Parts of a Business Letter

Best custom in correspondence has established that the mechanical construction of a letter consists of seven (7)essential parts. In business letters, these can be further expanded by accessory parts.

Letters can make a physical mark in the process of communication. How it is constructed gives the recipient a favorable or unfavorable impression of the writer and the company he/she represents. The writer must take heed in how the letter is constructed especially in the correct placement of parts.

The essential parts of a business letter:

• Heading

• Date line

• Inside address

• Salutation

• Body

• Complimentary close

• Signature line/ block

Accessory Parts of a Business Letter

• Attention line

• Subject line

• End Notations

o Reference initials

o Enclosure line

o Copy line

Ø CC

Ø BCC

I. Heading – a printed heading on office stationery usually contains company name and logo, business address, which consists of street address with number, city, province and ZIP code; phone / Fax number, email address and web site.

The name of the sender and title or position will appear in the signature line. When the writer uses a blank paper, the heading will consist of the return address and the date.

EX. HEADING

Genesis Electric and Lighting Corporation

G/F Miramar Towers

4225 Quintin Paredes Street

Binondo, Manila 1006

Philippines (need not be written for local mails) T (02) 858 9000 )Trunkline / Fax 858 9002

gencorp@monkeychip.com

www:genesiscorp.com

II. Dateline – indicates when the letter was written. When using a blank paper instead of one with the letterhead, the return address and the date form the heading. The date should be written as: month (fully spelled out) day and year. July 20, 2015 date format used by U.S. or 20 July 2015 date format used internationally or by the military. Place the dateline one line below the return address.

EX. DATE LINE

July 20, 2015 – U.S. based format

20 July 2015 – international or military based format

III. Inside Address – consists of the personal title, the name of the recipient, his /her title or position in the company, the company name and business address. Include the complete mailing address: street number, name of the street, city, province and ZIP code. Contact information may be added if needed. If the position fits on the same line as the name of the recipient, place a comma then the position.

EX. INSIDE ADDRESS

Ms. Ainette Chua

Proprietress

Good Hope Commercial 67 Gonzaga Street, Bacolod City 6100 Philippines (need not be written for local mails)

Tel. No. 434 6210

• Attention line – an accessory part that is optional. This is used when you don’t know the name of the person who holds the position in the company. It is a good policy, however, that you call the company and ask for the person’s name. If needed, it is placed two lines under the inside address. Ex. Marigold Trading Inc. 647 Araneta Street Bacolod City 6100 2 lines Attn: HR Manager 2 lines

Ex. Marigold Trading Inc.

647 Araneta Street

Bacolod City 6100

Attn: HR Manager

• The subject line is a brief phrase that states or summarizes the topic or subject of the letter. Although it is optional, it is a big help to the recipient to gain an idea of what is in the letter.

Ex. Re: Lumina electrical

products catalogue with 2015

adjusted prices.

The subject line is placed two lines under Attention line. In the absence of Attention line, it is placed under Inside address.

IV. Salutation is an opening phrase of a letter that expresses a polite greeting, an expression of goodwill or other signs of recognition directed to the recipient. The customary term used in salutation is “Dear” followed by a person’s name with or without title and ends with a colon as punctuation mark.

EX. Salutation:

Dear Eng. Salas: preferred option,

when the name is known.

Dear HR Manager:

if only the position is known.

Punctuation Usage in Business Letters:

• US traditional format: Colon for salutation; comma for complimentary close.

• Customary punctuation mark for email salutation is comma.

• Standard format for salutation in U.K. is comma; complimentary close uses comma.

• Open punctuation format is trending in U.K. No punctuation marks are used in salutation and complimentary close nor in the address line, and in the list of items. Only periods are used to end sentences.

All addresses are written in capital letters.

V. Body of the letter is an expansion of what is stated in the subject line. It begins two lines below the salutation.

Content of Body text:

• A brief general introduction of who you are, your main point and purpose in writing.

• Background information and supporting data of the main point

• Closing paragraph restates the purpose of the letter, establishes good will and call for some kind of action.

The body of the letter should be set single spaced with two lines separating the paragraphs. Indenting the paragraph is acceptable but it is considered less formal than paragraphs without indention. Key information should be easily accessible using bullets, lists or headings.

EX. Body of the Letter:

Thank you for patronizing GenCorp’s electrical products.

I am Joebert Avila, GenCorp’s Logistics Manager. I am writing to confirm …

VI. Complimentary Close or Valediction is a part of the letter that indicates the writer’s respect and appreciation for the person to whom he is sending the letter. It is placed two lines below the last line of the body of the letter.

Complimentary closes commonly used in business letters:

Best regards                Best wishes

Cordially                     Cordially yours

Kind regards               Respectfully yours

Sincerely                     Sincerely yours

Thank you                   Warm regards

Very sincerely yours   With appreciation

Yours cordially           Yours faithfully

Yours respectfully       Yours truly

Note: In complimentary closes consisting of two or more words, only the first word starts with a capital letter. Leave four spaces between the complimentary close and the signature block

EX. Complimentary Close:

Best regards, Cordially, Sincerely yours, Truly yours , Respectfully yours, Warm regards, Yours faithfully, With appreciation, etc.

VII. The signature block consists of the full name of the writer with the handwritten signature above it. Sign exactly as it is typewritten. No courtesy title is used in a formal business letter. Position is indicated below the printed name. Contact number is optional, unless needed.

EX. Signature Line:

. Roberto Javelosa

Roberto Javelosa

Regional Sales Manager

+63 933 5569 789

• For letters with signatories of the same rank:

Luis Villanueva                                 Elizabeth Torres

Luis Villanueva                                 Elizabeth Torres

Sales Support                                     Manager HR Manager

• For signatories in which one is of a higher rank: the signature block of the higher in rank is below that of the lower rank, with the word “Noted” above the handwritten signature.

Armando Lizares

Armando Lizares

Team Leader, Sales Support

Two lines separate the two signatories

Noted:

Ricardo V. Solis

Ricardo V. Solis

Sales Support Supervisor

• End notations consist of additional information such as:

Ø  reference initials or identification line lets the recipient know who typed the letter. It is usually indicated with full caps for the author of the letter and lower caps for the typist.

Ex. JTG/mln or JTG:mln

If the author typed the letter himself, there is no need for reference initial. A line separates the signature block from the reference initials.

Ø  Enclosure notation informs the recipient that additional materials such as catalogues, promotional pamphlets, price lists, brochures, special offers are included in the letter. A number will indicate how many enclosures are there and labels will identify what are these.

Ex: Encl. or Enc. (2)

(1) Hotel reservation receipt

(1) round trip plane ticket (ManilaSingapore-Manila)

A line separates enclosure notation from reference initials.

Ø  Copy line informs the recipient about the other person or persons who are receiving a copy of what was sent to him.

o   CC – previously known as carbon copy. It is now called courtesy copy. This is used by the writer when he sends duplicate copies to other persons aside from the addressee. The addressee can see the email addresses of these people.

o   BCC or Blind carbon copy is a copy sent to people in the loop. This copy is kept for office file and the third party recipient but does not appear in the original letter.

A line separates copy line from enclosure notation.

EX. End notations:

o   Reference initials:

JTG/ mln or JTG:mln

o   Enclosure: (2)

(1) hotel reservation receipt

(1) round trip plane ticket (Mla- Sng – Mla)

o   Copy line:

CC: Ms. Martha Ballesteros, Accounting Supervisor

       Mr. Joseph Maramo, Marketing Supervisor

o   BCC: Mr. John Cuaycong, CEO

REFERENCES

Business Writing Firefly Electric and Lighting Corp. Training and Organizational Development Human Resources Department Module 9 Writing Business Letters: Format and Content

Categories: Softskill, Tugas