STYLE OF BUSINESS LETTER

STYLE OF BUSINESS LETTER

A business letter is usually a letter from one company to another, or between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external partyes. The overall style of letter depends on the relationship between the parties concerned. Business letters can have many type of contents, for example to request direct information or action from another party, to order supplies from a supplier, to point out a mistake by the letter's recipient, to reply directly to a request, to apologize for a wrong, or to convey goodwill. A business letter is sometimes useful because it produces a permanent written record, and may be taken more seriously by the recipient than other forms of communication.

Elements of business letter :

       1)      Letterhead (can be substituted with a return address in an individual to business letter)

       2)      Date

       3)      Inside Address

       4)      Salutation

       5)      The Body of the Letter

       6)      Complimentary Close

       7)      Signature Block

There are 6 types / style of business letter, such as:

      1.    FULL BLOCK STYLE

Is a letter format in which all text is justified to the left margin. In block letter style, standard punctuation is placed after salutations in other headings.

Example :

Your Name
Address
Phone Number
E-mail (optional)

Date

Name of Receiver
Title
Company Name
Address

Dear __________:

When writing a letter using block form, no lines are indented. Include your name, address, and phone number where you can be contacted, as well as the date. You then include the name and address of the person you are sending the letter to.

With new paragraphs, just skip a line instead of indenting.

Add your phone number where you can be contacted in the last paragraph. If the receiver needs to use a relay service to call you, briefly explain that you are deaf/ hard-of-hearing and that s/he can call you through relay. Give the receiver his/her state relay number and explain that s/he will need to give the operator your number. Then give him/her your number.

Sincerely,

Your Signature

Your Name
Your Title

      2.    MODIFIED BLOCK STYLE

Modified block business letters use a slightly different format from the full block business letters. In the modified block style the return address, date, complimentary closing and the signature line are slightly to the right of the center of the paper. 

                  3.    SEMI BLOCK STYLE

A semi-block style letter is a less formal version of a block or a full-block letter with the differences being the sender’s address, date, reference or attention line and complimentary closing. In addition, the signature lines are located direct center or slightly right of center, along with indented paragraphs. The semi-block style is also called modified semi-block because it is a modified version of the block or full block style.

Business letters generally contain the same elements, and these elements are expected in business correspondence. The semi-block style of business letter, with indented paragraphs and off center elements, appears less formal than the block and full block styles, where all elements of the letter are left margin aligned, and there are no indentations. The block and full block styles display a uniformity with the margin alignment, which gives a business letter a more formal appearance. Depending on the purpose and content of the letter, a semi-block format may be more desirable for less formal business correspondence, such as thank you messages or announcements of events. Letters to, and dealing with, smaller businesses with less corporate oversight and formality should use the semi-block style to create a more personalized correspondence than a standard corporate business letter.

      4.    INDENTED STYLE

Indented style is somewhat more complicated than other popular styles of business writing. In indented style, new paragraphs in a piece of writing are indented—that is, they begin about 1.5 centimeters to the right of the left margin. Other parts of a business letter are moved farther to the right half of the page. Indented style is one of the older formats for business writing currently in use, though other formats are becoming more popular. Indented style is a format that many of today’s business people were trained to use.

      5.    SIMPLIFIED FORMAT STYLE

      The simplified style business letter is a variation of the full-block and semi-block letter formats. Business professionals take you more seriously when you format your written communications using one of these formats. A personal letter format is acceptable for writing to a friend, but using this format when you are sending a communication to another business owner can make you look unprofessional.

      6.    HANGING INDENTED STYLE

This very useful style places the first words of each paragraph prominently on the page. It is useful for letters that deal with a variety of different topics. However, for normal business communications, this style is very rarely used.
The first line of the paragraph begins at the left-hand margin. And the other lines of the same paragraph are indented three to four spaces. This is the reversal of semi-indented style discussed in other page.

SOURCES
https://www.slideshare.net/seemababbas/business-letters-and-different-styles
http://mra-heavenzu.blogspot.com/2015/11/business-letter-writing-style.html
https://www.icosmos.com.tw/templates/images/files/9789861845586.pdf