Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Letterhead.Aletterheadcontainsthenameandaddressofanorganizationorperson.A
varietyofadditionalinformationcanbeincluded,suchasthetelephonenumber,faxnumber,
emailaddress,listofcompanyofficers,andalogo.Theletterhead,whichisdesignedtostand
outfromthetextoftheletter,isusuallypreprintedanddoesnotneedtobekeyed.
Date.Theonlyacceptabledatestyleforlettersismonth/day/year(November14,2009),with
themonthspelledout.Mostwordprocessingprogramsenterandupdatethedate
automaticallyifitisinsertedusingtheDatefeature.Keythedate2"fromthetopofthepage,
oraDSbelowaletterheadthatismorethan2"deep.
Letteraddress.KeythereceiversnameandaddressSS,withaminimumofthreelinesanda
maximumofsixlines.Ifthedefaultlinespacinginyoursoftwareis1.15",youmustSHIFT+
ENTERaftereachlineoftheletteraddressinordertoachievesinglespacing.ForU.S.
addresses,thelastlinemustcontainonlythreeelements:city(neverabbreviated),state
(alwaystwoletterUSPSabbreviation),andZIP+4.Theletteraddressshouldbethesameasthe
deliveryaddressontheenvelope.BegintheaddressaQSbelowthedate.Keyapersonaltitle
(Ms.,Mr.,Mrs.)oraprofessionaltitle(Dr.,Senator)beforethereceiversname.Insertone
spacebetweenthestateandtheZIPcode.
Salutation.Keythesalutation(greeting)doublespace(oneblankline)belowtheletter
address.Onlythetitleandlastnameappearinthesalutationunlessthetitleisnotknownand
thegenderoftheaddresseeisdifficulttodetermineforexample,LeslieKennedy.Thenthe
salutationwouldreadDearLeslieKennedy.
February25,2010
Quadruplespace=3blanklines
Exampleshownisopeninglinesfor
Ms.MarilynLombard
aletterusingaletterheadinblock
2539W.FifthAvenue
format.
SanFrancisco,CA941013399
Doublespace=1blankline
DearMs.Lombard
Body.Beginthebody(message)oftheletteradoublespacebelowthesalutation.Singlespace
eachparagraphwithaDSbetweenparagraphs.
Complimentaryclose.Keythecomplimentaryclose(farewell)adoublespacebelowthebody
oftheletter.Iftwowordsareused(Sincerelyyours),capitalizeonlythefirstword.
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Nameofthewriter.Keythenameofthewriter(sender)quadruplespacebelowthe
complimentaryclose.Generallythepersonaltitleofthewriterisnotincluded;however,atitle
canprecedethenameifafemaleprefers(Mrs.,Miss,Ms.)orifthegenderofthewriteris
unclear(Mr.LeslieKennedy).Abusinesstitleordepartmentmaybeadded
Sincerelyyours
titleiskeyedbelowthenameofthewriter.
Quadruplespace
Referenceinitials.Ifsomeoneotherthanthewriter
RobertHayward
keystheletter,addthekeyboardoperatorsinitials
CreditManager
inlowercaselettersattheleftmarginadoublespace
belowthewritersname,title,ordepartment.
Doublespace
sw
Example
PERSONALBUSINESSLETTERS
Aletterwrittenbyanindividualconcerningbusinessofapersonalnatureiscalledapersonal
businessletter.Allthepartsofabusinessletterareincluded,withoneexception:The
letterheadisreplacedwithareturnaddress.Apersonalbusinessletterisprintedonplain
paperwiththewritersaddresskeyed2"fromthetopofthepageattheleftmargin.The
returnaddressconsistsofonelineforthestreetaddressandonelineforthecity,state,andZIP
code.Thedateiskeyeddirectlybelowthecity,state,andZIPcode.
TopMargin=2inches
2341JeffersonAvenue
Toledo,OH436120851
March22,2010
Quadruplespace
Dr.RaymondMarkley
2042CarmenStreet
Louisville,KY402993179
Exampleshownisopeninglinesfora
letternotusingaletterheadinblock
format.(Personal/BusinessLetter)
Doublespace
DearDr.Markley
LETTERFORMATS
Businessandpersonalbusinesslettersarearrangedinvaryingformatsandstyles.These
variationsaredescribedbelow.
Margins.Lettersareformattedwith1"leftandrightmargins,a2"topmargin,anda1"bottom
margin.Insteadofa2"topmargin,lettersmaybecenteredverticallyusingtheCenterPage
feature.
BUSINESSLETTERS
Formats.Businesslettersareformattedintwobasicstyles:blockandmodifiedblock.
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Blockformatarrangesallletterpartsattheleftmargin.Theparagraphsarenotindented.
Refertotheillustrationofapersonalbusinessletterinblockformatshownbelow.
Modifiedblockformatplacesthedateandtheclosinglines(complimentaryclose,writers
name,andtitle)beginningnearoratthehorizontalcenterofthepageinsteadofattheleft
margin.Thedefaulttabnearesttothecentermaybeusedtoplacethedateandclosing
lines.Thefirstlineofeachparagraphmaybeblockedattheleftmarginorindented0.5".
Seetheillustrationofaletterinmodifiedblockformatshownbelow.Thisillustration
containsseveralspecialbusinessletterpartsincludingamailingnotation,subjectline,
enclosurenotation,andcopynotation.
Punctuationstyles.Twostylesofpunctuationarecommonlyusedinbusinessletters.Open
punctuationhasnopunctuationmarkafterthesalutationorcomplimentaryclose.Mixed
punctuationcontainsacolon(:)afterthesalutationandacomma(,)afterthecomplimentary
close.
ADDITIONALLETTERFEATURES
Someadditionalletterfeaturesthatmaybeusedaredescribedbelow.
USPSletteraddressstyle.Theletteraddressofabusinessorpersonalbusinesslettermaybe
keyedinALLCAPSwithnopunctuationifusingtheUnitedStatesPostalServicestyleforthe
delivery(envelope)address.
Secondpageheading.Ifaletterislongerthanonepage,aplainsheetofpaperisusedforthe
secondandsucceedingpages.Onlythefirstpagecontainsthesendersletterhead.Asecond
pageheadingshouldbekeyed1"fromthetopofthepageinblockformat,SS.Includethe
nameoftheaddressee,thewordPagefollowedbythepagenumber,andthedate.PlaceDS
belowthedatebeforecontinuingtheletter.
TopMarginis1inch.
Ms.BarbaraPowell
Page2 heading ofaletter illustrated
Page2
July22,2010
DoubleSpace
Theremainingparagraphsoftheletterwillbekeyedhere.
Widow/Orphan.Atleasttwolinesofaparagraphmustbekeyedatthebottomofthefirst
pageofaletterandatthetopofthesecondpage.ActivatetheWidow/Orphanfeaturefrom
thedropdownmenuitemFormat,Paragraph,LineandPageBreakstoensureproperbreaks.
Thisfeatureensuresthatthefirstlineofaparagraphdoesnotappearbyitselfatthebottomof
apage(orphanline)orthelastlineofaparagraphdoesnotappearbyitselfatthetopofapage
(widowline).
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BulletsandNumbering.UsetheBulletsfeatureorNumberingfeaturetocreatebulletedor
numberedlists.Thesefeaturesautomaticallyformateachlistediteminhangingindentstyle
(thesecondandsucceedinglinesalignunderthefirstletterofthefirstword).
Tablesinletters.Atableinsertedinalettershouldbeplacedevenwiththeleftandright
marginsoftheletterorcenteredbetweenthemargins.Leaveablanklineaboveandbelowthe
insertedtable.Tablegridlinesmaybeshownorhidden.
Formletters.Aformletterisastandardmessagesenttomorethanoneaddressee.Form
paragraphsmaybestoredasmacros(storedtext)andplayedbackwhenneededtocreate
personalizedformletters.FormletterscanalsobecreatedusingtheMailMergefeatureof
wordprocessingprograms.
ENVELOPES
MostwordprocessingprogramshaveanEnvelopefeaturethatwillautomaticallyformatthe
placementofthereturnandletteraddresses.However,becauseofprinterissues,notallusers
areabletousetheEnvelopefeatureefficiently.Therefore,specifickeyinginstructionsare
providedbelowforformattingenvelopes.
Sendersreturnaddress.Keythereturnaddressinblockstyle,SS,approximately0.25"
fromtheleftandtopmarginsoftheenvelope.Keythename,streetaddress,city,state,
andZIPCodeinthreelineseitherinALLCAPSorInitialCaps.
Receiversaddress.Keythereceiversaddressinblockstyle,SS,andInitialCaps.You
mayuseALLCAPSifdesired.Placethecity,state,andZIPCode(onespaceprecedesthe
ZIP)onthelastaddressline.Neverabbreviatethenameofacityorcountry.
Internationaladdresses.Omitpostal(ZIP)codesfromthelastlineofaddressesoutside
theU.S.Showonlythenameofthecountryonthelastline,asshownbelow.
Mr.HiramSanders
2121ClearwaterStreet
OttawaONKIAOB1
CANADA
Spacing.IfnotusingtheEnvelopefeature,tabover2.5"forasmallenvelope(No.634)
and4"foralargeenvelope(No.10).Enterhardreturnstoplacethefirstlineofthe
deliveryaddressapproximately2"fromthetopoftheenvelope.
Mailingandaddresseenotations.Keyamailingnotation(REGISTERED,SPECIAL
DELIVERY)inALLCAPSbelowthestamp,approximately12"abovethefirstlineofthe
deliveryaddress.Keyanaddresseenotation(PERSONAL,CONFIDENTIAL)attheleft
marginaDSbelowthereturnaddress.Ifanattentionlineisused,keyitasthefirstline
ofthedeliveryaddress.
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PERSONAL/BUSINESSLETTERin
BLOCKSTYLEwithMixedPunctuation
2inchTopMargin
1SideMargins
ReturnAddress
Dateline
ThreeBlankLines(QuadrupleSpace)
LetterAddress
BodyofLetter
DoubleSpace
Salutationwithmixedpunctuation
DoubleSpace
For my project I chose to do something that I have not done before. I will be exploring herbal
medicine as a positive alternative to prescription drugs. I feel drawn to this subject due to the
overwhelming amount of herbs that are available. I want to know if they can do what experts
claim they can do. By completing this project, I will have been exposed to a part of the medical
field which I might learn to enjoy. I might even want to make a career out of it.
DoubleSpace
My research paper will consist of a history of herbal and the effectiveness of herbal medicine. I
hope to be able to include a wide variety of herbs to cure various ailments, especially common
ones. I will be using several home remedy and botany books for my reference materials. The
Internet will also be used for some of my references.
DoubleSpace
My physical project will be directly involved with my research paper in the sense that I will job
shadow in a health food store. While job shadowing I will learn how to use many forms of
alternative medicine. My mentor will be Mrs. Jane Pryde, who sells herbs and does herbal
consulting. The cost of my project will be relatively low, probably no more than fifty dollars.
The time it will take to complete my project will be approximately twenty hours.
DoubleSpace
ComplimentaryClosewithmixedpunctuation
ThreeBlankLines(QuadrupleSpace)
NameofLetterWriter
David Blythe-Bettes
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Tab3.25
2inchTopMargin
1SideMargins
BUSINESSLETTERinMODIFIEDBLOCK
STYLEwithOpen(no)Punctuation
BeginDateline,Complimentary
Close,WritersNameandTitle
atthesametab. (3.25LeftTab)
StartsatCenter.
Dateline
May23,2010
ThreeBlankLines(QuadrupleSpace)
MailingNotation
FACSIMILE
DoubleSpace
Mr.JamisonCooper
LetterAddress
882ElderberryDrive
Fayetteville,NC283110065
DoubleSpace
Salutationwithopenpunctuation
DearMr.Cooper
DoubleSpace
SubjectLine
SELECTIONOFEXCELLENTPRESENTERS
DoubleSpace
Lastweekatourmeeting,youmentionedseveralindividualsyouthoughtwouldbeexcellent
presentersfortheopeningandclosingsessionsofnextyearsconvention.Iacceptyourofferto
contactthem.Whenyoucontactthem,pleasesharewiththemthethemeofourconvention
anddeterminewhattheywouldproposeasanopeningorclosingsessionforourconvention.
Ofcourse,weneedtobeconcernedwiththebudget;pleasedeterminethefeetheywould
charge.
DoubleSpace
TheinformationwillbeneededbeforeJune15forourmeeting.Yourwillingnesstoserveon
thiscommitteeisgreatlyappreciated.Illlookforwardtoseeingyouinacoupleofweeks.
DoubleSpace
Sincerelyyours
ComplimentaryClosewithopenpunctuation
Tabsetat3.25(exactcenter)
ThreeBlankLines(QuadrupleSpace)
NameofLetterWriter
SusanneJ.Warrens
Tab3.25
ProgramChair
DoubleSpace
ReferenceInitials
SW:xx
DoubleSpace
EnclosureNotation
Enclosure
DoubleSpace
CopyNotation
cMarshaEdinburgh,President
DoubleSpace
Ablockformatletterisenclosedsothatyoucancomparethetwoformats.Asyoucansee,
eitherformatpresentsanattractiveappearance.
Postscript
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