18.10.14
PARTS OF BUSINESS LETTER
A complete business letter consists of:
1. Heading
It states about the name of the sender and address. There
are two rules in making heading:
a. If you do NOT use letterhead stationery, the heading is
located at the top right of the page and includes
the writer's complete mailing address.
Example:
******* Laboratory
Technical Development Group
Kobe Steel Ltd
5-5 Takatsukadai 1-chome
Nishi-ku
Kobe
Hyogo
Japan 651-2271
b. If you DO use letterhead stationery, the address is
already printed on the paper .
Example:
2. Dateline
It states about the date of sending the letter. It placed
about 3 or 6 spaces under the heading. It must be written completely the day, month and also year. To avoid misunderstanding,
do not use number for the month. For example:
- British Style : 6th December, 2005
- American Style : December 6th, 2005
3. Reference Line
This consists of the word Ref (short for Reference) followed
by a colon (:) and specific information, often a serial or reference number and states the initial name of the
person who sign the letter and the person who type the letter. It is usually placed between the date and the inside
address.
For example:
Ref: HH/AP/10/90
HH : Harrison Heywood (initial name who sign the letter)
AP : Ann Palmer (the person who type the letter)
10/90 : reference number of the letter
4. Inside Address
It states about the name and the address of the receiver. It
is placed about 4 until 6 spaces under the dateline.
Example:
Dr. Frederick Johnston,
Senior Researcher
Materials Research Laboratory
NUCOR
1649 Telegraph Road
Crawfordsville,
IN 58936USA
5. Attention Line
When a letter is addressed to a company or organization
rather than an individual, an attention line may be given to help in mail delivery.
An attention line is never given when the inside address
contains a person's name.
Attention lines are typically directed to: Sales Division,
Personnel Manager, etc. or it may contain the individual's name. The attention line contains the word Attention (or
Attn) followed by a colon (:) and the name of the office,department or individual. It is placed between the inside
address and the salutation.
Example:
Attention : Mr Charles Graham
6. Salutation
All letters begin with a salutation or greeting. It is
placed two spaces below the inside address and even with the left margin. Most people still use ‘Dear____’ to open their
letters. Here is some rules in making salutation:
a) When you have a person’s name in the inside address, use
their name.
b) When you do not have a name use ‘Dear Sir’ or ‘Dear
Madam’.
c) When you are addressing a firm or a group of men you can
use ‘Gentlemen’.
Use of the correct title is important. Look at the chart
below:
Note that the American style has a period after the title
(Mr. Dr. Ms.). It also uses a colon (:). The British style does not have a period after the title and uses a comma (,).
Ms. or Ms (pronounced Miz) is now in common use as a female equivalent to Mr. However, if possible, it is
best to find out which title the woman herself prefers (Ms.or Mrs. or Miss). All of the examples above are in formal
style which should be used for all business letters. Use of the first name (Dear Tom, Dear Sue, etc) is only for
informal, personal letters.
7. Subject Line
It states about the topic of the letter. The subject line is
used to immediately draw the reader's attention to the subject of the letter. It consists of the word Subject
followed by a colon (:) and a word or words of specific information. The position of the subject line is not
standardized. It may appear to the right of the inside address and underlined, or centered on the page below the inside
address or below the salutation. It is commonly placed below the salutation. Example:
8. Body of Letter
Body of letter is divided into three parts:
1. Opening Paragraph
2. Message of the letter
3. Closing Paragraph
9. Complimentary Close (Closing)
The closing of a business letter is placed two spaces below
the body. It is a conventional expression, indicating the formal close of the letter. The first word is
capitalized. Closings end with a comma. See the table below:
10. Signature
Every letter should have a handwritten signature. Four to
six spaces below this is the typewritten signature. A woman may include (Miss),
(Mrs.) or (Ms.) to the right of the typewritten signature.
11. Enclosure
If we would like to enclose something in the letter, we must
write Encl. or Incl. in the left bottom of the letter.
For example:
Encl: catalogue
Incl: pricelist
Encl. = Enclosure
Incl. = Include
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