Elements of a Basic Business Letter - Blue Poppy



Basic Business Letter Guidelines and Samples

Business letters may be written for any of hundreds of different reasons. However, the following 10 elements are the standard components of a business letter.

1. Heading: This includes the sender’s name, address, phone number, and e-mail address. If written on a preprinted letterhead, this element is not necessary.

2. Date

3. Inside address: This is the intended recipient’s name, position, organization, and complete mailing address in that order.

4. Attention line: An attention line is used if you want the organization to respond to your correspondence even if the particular individual to whose attention the letter has been sent is unavailable. When using an attention line, the “inside” address begins with the organization name, not an individual person’s name.

Sample attention and inside address:

Wiley Coyote Widgit Co.

2378 Canyon Blvd.

Mesa, AZ 95670

or

Attention: James Earl Johns

5. Subject line: The subject line states the subject of the correspondence as a phrase or incomplete sentence. Letter with subject lines are usually composed in block form with the subject line flush left.

Sample subject lines:

Subject: No receipt of payment

Re: Overcharge of credit card

Subject lines are optional. They tend to be used for formal communications with large organizations.

6. Salutation: The salutation is the greeting to the reader.

Sample salutation lines:

Dear Dr. Frankenstein

To Whom It May Concern, Greetings

7. Body: The body of the letter refers to the text of the letter. This may either be printed in block form, i.e., flushed left without indentation, or the first line of each paragraph may be indented.

A simple format for a basic business letter has three paragraphs. The first paragraph is the introduction stating the subject or purpose of the letter. It may take the place of a subject line. The introductory paragraph should then be followed by one or more paragraphs explaining the subject of the correspondence and giving its details. Finally, there should be a final or concluding paragraph briefly summing up the letter and reinforcing its goal.

In general, it is advisable to keep the paragraphs of a business letter short, not more than 3-8 sentences each. Compartmentalize the components of the letter. For instance, a complaint letter might have one paragraph devoted to the history of the problem, another paragraph devoted to the efforts you have already made to seek a solution to the problem, and a third paragraph devoted to the compensation you think you deserve for the problem.

List and itemize whenever possible. Also place important information strategically in the letter. The first and last sentences or paragraphs tend to be remembered better than other sentences

8. Complimentary close & signature: The complimentary close of a business letter usually consists of one of the following stock phrases:

Yours,

Yours truly,

Sincerely,

Sincerely yours,

Best regards,

You should sign your signature under this complimentary close. Underneath your handwritten signature should be your typed name.

9. Reference & enclosure lines: Reference lines tell the reader who composed the letter and who actually typed the letter. For instance, the reference line,

WFC./hlw

Would mean that I, Wiley S. Coyote, composed the letter, but Honora Lee Wolfe actually typed it. The initials of the correspondent are written first in capitals. Then there is a forward slash followed by the initials of the typist all in lower case and typically without separating periods.

If you both write and typed the letter yourself, you do not use a reference line.

Enclosure lines signify that one or more enclosures accompany the letter. If there is a single enclosure, that is written:

Enclosure

If there are two enclosures, that is written:

Enclosure (1)

Three enclosures are written:

Enclosure (2)

Etc. The number of enclosures is the number of pamphlets, brochures, or articles. It is not the number of enclosed pages. A single enclosure may consist of a number of pages.

10. Copy line: The copy line tells the recipient how many other copies of the letter have been sent and to whom.

For instance,

c: Diana Wilcox

means that a copy has been sent to Diana Wilcox.

c: Diana Wilcox, Ali Majid, Dolores Santiago

means that copies were sent to all three of these recipients.

cc: used to mean that a carbon copy was sent to the person whose name appeared after the colon. However, these days, no one uses carbon copies. If the letter was photocopied, one can use

Pc:

followed by the name of the recipient.

Effective Business Letter Writing

There are four key elements to writing a good business letter: clarity, a businesslike tone, empathy, and persuasion.

1. Clarity

Clarity means that the letter is succinct and states its point unambiguously. Efforts should be made to use short declarative sentences in normal English word order (i.e., subject, verb, object). Avoid words or constructions which could be interpreted more than a single way.

2. Businesslike tone

A businesslike tone is collegial yet not overly friendly or familiar. It avoids extremes of humility, modesty, and/or flattery. It also avoids condescension and preaching. In general, a businesslike tone means an objective, somewhat unemotional or flat tone and a concentration on the facts of the situation. Stay away from pompous, inflated, legal-sounding phrasing. Picture yourself and then write as if you are a plain-taling, common sense, down-to-earth person, but avoid slang and especially any vulgarity.

3. Empathy

Empathy means caring about the feelings of the reader. This is the leaven which keeps the business letter from being cold, hard, and potentially off-putting. By adding a number of grace words, one can help insure that the letter does not arouse antipathy or negative feelings. For instance, opinions should be preceded by such words as “in my opinion,” “in my experience,” and “I believe” as opposed to stating absolute truths. Use references and third party opinions or facts to bolster your argument. “According to...” Do not call names or use pejorative terms. Always consider the reader’s feelings and, taking those into account, write as you would like to be written to.

4. Persuasion

All business letters are, in a sense, sales letters. Business letters are an attempt to get someone to do something for you either now or in the indeterminate future. As such, be persuasive. Write positively and with confidence. Emphasize the benefits of what you are doing/want to do for the reader. Focus on the recipient’s needs, purposes, or interests instead of your own. However, that doesn’t mean you should not close with an action ending, such as:

For more information, call...

I hope to hear from you in the near future.

I hope that you will take a few moments to look at the enclosed...

I invite you to make an appointment for a free initial consultation.

Call today for your free report on...

Business Letter Writing Checklist

Keep it short.

Cut needless words and needless information.

Cut stale phrases and redundant statements.

Cut the first paragraph if it refers to previous correspondence

Keep it simple.

Use familiar words, short sentences, and short paragraphs.

Keep your subject matter as simple as possible.

Keep related information together.

Use a conversational style (but not contractions).

Keep it strong.

Answer the reader’s question in the first paragraph.

Give your answer and then explain it.

Use concrete words and examples.

Keep to the subject.

Keep it sincere.

Answer promptly.

Be human and as friendly as possible.

Write as if you were talking to the reader.

Business Letter Formats

There are two basic business letter formats: the block form and the indented form. Below are samples of each of these two basic forms.

Sample of the block form:

5 Hill Street

Madison, WI 53700

15 March 2003

Ms. Helen Jones, President

Jones, Jones, & Jones

123 International Lane

Boston, MA 01234

Dear Ms. Jones

Subject: How to Write a Block Letter

When you use the block form to write a business letter, all the information is typed flush left,

with one_inch margins all around. First provide your own address and the date, then skip a

line and provide the inside address of the party to whom the letter is addressed. Skip another line

before the salutation, and do not punctuate after it. Then write the body of your letter as illustrated

here, with no indentation at the beginning of paragraphs. Skip lines between paragraphs.

If you are using letterhead that already provides your address, begin with the date. After writing the

body of the letter, type the closing without punctuation, leave 3_4 blank lines, then type your name

and title (if applicable), all flush left. Sign the letter in the blank space above your typed name.

Now doesn't that look professional?

Sincerely,

John Smith, Lic. Ac.

Sample of the indented form:

5 Hill Street

Madison, WI 53700

15 March 2003

Ms. Helen Jones, President

Jones, Jones, & Jones

123 International Lane

Boston, MA 01234

Dear Ms. Jones

If you are using the indented form, place your address and the date on the top right_hand side of the page. Type the inside address and salutation flush left. Indent the first line of each paragraph one_half inch. Skip lines between paragraphs.

Instead of placing the closing and signature lines flush left, type them at the right, even with the address

and date above, as illustrated below. Now doesn't that look professional?

Sincerely,

John Smith, Lic. Ac.

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