STANDARD PARTS OF THE LETTER

 Heading: letterhead and date

 Inside address
 Salutation
 Body
 Complimentary close
 Signature area
 Reference section (typist reference- SA/sk,
Enclosures, cc)
 STANDARD PARTS OF THE LETTER:
HEADING

 Either letter head or your own address should be

at the top of the letter before the date and before
the name and address of the receiver of your
message
 Usually the date is written 2 to 6 six lines below
the last line of the letter head; at the left margin,
centered, begun at the center, or placed so it
ends with the right margin
STANDARD PARTS OF THE LETTER:
INSIDE ADDRESS

This is always blocked at the left margin - it includes:

 Courtesy title
 Name
 Executive or professional title
 Address of the individual, group or organization
 STANDARD PARTS OF THE LETTER:
SALUTATION & BODY

 Salutations are typed on the second line below

the inside address, two lines above the body of
the letter

 Most letters are typed single-spaced, with two

spaces between paragraphs, before and after the
salutation, and before the complimentary close
STANDARD PARTS OF THE LETTER:
COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
 The first letter of the complimentary close is in
capitals and is blocked at the left hand margin

 Popular complimentary close are: Sincerely,

Sincerely yours, Yours sincerely, Very truly
yours, Yours very truly, Cordially

 We in Pakistan use: Faithfully yours, Faithfully

 When the letter is informal, additional

complimentary close are often used such as:
Warm regards, Best wishes, Kindest regards
Letters - Complimentary Close Wording
Example
Tone
Regards, Best regards,
 Most informal: indicates close
Kindest regards,
personal relationship between
writer and recipient Kindest wishes,

 Informal and friendly: indicates Yours , Cordially,

personal relationship between Cordially yours,
writer and recipient who may or
may not be on a first-name-basis
Sincerely, Sincerely yours,
 Friendly but rather neutral: Very sincerely,
appropriate to all but the most
formal letters Very sincerely yours,
Yours sincerely,
 Polite neutral, and somewhat
formal: often used in law office Very truly yours,
correspondence as well as in Yours very truly,
general business Yours truly,
correspondence
Respectfully,
 Highly formal:indicates that the
recipient outranks the writer; often Respectfully yours,
used in high-level diplomatic, Very respectfully,
governmental, or ecclesiastical
correspondence
STANDARD PARTS OF THE LETTER:
SIGNATURE AREA

You can include several identifications such as:

 Your signature
 Your typewritten name
 Name of your company
 Your business title
STANDARD PARTS OF THE LETTER:
REFERENCE AREA
 It may include information about the message composer, the
typist and sometimes word processing data and it appears at
the left margin or below the signature area

 It is also the name/number of the file/letter with date or year

usually written after the file or letter name/number e.g.
REC345/2000

 This reference section appears right below the date wherever

the date is written
Letter Formats
Business letters are usually arranged in one of the following letter
styles:
 Full Block - every line begins at the left margin

 Modified Block - the date, complimentary close, and signature section

begin to the right of the center. All other sections begin at the left
margin. - attention and subject lines may be indented, centered or
begin at the left margin

 Semiblock - Just like modified block except paragraphs indented

 AMS simplified - Omits salutation and instead introduces the letter

with a subject line, typed in capitals but omitting the word subject.
Sometimes this is also omitted. The reader’s name appears
somewhere early in the first paragraph.No complimentary close and
open punctuation
 Letter Format: Punctuation Styles

Open and mixed punctuation are the 2 forms most used

in business letters

Open punctuation: no line of any letter part (except

the body) has any punctuation

Mixed punctuation: a colon or a comma follows the

salutation, a comma follows the complimentary close
BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL PLANS

Your choice of organizational plans depends

on :

1. How you expect your reader or listener to

react to your message
2. How much the person knows about the
topic or situation
BASIC ORGANIZATIONAL PLANS

 Direct approach :
Used for requests, information,inquiries,
good news

 Indirect Approach:
Used for bad news, refusal, termination
and dismissal
Direct Approach

 Main Idea
 Explanation
 Courteous Close with Motivation to Action
INDIRECT APPROACH

 Buffer (pleasant or neutral statements, reader

oriented)
 Main Idea
 Explanation: necessary data, tactfully stated,
pertinent favorable, then unfavorable acts, reader
benefit reason
 Decision (implied or expressed) along with offer of
additional help or suggestions
 Positive, Friendly Close
THE 5 PLANNING STEPS:
IDENTIFY YOUR PURPOSE

 Your first step when planning communication

is to determine your specific purpose

 The objective of your message is almost

always twofold:
1. The reason for the message itself
2. Creation of goodwill
THE 5 PLANNING STEPS:
ANALYZE YOUR AUDIENCE

See your message from the receiver’s point of

view:
 their needs
 their interests
 their attitudes
 even their culture
THE 5 PLANNING STEPS:
CHOOSE YOUR IDEAS

 The idea you include depends on the type of

message you are sending and the background and
location of your receiver (national and international)
 If you are answering a letter, underline the main
points to discuss and jot your ideas in the margin
 If you are writing an unsolicited or a complex
message, begin by listing ideas as they come to you
and then choosing the best ideas for your receiver
THE 5 PLANNING STEPS:
COLLECT YOUR DATA

 Be sure to collect data to support your ideas: check

names, dates, addresses and statistics for precision

 Sometimes you may need to enclose a brochure,

table, picture or product sample
THE 5 PLANNING STEPS:
ORGANIZE YOUR MESSAGE

 Before you write down your first draft, outline

your message -mentally or on paper

 The order in which you present your ideas is

as important as ideas themselves

 Disorganized rambling messages often seem

careless, confusing and unimportant