CHAPTER 5

Civilian Letter
 WHAT IS CIVILIAN LETTER?

CIVILIAN: Refers to a person who is not a member of the armed force.

 PARTS OF ACIVILIAN LETTER

HEADING: A type or a printed letterhead may be used. It includes the writer’s

office and office address. Abbreviations shall not be made for the city, municipality
and province.
 File Reference
The use of identifying file reference is optional on the instructions issued by
the chief or head of office. If ever used, it is placed at the left margin two
spaces below the letterhead, and in line with, and below, the current date.
 Inside Address
-The addressee’s name should be written fully. It should always be
preceded by a courtesy title, except in cases of M.D., Ph.D., and a few
others.
 Attention Line
-To speed up handling of the letter, the attention line is used when
the letter is addressed to a company or to a particular department of a
company or to an individual aside from the addressee.
 Salutation
-The salutation greets the reader and the greeting may be formal or
informal, cordial or personal.
 Subject Line
-The subject line is the gist of the message. It helps a very busy
person find out in a split second what the letter is all about.
 Body
-The body is the message itself. In it, one of the problems that
may confront a correspondent is paragraphing. This, however, does not pertain
to the appearance of the message; but rather, to its contents. A correspondent
gets focused on how to end and how to begin another paragraph.

EXAMPLE:
 Complimentary Clause
-A complimentary clause is usually followed by a comma, and comes
immediately after the last line of the message. The first word starts
with a capital letter.
 Company Signature
-In civilian letter, a company signature may be shown immediately above the
writer’s signature, based on the theory that the company, not the writer, is the
legal entity. In other words, the company assumes a greater responsibility than
the individual; otherwise, the company signature is omitted, especially if
including it is not a standard policy of the firm.
 Reference Initials
-Initials of the writer and his typist or secretary appear at the left of the stationary,
about two spaces below the writer’s identification. These initials are aligned with
the left margin of the letter.
 Enclosure Notation
-This notation refers to anything sent with the basic
communication.
 Postscript (P.S.)
-If a writer has forgotten something in the message, he adds a P.S.
it is intended to attract attention. The postscript may be flushed with
the letter margins or may be intended fives spaces from both margins.
 Copy Furnished
-When one or two copies are furnished, a carbon copy (cc) notation
is indicated on the original and all copies of the letter.
 QUALIFICATION SUMMARY
-The qualification summary, sometimes called a resume’, a personal record, or
even a data sheet, states in brief the qualifications of the applicant. This usually
contains the position applied for, experience, educational attainment and
references. These four items when systematically arranged should attract the
reader’s attention.
GENERAL RULES ON SPACING
1. On standard 8.5 by 11-inch stationary, the date is usually typed on
line 15 with the inside address typed five lines below.

2. One blank line is left before the salutation, each paragraph, the
complimentary close, the company signature, if used.

3. If an attention line or a subject line is included, one blank line

precedes and follows these parts.
 GENERAL RULES ON MARGINAL
SPACES
1. The left margin of a letter should be straight whether it is pen- written or
typewritten.

2. Because it is impossible to achieve a straight line for the right margin, the
writer must exercise care and good judgment in driving words at the ends of the
lines to prevent the page from having a
ragged appearance.

3. When the letter is very short, the margin should increase, and thletter placed
far enough from the top of the page to allow it to occupy the middle of the page.
 CONTINUATION PAGE
A very modern treatment of a continuation page notation in civilian letters is best
illustrated in “English for Business.” This book shows the addressee’s name, with
initiated first name, (but definitely not the surname), page number, and date, that
appear on the first page – all types toward the top margin. These items may be typed
vertically or horizontally.
 FOLDING CORRESPONDENCE
For an 8.5 by 11-inch stationery to be folded in a short envelope,chere are some
accepted procedures:
1. Place the sheet flat on the desk, with its face up and its bottom toward the
writer.

2. Fold the bottom toward top, bringing the lower edge to within one-half inch
of the top.

3. Fold the bottom right to left a little more than one-third of the within of the
sheet.

4. Finally, fold the remaining from left to right.

 ARRANGEMENT AND STYLE
The study committee on police correspondence and issuance, under
the Directorate for Plans and Programs, National headquarters,

Philippine National Police, has chosen the Blocked Letter and Semi-
Blocked Letter styles. These two styles are very similar in appearance,

except in the paragraphing portion. Typist use the blocked letter if the
text is composed of more than nine lines, and the semi-blocked letter,
if less than nine lines.
 THE ENVELOPE

1. The mailing address is begun half way down and half way across.
2. Two-line addresses must be avoided by typing the province and ZIP code
number, if any, on a separate line from the city or municipality, or a street from a
municipality or city.
3. A three-line addresses is double-spaced; if more than three lines,
single-spaced.