Business letter

A business letter is a letter written in formal language, usually used when writing from one business organization to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. The overall style of letter will depend on the relationship between the parties concerned.

Parts of a business letter

Business letters (in the United States) usually contain the following information (in this order):

• Return Addressss
• Date of writing
• Recipient's address
• Salutation or Greeting
• Message (body of the letter)
• Closing
• Signature, printed name, and position of sender

In some situations, a business letter may also include the following optional information:

• Enclosures (Encl:)
• Carbon Copy Recipients (cc:)
• Reference Initials (of the typist)

Example of a block-style letter

Name of Sender
Address

May 28, 2008

Name of Receiver
Address
Marawi City, Lanao del Sur

Dear Mr. Hayat Shah:

This letter is typed in blocked style. Note that all lines begin at the left margin except the date, complimentary close, and signature block. They start from the center, or slightly to the right off center on the page. Some authors refer to this form as the “modified block with block paragraphs.”

This style is usually typed with mixed or standard punctuation. The salutation is followed by a colon, and the complimentary close, by a comma. This form of punctuation is widely used in most business correspondence.

To facilitate typing the date and the closing lines, set the tabular stop at the center or slightly off to the right of the paper so that you can tabulate it whenever you wish.

Remember to always leave a space between the salutation and the name, so the person who is sending this has plenty of room to sign the letter.

Sincerely,



yyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
Chrystyn L. Mocorro, Consultant

rmb

cc: Dr. Jane Smith, Provost


BLOCKED STYLE WITH STANDARD PUNCTUATION EXERCISE No. 1 Roma Bonado

business

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External links

• Library of sample business letters and writing guide lines
• Free sample business letters in different category
• Formal business letter from Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer to Yahoo! CEO Jerry Yang