Writing a business letter

 

Format

There are certain standards for formatting a business letter, though some variations are acceptable (for example between European and North American business letters). Here are some basic guidelines:

• Use A4 (European) or 8½ X 11 inch (North American) paper or letterhead
• Use 2.5 cm or 1 inch margins on all four sides
• Use a simple font such as Times New Roman or Arial
• Use 10 to 12 point font
• Use a comma after the salutation (Dear Mr Bond,)
• Lay out the letter so that it fits the paper appropriately
• Single space within paragraphs
• Double space between paragraphs
• Double space between last sentence and closing (Sincerely, Best wishes)
• Leave three to fives spaces for a handwritten signature
• cc: (meaning "copies to") comes after the typed name (if necessary)
• enc: (meaning "enclosure") comes next (if necessary)
• Fold in three (horizontally) before placing in the envelope
• Use right ragged formatting (not justified on right side)

 

Font

If your computer is equipped with Microsoft Office 2000, the Letter Wizard can be used to take much of the guesswork out of formatting business letters. To access the Letter Wizard, click on the Tools menu and then choose Letter Wizard. The Wizard will present the three styles mentioned here and input the date, sender address and recipient address into the selected format. Letter Wizard should only be used if you have a basic understand of how to write a business letter. Its templates are not applicable in every setting. Therefore, you should consult a business writing handbook if you have any questions or doubt the accuracy of the Letter Wizard.

Another important factor in the readability of a letter is the chosen font. The generally accepted font is Times New Roman, size 12, although other fonts such as Arial may be used. When choosing a font, always consider your audience. If you are writing to a conservative company, you may want to use Times New Roman. However, if you are writing to a more liberal company, you have a little more freedom when choosing fonts.

As far as punctuation after the salutation and closing is concerned, the standard is to use a colon after the salutation (never a comma) and a comma after the closing. There is also a less accepted format, known as open punctuation, in which punctuation is excluded after the salutation and the closing.

Proofreading a Business Letter

 

"Proofread" means to read a text carefully to check it for errors and general tone. You should always proofread a business letter before sending it.

The most important thing when proofreading any document is to read the text out loud. Print the letter rather than read it on your computer screen. Make notes where your letter sounds awkward. If possible allow one day between writing and sending your letter. You are more likely to spot any typos or other errors with a fresh eye. (If you have to respond to an important email on the same day, write it in the morning and proofread it after lunch.) Use a spell-check function on your computer program if possible. Computer programs are useful for pointing out passive sentences, subject-verb agreement problems etc. However, be careful when using grammar-check programs. Sometimes they will highlight a phrase that is not actually an error. If you are in doubt, try to simplify the sentence by using a sentence structure that you are more comfortable with.

If possible, ask another person to double-check your letter. You could offer to return the favour for your colleague and become proofreading partners. You can even use standard proofreading marks to make it easier to explain necessary changes. Type "proofreading marks" into an internet search engine, and send the list to your fellow proofreader.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2

 

The Layout and Parts of a business letter (Расположение и части делового письма)

The ordinary business letter comprises the following principals parts:

1. The heading and sender’s address-Адрес отправителя

2. The Date - дата

3. The Inside address – Внутренний адрес

4. The Salutation- Приветствие

5. The subject Heading - Заголовок к тексту письма

6. The body of the letter – Текст письма

7. The closing paragraph – Заключительный абзац

8. The complimentary closing – Заключительная формула вежливости

9. The signature – Подпись

10. Enclosures and postscripts – приложения и постскриптумы

Each culture has it’s own way of organizing a letter and arranging it on a page. English-speaking people generally observe the following rules:

The Heading

The heading of a business letter should contain the return address (usually two or three lines) followed by a line with the date.

The heading is indented to the middle of the page in the modified block and semiblock styles. It begins at the left margin in the block style.

If the stationery is imprinted with the return address, then the return address may be omitted.

Sometimes a line after the address and before the date may include a phone number, a fax number, an E-mail address, or the like.

Particularly if the address uses three or more lines, it is good to skip a line before the date. When using the block style, always skip a line before the date.

Always include the date.

Example:

Acme Explosives, Inc.  
100-B Dry Gulch Alley  
Lonesome Coyote AZ 85789  
(602) 555-5555

July 14, 1997

Sender’s Address

Including the address of the sender is optional. If you choose to include it, place the address one line below the date. Do not write the sender’s name or title, as it is included in the letter’s closing. Include only the street address, city and zip code. Some times it may contain a description of the business, trademark, telegraphic address, etc. Another option is to include the sender’s address directly after the closing signature.

                                                                       

Note: The order for sender's addresses in English is: house number, street, area code, place. If the order is different in your culture, keep to the structure used in your country, don't adopt the English way.

British style

Position: In British English, the sender's address is usually placed in the top right corner of the letter.

                                                                                                  Britain Import GmbH

                                                                                                  Londer Weg 25

                                                                                                  87953 Posemuckel

                                                                                                  Tel. 0049 741 546 5670

 

American style

Position: In American English the sender's address is usually placed in the top left corner, below the date, or at the end of the letter, below the signature..

 

 

Sender's address below the date:

 

October 30, 2003

 

Us Import Gmbh

Lincoln-Strabe 25

87953 Posemuckel

Tel. 0049 741 563 6219

 

Date

The date line is used to indicate the date the letter was written. However, if your letter is completed over a number of days, use the date it was finished in the date line. When writing to companies within the United States, use the American date format. (The United States-based convention for formatting a date places the month before the day. For example: June 11, 2001. ) Abbreviations may be used for Jan. Feb. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. But do not write the month in figures. Write out the month, day and year two inches from the top of the page. Depending which format you are using for your letter, either left justify the date or center it horizontally.

 

British style	American style
12th November, 19 12 November 19 12 Nov. 19	November 12, 19

 

 

In British style you use date first, then month.

In American style goes month, date.

Inside Address

The inside address is the recipient’s address. It is always best to write to a specific individual at the firm to which you are writing. If you do not have the person’s name, do some research by calling the company or speaking with employees from the company. Include a personal title such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr. Follow a woman’s preference in being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms. If you are unsure of a woman’s preference in being addressed, use Ms. If there is a possibility that the person to whom you are writing is a Dr. or has some other title, use that title. Usually, people will not mind being addressed by a higher title than they actually possess. To write the address, use the U.S. Post Office Format. For international addresses, type the name of the country in all-capital letters on the last line. The inside address begins one line below the sender’s address or one inch below the date. It should be left justified, no matter which format you are using.

 

 

Salutation

First and foremost, make sure that you spell the recipient's name correctly. You should also confirm the gender and proper title. Use Ms. for women and Mr. for men. Use Mrs. if you are 100% sure that a woman is married. Under less formal circumstances, or after a long period of correspondence it may be acceptable to address a person by his or her first name, for example Dear Mr Miller.  When you don't know the name of a person and cannot find this information out you may write, "To Whom It May Concern".

Starts with a capital letter and is usually followed by a comma. It is also possible to use no punctuation mark at all. Leave one line blank after the salutation.

Business partners often call each other by their first names. In this case, write the salutation as follows: Dear Sue:

 

 

 

	British	American
Formal	Dear Sir, Dear Sirs, Dear Madam,	Dear Sir: Gentlemen: Dear Mr. Brown:
Informal	Dear Mr Brown, Dear Miss Smith,	Dear Mr.Brown: Dear Miss Roberts:
Personal	Dear Mr Brown, My dear Brown, Dear Jim,	Dear Mr. Brown, My dear Mr. Brown,

 

 

Punctuation

 

In British English, don't use any punctuation mark or use a comma.

Dear Mr Miller or Dear Mr Miller,

In American English, use a colon:

Dear Mr. Miller:

Ms, Miss or Mrs?

• Mrs – to address a married woman
• Miss – to address an unmarried woman (rarely used now)
• Ms – to address a woman whose marital status you don't know; also used to address an unmarried woman

Note: The abrreviations Mr, Mrs etc. are usually written without full stops (Mr) in British English and with full stops (Mr.) in American English. [10:2005]

 

Open vs. Mixed Punctuation

When using open punctuation, no punctuation is used after the greeting or the complimentary closing.

Ex.

   Dear Ms. Smith (greeting)

   {BODY}

   Sincerely (closing)

 

 

When using mixed punctuation, there is a colon after the greeting and a comma after the closing.

Ex.

   Dear Ms. Smith: (greeting)

   {BODY}

   Sincerely, (closing)

Body of a Business Letter

Body - This is your actual message. Each paragraph should be even with the left margin and one line of space should appear between each section. It is important to make sure that each paragraph is clear and concise.

Capitalise the first word of the text (even if the salutation ends with a comma). The text is left-justified and a blank line is put after each paragraph. It is not common to indent the first line of a paragraph.

For block and modified block formats, single space and left justify each paragraph within the body of the letter. Leave a blank line between each paragraph. When writing a business letter, be careful to remember that conciseness is very important. In the first paragraph, consider a friendly opening and then a statement of the main point. The next paragraph should begin justifying the importance of the main point. In the next few paragraphs, continue justification with background information and supporting details. The closing paragraph should restate the purpose of the letter and, in some cases, request some type of action.

Content

• first paragraph: introduction and reason for writing
• following paragraphs: explain your reasons for writing in more detail, provide background information etc.
• last paragraph: summarise your reason for writing again and make clear what you want the recipient to do

First paragraph

 

In most types of business letter it is common to use a friendly greeting in the first sentence of the letter. Here are some examples:

• I hope you are enjoying a fine summer.
• Thank you for your kind letter of January 5th.
• I came across an ad for your company in The Star today.
• It was a pleasure meeting you at the conference this month.
• I appreciate your patience in waiting for a response.

After your short opening, state the main point of your letter in one or two sentences:

• I'm writing to enquire about...
• I'm interested in the job opening posted on your company website.
• We'd like to invite you to a members only luncheon on April 5th.

Second and third paragraphs

Use a few short paragraphs to go into greater detail about your main point. If one paragraph is all you need, don't write an extra paragraph just to make your letter look longer. If you are including sensitive material, such as rejecting an offer or informing an employee of a layoff period, embed this sentence in the second paragraph rather than opening with it. Here are some common ways to express unpleasant facts:

• We regret to inform you...
• It is with great sadness that we...
• After careful consideration we have decided...

Final paragraph

The final paragraph contains a statement of the writer’s intentions, hopes, and expectations about future actions, i.e. it serves as a summary of what has been discussed before and what is going to be     

the next step.

Your last paragraph should include requests, reminders, and notes on enclosures. If necessary, your contact information should also be in this paragraph. Here are some common phrases used when closing a business letter:

• I look forward to...
• Please respond at your earliest convenience.
• I should also remind you that the next board meeting is on February 5th.
• For futher details...
• If you require more information...
• Thank you for taking this into consideration.
• I appreciate any feedback you may have.
• Enclosed you will find...
• Feel free to contact me by phone or email.

Note: Your text should be positive and well structured

Closing

It is a polite way of ending a letter.

The closing begins at the same horizontal point as your date and one line after the last body paragraph. Capitalize the first word only (i.e., Thank you).

American usage is different from British in some ways: ‘Your faithfully’ is not used-common endings are: ‘Sincerely’, ‘Truly’, followed by a comma.

Here are some common ways to close a letter:

	British	American
Fomal	Yours faithfully,	Very truly yours, Sincerely yours,
Informal	Yours sincerely, Yours truly,	Sincerely yours, Cordially yours,
Personal	Your sincerely, Sincerely, With best wishes, Yours,

 

Signature - After the body of the letter, a handwritten signature should appear on the line following your closing. Unless you have established a personal relationship with the person you are writing use both your first and last name.

Enclosures and postscriptes

Enclosures

If you have enclosed any documents along with the letter, such as a resume, you indicate this simply by typing Enclosures one line below the Signature. It may be preceded or followed by a figure indicating the number of enclosures if there is more than one, and the names of the documents in them, and the number of pages.

Enc. Specification No, 13/45 9(5 pages)

Carbon Copy

If there are copies of the letter to be sent to other addresses it is indicated under the Enclosure.

it should be noted on the letter with the 'copy' or 'carbon copy' reference.

Example: cc: John Doe, Jane Doe

Postscript – should be used as an emergency not as a normal conclusion only when information to be conveyed comes to hand after the letter proper has been completed. Otherwise it is a sign of bad construction of the letter. Postscript is abbreviated to PS ( not P.S) 

In informal letters, afterthoughts that are added after the signature are usually introduced by P.C. (Latin for post scriptum = “written afterwards”) 

 

Abbreviations 

 

Sometimes, abbreviations at the very end of a letter are used to signify additional information. If you send a copy of your letter to someone other than the person addressed, use cc: followed by the name of the person or organization receiving your copy. If you are sending additional documents in the same envelope, use Enc.or Enclosure.If the letter is being typed by someone other than the person who wrote and signed it, the writer's initials should be given in capital letters, followed by a slash and the typist's initials in lower case letter: MT/fjr. When using multiple abbreviations, each one should appear on a separate line.

 

Different categories of the letters

A modern business man or lady has to deal with different kinds of letters in his routine activities.

You will probably use seven types of letters in your writing: letter of request, enquiry, information letter, invitation letter, congratulation letter, letters of gratitude, letter of apology, of confirmation, of complain, memo, cover letter, application letter, resume. Experienced candidates may wish to use a variant of the application letter called the resume letter. Each has its own purpose and use. Descriptions follow, and examples are provided.