Parts of the Business Letter

The letter in Picture 1, labeled to show the parts of a business letter, is set up in the modified block format, a very common one for business correspondence.

Heading. Spell out every word except for the two-letter state abbreviation used by the postal service. Begin the heading at the center of the sheet.

Inside Address. Ms. is an acceptable personal title for both married and sin­gle women. If you don't know the name of the person you want to reach begin the inside address with the job title or name of the department, for example, Vice-president for Research or Sales Department. If you don't know the job title or department, start with the company name. Use abbreviations only if they are part of the company name. Begin the inside address two spaces below the heading in long letters and three to eight spaces in shorter letters. The shorter the letter, the more space should be left.

Salutation. Address an individual by title and name. If the inside address begins with a job title or the name of a department, use that title or department name for the salutation, for instance, Vice-president for Research or Saks Department. If the inside address begins with the name of the company, use the salutation Gentlemen/Ladies. The letters on pages 282, 286, and 288 show these kinds of salutations. The salutation comes two spaces below the inside address.

Body. Most letters are one page or less. Try to keep your paragraphs short— about seven lines at most. Begin the body two spaces below the salutation. If the letter contains only one brief paragraph, double-space the typing. Other­wise use single spacing with double spacing between paragraphs.

Complimentary Close. Acceptable closings are Sincerely yours, Sincerely, and Yours truly. Type the complimentary close two spaces below the last line of the body and line it up with the. center of the sheet.

Signature. Both typewritten and handwritten signatures are necessary. Leave four spaces between the complimentary close and the typed signature. Line the typed signature up with the center of the sheet.

Enclosure Notation. The abbreviation Enc, used in several of our sample let­ters, indicates that a brochure, drawing, check, money order, or other docu­ment accompanies the letter. It starts at the left-hand margin. If more than one item accompanies a letter, the notation should indicate how many there are. Important documents are often named:

Enc. 3

Enc. Money Order

Types of letters

Of the many kinds of business letters, the ones you'll most likely write are inquiries, orders, complaints, and job applications. Here are guidelines and models.

Letters of Inquiry

Your letters of inquiry may be written to request information about a vacation spot, a hobby, or a project that you are working on; or you may write for data to be used in a research paper. (See Letter 2) Here's how to proceed:

1. Identify yourself, indicate the kind of information you're after, and explain why you need it.

2. To avoid inconveniencing your reader, keep your questions to a mini­mum, make them clear, and word them so they can be answered briefly.

3. If you have three or more questions, set them up in a numbered list so the reader is less likely to miss answering one.

4. If you're using the information for a research paper and it's appropriate to do so, offer to supply a copy of your paper. Acknowledge the source of information when you write the paper.

5. Close by expressing appreciation for any help the reader can give.

Exercise 1. Write a letter of inquiry that requests one of the following kinds of information:

1. More details about a project reported in a magazine or newspaper article

2. Performance data for something you might buy

3. Detailed information about the credit policies of a company

4. Information for a research paper

5. Your congressional representative's, mayor's, or other public official's position on an issue you're concerned about

6. Membership information for a club or professional organization