Business letters

When writing business letters or memos, it s not practical to be personal. Though the first-person point of view may make the reader feel close to the writer, it also implies a certain subjectivity. That is, the writer is expressing a personal view from a personal perspective. 

A typical exit essay is approximately 1,500 words. Possible topics include responses to literature, biographical narratives, and even business letters. Those who grade exit essay exams ask ... 

Like this person, you might be surprised to learn that writing is so important at work. But think about it for a minute Is most of your mail from friends and family Or, is most of your mail made up of bills, letters from businesses, and advertising inserts If you re like most people, you get a lot of business mail. Someone at a company wrote all that stuff. In fact, workplace writing begins even before you get hired— you apply for a job with a cover letter, resume, and often an application form. And it doesn t stop there. At work, you will be expected to write e-mails, memos, business letters, reports, and even performance evaluations— if not for people you supervise, then probably for yourself It all adds up to lots of writing at work. 

Use a standard business letter format for the cover letter. The next lesson walks you through business letter basics, if you re not sure what standard business letter format is. 

You probably get them in the mail all the time, and they all look pretty similar. They are business letters. This lesson shows you the basic parts of a business letter. You ll also learn the different ways of formatting a business letter. 

Business letters are usually sent to people outside your company. They are also sometimes used within a company for more formal situations, to convey important information, or to communicate between departments or divisions of the same company. Let s discuss the main parts of a business letter. Then, we ll look at some examples. 

Business letters should be dated with the date the letter is completed and sent. Sometimes, it can take several days to complete a business letter (you may have multiple drafts or need to wait for a supervisor s approval before you can send a letter)— use the last day you worked on the letter in these cases. Write out the month, day, and year October 12,2001. Don t abbreviate the month or include the day of the week. 

Writing Business Letters LESSON 17 M BETTER WRITING RIGHT NOW ... 

Most companies and many individuals have their own letterhead. When letterhead stationery is available and appropriate for your use, you should use it for business letters. If your company doesn t have letterhead stationery or if you are writing a business letter as an individual to a company and you do not have a personal letterhead, then you will need to type your full address before the date. 

The following state abbreviations are recognized by the U. S. Postal Service. You can use them in your business letters and on the envelopes. 

BETTER WRITING RIGHT NOW LESSON 17 Writing Business Letters... 

This is a brief phrase telling the main idea of the letter. It is optional—many business letters do not include this line. It usually comes before the salutation, but it can also come after the salutation. Often the subject is preceded by re (an abbreviation for regarding) and is sometimes underlined or boldfaced for emphasis. If you use a subject line, make sure it tells your reader quickly and effectively what the letter is about. The following are some examples. 

Use these questions to guide your writing of the body of a business letter. 

Often, you will need to include other documents with a business letter. When you do, you should include a line to indicate that other documents are enclosed. It s a good idea to list the documents you are enclosing so that you make your reader aware of what is supposed to be included in the letter. Here s an example ... 

There are three main ways to format a business letter block format, modified semi-block format, and semiblock format. Here is how they compare. 

Each part of the letter is left-justified, or set up against the left margin. This is probably the most common and simplest format for business letters. 

The recipient s name, company, address, and salutation are all left-justified. Each paragraph of the body of the letter is left-justified and indented. The date, closing, and signature are each aligned down the middle of the page. This is probably the least common format used for business letters. 

Many companies have their own guidelines for writing business letters. If your company has its own way of doing things—even if it contradicts this book—you should follow your company s guidelines. 

Let s look at some examples of business letters and formats. 

Block Format. Each item in the business letter lines up with the left margin. 

Read two business letters. They can be letters that you received or letters that you have written yourself. Then, answer the following questions about each letter. 

Write a business letter using one of the formats described in this lesson. If you need more space than is provided below, use the blank pages at the end of this book for your work. 

What s the difference between a memo and a business letter Here are some common differences MEMOS USUALLY (BUT NOT ALWAYS) LETTERS USUALLY (BUT NOT ALWAYS) ... 

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