Company is planning to travel to China for one week starting on March 18,
2005. While in China, he will be meeting with XYZ Company in Shanghai (or
other city) to explore business and trade opportunities (or sign contract, form
partnership and joint-venture project, service equipment, etc.).
Our company guarantees expenses for Mr. Smith, including round-trip
international airfare. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact
us. Thank you for your assistance in granting this business visa for John Smith.
Sincerely,
________________ (signature)
Name of official
Title
Phone #
