PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

“Umm, You’re Eating My Trash!”

WHO WRITES LETTERS THESE DAYS?

There are many ways to communicate with people. With a partner, brainstorm several ways people communicate with others.

When would writing a letter be the most effective form of communication?

TWO TYPES OF LETTERS

There are two types of letters: Friendly letters:

Personal letters written to someone you already know Tone is informal Purpose: thank-you notes, party invitations, letters to

friends

Business Letters: Usually written to a company or someone you don’t

know Tone is formal Purposes: apply for a job, complain, suggest a change,

request a product, etc.

FORMATTING A BUSINESS LETTER

Business letters follow a specific format. This helps the reader know where to find information.

There are two standard formats for a business letter: BLOCK FORMAT MODIFIED BLOCK FORMAT

MODIFIED BLOCK FORMAT

Source: businessletterformat.org

BLOCK FORMAT

Source: businessletterformat.org

BLOCK FORMAT

In this assignment, we will be using the BLOCK FORMAT.

In block format, everything is aligned to the left-hand margin of the page.

You do not indent paragraphs

PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

There are six parts : Return address Inside address Greeting / salutation Body Closing Signature Line

THE RETURN ADDRESS

The RETURN ADDRESS shows where the letter originated.

It consists of three lines: 1st Line: The writer’s street address (do not use

any abbreviations) 2nd Line: City, state, and zip (you may abbreviate

the state) 3rd Line: The date (The month should be spelled

out in full) Example:

123 Main StreetGrosse Pointe, MI 48236December 5, 2011

RETURN ADDRESS PRACTICE Write your return address on the lines below:

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

Julia Schreiber lives in Dayton, Ohio. Her house is located at 525 Irving Avenue. Her ZIP is 45409. Write a return address for Julia on the lines below. Use today ’s date. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________

RETURN ADDRESS: ANSWERS Julia Schreiber lives in Dayton, Ohio. Her house is

located at 525 Irving Avenue. Her ZIP is 45409. Write a return address for Julia on the lines below. Use today ’s date.

525 Irving AvenueDayton, OH 45409December 7, 2011

THE INSIDE ADDRESS

The INSIDE ADDRESS contains the name and address of the recipient.

It can consist of THREE or FOUR lines

Three Line Inside Address Four-Line Inside Address

Person’s Full Name OR Company Street AddressCity, state, ZIP

Person’s Name and PositionCompany NameStreet AddressCity. State, ZIP

INSIDE ADDRESS (CONTINUED)

Example of a Three-Line Inside Address: Mr. Terry Breedlove

1581 Oxford RoadDetroit, MI 48236

Smith Car Repair191 Brown StreetCenterville, OH 45458

INSIDE ADDRESS (CONTINUED)

Examples of a Four-Line Inside Address

Mrs. Jamie Mauceri, PresidentMauceri Accounting Services45 Second StreetMobile, AL 08648

Dr. David Zalenski, Chief Surgeon (capitalize the title)

St. John Medical Center555 Moross RoadBeverly Hills, CA 90210

INSIDE ADDRESS PRACTICE

Write the inside addresses for each of the following:

Tropical Tan is located at 388 Northam Drive. The city is Tampa. The state is Florida. The ZIP is 45872.

Dr. Anne Hunsaker’s office is in the town of St. Louis. The state is Missouri. The street address is 15 Bugleboy Avenue. The ZIP is 54352

INSIDE ADDRESS ANSWERS

Tropical Tan388 Northam DriveTampa, FL 45872

Dr. Anne Hunsaker15 Bugleboy AvenueSt. Louis, MI 54352

INSIDE ADDRESS PRACTICE

Todd Sollar is the assistant principal of Parcells Middle School. The school is located at 77 Mack Avenue in Evart, New York. The ZIP is 12332

Susan Shelton is the director of packaging for the Crispy Crunch Potato Chip Co. The company is located in the town of Knoxville, which is in the state of Tennessee. The ZIP is 34980. The address is 609 Country Creek Way.

INSIDE ADDRESS ANSWERS

Mr. Todd Sollar, Assistant PrincipalParcells Middle School77 Mack AvenueEvart, NY 12332

Ms. Susan Shelton, Director of PackagingCrispy Crunch Potato Chip Co. 609 Country Creek WayKnoxville, TN 34980

THE GREETING The GREETING is also called the SALUTATION.

It appears below the inside address. It is always followed by a colon (:)

If you know the person’s name, use the LAST NAME only Examples: Mr. Smith, Mrs. Nianouris, Dr. Frazo,

Miss Jenkins If you don’t know if a woman is married or not,

use Ms. To Whom It May Concern is used when you

don’t know the name of the person to whom you’re writing.

GREETING PRACTICE

Write a greeting line for the following people: Elizabeth Michels Mr. Thomas Madigan Miss Jennifer Passage Dr. Christine Flanagan A person in the complaints department of the

Winter Wool Hat Co.

GREETING PRACTICE ANSWERS

Write a greeting line for the following people: Elizabeth Michels

Dear Ms. Michels: Mr. Thomas Madigan

Dear Mr. Madigan: Miss Jennifer Passage

Dear Miss Passage Dr. Christine Flanagan

Dear Dr. Flanagan: A person in the complaints department of the

Winter Wool Hat Co. To Whom it May Concern:

THE BODY

The BODY of your letter is the most important part. It is the main message of a letter. The body is where the writer states the purpose for writing gives facts, examples and statistics asks for change makes suggestions explains how he or she can be reached

THE CLOSING

The CLOSING in a business letter is written after the body. It is aligned to the left It is always followed by a comma The first word begins with a capital letter All other words are written in lower case.

Common Closings: Yours truly, Sincerely, Respectfully, Sincerely yours,

THE SIGNATURE

The SIGNATURE comes after the closing. This is where the writer signs his or her name.

Leave space between the closing and the signature to sign your name. Your typed name will appear below your signature.