How to Format a Business Letter

There are several formats for business letters. In DMIT101 you will use full block format. Its calle! full block"
because all the elements on the #a$e are ali$ne! flush with the left mar$in. Full block is the easiest format to
use an! it #ro!uces a clean%lookin$ #a$e. Its also common.
Here is an e&am#le of full block format. The $reen numbers in the $ra#hic match u# with the comments
below. The re! bo&es link to more !etaile! information.
Notes:
1. Return Address:
o Don't ty#e a return a!!ress if you're usin$ letterhea!.
o (therwise" ty#e your full mailin$ a!!ress an! o#tionally your #hone number an! email
a!!ress )these last two elements are becomin$ more common*.
o Do not use #unctuation at the en! of each line.
2. Date:
o If usin$ a return a!!ress" leave one blank line before the !ate. If usin$ a letterhea!" leave
three to si& blank lines before the !ate.
o Ty#e the month )s#elle! out in full* followe! by the !ay )in numerals* followe! by a comma"
followe! by the year )in four !i$its*. +ee e&am#le in the $ra#hic above.
3. Inside Address:
o Leave a blank line between the !ate an! the insi!e a!!ress.
o Ty#e the rea!er's full name inclu!in$ the $ratuitous title )Miss" Mrs." Ms." Mr." Dr." +$t." etc.*"
the first name an! the last name. (n the ne&t line" ty#e the rea!er's ,ob title.
o (n the ne&t line" ty#e the rea!er's com#any's name.
o (n the ne&t line" ty#e the rea!er's street a!!ress. It's best not to abbreviate wor!s such as
-street. an! -avenue..
o (n the ne&t line" ty#e the rea!er's city" followe! by a comma" followe! by the #rovince )the
two%letter /ana!a 0ost abbreviation is acce#table*" followe! by a s#ace" followe! by the
#ostal co!e. For rea!er's outsi!e of /ana!a" inclu!e country #rior to the #ostal co!e.
o Do not use #unctuation at the en!s of the lines.
4. Salutation:
o Leave a blank line between the insi!e a!!ress an! the salutation.
o Ty#e -Dear. followe! by the rea!er's $ratuitous title an! last name. There are other o#tions
such as -To 1hom It May /oncern". but they are not a##ro#riate in all situations.
+ometimes" it's tricky to fi$ure out how to a!!ress the rea!er..
o 2se a colon or no #unctuation at all after the salutation.
5. Subject Line:
o Leave a blank line between the salutation an! the sub,ect line.
o Ty#e the wor! Subject" or the abbreviation Re" followe! by a colon.
o Then" ty#e a short !escri#tion of the to#ic of your letter. The sub,ect line will influence how
much attention your rea!er #ays to your letter" so clearly !escribe what you're writin$ about.
Make the sub,ect line )but not the wor! Subject or abbreviation Re* bol! so that it catches the
rea!er's attention.
6. Body:
o Leave one blank line between the sub,ect line an! the first #ara$ra#h.
o Leave one blank line between each #ara$ra#h.
o D( 3(T in!ent #ara$ra#hs. 4li$n them with the left mar$in.
o 4 stan!ar! letter has three or more #ara$ra#hs" but this is ,ust a $ui!eline. 4 letter may have
fewer than three #ara$ra#hs.
o Ty#ically" the first #ara$ra#h intro!uces the to#ic an! the main #oint an! may mention the
authority un!er which the letter was written or #rovi!e necessary back$roun! information.
o The mi!!le #ara$ra#h)s* #rovi!es the !etails nee!e! to su##ort your main #oint.
o The last #ara$ra#h #resents a conclusion" a call to action" an! a nicety )that is" a #oliteness*.
7. o!"li!entary lose:
o 1hat you ty#e here !e#en!s on the tone an! !e$ree of formality. For e&am#le"
5es#ectfully yours )very formal*
+incerely )ty#ical" less formal*
6ery truly yours )#olite" neutral*
/or!ially yours )frien!ly" informal*
o 2se a comma after the com#limentary close.
#. Si$nature Bloc%:
o Leave three to four blank lines after the com#limentary close to si$n your name.
o Ty#e your full name" 1ITH(2T a $ratuitous title.
o (n the ne&t line" ty#e your ,ob title.
o Don't for$et to si$n the letter7
8. &nclosure Notation:
o This notation is use! (3L9 if you are enclosin$ other items with your letter. The notation
alerts the rea!er to look for those items.
o Leave one blank line between the si$nature block an! the enclosure notation.
o If you have one enclosure" ty#e Encl.
o If you have two or more enclosures" ty#e Encls.: followe! by one s#ace" followe! by the
number of enclusures )e.$." for two enclosures" the notation woul! be -:ncls.; <.*
o 4lternately" you can list the enclosures instea! of sim#ly statin$ how many there are )e.$."
=:ncls.; brochure" #ro!uct !escri#tion=*.
o The salutation" si$nature" an! enclosure elements $o at the en! of the letter. If your letter is
two #a$es lon$" for e&am#le" these elements woul! a##ear at the en! of #a$e two.
'eneral notes about (ull bloc% (or!at:
2se 1 inch to 1.> inch mar$ins at the to#" bottom" left an! ri$ht of the #a$e.
4ll elements ali$n with the left mar$in. D( 3(T in!ent #ara$ra#hs.
H(1 T( /5:4T: 43 :FF:/TI6: +2B?:/T LI3:
+ub,ect lines are use! to ca#ture a rea!er's attention an! hel# the rea!er !etermine whether the letter is of
interest.
To create a sub,ect line" start with the wor! +ub,ect followe! by a colon. (r" instea! of +ub,ect" you can use
the abbreviation 5e followe! by a colon. 5e stan!s for re$ar!in$.
3e&t" a!! your sub,ect.
Bol! the sub,ect" but !on't bol! the wor! +ub,ect. The same formattin$ a##lies if you are usin$ 5e. Bol! the
sub,ect" but not the abbreviation 5e.
:&am#le; +ub,ect; 0ayment is !ue on your account
There are three $ui!elines for creatin$ an effective sub,ect line;
1. The sub,ect line shoul! be !escri#tive
<. 4ttention%$ettin$
@. +hort
Let's look at these $ui!elines one at a time. First" the sub,ect line shoul! be !escri#tive so that rea!ers can
use it to fi$ure out whether they want to s#en! their time rea!in$ the letter. 0resumably" your $oal as a writer
is to #ersua!e the rea!er to rea!" so you shoul! take care to create a clear" !etaile! sub,ect line.
Ima$ine" for e&am#le" that you are writin$ a cover letter to accom#any a ,ob a##lication. 9ou coul! use
-/over Letter. as your sub,ect. But -/over Letter. merely states the kin! of letter you're writin$. It !oesn't
!escribe the content of your letter.
4 better sub,ect line is -0osition 3o. @8A> 1eb Desi$ner.. This sub,ect in!icates that your letter is relate! to
#osition number @8A> 1eb Desi$ner a!vertise! by the reci#ient. The sub,ect line hel#s the rea!er match
your letter to one of the #ossibly many ,obs that she has a!vertise! lately.
Here's another e&am#le. Ima$ine you are writin$ to inform a customer that the shi#ment of the or!er they
#lace! will be !elaye!. 9ou coul! write -9our (r!er.. 4lthou$h the sub,ect is accurate" it is not s#ecific
enou$h. It woul! be better to foresha!ow the letter's main #oint usin$ a sub,ect such as -9our shi#ment is
!elaye!.. Try to be s#ecific with your sub,ect lines.
The secon! $ui!eline states that the sub,ect line shoul! be attention%$ettin$. 4fter all" you !o want the rea!er
to rea! the whole letter. +o you nee! to work to catch their attention.
If" for e&am#le" I'm writin$ to $et you to atten! a co%o# information session" I coul! write -4tten! the co%o#
information session.. This is a reasonably !escri#tive sub,ect line. But" it coul! be more attention%$ettin$" that
is" more #ersuasive. I coul! instea! write -/o%o# stu!ents have a hi$her em#loyment rate.. This is !efinitely a
more #ersuasive sub,ect line.
The final $ui!eline is to kee# the sub,ect line short. -9our #ro!ucts are backor!ere!" so your shi#ment is
!elaye!. is !escri#tive an! it's attention%$ettin$. But it's too lon$ to be easily scanne! by the rea!er. +ub,ect
lines are often scanne!" not rea!" so they shoul! be short. -9our shi#ment is !elaye!. is a better choice
because it's shorter" but it still contains a sufficient level of !etail.
+ometimes it's !ifficult to balance the three $ui!elines for sub,ect lines. 1hen in !oubt" remember the most
im#ortant criterion for a sub,ect line is that it be !escri#tive. Then" if #ossible" make it attention%$ettin$ an!
short.
How to 4!!ress 9our Letter
9ou must a!!ress the reci#ient in two #laces. First" in the insi!e a!!ress. 4n! secon!" in the salutation.
Let's look at the insi!e a!!ress" first. In the insi!e a!!ress" you shoul! use the reci#ient's title" first name an!
last name.The full name is use! to hel# ensure the letter $ets to the correct reci#ient. There may" for
e&am#le" be two Mr. +miths workin$ for Hillsi!e Desi$n. Inclu!in$ Mr. +miths first name in the a!!ress hel#s
us $et the letter to the correct Mr. +mith.
&)a!"le: Dear *s. 'eor$ette *unroe
3ow" let's look at the salutation. +tart with the wor! Dear. Then list the reci#ient's title an! then their last
name. 3otice the reci#ients first name is not use!.
&)a!"le: Dear *s. *unroe
The salutation is a #oliteness. 4n!" because business letters are formal communications" we a!!ress our
reci#ients formally. The salutation lists the reci#ient's title an!" unlike the insi!e a!!ress" !oes 3(T list their
first name. In formal situations" it is consi!ere! im#olite to call a #erson by their first name until they have
invite! you to !o so. 4lso" business letters are not #ersonal letters. In a #ersonal letter" it woul! be acce#table
to a!!ress a #erson solely by their first name. In a business letter" we a!!ress reci#ients more formally" even
if we know them well.
But what if you !on't know the reci#ient's nameB The best course of action is to $et the #erson's name. 9ou
mi$ht be able to call the com#any an! ask for it" or look it u# on the com#any's website. But if you cannot fin!
the reci#ient's name" there are some o#tions available to you.
9ou coul! use Dear Sir or Madam. This salutation is acce#table" but not #referre! because it is im#ersonal.
9ou coul! use To Whom It May Concern" but this salutation is often use! incorrectly.To Whom It May
Concern shoul! be use! when you are sen!in$ a letter to a $rou# of #eo#le" but you know that not all the
reci#ients will be intereste! in rea!in$ the letter. (nly some of the reci#ients are concerne! with the letter's
contents" so you a!!ress the letter to those who mi$ht be intereste! )or concerne!*. For e&am#le" I mi$ht
want to sen! information to all of the DMIT stu!ents a##lyin$ for co%o#" but I !on't know which stu!ents are
a##lyin$ for co%o# an! which are not. My best course of action is to sen! a letter to all DMIT stu!ents"
knowin$ that only those intereste! in co%o# will rea! it. I can a!!ress my letter to To Whom It May Concern.
To Whom It May Concern is not a##ro#riate when sen!in$ a letter to a s#ecific #erson"because #resumably
we know they are concerne! with the letter.
The best way to a!!ress a letter when you !on't know the reci#ient's name is to use the wor! Attention"
followe! by a colon" followe! by the reci#ient's title or !e#artment. 2sin$ a title is better than usin$ a
!e#artment because it's more s#ecific. Be as s#ecific as you can be when a!!ressin$ the reci#ient.
&)a!"le +sin$ a De"art!ent: Attention: ,u!an Resources
&)a!"le +sin$ -itle: Attention: ,u!an Resources o.ordinator
To wra# u#" let's take a Cuick look at titles. They can be confusin$" es#ecially if :n$lish is not your first
lan$ua$e. 1e use Mr. to a!!ress a man. But we have three o#tions for a!!ressin$ a woman. Miss is use! to
a!!ress an unmarrie! woman. Mrs. is use! to a!!ress a marrie! woman. Ms. is use! to a!!ress a woman"
whether or not she is marrie!. Ms. is the safest form of a!!ress" es#ecially when you are unsure of a
woman's marital status.