THE FORM OF THE

MODERN BUSINESS LETTER

I. Importance of Correct Business Stationary

1. Stationary Be a good quality8-1/2 by 11 inches letter sheet is used by the majority of firms for letter.Enveloped match on the paper, should be size 6 ½ by 3 5/8.

2. The LetterheadConvey InformationThe details of the letterhead are the name and address of the sender. In addition telephone number and trademark appear.OrnamentalIt may serve to advertise the product or services of the firm or person it represents.

Examples:

Samples

II. Presentation of the Letter Proper

1. MarginNearly equal as possible.The left and right hand margins should never be less than an inch wide: 1.5 inch is preferable.2.0 inches should be the most pleasing margin.

2. Spacing It is standard practice to single space all letters and to double space between paragraphs and between other units such as the inside address and the salutation.

3. Closed and Open PunctuationClosed Punctuation- There should always be a comma between the names of the city and state, town and province, and between the figures showing the day of the month and the year-but not between the month and the day. Conservative style.

Open Punctuation- affords slight saving of time.The colon following the salutation and the comma following the complimentary close are preferably retained even with the open form.

Closed Punctuation Open Punctuation

Heading Heading

77 Sunset Strip,Santa Mesa Heights,

Quezon City,July 02, 2013.

77 Sunset StripSanta Mesa Heights

Quezon CityJuly 02, 2013.

Inside Address Inside Address

Mr. Mariano Santos,1330 Taft Avenue,Ermita, Manila .

Mr. Mariano Santos1330 Taft AvenueErmita, Manila

4. Forms of Indention

• Indented Form • Purely block Form• Block Form• Semi Block Form• Hanging or Overhanging Form

A. Indented FormEach line of the heading and the inside address is uniformly indented either 3 or 5 spaces more than the line which precedes it.Paragraph beginnings are usually indented the same amount as the last line of the inside address.The complimentary close ordinary aligns with the date line.

Indented

Form

B. Purely Block FormAll parts of the letter are begun flush with the lefthand margin of pageMost efficient

Purely Block

Form

C. Block Form The line of the heading and inside address are blocked, and all paragraph beginnings are begun flush with the lefthand margin of the page. The Complimentary close usually aligns with the date line.The signature between the paragraphs is indicated by double spacing.

Block Form

July 02, 2013

Ms. Catherine R. MullinaFred B. Rothman & Company57 Leuning StreetSouth Hackenck, New JerseyU.S.A 07606

Dear Ms. Mullina:

We received your letter of request to return RQ S2872 last October 10, 2012. Unfortunately, we are very sorry to inform you that your request cannot be granted because you have order an advance 20 copies of Philippine Reports, Vol. 125 shown in the xerox copies we have enclosed for your guidance.

Note that your request for cancellation of 1 copy of Vol. 125 of Philippine reports were superseded by your latest order that we received dated March 17,2013 that we got hold March 29, 2013 after we placed an advance order to the printer as per your request.

We do hope you’ll understand us, much as we like to grant your request but printer no longer accept return orders.

We thank you for your continued patronage.

Sincerely yours,

…………………… KOO HYE SUN

Head, Subscription Dept.

D. Semi Block Form Differs from the block form in only “Indention of paragraph openings”Lines which begin new paragraphs should be uniformly indented either five or ten spaces.

July 02, 2013

Ms. Catherine R. MullinaFred B. Rothman & Company57 Leuning StreetSouth Hackenck, New JerseyU.S.A 07606

Dear Ms. Mullina:

We received your letter of request to return RQ S2872 last October 10, 2012. Unfortunately, we are very sorry to inform you that your request cannot be granted because you have order an advance 20 copies of Philippine Reports, Vol. 125 shown in the xerox copies we have enclosed for your guidance.

Note that your request for cancellation of 1 copy of Vol. 125 of Philippine reports were superseded by your latest order that we received dated March 17,2013 that we got hold March 29, 2013 after we placed an advance order to the printer as per your request.

We do hope you’ll understand us, much as we like to grant your request but printer no longer accept return orders.

We thank you for your continued patronage.

Sincerely yours,

…………………… KOO HYE SUN

Head, Subscription Dept.

Semi Block

Form

E. Hanging or Overhanging Form

Paragraph beginnings align with the left hand margin of the page. All other lines are indented five spaces from the left hand margin. Considerable causes a waste of spaceAppropriate only when the nature of the business is sufficiently informal to justify novelty and innovation.

July 02, 2013

Mr. H F Farol7756 W. Monroe StreetChicago, IllinoiaDear Mr. Farol

I wish it were possible for me to know each one of our customers personally, so that I could tell you, from time to time, just how much I appreciate your loyalty to us.

While the volume of modern business makes this ideal situation impossible, I do want you to know that I appreciate the friendship and patronage you have given us. Your charge account was open just one year ago today. It is my sincere hope that you have enjoyed using it in proportion

to the pleasure we have in serving you.

During your second year as a charge customer, we want to make your account still more of a convenience to you. So please tell us of anyway in which it can be made more useful. We’ll consider it a real favor if you will.

Yours sincerely,…………………….

H.M. Oppenheimer President

Hanging or

Overhangin

g Form

Any Questions????

Rowena

Essential Parts of the Letter

HeadingInside AddressSalutationBody of the LetterComplimentary CloseSignatureMiscellaneous Parts

HeadingThe heading gives the complete

address of the writer and the date when the letter is written. There are two kinds of heading:

◦Modern Heading◦Conventional Heading

Modern Heading◦contains the letterhead and the date

Conventional Heading◦contains only the complete address

of the writer and the date

The first line of the heading usually contains the number of the house and the name of the street.

The second line of the heading usually contains the town and the province; the city and the state; the district and the city, or the city postal zone, and the state.

The date always occupies the last line of the heading. It is written either with the month, day and year, or with the day, the month and the year.

Inside AddressThe inside address contains the name

and complete address of the individual or firm to whom the letter is written.

The first line contains the name of the addressee and the appropriate title.

The second line contains the street address or its equivalent.

The third line contains the names of the city or town and state or province.

Titles Used in Business:Mr. – used is addressing a man who has

no other title, or whose special title is unknown to the writer.

Miss – used in addressing four classes of women:◦Unmarried Women◦Women Celebrities◦Women whose status cannot be determined◦Women Divorcees

Mrs. – used in addressing a married woman, a widow, or a divorcee.

Dr. – used in addressing a man or a woman who holds a doctor’s degree in any branch of studies.

Professor – used in addressing a member of a college or university faculty, either man or woman, who holds the rank of professor, associate professor, and assistant professor.

Honorable – used in addressing high government officials and ex-high government officials.

Reverend – used in addressing a member of the clergy.

Esquire – used in addressing professional men.

SalutationThe salutation is the greeting of

the letter. There are three forms of the salutation:

◦Two Singular◦One Plural

Sir and My Dear SirMadam and My Dear Madam

– most formal and impersonal salutations.

Dear Sir and Dear Madam– least formal and impersonal

salutations.

Personal Salutations:

My dear Mr. Cruz My dear Mrs. Cruz– most formal and personal salutations.Dear Mr. CruzDear Mary– less formal and personal.

Plural Forms:

Gentlemen – used in addressing a firm; a professional partnership of men; a committee or board comprised of men; an organization of men; or a post office box; or letters used as names of companies; or newspaper advertising boxes.

Ladies and Gentlemen – used in addressing committees of men and women.

Body of the Letter

The body consists of the actual message, which is presented between the salutation and the complimentary close. A business letter should be clear, concise, and direct. It is suggested that:

Make sure that the subject matter of the letter is presented in well-organized paragraph.

Use words that are in common, accepted usage, avoid slang or trite expressions.

Be careful of the spelling of the words.Use capital letters where necessary and

punctuate to make your meaning clear.It is advisable to keep copies of business

letters for future reference.

Complimentary Close

The complimentary close is a

conventional farewell to the

reader.

Most Formal and ImpersonalSalutation Complimentary Close

Sir: Very respectfully yours,Madam: Yours very respectfully,My dear Sir:My dear Madam:

Formal Formal

My dear Mr. Reyes: Very sincerely yours,

My dear Miss Santos: Yours very truly,Very cordially yours,Yours very earnestly,Very affectionately yours,Yours very faithfully,

Less Formal Less Formal

Dear Mr. Garcia: Yours truly,Dear Helen: Sincerely yours,

Cordially yours,Yours devotedly,Faithfully yours,Yours earnestly,

Signature The purpose of the signature is to

authenticate the statements that precede it by fixing responsibility for them upon an organization or an individual.