BRIDGEPORT HIGH SCHOOL
ELECTRONIC DOCUMENT PREPARATION AND MANAGEMENT
BUSINESS LETTERS
Business letter-is a written internal or external formal channel of communication between
organizations, between individuals or between organizations and individuals.
It is also a formal document often sent from one company to another or from a company to its
clients, employees and stakeholders.
TYPES OF LETTERS
Formal-letter typed to other businesses or specific individuals in the formal environment
Informal-letters typed or being sent to friends etc
Letters may be:
Long, short
Have Continuation pages (multiple pages)
Have insets (bullets/numbering)
NOTE:
A Short letter is typed on A5 paper. This is ½ of a A4 or letter size paper
All other letters are typed on A4 or letter size paper
STRUCTURE/ELEMENTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER
A business letter consists of the following parts in the order in which they appear:
1. Letterhead-This contains the sender’s name and address. It is typed in the HEADER of the
document.
2. Reference-this is made up of characters to identify, locate and file the correspondence. Our
reference (Our Ref) consists of the writer’s initial and those of the typist. For eg. DBW/JD.
The reference may sometimes include details of a file number, or customer’s account number
for eg.DBW/38475/Acc/JD. The reference shown on any incoming letter of reply against the
words ‘Your Ref’.
3. Date-the date must always be typed on a letter, even if you are not given instructions to
include it. The current date is always used.
4. Special Instructions (Mailing or Addressee notation)-any special instructions such as
PERSONAL, PRIVATE, CONFIDENTIAL etc, should be typed above the name and address
of the recipient.
5. Inside name and address (recipient’s name and address)-The name and address of the
individual organization to whom the letter is being sent should always be included.
6. Attention Line-some business organizations like all correspondence to be addressed to the
company rather than to individuals. In such cases it is usual to include an ‘attention line’ to
ensure that the letter is directed to the appropriate department, for eg
FOR THE ATTENTION OF MRS. S. REID, PURCHASES DEPARTMENT
Or
Attention of Mrs. Janet Green
7. Salutation/Greeting-the opening words of greeting in a letter. It comprises of the recipient’s
title and last name. The recipient’s first name is never used. Eg. Of a recipient’s title includes
Miss, Mrs, Mr.
8. Subject Heading-this is sometimes used to help the reader identify the content of the letter,
and to help in filing or in finding a particular letter in a correspondence file.
9. Body-this consists of the message to be conveyed. It is typed in paragraphs, which includes
the opening introduction, main message and the closing.
10. Complimentary Close-the most commonly used form are:
Yours faithfully-used with the formal salutation Dear Sir/Madam
Yours sincerely-used when the name of the recipient is typed in the letter
Yours truly-this may end a circular letter
Sincerely yours
Complimentary Closings for very formal letters (those addressed to dignitaries and high
officials) include Yours sincerely, Respectfully yours, Respectfully.
11. Name of organization-this is written immediately below the complimentary close (this is
optional).
12. Signature Block/Signature of the writer-This is where the letter is signed by the person who
is sending the letter.
13. Name of the writer-this is written because it is sometimes difficult to decipher the signature
of the writer.
14. Designation-should be typed immediately below the name of the writer. This states the
position of the person who typed the letter. For eg. Manager or supervisor
15. Enclosure notation/attachment-attention is drawn to any material to be enclosed with the
letter by typing an ‘enclosure notation’. The abbreviation ‘enc’, ‘encl’, ‘att’ is used.
LAYOUT OF A BUSINESS LETTER
1. Blocked Style-this is most modern, simple and effective layout. All lines of typing are the
left margin. No indentation is used. This style of typing also used open punctuation.
"Open Punctuation" refers to a style where punctuation marks like full stops, commas, and
colons are omitted after abbreviations, meaning you would write "Mr" instead of "Mr.".
Punctuations are used only in the body of the letter.
Semi-blocked style letter- partly blocked with some elements aligned to the right or centered
Elements that are centered are the:
Letterhead
Complimentary Close
Signature Block
Designation
The body is typed in blocked style.
NOTE: The date is right-aligned and is typed in line with the reference if given.
Indented Style- The first line of each paragraph is indented. Some parts of the letter is centered
or right aligned. The letter head is centered. Other parts of the letter right-aligned are”
The date
Complimentary Close
Signature Block
Designation
This type of letter also uses closed punctuation.
MARGINS USED IN A LETTER:
Paper Top Left Right Bottom
A4/Letter size 1’’ or 2’’ 1’’ or 1.5” 1” 1”
A5 0.5” or 1” 1” or 0.75” 1” or 0.5” 1”
