PARTS OF A FORMAL LETTER.docx – Business Letters A business letter is more formal than a personal letter. It should have a margin of at least one inch | Course Hero

Business Letters

A

business letter

is more formal than a personal letter. It should have a margin of at least one inch on all four

edges. It is always written on 8½”x11″ (or metric equivalent) unlined stationery. There are

six

parts to a

business letter.

1. The Heading.

This contains the return address (usually two or three lines) with the date on the last line.

Sometimes it may be necessary to include a line after the address and before the date for a phone number, fax

number, E-mail address, or something similar.

Often a line is skipped between the address and date. That should always be done if the heading is next to the

left margin. (See

Business Letter Styles

.)

It is not necessary to type the return address if you are using stationery with the return address already

imprinted. Always include the date.

2. The Inside Address.

This is the address you are sending your letter to. Make it as complete as possible.

Include titles and names if you know them.

This is always on the left margin. If an 8½” x 11″ paper is folded in thirds to fit in a standard 9″ business

envelope, the inside address can appear through the window in the envelope.

An inside address also helps the recipient route the letter properly and can help should the envelope be damaged

and the address become unreadable.

Skip a line after the heading before the inside address. Skip another line after the inside address before the

greeting.

3. The Greeting.

Also called the salutation. The greeting in a business letter is always formal. It normally

begins with the word “Dear” and always includes the person’s last name.

It normally has a title. Use a first name only if the title is unclear–for example, you are writing to someone

named “Leslie,” but do not know whether the person is male or female. For more on the form of titles, see

Titles

with Names.

The greeting in a business letter always ends in a colon. (You know you are in trouble if you get a letter from a

boyfriend or girlfriend and the greeting ends in a colon–it is not going to be friendly.)

4. The Body.

The body is written as text. A business letter is never hand written. Depending on the letter style

you choose, paragraphs may be indented. Regardless of format, skip a line between paragraphs.

Skip a line between the greeting and the body. Skip a line between the body and the close.

5. The Complimentary Close.

This short, polite closing ends with a comma. It is either at the left margin or its

left edge is in the center, depending on the

Business Letter Style

that you use. It begins at the same column the

heading does.

The block style is becoming more widely used because there is no indenting to bother with in the whole letter.