BUSINESS

LETTERS

BUSINESS LETTER
* More formal than personal letter.
* Classified as a sales letter.
* Individual to a person or a
business/organization
* From a business/organization to
another or to an individual.
* typewritten

PURPOSE OF A BUSINESS
LETTER
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Requesting and providing information

(Information, Sales covering letters)
Ordering goods or services (Order letters)
Acknowledging the order (Acknowledgement
letter)
Confirming information or arrangement
(Confirmation letter)
Expressing thanks or congratulations (Good
news)
Conveying bad news (Bad news, Messages)

PURPOSE OF A BUSINESS
LETTER
7.

Complaint letter for product or service

(Complaint letter)
8. Answering a complaint (Adjustment letter)
9. Introduction and explaining products and
services
(Purchase covering)
10. Recommending someone for a job or post
(Recommendation letter)
11. Persuading the receiver to do something
(Collection letter)

7 Cs FOR AN EFFECTIVE
BUSINESS LETTER
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Courtesy
Consideration
Correctness
Clarity
Completeness
Conciseness
Concreteness

PARTS OF A
BUSINESS
LETTER

BASIC PARTS
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Heading
Dateline
Inside address
Salutation
Body
Complimentary
close
7. Signature line

OPTIONAL
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

Reference initial
Attention line
Subject line
Enclosure notation
Carbon copy
notation
Blind carbon copy
Through line
Postscript

Heading
Dateline

BASIC
PARTS

Inside address
Salutation

Body

Complimentary close
Signature

Letterhead
Dateline
Inside address

Salutation

Body

Complimentary close
Signature

BASIC
PARTS

HEADING
* This contains the
name of the writer
and his complete
address.
* Phone number, fax
number, E-mail
address, or
something similar
may also be
included.

TWO TYPES OF HEADING

Modern Heading

Conventional Heading

-letterhead
-used by companies -usually used by
individuals

DATELINE
* The date the letter
was written.
* month/day/year
* day/month/year
(European)
* 4 spaces after the
heading

INSIDE
ADDRESS
* Includes the name of
the receiver, his title,
and his complete
address.
* This is always on the
left margin.
* 3 spaces after the
dateline
* Skip another line after
the inside address
before the greeting.

SALUTATION
* It is acceptable to use only
the first name of the recipient
if you know the person.
* In all other cases, use the
full name or personal title +
surname.
* The greeting in a business
letter always ends in a colon.
* If the gender is unknown,
use the full name,
* Capitalize the first letter of
the first word and all the
nouns.

SALUTATION (cont.)
WHEN THE NAME OF THE RECIPIENT IS KNOWN
Dear Mr. Asher
The name of the recipient is known.
Dear Ms. Peregrine
Dear Dr. Asher
The name and title of the recipient is
known.
Dear Mitch Asher
The gender of the recipient is unclear.
Dear Mitch

The recipient is close business contact

or friend.

SALUTATION (cont.)
WHEN THERE ARE SEVERAL RECIPIENTS
Dear Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Married couple
Ladies and Gentlemen
Group of
Dear Employees
employees.
Dear Mr. Devine, Mr. Pule, and Ms. Schneider
Group of
Dear Teachers
teachers

Note: List the person with the

highest rank first. If they have
equal ranking, alphabetized the
names.

SALUTATION (cont.)
WHEN THE RECIPIENTS NAME IS UNKNOWN

Dear Sir

British English

Gentlemen:

American English

Dear Madam

British English

Ladies:

American English

Dear Sir or Madam

British English

Ladies and Gentlemen:

American English

To whom it may concern:

American English

Punctuation
American English

British English

After salutation

Colon (:)

Abbreviations (Mister, Mistress)

With period

Comma (,) or no
punctuation mark
Without period

BODY
* Includes introduction, body, and conclusion.
introduction - presents subject of the letter
body - discusses the subject
conclusion - summarization
* Concise
* Written as text. A business letter is never
handwritten.
* Depending on the format used, paragraphs should
may be justified or indented.

BODY (cont.)
* Regardless of format,
skip a line between
paragraphs.
* Skip a line between the
greeting and the body.
* Single-space text
within the body of the
paragraphs and doublespace between
paragraphs.
* Skip a line between the
body and the close.

BODY (cont.)
Reference
* With reference to your advertisement in the Times,
* your phone call today,
The reason for writing
* I am writing to inquire about
* I am writing to apologize for
* I am writing to confirm
Requesting
* Could you possibly?
* I would be grateful if you could

BODY (cont.)
Agreeing to requests
* I would be delighted to
Giving bad news
* Unfortunately,
* I am afraid that
Closing remarks
* Thank you for your help.
* Please contact us again if we can help in any way.
* If there are any problems.
* If you have any questions.

BODY (cont.)
Reference for future contact
* I look forward to...
* Hearing from you soon.
* Meeting you next Tuesday.
* Seeing you next Thursday.

COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
* A short and polite remark that ends
your letter.
*It begins at the same column the
dateline does.
*Capitalize the first letter of the first
word.
*Leave four lines for a signature
between the close and the senders
name.
* A comma should follow the closing.

Sincerely,

COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
* Yours faithfully, = if you dont know the name of the
person youre writing to
* Yours sincerely, = if you know the name of the
person youre writing to
* Best regards, = if the person is a close business
contact or friend
* Best wishes,
* Respectfully,
* Respectfully yours,

COMPLIMENTARY
CLOSE

SIGNATURE LINE
* Contains the name of the writer.
* Skip two line and type out the name to be signed.
* It is customary but not mandatory to include a
middle initial.
*Women may indicate how they wish to be addressed
by placingMiss, Mrs., Ms.or similar title in
parentheses before their name.
* The signature may include a second line for the title.

SIGNATURE
LINE (cont.)
*By direction = the
superior is authorizing
the signer.
*The signature should
start directly above the
first letter of the
signature line in the
space between the close
and the signature line.
Use blue or black ink.

OPTIONAL PARTS

REFERENCE INITIALS
* Also called identification initials
* The writers initials and the typists initials.
* No punctuations.
* Typed below the signature line with a double space.

Ways to write reference initials:

MEK:al
MEK/al
MEKlaebel/al

REFERENCE
INITIALS

ATTENTION LINE

* Used to forward a letter to a particular person or title or

department when the letter is addressed to a company.
* Usually placed between the inside address and salutation.
A blank line is left before and after it. It may be abbreviated.
* Center or left side.
* Capital and small letters or in all capital
Attn: Head of Marketing
Attention: Mr. Peter Hun - Marketing Department
ATTENTION: MR. PETER HUN

ATTENTION
LINE

SUBJECT LINE

* Shows the main idea of the message. MUST BE SHORT

BUT CLEAR.
* The subject line may include or omit the word itself.
* Double space below the salutation.
* It may be at the center or on the left margin.
* Re: or Subject:

Subject: Annual Trade Fair

Re: Contract No. 2216 for 200 M/T of Walnuts

SUBJECT
LINE

ENCLOSURE NOTATION
* Reminds the reader to check for one or more pages of
information.
* An enclosure can be anything in the envelope other
than the letter itself.
* Double spaced below the reference initial.
Enclosures

Enc.

Enclosures (2)
Encl.

Enclosures: 2

Enclosures: Resume
Photograph

ENCLOSURE
NOTATION

CARBON COPY NOTATION

* Also known as courtesy copy
* When persons other than the addressee will receive a
copy of the message, it is noted by writing Copy to or
cc followed by the names of these persons.
* The names should be arranged in order or
importance or in alphabetical order.
* It is placed below the reference initial or the
enclosure notation.
cc: Dr. Maria Lopez
Mr. William Astley

BLIND CARBON COPY

* Also known as blind courtesy copy
* bcc/BCC
* bcc only appears on the original copy of the letter.
bcc: Dr. Maria Lopez
Mr. William Astley

THROUGH LINE
appears in the letter if the sender is a subordinate
who writes to a person higher in position than his
immediate superior. It is a protocol that
communications should pass through channels.

THRU: Dr. Rosenda de Gracia, AVPAA

POSTSCRIPT
* An afterthought that you want to write in your letter.
* Written at the end of the letter.
* Write P.S and type two spaces before the postscript
line.
P.S New rates would be implemented from June 21, 2010

P
O
ST
S
C
RI
PT

FORMATS OF
A BUSINESS
LETTER

Paper
* 8.5 x 11 bond paper or stationery.
* white, clean, not crumbled nor folded, sufficient
weight and thickness.
* Must not be glossy.
* Free from erasures and other marks.

Font
* Times New Roman, 12 pt. = widely accepted font
* Arial, Verdana, Calibri
* 13 pt. Or 14 pt.

Margin
Left = 1.5
Right = 1
Top = 1 (may be adjusted)
Bottom = 1

Spacing
* Double spacing
between the parts of the
letters.

Folding a
standard
letter
* Folded twice into
horizontal thirds and
placed into an envelope.

Envelope
* 4 x 9.5
* Black or blue pen only
* Typewritten or handwritten
Return address

Recipients
address

*
*
*
*
*

Block format
Modified block format
Semi-block format
Simplified format
Memo format

Block
format
* Most common
layout for a business
letter.
* The entire letter is
left justified.
* Single-spaced
except for double
space between
paragraphs.

Modified
block
format
* Less formal than
block format.

* The date and

complimentary close
start near the center to
the right margin.
* Paragraphs are left
justified.

Semi-block
format
* Least used
* Each paragraph is
indented.

Simplified
format

* Popularized by NOMA
(National Office
Management Association)
* Omits the salutation and
complimentary close.
* Subject line and printed
name= capital letters
* Lists are indented 5
spaces unless theyre
numbered or lettered. No
period after the letter or
number.

Memo
format
* Omit salutation and
complimentary close.
* Omit mailing and
return addresses.
* Sign the memo next
on your name.
* Label
Memorandum

BIBLIOGRAPHY
www.resumegenius.com
www.wikihow.com
www.google.com
www.cbv.ns.ca
www.slideshare.net
www.ego4u.com
www.instructionalsolutions.com
www.writeexpress.com
www.careerchoiceguard.com
www.scribd.com
www.smallbusiness.chron.com
www.studystudy.org
www.upload.wikimedia.org

www.savvy-business-correspo
ence.com
www.owl.english.edu.com
www.1.bd.blogspot.com
www.gallaudet.edu
www.partnership.info
www.notesdesk.com
www.gingersoftware.com
www.englishplus.com
www.studyenglishtoday.com
www.nmu.edu

GROUP 1
Abigail D. Llavan
Jhonavie D. Caboteja
Cabelle Joy B. Cabalda
Ma. Elaine Ore
Genia L. Coco
Ralph M. Torres
Judy Falcasantos