formatting a business letter

8/10/2019 Formatting a Business Letter

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Formatting

a

Business Letter


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Importanceof writing a

Business

Letter ?


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-Reaches far and wide:

Within town or out of it, within the country or abroad,a letter reaches the target with much convenience.Through letters, a businessman can reach thousands of

persons located at thousands of places.

-Saves money in communication:Personal conferences and meetings are expensive to

arrange. If the same job can be done through a letter, itis better to do so. Letters are cost- effective in one more

way. They save the hassles that may arise in a faultyoral presentation. Phrases frequently required can be

saved and used again and again.


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Formats

Business letters conform to generally one of sixindentation formats: Standard, Open, Block, Semi-

Block, Modified Block, and Modified Semi-Block. Putsimply, "Semi-" means that the first lines of paragraphs

are indented; "Modified" means that the sender's

address, date, and closing are significantly indented.


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StandardThe standard format letter (1) uses a colonafter the salutation, (2) uses a comma after the

complimentary closing.

Open

The open format letter (1) use no punctuation afterthe salutation, (2) use no punctuation after the

complimentary closing.BlockIn a Block format letter, (1) all text is aligned to the

left margin, (2) paragraphs are not indented.Semi-BlockIn a Semi-Block format letter, (1) all text is

aligned to the left margin, (2) paragraphs are indented, and(3) paragraphs are separated by double or triple spacing.

Modified Block

In a Modified Block format letter, (1) all textis aligned to the left margin, except for the author's address,date, and closing; and (2) paragraphs are not indented. Theauthor's address, date, and closing begin at the center point.


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Things toconsider in

writing a

Business Letter


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Font

Another important factor in the readability of a letter is the

font. The generally accepted font is Times New Roman, size 12,

although other fonts such as Arial may be used. When choosing

a font, always consider your audience. If you are writing to a

conservative company, you may want to use Times New Roman.

However, if you are writing to a more liberal company, you

have a little more freedom when choosing fonts.

Punctuation

Punctuation after the salutation and closing - use a colon :)

after the salutation never a comma) and a comma ,) after the

closing. In some circumstances, you may also use a less common

format, known as open punctuation. For this style,

punctuation is excluded after the salutation and the

closing.


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MarginsSide, top and bottom margins should be 1 to 1 1/4 inches (thegeneral default settings in programs such as Microsoft Word).


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