Commercial Correspondence Unit 1

Letter Layout, Content and Style

Main parts:
1. Sender’s address
2. References
3. Date
4. Inside address
5. Attention line
6. Salutation
7. Subject title
8. Body of the letter
9. Complimentary close
10. Sender’s identification
11. Enclosures
12. Copies

1 Sender’s address
Usually: top right-hand corner
Begins at left margin (Full-Block format)
No punctuation
No company’s name when non-letterhead page is used.

In company’s letterhead:
Formatted in various ways
Compuvision Ltd Warwick House
Warwick Street
Forest Hill
London SE23 1JF

Telephone +44 (0) 20 8566 1861

Facsimile +44 (0) 20 8566 1385
Email staff@comvis.co.uk
www.comvis.co.uk
British Crystal Ltd
GLAZIER HOUSE – GREEN LANE – DERBY DE1 1RT
 TELEPHONE: +44 (0) 1332 45790 – FACSIMILE: +44 (0) 1332 51977
Email: jayn@crystal.com - www.britishcrystal.com
2. Reference number:
• Reference is written to remark the business correspondence
*REFERENCES:
-Your Ref/ Our Ref: + figures = No of letter/ department
+ letters = writer/ assistant’s name
E.g. Your ref: 123/ 7007
Our ref: ABC/ NHG
3. Date:
• The date is place between the letterhead and the inside address.
DATE: Day - Month - Year

• eg. 8 August 2011

4 Inside address
§ One to ten blank lines below the date and always begins at the left margin;
§ Each piece of info is on a separate line;
§ No punctuation.
ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD
29-31 Broad Street
Birmingham B1 2HE
Tel. 0121-542 6614

DS/MR
12 November 20__

Mr Gordon Wood
G Wood & Sons
36 Castle Street
Bristol BS1 2BQ
Surname known
§ Write it as first line of the inside address
§ Include:
 • Courtesy title: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Dr, Prof.
• The person’s full name (or with initials for given names):
Mr John Smith or Mr J.E. Smith
NOT: Mr Smith (without initials or first name)
Name not known
§ If you only know the person’s job title, you can use that in the inside address, e.g.
The Sales Manager, or The Finance Director
§ Alternatively, you can address to a particular department: The Accounts Department
§ Or you can address to the company itself:
Compuvision Ltd, or Messrs Collier
5 Attention line
§ Alternative to the recipient’s name or job title in the inside address.
§ Should be underlined or printed in bold or CAPITALS, e.g.
For the attention of the Sales Manager
ATTENTION: MS TERRY ROBERTS
§ A blank line below the inside address.
§ From left margin or in the middle of the page.
6 Salutation
Addressing people you do not know their names:
Dear Sir
Dear Madam
Dear Sir or Madam (or Dear Sir / Madam)
Dear Sirs
(to address a company, not a specific person)
Addressing people you know their names:
§ but do not know them well: use title & surname, do not include initials or first names:
Dear Mr Smith / Dear Miss Lee
NOT Dear Mr J. Smith or Dear Mr John Smith
 § and you know them well: use just first name (without title): Dear John / Dear Mary
Note: A comma after the salutation is optional. In American English, a colon is used
instead.
7 Subject title
§ Directly after the salutation and separate from it by a blank line.
§ Can be from the left margin or in the middle
§ Can begin with or without “Re:” or “Subject:”
§ Should be underlined or printed in bold or CAPITALS
International Conference – 24 August 20…
or Re: ORDER NO. 8901/6
8 Body of the Letter
§ The actual message of your letter
§ Leave a line space between paragraphs
9 Complimentary close
Two most common closes:
§ Yours faithfully
§ Yours sincerely
Note: A comma after the complimentary close is optional, but consistent with the salutation.
when letter begins:
Dear Sir
Dear Sirs
Dear Madam
Dear Sir or Madam
Dear Mr Smith
Dear Mrs Bolan
Dear Caroline
Dear Sam
10 Sender’s identification
§ Type name and job title below handwritten signature.
 § Can give either your initials or full name
DAVID JENKINS D. Jenkins
Chairman General Manager
§ Add a title for a female in brackets before or after the name
Lesley Bolan (Mrs) (Ms) B. Kaasen
Sales Manager Director
§ Write your job title or department directly beneath your name
§ When signing a letter on behalf of the sender, write “pp” or “p.p.” or “for” in front of the
sender’s printed name, e.g.
Yours faithfully
Shirley Johnson
pp Edward Nathan
Chairman
11 Enclosures
§ A line space below the sender’s identification
§ Consisting of the word: “Enc.” or “Encl.” followed by a list of the enclosed items, e.g.
Enc. Bill of Lading (3 copies)
Insurance certificate (1 copy)
12 Copies
§ At least a blank line below the sender’s identification or the Enclosures
§ Consisting of the word: “C.C.” or “Copy” followed by the name/s and designation/s of
the copy recipient/s, e.g.
C.C. Ravi Gopal, General Manager
Candice Reeves, Accountant
Continuation pages
Include at top of page:
§ Page number
§ Date
§ Name of addressee
Leave 3 or 4 blank lines before continuing
Take at least 3 or 4 lines of typing over to a continuation page.
EXAMPLE
Page no. 2

12 November 20__

Mr Gordon Wood
Letter Layout
Format styles
§ Full-block(ed)
§ Block(ed)
§ Semi-block(ed)
Full-block format:
ü all letter parts begin at the left margin;
ü paragraphs are not indented;
ü paragraphs are separated by double spacing.
Block format:
ü The sender's address, date, references, and closing part are to the right of the
center, or may end at the right margin.
ü Attn and subject lines may be centered, or begins at the left margin, or indented 10
spaces from the left margin.
Semi-block format: the same to the Block format with one change:
ü Paragraphs are indented.
Structuring the body
4-Point Plan
1. Opening or Introduction
2. Central section (details)
3. Conclusion (Action or Response)
 4. Close
Structuring the body
1. Opening or Introduction (state the reason)
• acknowledge previous correspondence
• refer to a meeting or contact
• provide an introduction to the matter being discussed.
E.g. Thank you for your letter of …
Further to our telephone conversation today,…
I am interested in holiday No. J/M/3, the South Vietnam tour.
2. Central section (details)
• Give information to the recipient
• Request information
3. Conclusion (Action or Response)
• State the action expected from the recipient
• State the action you will take as a result of the details provided
E.g. Please let me have full details of the costs involved.
If payment is not received within seven days, this matter will be placed in the hands of
our solicitor.
4. Close
Usually, a simple one-line closing sentence
E.g. I look forward to meeting you soon.
A prompt reply would be appreciated.
Please let me know if you need any further information.
Incomplete sentences like these should not be used:
Hope to hear from you soon.
Looking forward to hearing from you.