Writing Business Letters

Elements of a Business Letter

Parts of a Business Letter

Format of a Business Letter

Practice

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Business letters should be formal and professional.

Writing Business LettersElements of a Business Letter

Elements of a Business Letter

Clarity Clearly and briefly give the information that the recipient of the letter needs to know.

Courtesy Address your recipient politely, even if you’re writing a complaint letter.

Style Write your letter in a formal style.

Tone Use a respectful, formal tone.

Vocabulary Use the same vocabulary that you would use in a formal speaking situation. Define any terms that your recipient might not know.

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Writing Business LettersParts of a Business Letter

Parts of a Business Letter

• heading

• inside address

• salutation

• body

• closing

• signature

Writing Business LettersParts of a Business Letter

Heading

YYour Street AddressYour City, State, and ZIP codeDate of letter

Example8 Chimney Rock WaySuburbanite, CA 98990April 6, 2005

Writing Business LettersParts of a Business Letter

Inside Address

Recipient’s Title [Ms., Dr., etc.]Recipient’s Business TitleCompany NameStreet AddressCity, State, and ZIP code Example

Mr. S. K. MiyamotoConference Project ManagerWYSIWYGame Arts41311 On Donner HighwayCybercity, CA 99880

Writing Business LettersParts of a Business Letter

Salutation

Dear [Title and Last Name of Recipient]:

ExampleDear Mr. Miyamoto:

Writing Business LettersParts of a Business Letter

Body

Paragraphs1. stating clearly your reason

for writing2. providing information

relevant to your goal 3. thanking the recipient in

advance for assistanceExampleI am writing to request the chance to attend your upcoming “Making Games Fun Again” conference in May....

Writing Business LettersParts of a Business Letter

Closing

Closing expression followed by a comma

ExampleSincerely,

Writing Business LettersParts of a Business Letter

Signature

Four blank lines for signature—full name without title—followed by your typed name

Example

Judy Realdata

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Writing Business LettersFormat of a Business Letter

• Block-style format: align all six parts of the letter at the left margin.

• Modified-block-style format: indent the heading, closing, and signature and the first line of each paragraph.

Choose a format for your letter.

Writing Business LettersFormat of a Business Letter

Block Style

[Heading][Inside address]

[Salutation]

[Body: indent the firstline of each paragraph]

[Closing]

[Signature]

Modified-Block Style

[Heading]

[Inside address]

[Salutation]

[Body: align paragraphs at the left margin]

[Closing]

[Signature][End of Section]

Writing Business LettersPractice

Write a business letter in the proper form and with a tone and style appropriate to your audience.

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