Business letter

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A business letter is a letter written in a formal language, usually used when writing from one business organization to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. Business letters usually follow a block format.

Contents

[edit] Parts of a Business Letter

Business Letters in the United States usually contain the following information (in this order):

  • Letterhead or sender's address
  • Date
  • Inside address
  • Salutation or Greeting
  • Letter body
  • Complimentary closing
  • Signature, printed name, and position of sender

In some situations, a business letter may also include the following optional information:

  • Reference (RE:)
  • Carbon Copy Recipients (CC:)
  • Enclosures (ENC:)
  • Reference Initials

[edit] Business Letter Layout Guidelines

[edit] Addresses

The address is generally written from the most specific information (i.e. the recipient's name) to the most general (i.e. the city, state, ZIP Code or country). If the writer knows the recipient's gender, a courtesy title (Mr. or Ms.) should be included. Please note that the sender's name should not be included with the address.

[edit] Example of Address Line:

Mr. Bill Duffy
Director of Marketing.
Dell Ltd.
Lismore, Limerick

[edit] Dates

The date typically goes before the inside address. In formal business writing, it is best to completely write out the date to avoid confusion. For example, the writer should write October 8, 2002, instead of 10/8/02. One reason for writing out the date is date-formats; in the US, 10/8/02 is October 8, 2002, but most of the world would read this as 10th August 2002.

[edit] Salutation

The salutation addresses the reader of your letter. It follows one of the following formats: "Dear [Courtesy Title (Mr., Ms., Miss., Mrs., Dr., etc.)] [Name]" or "Dear [Title]". If the recipient's name and sex are unknown, the letter may be started with "Dear Sir or Madam" or "To whom it may concern". In the United States, the salutation is followed by a colon in formal writing; commas are used in informal writing. In the UK, the salutation is followed by a comma or by no punctuation at all. A courtesy title is included only if the gender of the recipient is known.

[edit] Body

The body of your letter should be written clearly and concisely. It includes as many paragraphs as are necessary to communicate the information. Paragraphs are generally short, no more than 4 or 5 lines.

If additional documents are being enclosed with a business letter they should be mentioned in the body of the letter.

[edit] Closing

A closing is included after the last paragraph of a business letter. Examples of closings in business letters include "Cordially (yours)", "Respectfully (yours)", "Yours truly", "Very truly yours", "(With) best regards" and "(With) kindest regards". The closing that is used will depend on the contents and formality of the letter, the writer's familiarity with the recipient, and the recipient's level of authority.

In UK English, a closing is followed by a comma ("Yours truly,") only if the salutation included a comma. If a comma is omitted from the salutation, the letter should be considered written in 'open punctuation', and the comma should therefore be omitted from the closing also ("Yours truly").

In the UK, the use of the closing "Yours sincerely," is generally reserved for a recipient whose name is known, substituting "Yours faithfully," where it is not known.

[edit] Signature

The sender's signature is included after the closing. The sender's name and title should be typed under the signature.

[edit] Typist's reference

The typist's reference is optional and follows the sender's typed name and title. Typically, these are the last items in a business letter.

[edit] Typist's Initials

If the letter was typed by someone other than the sender, the initials of the typist are typically included at the end of the letter. The sender's initials are typed in capital letters followed by the typist's initials in lower case. The initials are separated by a colon.

Example: JM:ab

[edit] Enclosures

If additional documents are being included, such as a resume or price list, an enclosure notation is used to indicate that they are included with the letter. Enclosures should be mentioned in the body of the letter.

Examples: Enclosure Enc: Resume

[edit] Carbon Copy

If a business letter is being sent to people other than the recipient at the top of the letter it should be noted on the letter with the 'copy' or 'carbon copy' reference.

Example: cc: John Doe, Jane Doe

[edit] Different countries, different styles

Culture and society influence styles. Especially in the German speaking countries, formal rules are considered very important. An extreme example is the German industrial norm DIN 5008, which prescribes how to write German business letters in every detail from letterhead to closing.

[edit] External links

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