Business Letters

An effective business letter elicits the expected response from the readers. This can be
achieved through a concise, tactful, and accurate writing style. A business letter serves several
purposes; for sales efforts, for complaints, for information dissemination, for relationship
building, for problems-solving, and many others.

Parts of a Business Letter

1. Letterhead
-Identifies the writer, her/his
address, and contact
numbers.

2. Date
-is placed between the
letterhead and the inside
address.

3. Inside address
-Identifies the reader’s name,
position and company, and
address; it is placed
immediately below the date.

4. Attention Line
-is used when the writer wishes to address the whole company but wants to bring it to the
attention of a particular person in the company
Two formats:
Attention Dr. Gilda Cores
Attention: Dr. Gilda Cores
5. Salutation
-refers to the writers greeting to the reader.
Three formats:
Dear Sir:
Sir:
Dear Mr. Garcia:
6. Body
-contains the message of the letter. Paragraph are single-spaced internally but double-
spaced to separate paragraphs. If the letter is too short, the body can be double-spaced and
triple-spaced from separate paragraphs.

7. Complimentary Close
-refers to the expression used to end a letter.

Below is the level of formality of the complimentary close.

Highly Formal Respectfully yours, Respectfully, Very respectfully

Polite and Formal Very truly yours, Yours very truly, Yours truly
Less Formal Sincerely yours, Yours, Cordially yours
Informal and Friendly As ever, Best regards, Kindest regards, Regards

8. Signature Block

-Includes the signature and the and the typed name of the sender. The type named can be all
caps (HARRY DAMUS) or CLC format (Harry Damus).

9. Identification Initials

-Indicates the typist’s initial if the sender is not the one who personally typed the document.

10. Enclosure notation

-are the attachments to the letter.

Three Formats:

Enclosures (2)

Enclosure

enc. / encl.

11. Copy notation

-Indicates the name of the secondary recipients of the letter. It is indicated by cc: which means
carbon copy or courtesy copies.
 Three Formats of a Business Letter

Full Block Modified Block Semiblock

Most commonly-used formats Another widely-used format Least-used style

Guidelines in Writing a Letter

1. As with the other texts, use correct format, punctuation, spelling, and grammar.
2. Present your ideas clearly by using language appropriate for the target readers.
3. Arrange your ideas logically.
4. Use an active voice as much as possible. Apply a direct but tactful tone.
5. Focus on the readers by using the “you” approach; this means writing in such a way that you are talking
directly to the reader.
6. Specify the name of the receiver of the letter. However, if it is impossible to get the name of the receiver,
use a generic title (e.g., Dear Sales Director).
7. Leave three to five blank lines for a signature before typing your name.
8. Never use plain numerals for dates as it may create confusion. Instead of using 01/02/16, use January 2,
2016 or 2 January 2016.