Presentation of the Letter Proper

        A letter's appearance makes the first impact on readers and can

influence their state of mind when they absorb its contents. The letter writer,
therefore, should be cautious on how the letter is presented on paper.

Margins
     a. No letterhead: equal margin----top and bottom
     b. With letterhead: top margin should be wider than that of the bottom.
     c. The two side margins should be equal (1 inch-1 inches)
     d. Margin at the bottom should be 1 times bigger than those at the sides
     e. Margins at the top and bottom should not be less than 1 6 inches; 2
inches is better.
Spacing
      There should be double-space between paragraphs and between other
units. Body of short letters may be double-spaced, but others must be single-
spaced.
Punctuation
     a. Open
     b. Closed
Forms of Indention
     a  Indented form
     b. Fully block form: All parts of the letter flush with the left hand margin of
the page
     c. Block form: Heading complimentary close, and signature should be at
the right
     d. Semiblock form: Same as the block form, only that the paragraphs are
indented.
     e. Hanging or overhanging form: Same as the block form, only that the
lines following the first line of every paragraph are indented.
Essential Parts of the Letter
     a. Heading, which may be of two kinds:
         i. Modern: letterhead and date
         ii. Conventional address and date
    b. Inside address
   c. Salutation
   d. Body
   e. Complimentary close
   f. Signature
   g. Miscellaneous parts:
        i. Attention line
        ii. Subject line
        iii. Reference or file line
Mailing and Carbon Copy Notations
       Sending of letter other than the regular mail should be indicated below
the identification line or below the enclosure mark.
       When a writer wishes to say that a carbon copy of the letter is being
mailed to another person a notation copy or c.c. may precede the name of the
person to whom the letter is being mailed with the appropriate title and should
be written flush with the left-hand margin below all other notations.
Folding the Letter
      It depends upon the size of the stationery and the style of the envelope
used.
Addressing the Envelope
      The envelope should always have the sender's return address. The
outside should be the same as the inside address and should be double-
spaced. The expression Air Mail, Special Delivery, or Registered should be
written in capital letters above the address in the upper right.
       Other expressions are typed in the lower left-hand corner
       The following titles are used in business letters:
           a. Mr - is used in addressing a man who has no other title, or whose
special title is unknown to the writer
           b. Ms-is used in addressing four classes of women:
               i. unmarried women
               ii. women celebrities
               iii. women whose status are not known
               iv. female divorcee
         c. Mrs. - is the abbreviation of the word mistress. It is used in addressing
a married woman, a widow, or divorcee.
         d. Dr-is used in addressing one who holds a doctor's degree in any
branch of studies. 
         e. Professor-is used in addressing a member of a college or university
faculty, either male or female who holds the rank of professor, associate
professor and assistant professor 
         f. Honorable-is used in addressing high-ranking government officials and
prominent ex-government officials. The title is spelled in full preceded by the
article "the" followed by the  name, initials, and surname of the person. When
the abbreviation Hon. is used, the article "the" is omitted
        g. Reverend-is used in addressing a member of the clergy It is written in
full preceded by the article "the" followed by the name, initials, and surname
of the person. 
 
Salutations
       Sir and My dear Sir, Madam and My dear Madam are the most formal
and impersonal salutations. They should be used only in addressing high-
ranking government officials, officers of the army, and in letters that are highly
formal and impersonal.
     Dear Sir and Dear Madam are the least of formal and impersonal
salutations. They are used in business letters when the names of the persons
are not mentioned in the address or only the initials appear in the address.
      The salutations, My dear  Mr. Cruz, and My dear Cruz. are the least
formal and personal salutations
      Dear Mr. Cruz is less formal and personal and is used in writing to an
individual with whom the writer is not acquainted.
     Gentlemen is used to address a firm, a professional partnership of men or
of men and women, a committee or board comp0sed of men, or of men and
women, an organization of men, or a post office box, or letters used as names
of companies, or newspaper advertising boxes.
      Ladies is much more common than mesdames
     Ladies and Gentlemen is used in addressing committees of men and
women, although the salutation Gentlemen is correctly used in its stead.

Parts of a Business Letter

(Arranged according to standard form)

1. Letterhead or Return Address . If no printed letterhead is available, half inches from the top,
type your return address so that it ends at the right-hand margin. Start one and half inches from the
top.

2. Dateline. Place the dateline at the center two lines below the letterhead. If you type your
return address, type the date immediately below the last line of the address. The position of the
dateline depends on the style and the length of the letter

3. Inside Address. Put four to eight spaces below the dateline, place the name, title, and mailing
address of the person to whom you are writing The inside address may require three, four, or five
lines, each starting at the left margin. When addressing an individual in a company, write his/her
name followed by the company name.

4. Salutation. Write the salutation flush with the left margin two spaces below the inside address.
If an attention line is used, type the salutation two lines below the attention line.

5. Body. Begin the body two lines below the salutation. Either indent the first line of each
paragraph five spaces or start it at the left margin. There should be double-space between
paragraphs.

6. Complimentary Close. Put the complimentary close two lines below the end of the body,
starting five spaces to the right of the center. Capitalize the first word and put a comma after the last.
Note that the complimentary close varies with the tone of the letter, as well as the degree of its
formality

7. Signature. Type your name four spaces directly below the complimentary close.

8. Written Signature. Sign your name in the space between the complimentary close and the
typed signature.

In addition to these eight requisites, certain others are sometimes needed.

 1. ldentification Line. When typing someone else's letter, list that person's initials followed by your
own.
2. Enclosure. If you enclose anything with the letter, place an enclosure notation two spaces below
the identification line or typed signature.
3. Carbon Copy Notation. If anyone other than you and the addressee is to receive a copy of the
letter, include a carbon copy notation. Put it on the left margin two spaces below the previous
notation.
4. Second Page Heading. If a letter requires more than one page, use plain paper instead of
letterhead for the second and subsequent pages. Leave a one-
inch margin at the top. type a second page heading, skip three spaces, then continue the letter.

Types of Letter Style/Layout

The five principal letter styles are the full-block, block, semiblock, official, and simplified

A. Full-Block Style. A letter set in the full-block style is distinguished by the absence of any
indentations; all structural parts begin flush with the left margin, which gives a neat, uniform
appearance. This is comparatively trouble-free construction because it requires very few tabulations.

B. Block Style.The block style differs from the full-block style in that the date and reference lines are
flush with the right margin and the complimentary close begins slightly to the right of the center of
the page. The inside address and the paragraphs are blocked, flush with the left margin. Open
punctuation is commonly used.

C. Semiblock Style. The semiblock style is like the block style except that the first word of each
paragraph is indented five to ten spaces.
D. Official Style. The official style is used by many executives for personal letters written on
executive-size letterhead. The inside address, which is written in block form and often has open
punctuation, goes below the signature.
E. Simplified Style. The simplified style, like the full-block style, has all parts flush against the left
margin. However, the salutation and oomplimentary close are omitted. Open punctuation is common
in this modern format