Letters

1. Letters Objective 4.04: Apply correct letter formats

2. Essential Questions: • What are personal-business letters and what are they used for? • What are business letters and what are they used for? • What are the formatting guidelines for personal-business and business letters?

3. Types of Letters Personal-Business Letter – a letter that is sent from an individual to another person or to a business/organization Business Letter – a letter sent from a business or organization to an individual or to another business or organization • Business letters are usually keyed on letterhead, which includes the business’s name, address, phone/fax/e-mail, and logo

4. Main Parts of a Letter Return Address-the address of the person that wrote the letter. This the Letterhead if the letter is from a business. Date line-date the letter was written Letter Address/Mailing Address-the address of the person receiving the letter Salutation-the greeting of the letter Example: Dear Sir or Madam: Body-the message of the letter Complimentary Close-the closing of the letter Example: Sincerely yours, Writer’s Name-the author’s typed name Signature line-signature of the author; he/she signs the letter after it has been printed

5. Formatting a Letter • Margins: TM-2 inches RM-1 inch • BM-1 inch LM-1 inch • Formatting: block style • all parts of the letter are keyed at the left margin • paragraphs are not indented • use standard font and size, i.e. Times New Roman/Arial size 12 • single space within paragraphs, double space between

6. Example of a Block Style Letter

7. Punctuation Styles Open Punctuation • No colon or comma in the salutation • No comma in the complimentary closing Mixed Punctuation • A colon is added to the salutation • A comma is added to the complimentary close Example: Dear Ms. Smith Sincerely yours Example: Dear Ms. Smith: Sincerely yours,

8. Personal-Business Letterwith Mixed Punctuation Notice the colon after the salutation and the comma after the complimentary close

9. Letterhead: The business letter uses letterhead instead of a return address, which consists of the business’s name, address, phone/fax/email, and logo. Business Letter with Open Punctuation Notice that there is no colon after the salutation and no comma after the complimentary close

10. Special Letter Parts Typist initials – the initials of the person that typed the letter if they were not the author of the letter; keyed a DS below the writer’s name, in lowercase letters, with no space or punctuation Enclosure notation – indicates that additional items are included in the envelope with the letter Attachment notation – indicates that additional items are attached (clipped, stapled, etc.) to the letter Copy notation – indicates that a copy of the letter is being sent to someone in addition to the addressee/letter address

11. Block Style Letter with Special Parts Typist initials Enclosure notation Copy notation

12. Notes to Remember! • A personal business letter is correspondence sent from an individual to another person or to a business/organization • A business letter is correspondence sent from a business to another business or to an individual. Because letterhead stationery is used, the return address is not keyed. • The top margin is usually 2“, side and bottom margins are typically 1" • Block format is one style of formatting for personal-business and business letters in which all parts of the letter begin at the left margin • Typist initials are the initials of the typist and are used when someone other than the writer prepares the letter. Lowercase letters are used, with no space, and with no punctuation, appearing a double space below the signature. • Enclosure/Attachment and Copy notations appear a double space below the typist initials