LETTERS

FULLY BLOCKED
&
OPEN PUNCTUATION
FORMAT

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications
 LETTERS
 are external correspondence

 reflects your communicative abilities

& your company’s image
 elicit the expected response through
clear, direct, courteous and suitable
writing.
 are written for different purposes

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 Styles of a Professional Letter

Fully Blocked Style

 Style that is most widely used (professional
appearance & layout reduces typing time – no
indentations)

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 Punctuation Style
 Open Punctuation is commonly used.

 Punctuation marks are used only within

the message itself.

 Open punctuation requires no

punctuation after date, inside address,
salutation, complimentary close etc.
MPU32193 English for Professional Communications
 Types of Letter Format
(the letter format requirement for the
Final Assessment is the Fully Blocked,
Open Punctuation Format)

Left-Indented;
No punctuation marks in the
addresses, date, salutation,
MPU32193 English for Professional Communications and complimentary close.
FULLY-BLOCKED,
OPEN
PUNCTUATION
LETTER FORMAT
IS TO BE
FOLLOWED FOR
THE
FINAL
ASSESSMENT.

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 Write the name of your company if you are writing on
behalf of your company followed by the company’s
address.

If you are writing a personal letter, do not write your

Perak Darul Ridzuan
name – as example as shown, just write the address.

*Follow this fully blocked, open

punctuation letter format for the
Final Assessment.

Body Paragraphs

•Write “Yours sincerely” if you have addressed the recipient, e.g. “Dear Mr Tan”

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 Parts/Components of a Letter
 The 4 parts of a business letter in order
are:
 Heading – address, and date
 Opening – inside address, salutation
 Body – subject line, message
 Closing – complimentary close,
signature block, enclosure notation, copy
notation
MPU32193 English for Professional Communications
 The Heading
 The sender’s address will usually be
placed on the top left corner of the
page.

 The name of the sender is not included

in a formal/professional letter heading.

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 Sender ‘s Address

• The sender's address is usually included

in the letterhead.

• If a letterhead is not used, the sender's

address is stated on top and aligned to the
left, one line above the date.

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 Date

• Positioned after the sender’s address.

• Aligned left.
• date – month – year (13 April 2020)
• No comma or full-stop.

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 The Opening
Inside address includes the addressee’s (recipient’s) -
name including courtesy title ( Mr, Mrs, Ms )
Job title
Name of organization
Full postal address
e. g.
Ms Sally Jones
Sales Manager
Siemens Corporation
12 Jalan Maju
Subang Business Center 45000
Subang Jaya
Selangor

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 Receiver’s address
• Includes name (if it is known), designation,
company, and full address.
• If the receiver’s name is unknown, the address
begins with the designation or company name.
• Remember: open punctuation  no
punctuation marks used in the addresses,
date, salutation and complimentary close.

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 Salutation
• Positioned after the receiver’s address.
• The salutation in a formal letter begins with
‘Dear’.
•Here are some ways to open a letter.
 Dear Sir or Madam – if you do not know the
receiver’s name
 Dear Mr Chong – to a man.
 Dear Ms Lee – to a married or unmarried
woman.
MPU32193 English for Professional Communications
 Mr, Ms, Miss or Mrs - distinguish gender
 Ms is always correct for women unless they prefer
to be called as Miss or Mrs (marital status)

NOTE:
 Do not use “To whom it may concern” - trite &
imprecise.
 Do not write ‘Dear Sir or Madam’ if you know who
the receiver of the letter is.

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 Subject
• The subject or heading should be short and
precise.

• It should never be a lengthy sentence.

• The subject should have relevance to the content

of the letter.

• All capital letters.

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications
 Body of the letter

Message – should contain at least 3

paragraphs:
1. Introductory paragraph (for greeting
and purpose).
2. Discussion paragraph (for details).

3. Concluding paragraph (for farewell).

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

Body of the letter (cont.)

 Single-space each paragraph.

 Double-space between paragraphs.
 Block all paragraphs in a blocked
style (begin at the left margin).

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

 Complimentary Close

 2 spaces after the last paragraph.

 Should match the form of address used
in the salutation/greeting.
 ‘Yours faithfully’ used to match ‘Dear
Sir’, ‘Dear Madam’, ‘Dear Sir/Madam’
 ‘Yours sincerely’ used to match ‘Dear Mr
Lee’, ‘Dear Mrs Yap’, ‘Dear Ms Clarkson’

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

Example of the Letter Format:
Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman (UTAR)
13 Jalan Sungai Long
Bandar Sungai Long
43000 Kajang
Selangor

23 July 2019
 
Mr Teng Yi Hui
Nutritionist
Hospital Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia
114 Jalan Universiti
35000 Cheras
Kuala Lumpur
 
Dear Mr Teng
 
INVITATION TO SPEAK AT THE UTAR 2019 HEALTH CAMPAIGN
MPU32193 English for Professional Communications
(Continued)

Thank you.

‘Yours faithfully’ – for receiver whose name is not known.

or ‘Yours sincerely’ – for receiver whose name is known.

Signature
Full Name
Position in Company

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications

THE END

MPU32193 English for Professional Communications