Anatomy
of a Business Letter
At-Home-Typing
by
Linda Elizabeth Alexander
Business letters
have many purposes and recipients. Despite variations in tone and
style, the basic parts of a business letter remain standard throughout
most business correspondence. This article outlines the elements
found in standard business letters today, in order, as well as their
modern format.
1. Heading
Assuming you
are using company letterhead, your full address will already be
on the page. Add the date two spaces below the last line of printed
copy. If you are using blank paper, add your full address and the
date in the heading. Align the heading, and all paragraphs, with
the left margin(which should be at least one inch wide).
Example:
21 Carson Parkway
Boulder, CO 80111
December 3, 2006
2. Inside
address
Include the
recipient's full name, title, and address two spaces below the date.
Align it with the left margin.
Example:
Conner T. Walker
2345 Sunrise Avenue
Denver, CO 80555
3. Salutation
Two spaces below
the inside address, and also aligned with the left margin, place
your salutation, or greeting. If you are on a first name basis with
the recipient, use her/his first name followed by a colon. If you
are writing a more formal letter, use a personal title (Ms., Mr.,
or Dr.) followed by the person's last name and a colon. Use Mr.
for men, and Ms. for women. Never use Mrs. or Miss unless a woman
has specifically expressed a preference. If you are not sure if
the recipient is male or female, use a salutation that is appropriate
to the letter context.
Examples:
Mr. Yates:
Ms. Dickinson:
Dear Customer:
Dear Publishing Manager:
4. Body
The body of
the letter should begin two spaces below the salutation; all paragraphs
should be aligned to the left margin. Single space within paragraphs
and double space between them.
If your letter
continues onto a second (or higher) page, leave at least two lines
of text on the next page before the closing. Do not go onto another
page just for the closing; this is bad form. If necessary, change
the font size or margin width to make it fit onto one page.
5. Closing
Place the closing
two spaces below the last line of the body. Use a standard closing
such as Sincerely or Best regards. Capitalize only the first word,
and follow the closing with a comma. Four spaces below, type your
full name, also aligned with the closing at the left margin. Finally,
sign your name in the space between the closing expression and your
typed name.
6. Additional
Information
Sometimes a
business letter requires you to add the typist's initials, an enclosure
notification, or a note that other people are receiving the same
letter. Any of this information goes two spaces below the last line
of the closing in a long letter, four spaces below in a very short
letter.
The typist's
initials follow the writer's initials, separated by a slash. The
writer's initials go in capital letters, while the typist's are
lowercase.
Example:
LEA/lak or LEA/ald
If the writer
and the typist are the same person, no initials are needed.
If you are sending
material along with the letter, such as an invoice or report, indicate
this with an enclosure notification. When you use this, you must
refer to the enclosures in your letter. Abbreviate or describe the
enclosure(s).
Examples:
Enc.
Encs.
Enclosure: Report findings
Lastly, if you
are sending the same letter to more than one person, notify your
recipients with a copy notation. This is abbreviated "cc:" and followed
by the recipients' names.
Example:
cc: Linda Alexander
Janna Bree Smith
Emily Lane
7. Formatting
Finally, format
your letter so it is easy to scan. Center the letter on the page
both vertically and horizontally so that plenty of white space surrounds
your text. When using your company's letterhead, remember to format
your margins inside the printed material.
If a letter
is very short, consider double spacing the entire letter. Also,
you may add spaces between paragraphs, the salutation, etc., if
it provides for a fuller appearance and enhances the overall "look"
of the letter.
©
By Linda Elizabeth Alexander
Linda Elizabeth
Alexander writes marketing copy for nonprofits and other businesses.
Contact her today to get your free consultation! http://www.write2thepointcom.com lalexander@write2thepointcom.com
The Secretarial
Business-in-a-Box provides everything you need to start and run
a successful at-home- typing business and cash in on the
high demand for secretarial services. Visit www.startasecretarialbusiness.com.
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