Letter Writing Formats (Folder Version)

Business
Correspondence:
Letter Writing
WAC
Formatting messages
 Letters vs. Memos
Use letters for
 external communication
 formal internal messages to employees

Standard Parts of a Letter
 Heading
 Inside address
 Salutation
 Body
 Complimentary close
 Signature block
 Reference initials
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights
Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or
duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible
website, in whole or in part.
Heading
 Includes the letterhead or return address and the
date. The month should be spelt in full.
 Use one of the following two styles
 June 9, 2014
 9 June 2014
Page 2
 Mr. Herbert Huges 2 July 20, 2014
 OR
 Mr. Herbert Huges

 Page 2
 July 20, 2014
Salutation
 Begins one blank line below the inside address
 Dear ________:
 Should match the first line of the inside address

Salutation
Correct Incorrect
Dear Mr. Sharma Dear Mr. Aakash Sharma
Dear Dr. Sharma Dear Dr. Aakash
Dear Mr. & Mrs. Kapoor Dear Kapoors:
Dear Customers, Dear Gentlemen,
Ladies and Gentlemen Dear Ladies and
Gentlemen
Body
 Begins one blank line below the salutation
 No blank lines within paragraphs and one blank

line between paragraphs
Complimentary Close
Formal General Informal
Business Business Business
Correspondence Correspondence Correspondence
Respectfully Sincerely Sincerely

Very truly yours Sincerely yours Sincerely yours
Sincerely yours Cordially yours
Complimentary close
 Only the first character of the first word is
capitalized
 The complimentary close is keyed one blank line

below the last line of the body.
Signature Block
 Writer’s signed name
 Writer’s keyed name
 Writer’s job title

Reference Initials
 Show who keyed the letter (sm)
 May also show who wrote the letter if different than

the person who signed it
Supplementary Parts of a Letter
 Attention line
 Subject line
 Company name in signature block
 Enclosure or attachment notation
 Copy notation
 Postscript
Attention Line
 When a company name is used as the first line of the
inside address, the attention line can be used to direct
the letter to a person, position or department within the
company. Using a person’s name in the first line of the
inside address is preferred over having an attention line.
College Station Medical Center
1604 Rock Praire Road
College Station, TX 77842-1437
Attention: Beth Ek. Nurse Manager
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Subject Line
 The subject line identifies the topic of the letter.
Company name in signature
block (not used with
letterhead stationery)
Enclosure or Attachment
Notation
 When a check, invoice, photograph, etc., is sent with the
letter, an enclosure notation should be keyed one blank line
below the reference initials. The writer may list the items
enclosed.
 When items are attached to the letter, use Attachment or Att.

In place of the enclosure notation.
Ch 6 - 20
Punctuation Styles
 Mixed punctuation
 colon after the salutation
 comma after the complimentary close
 Open punctuation
 no punctuation after the salutation
 no punctuation after the complimentary close
Ch 6 - 21
Letter Formats
 Full Block
 Modified Block
 Simplified
In full block
format, all parts
of the letter
begin at the left
margin.
Modified Block Format
The date,
complimentary close,
and signature block
begin at the horizontal
center of the page.
Writers choose whether

to block or indent the
first line of each para in
the body.
Simplified Format
Used when a letter is

addressed to a
company rather than
an individual
When the gender of

the receiver is not
known
The salutation and

complimentary close
are eliminated.
A subject line without

the word “Subject”
replaces the
salutation
Ch 6 - 25
Personal Business Letters

 Written by an individual conducting business of a personal nature
 Application for employment

 A request for information
 A comment about samples received
 Contain the same elements as a business letter
 Date is keyed below the written address.
 A full block style or modified block format is used.

Ch 6 - 27
International Business
Correspondence
 Each country and culture may have a unique
business letter format.
Envelopes
© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not

be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly
accessible website, in whole or in part.
Ch 6 - 28
Ch 6 - 29
Memos and E-Mail

 Memos
 Internal business communication
 Less formal and shorter than letters
 E-mail
 When used for external communication should be
informal, not casual
Memo Format
 What is the format for a memo?
Ch 6 - 31
Memo Format
 TO: Kelly Anderson, Marketing Executive
 FROM: Jonathon Fitzgerald, Market Research
Assistant
 DATE: June 14, 2007
 SUBJECT: Fall Clothes Line Promotion
Sending the same memo to
many people
 Specific Individuals  Groups
TO: Naman Singh TO: BC Area Faculty

Jay Mitra
Jagdeep Kapoor
TO: IMT Faculty
Culture of the organization
will determine whether
courtesy titles are used with
the name
No complimentary close
 A memo has no complimentary close or signature
block.
 The writer simply signs or initials his name near his

typed name in the “from” section
Ch 6 - 34
Memo Format

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Letter Writing Formats (Folder Version)

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Business

 formal internal messages to employees

 Use one of the following two styles

 Mr. Herbert Huges

 Should match the first line of the inside address

 No blank lines within paragraphs and one blank

Respectfully Sincerely Sincerely

 The complimentary close is keyed one blank line

 Writer’s keyed name

 Writer’s job title

 May also show who wrote the letter if different than

Attention: Beth Ek. Nurse Manager

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 When items are attached to the letter, use Attachment or Att.

Writers choose whether

Used when a letter is

When the gender of

The salutation and

A subject line without

Personal Business Letters

 Application for employment

 Contain the same elements as a business letter

 Date is keyed below the written address.

 A full block style or modified block format is used.

© 2010 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not

Memos and E-Mail

TO: Naman Singh TO: BC Area Faculty

 The writer simply signs or initials his name near his

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