What is Business Letter?
A letter written for business purpose is a business
letter. Inquiry letter, offer letter, order letter, cover letter, notices, termination of employment are
some of the business letters. Suppose a person wants to write any of these
business letters.
Parts of Business Letter
1.
The
Heading or Letterhead
Every business letter should start with the address of the
letter writer's business, along with an email and telephone number.
ü This should be aligned to the right-hand margin of your
letter.
ü Leave one line empty, then write out the date, including the
full spelling of the month.
ü On the next line, write out your greeting, which should be
aligned to the left-hand margin of your letter.
ü If you know the person you are sending your letter to, you
should write "Dear (Name of Person)." If you are not sure whom to
address the letter to, use a generic greeting such as "To Whom It May
Concern."
2.
Date
Date of writing
ü We write the date on the right-hand side
corner of the letter below the heading.
ü The month should be fully spelled out and the year written
with all four digits October 12, 2005.
ü The date is aligned with the return address.
ü The number of the date is pronounced as an ordinal figure,
though the endings st, nd, rd, th, are often omitted in writing.
ü The article before the number of the day is pronounced but
not written. In the body of the letter, however, the article is written when
the name of the month is not mentioned with the day.
3.
Reference
It shows the department of the
organization sending the letter. The letter-number can also be used as a
reference
4.
The Inside Address
In a business or formal letter you should give the address of
the recipient after your own address.
ü Include the recipient's name, company, address and postal
code.
ü Add job title if appropriate. Separate the recipient's name
and title with a comma. Double check that you have the correct spelling of the
recipient 's name.
ü The Inside Address is always on the left margin.
ü If an 8 1/2" x 11" paper is folded in thirds to fit
in a standard 9" business envelope, the inside address can appear through
the window in the envelope.
5.
Subject
It is a brief statement mentioning the
reason for writing the letter. It should be clear, eye catchy, short, simple,
and easily understandable.
6.
The Greeting
Also called the salutation. The type of salutation depends on
your relationship with the recipient. It normally begins with the word
"Dear" and always includes the person's last name. Use every resource possible to
address your letter to an actual person. If you do not know the name or the sex of of your reciever
address it to Dear Madam/Sir (or Dear Sales Manager or Dear Human Resources
Director). As a general rule the greeting
in a business letter ends in a colon (US style). It is also acceptable to use a
comma (UK style).
7.
The
Subject Line (Optional)
Its inclusion can help the recipient in dealing successfully
with the aims of your letter. Normally the subject sentence is preceded with
the word Subject: or Re: Subject line may be emphasized by underlining, using
bold font, or all captial letters. It is usually placed one line below the
greeting but alternatively can be located directly after the "inside
address," before the "greeting."
8.
The Body Paragraph
This is the main part of the letter. It contains the actual message of the
sender. The main body of the mail must be clear and simple to understand. The
body of the letter is basically divided into three main categories.
ü Opening Part: The first paragraph of the mail
writing must state the introduction of the writer. It also contains the
previous correspondence if any.
ü Main Part: This paragraph states the main
idea or the reason for writing. It must be clear, concise, complete, and to the
point.
ü Concluding Part: It is the conclusion of the
business letter. It shows the suggestions or the need of the action. The
closing of the letter shows the expectation of the sender from the recipient.
Always end your mail by courteous words like thanking you, warm regards, look
forward to hearing from your side etc.
9.
The Complimentary Close
This short, polite closing ends always with a comma. It is
either at the left margin or its left edge is in the center, depending on the
Business Letter Style that you use. It begins at the same column the heading
does. The traditional rule of
etiquette in Britain is that a formal letter starting "Dear Sir or
Madam" must end "Yours faithfully", while a letter starting
"Dear " must end "Yours sincerely". (Note: the second
word of the closing is NOT capitalized)
10. Signature and Writer’s Identification
ü It includes the signature, name, and designation of the sender.
ü It can also include other details like contact number, address, etc.
ü The signature is handwritten just above the name of the sender.
11. Enclosures
Enclosures show the documents attached
to the letter. The documents can be anything like cheque, draft, bills,
receipts, invoices, etc. It is listed one by one.
12. Copy Circulation
It is needed when the copies of the
letter are sent to other persons. It is denoted as C.C.
13. Postscript
The sender can mention it when he wants
to add something other than the message in the body of the letter. It is
written as P.S.
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