11/1/2010 How To Write and Set Out A Business€ …

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Monste r.com .m y Busine ssTra iningC olle ge .com Guide to English comprehension and
grammar
Learn how to write a professional letter that conforms to Business letter structure / format
the traditional format of a standard business letter. Example of a business letter format
Business letter example
Example of a letterhead
This section is generic to all business letters and goes a lot further than Your Signature - what colour ink?
information on letter format, letter structure and an example on how Guide to the use of capital letters
to set out a letter. For instance, a guide to the use of capital letters is Format and presentation
provided, which is a major problem some people have when writing letters, Business Letter Writing- style and tone
and "reading principles", which is important to everyone, particularly Sending documents through the post
Job Application letters
for people to whom English is a second language . See "what is on
this page."

When you write a business letter, you create a lasting image of yourself
JOB SEARCH SUPPORT
and you business. The way you communicate on paper will alert your
Job Search Assistance / Resource
reader to your level of education, your personality and your level of •
Centre Index
professionalism. Your letter will most probably be a sales letter or it will
• Employment and Career Opportunities
contain a message you want to get across clearly. The basic principles
• How to Look For Work
for all types of letters will be the same.
• Recruitment Methods
Writing business letters is an integral part of your job search strategy. You • Develop an Action Plan
will write letters with different content in the course of your job search • How to Network
journey, such as:- • Tips on How To Cold Call
• Job Interview : Tips
An application letter directly to the employer for an advertised job.
Interview Process : Question and
To third parties regarding an advertised job. •
Answers
Enquiry letters to recruitment agencies. • Job Search Resources
Prospecting or cold calling / cold canvassing letters.
• Job Search Articles
Networking letters.
For any other employment situation that requires written LETTERS
communication: • Job Application Letters
Writing Job Application Letters Using
•
All letters will be set out in the same way, using traditional business Marketing Techniques
letter format. • How to Write a Business Letter
Write An Application Letter For an
•
Specific Job Application Letter Content go to:- Advertised Job
www.proactivehrm.com/JobSearch/Job_Applications.html (8 different applications) • Sample Job Applications
www.proactivehrm.com/JobSearch/Letter_content.html (important) CAREER SUPPORT

www.proactivehrm.com/JobSearch/Sample_Job_Applications.html (samples) • Writing Selection Criteria

www.proactivehrm.com/JobSearch/Marketing_Techniques.html (important) • Career Development Resources

• Career Development Articles
A good business letter is not just about the content of the letter.
• Article Archives
The way format of the letter is very important. Reading Principles is • Useful Career Sites
very important factor to consider in the way you set out a business • Newsletter Archives
letter.

Reading Principles

Reading principles is a sales strategy that identifies how the reader scans
a page. It is crucial to understand how to set out a letter using specific
margin settings and where to place the most important content on the
page for maximum visual impact. This format applies to any business
letter. Download Amazing Cover Letters Now
and start writing instant job application
cover letters. In just 3
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11/1/2010 How To Write and Set Out A Business€ …
Reading principles are very important in any letter or document where you cover letters. In just 3
want to ensure the main points of the message will be read. Note:- minutes you will have an amazing cover
letter guaranteed to cut through YOUR
English readers start reading in the top left hand corner and stiffest competition like a hot knife
through butter!
end in the bottom right in the shape of a fan panel. The This software allows you to customise your
exception is speed readers, who read down the middle. So keep letter to fit the employer's needs.
these principles in mind at all times.
See Newsletter Archives for additional
Where you begin the letter content is important. If you have to material
start writing your letter too far down the page you lose the advantage
of using reading principles. This is why it is advisable to make up a See examples of our employment letters.
letterhead (see later) for all your correspondence. They all use correct business letter
format
Justifying the letter is not recommended. Justifying a line means
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column Many people find it very difficult to skim a justified letter.

Do not start sentences right over to the right of the page and
leave gaping white spaces on the left. This is against reading
principles
When writers talk about leaving lots of white space they are
talking about margin size and leaving 2 spaces between
paragraphs.
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Margins should be no more than 3 - 3.5cm left and right. You StyleEase Software For Writing
can use 3cm if you have a lot of information. Also it just doesn't Academic Papers, Theses, And
make sense to provide a lot of white space on the left. Dissertations In Apa, Mla,
Chicago/Turabian, And Seminary Styles.
Guide to English comprehension and grammar StyleEase Automates Everything From
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Common Errors in English Makes It Easy To Focus On Content!
This is an excellent free resource and easy to use.

Punctuation is very important and the use of texting has created a

generation who does not know how to use commas, colons, inverted
commas, periods (full stops) and hyphens, for example. Some people say
it is not important, but most employer's will disagree, especial older
employers.
Australian Job Search Site
For this information you will have to look at some other Business Letter
writing resources.

Business letter structure / format

Letter should be planned and contain a beginning, middle and an

end

You need to be clear on:-

Who you are targeting.

The purpose of the letter.
What you want the reader to do.

(See letter-marketing techniques)

Business letter format and layout (An example letter is provided further
down).

1. Letterhead or set out with name, address and contact details.

2. Date
3. inside address
4. Attention line - who the letter is addressed to
5. Salutation ( Greeting)
6. Subject heading
7. Body of letter - max 5 paragraphs - Approx 25 words each sentence
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11/1/2010 How To Write and Set Out A Business€ …
8. Complimentary close
9. Signature
10. Reference
11. Abbreviation "enc"
12. Abbreviation "c" or "cc"

Letter Format : Further explanation on how to set out the letter

1. Create your own business letterhead as it will give you more room
for the content. If not, use the format in the example letter. However it may
interfere with reading principles as stated above if you name and address
and contact numbers take up too much room.

2. Date: Use English dates at all times spelling out the month. XX Day XX
month XX year.

3. Inside address: Full company address.

4. Attention Line - Who it is going to person or department.

5. Salutation is the greeting. Ensure you address your letter to the

appropriate person. You cannot write a good letter if you don't know
anything about the company or more specifically the person you are
writing to. What is there title and job within the organisation, for example. Is
he/she the decision maker?

Address the letter to a person by name not title. If the name of the
recipient of the letter is not known, you must ring the company and find out
who to address the letter to and ensure you have the correct spelling of the
name. Under no circumstances use Dear Sir/Madam. Jimmy Sweeney,
from Amazing cover letter software, provides advice on how to get
around this when you cannot get a name. --> See More

6. What is the letter about: Quote any invoice or other reference number
of state the subject of the letter. Be brief - few words. Should be centered
and bolded. Use of reference - "Re" i.e. "Re: Incorrect payment invoice
12345" is not necessary. Personal preference.

7. Body of the letter.

8. Complimentary close. Yours sincerely or Yours faithfully? Upper

or lower case?
Most people will use yours sincerely or your faithfully, however it is
becoming more popular to use a less formal close such as regards or kind
regards.

Golden Rule is:-

Yours faithfully is used when the person’s name is not known

Yours sincerely is used when the person’s name is known -

always. Both faithfully and sincerely in lower case

9. Your signature. If you want to be known as Mrs or Miss don't put Mrs
James, for example. Put in brackets at the end of the name i.e. Adriana
James (Mrs). This can be useful if your name can be both male and
female and also if you are a female, it clarifies to the reader how to
address you when they answer your letter. Non native English speakers
often call themselves by their title, Mr Jones, for example. It is too formal
and un-australian or un-American. Brits can do this occasionally but
please don't.

10. A reference: A company might want to put a reference number or

show that the letter was signed by another person for the manager for
example. Rarely used these days. Businesses usually put reference
numbers in the letterhead area.

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11. Abbreviation - Enclosing documents with a letter.
If you enclose any documents you must refer to them at the end of the
letter. For example, enc. resume, brochure, application form.

12. Abbreviation - If you are sending a duplicate letter to anther person

as well as the recipient you must advise both parties, For example, c.c.
Mr Alec Shields, Supervisor of Finance Division (or just the name) at the
bottom of the letter. (You see this in all email programmes).

Example of a professional business letter

There is no need to put full stops in the address in this format which was
developed for word processing when PC's first came out. An exception is
when a full stop can separate words that usually have a full stop, like your
postal box. Put full stops in the rest of the text. This example letter relates
to a job, but it will be the same for any type of business letter. Note" It is
best to use a letterhead.
Example of a Letterhead

James Bond
27 The Rise, Thornleigh Heights WA 6111. Ph: (08) 9423 1796
Email: jamesbond@inet.com

If you don't use a letterhead set out as below.

________________________________________

The Beginning
James Bond
27 The Rise
Thornleigh Heights WA 6111
Ph: (08) 9423 1796
(email address only if you are sure you want a response to be received by email)

2 line spacing
27 October 2008
2 line spacing

Mr A Whittaker
Whittaker and Sands Pty Ltd
87 Mosman Road
Perth WA 6000

2 line spacing
Dear Mr Whittaker (salutation)
2 line spacing before the subject /Job title. Centre the text. Use upper and lower case
and bolded.

Re: account 123456 (attention or subject)

The middle
(Add body of the letter - what is the letter about)

The end
Leave about 2 lines after the sign off above the line below.

Yours sincerely

4-5 line spacing This can be 4 lines if running out of space

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______________________
John Smith (Signature)
Type your name and underline. Not you full name and use the name you are
known by in brackets i.e. Margaret (Maggie) Fergusson

Note: If the letter is unbalanced , adjust it on the page - top and bottom margins
should be equal.

Additional explanation on setting out of a business letter.

Your signature - How do you sign your letter

Sign your name with a BLUE pen - never use your signature created by
the computer.

Signature and the colour of the ink you should use. In his "Instant
Cover letters" software, Jimmy Sweeny states that the colour of the ink
you choose to write your signature is important.
"It has been shown, believe it or not, that the color of your pen can improve the
response to your Cover Letter. If possible, you should always sign your letter by
hand using a blue or green felt-tip pen. We don't recommend using a black pen."
See how this software can make your letters sizzle!

Using PS. at the end of your letter is a powerful sales strategy

Many marketers say the PS at the end of a letter is very powerful and attention
grabbing when used in a sales letter. For example, you may say. PS. I omitted to
tell you that I am doing a 5 course in XYZ, at XYZ, next week which will provide me
with the skills to do XYZ.

Guide to the use of capital letters

• The first word of a sentence

• All proper names of people
• Names of governments and government departments
• Official titles
• Titles of Statutes i.e. laws, bills, acts of Parliament
and “The” before these titles
• Races and cultures
• Languages
• Geographical places
• Names of holidays and other public events
• Trading names
• Main words of the title of: -
Courses Films
Books Plays
Reports Poems
Chapters Works of art

Guide to business letter format and presentation

Make up a plain letter head.

Document should be typed and printed out on a quality printer.
Use only white paper and black ink.
Lots of white space - margins 3cm or 3.5 either side.
Single line spacing in sentences.
Leave two lines between paragraphs. However, this can take up a
lot of room. A solution is to manually adjust the line spacing by
placing the cursor between the line and put in size such as size 8 -
two spaces. Be consistent.
Font and font size - Use the same font as resume which should be
Times New Roman or Arial, size 11 or maybe 10 if you have a lot of
content. (Today we are more used to size 10 font - once considered
too small).
Do not justify the margins (see reading principles).
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Max 5 short paragraphs
Approx 25 words in each sentence.
Use simple words
Use point form where appropriate
Use punctuation to assist in understanding the content.

Business letter writing style and tone

The tone needs to be professional but not too formal, It should be

genuine, positive and enthusiastic.

Use your own language style (within application and these

guidelines)
Strike a balance between your own verbal communication style and
a professional approach.
Avoid using jargon, smart comments and clichés.
Eliminate negative words.
Use bullet points in the middle of the letter if appropriate for clarity.
Be concise and take out all fillers.
Make follow up action clear (for all letters not just job search).
Alert the reader to attachments. i.e. "enclosed, resume and
references". Put this in after your signature.
Check thoroughly for grammatical mistakes and typing errors. Have
it proofread by another person - even two people.
Leave for one day if possible before you send so that you can look
at it again with a fresh eye to proof read.

If writing a sales letter or self marketing letter such as an employment

letter, use good marketing techniques and do not boast or come on too
strong, arrogant or smart.

Didn't find what you wanted? Search Google for business letter
writing and examples of business letters with keyword phrases

business letters OR business letter writing

Search
Custom Search

Sending accompanying documents through the post

You should be aware that documents can go astray and may never
reach the recipient. (the person it was addressed to). They also get
chewed up by machinery in the postal exchange (In Perth). Yes, truly, this
is first hand knowledge.

It is wise to follow these rules if sending accompanying documents.

• Your name and page number must appear on all documents,

preferably in a footer, if using word.
• Ensure you have the name of the person it is going to on the letter.
i.e. Attention Julia Jones.
• Do not put your documentation in a folder.
• Do not use staples – use modern silver clips, not the old paper
clips. They are expensive but worth it. If it is a resume the employer
will want to scan it or make additional copies. They will not be
happy if they have to un-staple it. On the other hand, they do not
want to lose it.
• Another reason for not using staples, as mentioned, is that as your
may get eaten by postal sorting machines. Silver clips are not as
bulky but you have to take a chance.
• Don't fold your documents.
• Put “do not bend” on the envelope.
• You must use the envelope that has the postcode on the right
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11/1/2010 How To Write and Set Out A Business€ …
bottom corner. (Australia) If it doesn't it could be held up for days
because it will have to be manually sorted. Pay extra for these
envelopes.
• Ensure your envelope is directed to the appropriate person or
shows a reference number if requested.
• Make sure you have your return address on the envelope.

Hints for job search letters

• If making a quality contact through networking, you may use

parchment paper and/or a folder if you insist.
• A folder, and an additional master copy, may be appropriate for
executive jobs where the company is the main contact point, and if
applying for jobs where there is less competition. Also a folder is
appropriate if the jobseeker as been headhunted. But also enclose
an unbound copy.
• If cold calling, do not assume the address is the same as in the
phone book. A) The company may have a private box and letters
can get lost. B) Sometimes the company has moved premises,
although they use the same phone number. This happens quite a
lot. (See information on spam re cold calling).
• In job search make sure the job title is on the envelope. Re:
Accounts payable position - number 12345.

Note:
lf you are embedding your resume into a data base it may need to be
set out in plain text formatting and may need reconstruction. See
How to submit your resume online

Will Writing 03-7957 2829 Malaysia English Editing

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