Letter Format

Business Writing: Chapter 10

“Business English”

by Andrea B. Geffner

Classic Letter

Modern Letter

Photo Letter

Why is the physical

appearance of a business

letter important?

Letter Content vs. Letter Appearance

The letter appearance = the physical condition of a letter

that makes the first impression on your reader

The look, arrangement, print quality, etc. of your letter

produces an opinion on your reader before actually

reading even 1 word you have written

Once you have composed

your letter, keep in mind:

PRINTING

PARAGRAPHING

WHITE SPACING

PRINTING

letters should be:

• single-spaced

• double-spaced between paragraphs

• print = Clear & Dark

• clean from errors

(NEVER correct after printing)

PARAGRAPHING

• Place paragraph breaks at logical points

• Present paragraphs in a even appearance

A 1-line paragraph followed by an 8-line paragraph looks bottom heavy

Paragraphs of approximately same length please the eye

WHITE SPACEBesides PARAGRAPHING…

(white space between paragraphs)

• Leave space by entering the body of your letter on the page

• Ample margins of white space should surround the message

(top, bottom, right, left)

• If a letter is brief, avoid printing too high on the page

• If a letter is long, do not hesitate to use an additional

sheet of paper

Preparing a letter on a

computer will ease the job

of formatting

Parts of a business letter

Letterhead

Dateline

Inside Address

Attention Line

Salutation

Subject Line

Body

Complimentary Closing

Company Signature

Signer’s ID

Reference Initials

Enclosure Reminder

“Cc” Notation

ARRANGEMENT

STYLES• The vertical placement of letter parts is standard/Rigid

• The horizontal placement of letter parts may vary/Flexible

There are 5 basic business letter styles:

Full-Blocked (10-2)

Blocked (10-3)

Semi-Blocked (10-4)

Square-Blocked (10-5)

Simplified/Ams (10-6)

FULL-BLOCKED

• All letter parts

begin at the left

margin

• It is the fastest

traditional

arrangement

style to prepare

(10-2)

BLOCKED• All letter parts begin at the left margin, except:

dateline

complimentary signature

writer’s ID

They start at the horizontal center of the page

(10-3)

BLOCKED

OPTIONS:

dateline may end at the right margin

attention line & subject line may be entered or indented

(5-10 spaces)

(10-3)

SEMI-BLOCKED(10-3)

• Same as BLOCKED, but…

the beginning of each paragraph is indented

(5-10 spaces)

SQUARE-BLOCKED(10-5)

• Same as Full-Blocked with 2 changes:

date appears on the same line as the inside address

& ends at the right margin

Reference initials & enclosure reminder appear on the

same lines as the signature & signer’s identification

• This arrangement saves space allowing long letters to fit

in one page

• Make sure that the inside address won’t run into the

dateline

SIMPLIFIED/AMS(10-6)

Same as full-blocked, but…

• no salutation or complimentary closing

• entirely capitalised subject line (without the word “Subject”)

• signer’s ID is printed in all capitals

• lists are indented 5 spaces unless they’re

1. numbered or

A. lettered

Note: Add NO PERIODS after the number or letter

SIMPLIFIED/AMS

• Extremely efficient style

• Requires less time to prepare than other styles

BUT….

• It is IMPERSONAL, reason why the reader’s name

should be mentioned at least ONCE in the body of

your letter

(10-6)

PUNCTUATION

STYLESThe only letter parts to be followed by punctuation marks are:

• Salutation

• Complimentary Closing

• Body (following the general punctation rules)

OPEN:

No punctuation is used except in the body.

STANDARD:

Salutation is followed by a colon (:)

Complimentary closing is followed by a comma (,)

POSTSCRIPTS

• It is advisable to AVOID postscripts

• When a letter is well-planned, all the pertinent information

is found in the BODY.

• If a PS is required, it must be arranged as the other

paragraphs in the letter and preceded by “PS” or “P.S.”

PS: Let me remind you of….

POSTSCRIPTS(10-7)

ENVELOPE

• Addressed to correspond with the inside address.

• State name should be abbreviated in accordance with

US postal service (ZIP-Code Style)

FACSIMILE/ FAX

Are they still in use?

FACSIMILE/ FAX

• A facsimile is an exact copy of a document of written or printed material

• Transmitting a letter by facsimile is:

faster that by regular mail

BUT…

slower than by email

• Any letter in a standard format may be faxed

• Letters are preceded by a cover sheet with specific data

FACSIMILE COVER

SHEET• Recipient’s name, company name, fax number

• Sender’s name, company name, fax number (if not in the letterhead)

• Date

• Total number of pages (including the cover sheet)

• Brief summary identifying the contents of the fax.