Business Letter Writing

Business Letter
Writing
ENGLISH II
What are different types of letters?
Writing a Business Letter
 A letter written for business purpose is a business letter.
• Inquiry letter,
• offer letter,
• order letter,
• cover letter,
• notices,
• termination of employment are some of the business letters.

Parts of a Business Letter
Addresses:
1) Your address
 return address should be written on the top right/left hand corner
2) The Address of the person you are writing to

 The inside address should be written on the right/left , starting below
your address
Date:
 write the date on the right/left -hand side corner of the letter on the line
after the address.
 Write the month as a word
Subject:
 a brief statement mentioning the reason for writing the letter.
 should be clear, eye catchy, short, simple, and easily

understandable.
Salutation/Greeting:
 It contains the words to greet the recipient. It is also known as the

salutation.
 The type of salutation depends upon the relationship with the recipient.
Salutation/Greeting:
 1) Dear Sir/Madam
 If you do not know the name of the person
2) Dear Mr/Ms.
 If you know the name use the title (Mrs., Miss/Ms, Dr, etc.) and the surname
only
*
(if you are writing to a woman and do not know if she uses Mrs. Or Miss, you
can use Ms., which is for married and single women)
The Body Paragraphs/ Content of a Formal
Letter
 the main part of the letter.
 contains the actual message of the sender.
 main body of the mail must be clear and simple to understand.
 basically divided into three main categories.

 Opening Part:
 short and state the purpose of the letter
(to make an inquiry, complain, request, etc) .
 Main Part:
 states the main idea or the reason for writing.
 must be clear, concise, complete, and to the point.
 Concluding Part:
 shows the suggestions or the need of the action.
 closing of the letter shows the expectation of the sender from the recipient.
 Always end your mail by courteous words like thanking you, warm regards,
look forward to hearing from your side etc.

Ending/Complimentary Close
1) Yours faithfully
 if you do not know the name of the person
2) Yours sincerely
 if you know the name of the person
3) Your signature
 includes the signature, name, and designation of the sender.
 can also include other details like contact number, address, etc.
 The signature is handwritten just above the name of the sender.

Letter formats
 Full Block
 Modified Block
 Semi-block
 Simplified form
Full Block
 Block format features all elements of the letter aligned to the left margin of

the page.
 It has a neat and simple appearance.
 Paragraphs are separated by a double line space.

Modified Block
 Modified block differs from block style in that:
 the date, sign off, and signature lines begin at the centre point of the page line.
 The beginning of each paragraph is indented five spaces, along with the subject line,
if used.
 Depending on the length of the letter, paragraphs may be separated by a single or

double line space.
Semi-block
 Similar to block but has a more informal appearance.
 All elements are left-aligned,
 The beginning of each paragraph is indented five spaces.
 Paragraphs are separated by a double line space.

Simplified form
 professional and focused without unnecessary formality
 internal parts of a simplified letter style are placed in left alignment
 salutation is typed in an all-caps
 body paragraphs are aligned left
 Single spacing is used within the paragraphs, and double spacing is used between them.
 The name and title of the writer are aligned left and typed in all caps below the body of the
letter.
Types of Letter
1. Negative Letter (Full Block)
- The negative news message delivers news that the audience does not want to hear,
read or receive.
2. Inquiry Letter (Full Block)
- An inquiry letter is a formal way of requesting to get information about anything
from anyone formally.

 Dear Ms. Ellasos:
 First of all, allow me to acknowledge the reliability of the IT Department in troubleshooting the
numerous PC-related problems of staff members in our division during the past year. We appreciate your
competent technical support in addressing numerous problems encountered during the last fiscal year,
thereby speeding up work processes.
 However , we noticed that lately, your team members seem to always be unavailable when technical
glitches require urgent staff support. We all know that the IT Department has undergone a major
personnel reorganization in recent months, and the new hires have recently been beset with numerous
inter-departmental requests. An entire quarter has passed by, though, and despite numerous requests for
technical support, our division has not been give the proper attention by the IT Group.
 This is also to call your attention to another matter. We requested for a notebook computer from your
department six months ago but until now, it has not yet been handed over to us. The request form for said
equipment was forwarded to your office exactly six months ago.
Inquiry Letter
Dear,
 I am the Manager of Block- H writing this letter to clarify a small dispute that has occurred
amongst my workers. On the departure of Mr. /Ms. ________ last month as _________
(designation) and I have received no formal letter to state who will take over his duties.
 I am aware that more than one member of my current team did apply for the position, and Mr.
_______has stated to me that he has been giving orders from head office, by yourself, that he is
now to fill Mr. / Ms. ________position. However he has no written evidence to this fact, and I
also find it strange as he is relatively new to the company that you would award him this position.
 Please can you urgently confirm with me the exact job status of Mr._______, and indeed the name
of the individual who will be taking over from Mr. / Ms. _________, if indeed it is not Mr.
_______ himself,
Thank you

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Business Letter

• termination of employment are some of the business letters.

2) The Address of the person you are writing to

 a brief statement mentioning the reason for writing the letter.

 should be clear, eye catchy, short, simple, and easily

 It contains the words to greet the recipient. It is also known as the

 contains the actual message of the sender.

 main body of the mail must be clear and simple to understand.

 basically divided into three main categories.

(to make an inquiry, complain, request, etc) .

 must be clear, concise, complete, and to the point.

look forward to hearing from your side etc.

 if you do not know the name of the person

 if you know the name of the person

 includes the signature, name, and designation of the sender.

 The signature is handwritten just above the name of the sender.

 Block format features all elements of the letter aligned to the left margin of

 It has a neat and simple appearance.

 Paragraphs are separated by a double line space.

 Depending on the length of the letter, paragraphs may be separated by a single or

 Similar to block but has a more informal appearance.

 All elements are left-aligned,

 The beginning of each paragraph is indented five spaces.

 Paragraphs are separated by a double line space.

 internal parts of a simplified letter style are placed in left alignment

 salutation is typed in an all-caps

 body paragraphs are aligned left

2. Inquiry Letter (Full Block)

- An inquiry letter is a formal way of requesting to get information about anything

from anyone formally.

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