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Business Letters

Business Letters. What They Are & How to Write Them. People Still Write Letters?. “Business letters” are really just formal communications sent by snail mail. Why Bother?. Everyday people write business letters to: share ideas promote products or events

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Business Letters

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  1. Business Letters What They Are & How to Write Them

  2. People Still Write Letters? • “Business letters” are really just formal communications sent by snail mail.

  3. Why Bother? • Everyday people write business letters to: • share ideas • promote products or events • complain to / support a public official or business • ask for help • contact organizations • gain internships • help solve problems • express thanks • introduce oneself • recommend • formalize something • request

  4. Organizing & Writing Business Letters

  5. LooksMatter And, while these people may have style or swag,

  6. These folks look better. Their appearance meets the accepted standard.

  7. Business Letters In-style • Follow the age-old, established format. • Use formal language. • Be short and precise. • Your purpose should be clear and to-the-point. • Pay attention to punctuation, spacing, spelling, etc.

  8. Business Letters In-style Cont’d • Use plain, white, 8 ½ by 11 paper. • Arial and Times New Roman are appropriate fonts to use. • No matter how nice you think Comic Sans looks! • Use 10-12 point font. • When mailing, be sure to trifold your letter before putting it in the envelope.

  9. Anatomy of a Business Letter

  10. Parts of a Business Letter(in order from top to bottom) • Heading • Sender’s address • Date • Inside address/ Recipient’s address • Salutation • Body • Closing • Signature • Initials, Enclosures, Copies Everything is LEFT justified!

  11. Sender’s Address • Hint, you’re the sender. • If I’m sending it, why do I include my address? • What should it look like? 123 Main St. <- but use your street West Seneca, NY 14224 <- but use your city • Why is my name missing?

  12. Date • Used to indicated the date the letter was written. • What should it look like? September 10, 2014 <- but use your date

  13. Inside Address • This is the recipient’s address • Include a name • Include that individual’s title (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., Honorable, Senator) • What should it look like? Mrs. Skotnicki <- left-justify every line 3330 Seneca St. West Seneca, NY 14057

  14. Salutation (the greeting) • Use the same name as the inside address, including the title followed by a colon. • Do not address the person by their first name (Dear Lucy). • What does this look like? Dear Mrs. Skotnicki: <- notice the colon • If you do not know the gender of the recipient, use their first and last names. Dear Pat Tronolone:

  15. The Body: Formatting • Single space your letter. • Left justify every paragraph. Do not indent! • Separate paragraphs with a single blank line. • What will this look like? • See the next slide.

  16. The Body: Content • The first paragraph • Be friendly. Introduce yourself. • Be concise and get right to your main point. • Clearly establish your purpose for writing. • The second paragraph • Justify the importance of your main point. • The third+ paragraph(s) • Continue justification of your main point with background information and supporting details. • The closing paragraph • Restate the purpose of the letter and (if necessary) request some kind of action.

  17. Closing • Begin at the same vertical point as your date. • Separate from the last body paragraph with one blank line. • Capitalize the first letter and leave four blank lines between the closing and your name. • What does this look like? Sincerely, <- 4 blank lines <- your signature here Joe Student

  18. Enclosures • If you’re sending something with your letter (a resume, a brochure, etc.), be sure to point it out professionally. • Skip a line after your name and type the word “Enclosure” or “Encl.” before the name of your attachment. • What does this look like? Jane Doe Encl. Traffic Light Diagrams

  19. Copies • If you’re sending your letter to more than one person, you must make them aware. (Think “cc” on an e-mail.) • What does this look like? Jane Doe Encl. Traffic Light Diagrams cc: Mr. Brinker, Principal

  20. The Business Letter: A Visual What’s missing from this image?

  21. Sources • Sebranek, Patrick, Dave Kemper, and Verne Meyer. Writer’s Inc: A Student Handbook for Writing and Learning. Wilmington, Massachusetts: Write Source. 2001. Print. • "Writing The Basic Business Letter." Purdue OWL: Basic Business Letters. Purdue University. Web. 27 Aug. 2013.

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