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KCI Reader-Based Writing Style Guide

Semiblock letters haveindented paragraphs. Thereturn address (if not part ofthe letterhead), the date, thereference line, thecomplimentary closing, andthe signature block are rightof center. All remainingelements are flush left.Standard punctuation hasminimal punctuation with acolon or comma after thesalutation and a comma afterthe complimentary closing.

1 Letterhead/Return Address—Business letterheads providethe name, address, and phonenumber of the organizationsending the letter. Theletterhead may also include thecompany logo and faxnumber(s). When letterheadstationery is not available, areturn address with the sameinformation that a letterheadcontains is placed immediatelyabove the date line in theletter. In a semiblock letter, thereturn address is typed right ofcenter.

2 Date Line—The date line isplaced two or three lines belowthe letterhead (or as many as sixlines, if the letter is short). If noletterhead is used, the date lineis directly beneath the returnaddress. Usually, the dateorder is month, date, year:July 10, 1995. However, theU.S. Government and manyforeign countries place the daybefore the month: 10 July 1995.Abbreviations should not beused.

3 Reference Line or Block—Reference lines or blocks areone or two lines below the date

line. Reference lines areusually aligned with the date.They can begin with RE orReference. Sometimes a lead-inis needed to clarify thereference.

4 Special Notations—Specialnotations appear two linesbelow the date or referenceline. When an inside address isincluded, the notation appearsbetween the date or referenceline and the inside address.Capital letters are used to makethe note more visible. When

two or more notations apply toa single letter, one appearsdirectly below the other.

5 Inside Address—The insideaddress appears below the dateor reference line. It isconsistent with the format,spelling, and punctuationshown on the receivingorganization's letterhead ortyped return address. Letterlength dictates the number oflines that are inserted betweenthe date or reference line andthe inside address.

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ACORN WHOLESALE FOODS, INC.

2345 South 1300 EastSalt Lake City, Utah 84105Telephone (801) 364-5567October 30, 1995

In reply to: Your LetterOctober 24, 1995

CONFIDENTIAL

Mr. Fred TannerLowPrice Food StoresCorporate Office1823 South 2400 WestWest Valley City, UT 84335

Dear Mr. Tanner:

SUBJECT: Details of the Spring 1995 Fleur-de-lis Charcoal Program

Thank you for your letter concerning our Spring Fleur-de-lis CharcoalProgram. We are very excited about this program and feel it will providemany growth opportunities for LowPrice Food Stores throughout thecountry. The details of the program are outlined below.

The partnership between Acorn Wholesale Foods and LowPricecontinues to grow and we are delighted with the fine charcoal season wehad in 1994. Your sales results mirrored our national figures as Fleur-de-lis outperformed all other charcoal brands in both units and dollars andattained a 64% market share. These results are a direct reflection of theadvertising and merchandising support LowPrice has given Fleur-de-lis,yet there are still opportunities to further develop our business, especiallythrough our Spring Fleur-de-lis Charcoal Program.

Spring Fleur-de-lis Charcoal Program

Early Season Inventory Levels

We agreed that adequate early season inventories (e.g., late February,early March) are critical to a successful year. Our extended dating on allorders shipped prior to March 31 provide incentive to display charcoalprior to those first warm spring days.

LETTERSSemiblock Letter, Standard Punctuation

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KCIReader-Based Writing Style Guide

6 Salutation—The salutationappears two spaces below theinside address and usuallybegins with Dear followed bythe title and name of theaddressee. In standard stylepunctuation, a colon (formalletters) or comma (informalletters) follows the salutation.

7 Subject Line—Subject linesdefine the subject of the letter.They appear two lines belowthe salutation and two linesabove the first line of the text.Subject lines are emphasized by

using boldface type,underlining, or all capitals.

8 Text or Body—The text orbody begins two lines belowthe salutation. Text is usuallysingle-spaced with one blankline between paragraphs(indented in a semiblock styleletter). Headings highlight theorganization of the letter andemphasize key points orsections. If the text extends to asecond page, at least three linesof text should be on the secondpage.

9 Headings for ContinuationPages—Continuation pagesbegin with a heading thatcontains the name of theaddressee, the page number,and the date. They may alsoinclude the reference.

10 Complimentary Closing—Thecomplimentary closing appearstwo lines below the last line oftext and is right of center.

11 Signature Block—Thesignature block is four or fivelines below the complimentaryclosing and is right of center.The signature block containsthe handwritten signature ofthe writer, the full typed nameof the writer, and the title of thewriter. The company name isoptional.

12 Reference Initials—Referenceinitials (the writer's initials andthe secretary's/typists' initials)are two lines below the last lineof the signature block and flushwith the left margin. Writer'sinitials are in all capitals,followed by a slash or colon,and then followed by thesecretary's/typist's initials inlowercase letters.

13 Enclosure Notation—Enclosure notations remindreaders that one or moreenclosures are included. Thesenotations appear directly underthe reference initials.

14 Courtesy Copy Notation—Courtesy copy notations, whichshow the distribution of theletter, are two lines below theenclosure notations and flushleft. All others receiving theletter besides the addressee arelisted.

Extension of the Season

Your November Smoked Turkey feature is an excellent example of how tocapture late season sales. Most retailers stop advertising and stocking charcoalby late July, ignoring a growing market of consumers who barbecue late into thefall and at Thanksgiving. An increase in August through October sales featureswill provide increased sales and profits for LowPrice.

Fleur-de-lis 15# Bags

I have enclosed pricing and display information for the Fleur-de-lis 15# bags,which may be the right size product for LowPrice. However, because of thesuccess you have had with the traditional 8# bag, I suggest you test this size in afew of your "high-traffic" stores early in the season to get a feel for its viability asa successful everyday item.

Shipment of Fleur-de-lis Start-Lite

We have developed a 30-case pallet that will allow us to ship you largequantities of our highly successful Fleur-de-lis Start-Lite charcoal starter. Wewill be sending you a sample of our starter next week. We have reserved 7,000units for LowPrice ad will await your decision concerning your purchase of allthe reserved units.

I have included a recap on invoice costs for each product you discussed inyour letter. All product specifications and configurations are included in theFleur-de-lis binder I sent you last month.

Fleur-de-lis has been a very successful brand at LowPrice, and we lookforward to another successful year and an opportunity to grow our businesseven further. Your input was very valuable, and we hope that you will continueto provide us with suggestions for improving our service to you.

Please let us know if we can provide you with any other information relatingto Fleur-de-lis or any of our other products.

Sincerely,

Kelly FlowerRegional Sales DirectorAcorn Wholesale Foods, Inc.

KMF/crtEnclosures (2)

cc: Mrs. Florence Partridge

Mr. Tanner -2- October 30, 19959

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LETTERS