Writing an Effective

Business Letter
Elsie Joy D. Licarte, LPT
• In the professional world, you will often need to write a
business letter or send a professional email. From
applying to a new job, writing a thank you note, sending
a note of apology, or sending a farewell email when you
depart, there are many circumstances that will require an
appropriately formatted letter. (Doyle, 2020)
 BUSINESS LETTER

• A business letter includes contact information,

a salutation, the body of the letter,
a complimentary close, and a signature.
• An effective business letter elicits the expected
response from the reader. This can be achieved through
concise, tactful, and accurate writing style. A business
letter serves several purposes: for sales efforts, for
complaints, for information dissemination, for
relationship building, and for problem solving.
Parts of a Business Letter
(Barrot & Sipacio, 2018)
 Letterhead
• It identifies the writer, his/her address and
contact numbers.

SAMAL ISLAND CITY COLLEGE

Datu Taganiog St., Brgy. Peṅaplata, IGaCoS
(Tel No. 222-888) www.sicc.itracsamal.com
 Date
• It is placed between the letterhead and the inside
address. It should never use plain numerals for
dates as it may create confusion. Instead of using
12/12/19, December 12, 2019 or
12 December 2019 can be used.
 Inside Address
• It identifies the receiver’s name, position,
company and address. It should be placed
immediately below the date.
 Attention Line
• It 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. It can be written in
two formats:
Attention Elsie Joy Licarte
Attention: Elsie Joy Licarte
 Salutation
• It refers to the writer’s greeting to the reader. It can appear in
different formats:
Dear Sir:
Sir:
Dear Mr. John:
Madam:
 BODY
• It contains the message of the letter. Paragraphs
are single-spaced internally but double-spaced to
separate paragraphs. If the letter is too short, the
body can be double-spaced or tripled-spaced to
separate the paragraphs.
 Complimentary Close
• It is an expression used to end a letter. Below are
the levels of formality in the complimentary close
(Merriam Webster’s Guide to Business
Correspondence, 1996):
 Highly Formal
Respectfully yours,
Respectfully,
Very respectfully
 Polite and Formal
Very truly yours,
Yours truly,
 Less Formal
Sincerely yours,
Yours,
Cordially yours,
 Informal and Friendly
As ever,
Best regards,
Kindest regards,
Regards,
 Signature Block
• Includes the signature and the typed name of the
sender. The typed name can be in all caps (ELSIE JOY
D. LICARTE) or CLC format (Elsie Joy D. Licarte).
Note: The space for the signature should be three to five
lines.
 Identification Initials
• It indicates the typist’s initials if the sender is not
the one who personally typed the document.
 Enclosure Notation
• It indicates the attachments to the letter. It can be written in the following formats:
Enclosures
Enclosures (2)
Enc./encl.
If you've included more than one document, use the plural "Enclosures" and indicate the
number of enclosures afterward. The number should either follow a colon or be enclosed in
parentheses. For example, if you had three enclosures, you could type either "Enclosures: 3"
or "Enclosures (3)."
Note: If you do not have something to attach, skip this.
 Copy Notation
• It indicates the name of the secondary recipients
of the letter. It is indicated by cc: which means
carbon copy or courtesy copies.
• Remember that the business letter reveals your
profession, your competencies, your personality,
your knowledge, your skills, and of course your
company (if you opt to build your own). You need
to clearly understand that business letter is not just
another mail, but a distinct representation of you.
THREE FORMATS OF A BUSINESS
LETTER
 Full Block Format
 Modified Block Format
 Semi-block Format
 Tips for Writing a Letter
1. Use a language that is appropriate to the target
readers.
2. Arrange your ideas logically.
3. Use a direct but tactful tone.
4. Use the active voice in the most of your sentences.
5. When writing, put yourselves in the shoes of the target
readers.
6. Use correct format, punctuation, spelling and grammar.
7. Specify the receiver’s name. However, if it is impossible
to get the name of the receiver, use a generic title such as
The Human Resource Director.
 -END-
Thank you for listening!!! 