Parts of a Business Letter

printed letterhead on the company stationary giving the company name,

address(es), phone number(s), the name of an officer or correspondent.

If there is no printed letterhead, type THE company name, address, and phone number in the upper right-hand corner of the paper about one and one-half inches (~ 3.8 cm) from the top and flush with the right margin.

Capital Supplies
8995 Camden Rd. • Williamsburg, WI 63094

17th April 20__
The most common used

Associates

459 Third Avenue

New York, New York 10017

USA
The name, the title

Company

department (if any)

Company name


Mailing address
Zip code

Country

in a company, list their names in alphabetical order on

separate lines.

Ms. Joan Sample
Mr. Norm Zuefle

They appear on the same line, separated by a comma.

If

you need to list both the street address and the post office box.


Numbered streets ten and below are written out. Above ten, they are typed in figures

Insert a hyphen between building and street numbers when both are written as figures.

6571 Duluth, Suite 407
Michigan City, Michigan 49254

973 West Ontario, Apt. 14
Miami, Florida 33139

STREET ADDRESSES AND P.O. BOX NUMBERS

Ace Hardware
260 Central Avenue
P.O. Box 117
Rosemont, Illinois 60018

Ace Hardware
P.O. Box 117
260 Central Avenue
Rosemont, Illinois 60018

Sixth Avenue

33rd Street

1435 – 33rd Street

OF THE LETTER OR SINGLE OUT A PARTICULAR PERSON TO

WHOM THE LETTER IS ADDRESSED IN A COMPANY

Personal and Confidential (Personal or Confidential) is typed in initial capitals and underscored before the inside address

Personal and Confidential

Ms. Jane Purdy, Vice President
Trust Department
First National Bank of Atlanta
900 Grove Street
Atlanta, Georgia 30319

“Attention” is typed below the inside address. It is followed by a colon and are not underscored.

Personnel Department
Western Utilities, Inc.
817 West Main Street
Denver, Colorado 80061

Attention: Reena Culver, Data Processor

few words. It is centered about two lines below the

salutation, or in Simplified format, which has no salutation, it is typed three lines below inside address.

Mr. Earl Jacobs, Sales Manager
Merchant’s Restaurant
633 South Dearborn
Leland, Kansas 67073



Subject: Delivery of red snapper catch

Some letters have a reference lines for use in further correspondence about the subject discussed in the letter. Type the reference number cited about four lines below the date and flush with the right margin. If a company also uses file reference numbers, type this number one line below the incoming reference. Such lines are often used to refer to documents, purchase orders, and other numbered items.

Letterhead



February 4, 200__


Reference: P.O. #46-555-02
Our File Ref: Invoice #701

Sir or Madam:

Dear Sir (Sirs):
Dear Madam:
Ladies and Gentlemen:
If you know

the name


If you don't know whether the recipient is a man or woman

If you don’t know the name

title

If you don’t know reader’s gender, use a nonsexist salutation

LETTER, TO DIVIDE THE BODY INTO AT LEAST TWO OR

THREE PARAGRAPHS.

PARAGRAPH ONE

PARAGRAPH TWO

This part is usually a short paragraph. Anything too long will cause the reader to lose patience.
Begin with information that catches the reader’s attention and refers to some need or interest of the reader. Refer to a previous letter, contact or document. Put the “you” into the letter.

State your purpose

Explain what you want to happen or explain the information you have

It explains the information you are giving, or it explains what you want the recipient to do. It doesn’t need to be elaborate, but it does need to include all of the information the recipient needs. If you have a lot of information, break it into short paragraphs, make a list or refer to an attachment. Underlining essential information is one way to highlight key points for your reader. Your letter should be organized to help the recipient understand what to know or what to do.

Depending on the purpose of the letter, it will do

one of three things:

Request a dated action, conclude or thank
the reader for his response

Conclude.
In an informational letter, this allows you to point out the most important item or draw all your key points into one statement.

Request action.
In letters that require a response, such as collection letters, you define the action you want the recipient to take. In this part, you tell the reader what to do and when to do it. Being vague gets vague results. Be specific.

Thank the reader.
In some letters, this part is simply a thank you for the recipient’s attention, response or concern.

Smith, Director
Terrance Trucking
P.O. Box 4440
Houston, TX 34598-4440
Dear Mr. Smith:
Thank

you for your conscientious service. All 15 of your last shipments have arrived undamaged. We have never contracted with a supplier with as fine a record as yours. We appreciate the extra effort it takes to ship our order intact and on time.

Ted McCracken and Bob Smiley have delivered these shipments to our loading dock supervisor. I have attached copies of logs for your review. Note that the unloading time is approximately half of that from other shippers for a similar load. Ted and Bob frequently help our crew unload the crates. This additional service always comes with an exchange of jokes. Our crew collects laughs to compete with your drivers!

Doing business with your organization is a pleasure. You save us money by eliminating shipping waste and time by providing efficient drivers. Please accept the enclosed certificates of merit to Terrance Trucking, Ted and Bob, with our appreciation. We are confident in referring our customers and vendors to Terrance Trucking for their shipping needs.

Sincerely,


Cala Reginald
CLR:mjk
Enc. (10)

State Your Purpose

Explain What You Want to Happen or Explain the
Information You
Have

Request a Dated Action, Conclude,
Thank the Reader

letter should be ended
Sincerely yours
Yours sincerely
If you do not know

the recipient’s name and refer to him/her
Dear Sir/Madam, write

Yours faithfully

reference check by both the recipient and sender to make

sure everything included in the with the letter was actually sent.
“Enclosures” or “Encl.” is typed two lines below the signature and flush with the left margin. If more than one item is enclosed, list the items or type the number of items in the parentheses. If you wish the reader to return any of the enclosures, type (please return) after the item.

Sincerely,

Josef T. Crane
Josef T. Crane


Encl: (3)

If you wish to know the reader who else is receiving a copy of the letter, type “Copy to”, “Copies to” or “cc” (carbon copy), followed by names of persons receiving the copies. If you do not want the recipient to know you have sent copies of the letter to others, enter a blind copy notation (bcc:) on the copies only.

Yours truly,

Helen C. LeFleur
Helen C. LeFleur
Manager


cc: Ms. Alice Walker
Mr. Hanley Edwards