QUALITIES OF

EFFECTIVE
BUSINESS
LETTERS
Monica Rose S. Marcos
Instructor
The Legal Aspects of Business Correspondence

• Almost all business activity is contractual in nature.

• Should any dispute arise, it can be settled by going to
court, with aggrieved party suing the other party.
• It is this legal nature of correspondence that requires
us to set out our correspondence in a standard form of
layout.
Why should business correspondence be a tough responsib

• First impressions last; since your letter or memo

conveys much about you, it had better be the good first
impression.
• You must therefore strive to leave to the readers of
your letters or memos a good, positive impression that
will help keep readers' goodwill.
Bovee and Thill
"An effective letter, memo or report does more
than store words on paper. It communicates
with the right person, makes an impression, and
tells the recipient who wrote it and when (and
even why) it was written."
Signature block
Major Parts of Business Letters
DATELINE
The dateline includes the month written out in full (December 29, 2004). You may
position the date two to six lines beneath the last line of the printed corporate letterhead,
depending on the estimated length of the letter of on the guidelines in your company's
correspondence manual. Three-line spacing is the most flexible choice , with extra space
added between the date and the first line of the inside address if the letter is rather short.
INSIDE ADDRESS
This tells whom the letter is written whether it is a person, a form or an organization. The
inside address is typed two or three spaces from the dateline. If it is directed to a
particular person, it should include the following: addressee’s courtesy title and full name,
addressee’s business title if required and the full name of the addressee’s business
affiliation. The inside address should have at least three lines.
SALUTATION
The salutation serves as a greeting for the addressee. It should agree with the inside
address in both number and gender. It is typed two spaces below the inside address. This
first word and all the names in the salutation are capitalized. The salutation sets the tone
of the whole letter.
MESSAGE/BODY
This contains the message of the letter. The message must be carefully planned. It must be
concise, clear and exact in all details. This is typed two spaces below the salutation.
COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
This is typed two spaces below the last line of the body. Only the first word is capitalized.
This refers to the words of courtesy at the end of the letter. The words must be pleasant
and business like.
SIGNATURE BLOCK
The writer’s name is typed four to five spaces below the complimentary close.
Thank you
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