Parts of Business Letter

In this semester i would like to write about business letter related to English Business 1 subject. This is the first task about “Parts of Business Letter”. A business letter is a formal letter. Parts of the business letter are :

1.      The Heading

The heading contains the return address with the date on the last line. Sometimes it is necessary to include a line before the date with a phone number, fax number, or e-mail address. Often there is a line skipped between the address and the date. It is not necessary to type a return address if you are using stationery with the return address already imprinted, but you should always use a date.  Make sure the heading is on the left margin. Example:

Ms. Jane Doe
543 Washington St
Marquette, MI 49855

2.       Date

Letters should always include a date. You enter dates two to six lines below the heading, depending on the length of the letter. Use the full month name spelled out, then the day, followed by a comma, and then the four-digit year, for example, June 6, 2010. It consists of date, month, year or (month, date, year). If there is no Letter Head, make sure you put the name of the city before the date line. Examples :

23rd November, 2013      or  November  23rd, 2013

28 July, 2013                   or   July 28, 2013

If there is no letter head in a letter, you must write a full address of the sender, example :

115 Downing Street, London

June 28th, 2009      

3.      Inside Address

The Inside Address in a business or formal letter you should give the address of the recipient after your own address. Include the recipient's name, company, address and postal code. Add job title if appropriate. Separate the recipient's name and title with a comma. Double check that you have the correct spelling of the recipient 's name. It usually consists of 3 or 4 lines, :

The name of a person or the firm you are writing  to.

Number, the  name of the street

The name of city ( A country when applicable)

Examples : 

Mmes. Robert Thompson & Audrey

112, Downing Street

London E.C. 2, England

4.      Attention Line

Business letters are usually  more addressed to companies than to one person. But, sometimes this form of written communication should take place between company and  company  or between company and a person and vice versa. In this situation we need to use what people call "attention line". We mostly use attention line for the following three reasons :

• We want the letter directly delivered to a certain people in a company.
• We do not know the person's name we are writing to and we decide to write to the company he or she works in.
• We want the letter to reach a person we are writing to faster.

Attention line is usually put after inside address. Example :

Gifted Restaurant
16771 Fifteen Avenue
New york, N. Y.

Attention  :  Miss Rachel White

5.      Salutation

The salutation (or greeting) in a business letter is always formal. It often begins with “Dear {Person’s name}.” Once again, be sure to include the person’s title if you know it (such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr).  If you’re unsure about the person’s title then just use their first name. For example, you would use only the person’s first name if the person you are writing to is “Jordan” and you’re not sure if he or she is male or female. The salutation always ends with a colon.

British Style

Examples:

Dear Sir,                    

Sir,                            

Dear Sirs,                   

Dear Madam,             

Mesdames,

American Style

Examples:

Dear Sir:

Sir:

Gentlemen:

Dear Madam:

Mesdames:

 If you know the person you are writing to, you can use the style below which is more personal or informal:

Dear Mr. Brown,

My dear Madam Tiara,

6.      Subject Line

The Subject Line (optional) - Its inclusion can help the recipient in dealing successfully with the aims of your letter. Normally the subject sentence is preceded with the word Subject: or Re: Subject line may be emphasized by underlining, using bold font, or all captial letters. It is usually placed one line below the greeting but alternatively can be located directly after the "inside address," before the "greeting."

Subject Line is usually capitalized and underlined:

Examples:

CHEAP CRUISE TO SCANDINAVIA

SCANDINAVIAN VACATION

7.      Body of The Letter

The opening paragraph should always state why you are writing. Then, in a simple and straightforward manner, explain the situation, the solution, the suggestion or whatever other message you need to get across to the recipient. Be as brief as possible since long complicated messages often distract readers. Start a new paragraph whenever you begin a new subject. A  good letter body should fulfill the following requirements : 

• Concise / short : Never make up sentences just to make a letter look longer.
• Simple : Avoid making up complex sentences. Try to make up a simple sentence. 
• Systematic : Always put your ideas in order from A to Z. ( From opening paragraph to closing paragraph there should not be any repetitions)

Body of the Letter consists of 3 paragraphs :

•  the opening paragraph
•  the content paragraph
•  the closing paragraph

8.      Complimentary Closes

The complimentary close is a short and polite remark that ends your letter. The close begins at the same justification as your date and one line after the last body paragraph. Capitalize the first word of your closing (Thank you) and leave four lines for a signature between the close and the sender’s name. A comma should follow the closing.

Complementary Closing usually consists of 2 lines:

• Closing Words / Expressions
• Name of Firm

Examples:

Yours truly,

Wisnu & Ninda LTD

 Truly Yours,

Wisnu & Ninda LTD

9.      Signature Line        

Skip at least four lines after the close for your signature, and then type out the name to be signed. This often includes a middle initial, although it is not required. Women may put their title before had to show how they wish to be addressed (Ms., Mrs., Miss).
The signature should be in blue or black ink. Business letter signature line   usually consists of   signature  of  the     person    who    writes    the business letter.   Below the signature we usually put our  name.  Below our name, sometimes we put our  title  or  position  in  the  company   or institution  we work in. Mostly,  this  is  just  to inform the person who has not known us before.

Examples :

signature           Adam Williams Customer Relation Manager

10.  Identification Initials

If you type a letter for someone else, add identifying initials. For example if John Doe types a letter for Jane Smith, the notation would be JS:jd. Then, if you are enclosing items in the envelope, add an enclosure notation (Enc:, Encl: or Enclosures) followed by the title of the enclosures. Add the notation cc: followed by the names of everyone receiving a copy.

Identification Initials are usually used by large-sized companies for administrative purposes only. Identification Initials mainly have two functions :
a. to give information about the secretary or the author of a business letter.
b. to provide data in case of some incidents or errors.

Identification Initials are generally put at the left-hand bottom, just after the signature line. They are sometimes put at the same line with the date line. Example :
J.B./m.h.
The identification initials mean that the author is Jack Brown and the secretary/clerk is Meredith Harrison.

11.  Enclose Reference

When our business letter has one or more attachments, such as price list, collection letter, brochure, invoice, resume etc., we must make sure that we state it in the main letter. The statement that we send another paper other than the main letter is called enclosure reference. This enclosure reference is usually shortened as Enc. or ENC. or Inc. or Encl. or Incl..

Example :
Encl.   : 1 (one) Illustrated price list
Incl.    : 1 (one) Invoice
Enc.    : Our 2010 Catalog
Inc.     : Cheque no. 954646/B

 The difference between American style and British Style :

	American Style	British Style
Heading	According to the format but usually aligned to the left	The heading is usually placed in the top right corner of the letter (sometimes centred)
Date	October 19, 2005 (month-day-year) According to the format but usually aligned to the left (two lines below the heading)	19 October 2005 (day-month-year) Usually placed directly (or 1 blank line) below the heading.
Salutation	Dear Mr./Ms. Smith: Dear Sir or Madam: Gentlemen: After the salutation there is a colon (:)	Dear Mr./Ms. Smith, Dear Sir or Madam, Dear Sirs, After the salutation there is a comma (,)
Complimentary close	Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Yours truly,	Sincerely, Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully,

References :

https://www.nmu.edu/writingcenter/parts-business-letter

http://www.englet.com/parts

http://www.studyenglishtoday.net/business-letter-parts.html