Layout of a Formal Letter

The example letter below shows you a general layout

for a formal letter.

Rules for Writing Formal Letters in English

In English there are a number of conventions that

should be used when writing a formal or business
letter. Furthermore, you try to write as simply and
as clearly as possible, and not to make the letter
longer than necessary. Remember not to use
informal language like contractions.
* What do I want the reader to know?
* What kind of business letter am I writing?
* Letter of inquiry
* Letter of application
* Letter of complaint
* Letter of regret
* Thank you letter
* Good news letter
* Bad news letter
* Sales letter
*How well do I know
them?
*How much do they
know about my
subject?
*How will they feel
about my message?
*What vocabulary will
set the tone?
*Heading 1” - 1 1/2”

*Writer’s complete
address (Return
Address) QUAD

*Current date
*Inside Address
*Receiver’s complete
name, title, company
and address (Letter
Address)
* If you have a letterhead, you don’t need the Return Address…

123 Pine Street

Oak Ridge, NJ 07438
* Choose a font that is easy to read.
* 1 to 1½ inch left and right margins.
* 1 to 1½ inch top and bottom margins.
* Present information
* completely
* concisely
* professionally
* Be consistent – block or modified block.
* 1) Your Address
The return address should be written in the top
left-hand corner of the letter.
* Your Address: (Not needed if the letter is
printed on paper with a letterhead already
on it.): All that is needed is your street
address on the first line and the city, state
and zip on the second line.
* If the heading consists of your address, you will include
* Your street address
* The city, state, and zip cod
* If the heading consists of your company’s address you will
include
* The company’s name
* The street address
* The city ,state and zip code
* Different people put the date on different
sides of the page. You can write this on the
right or the left on the line after the address
you are writing to. Write the month as a word.
* May 31, 2005
* Place the date one or two space below the
writer’s address
* This is the address of a person or people to
whom you are writing. The inside address
contains these elements in the following
order
* Your reader’s name (title)
* Your reader’s title (optional if you include
the name)
* The company name
* The company street address
* The company city ,state and zip code
* Dear Mr Jenkins,
If you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs,
Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the name only. If you
are writing to a woman and do not know if she
uses Mrs or Miss, you can use Ms, which is for
married and single women.
* If you don’t know the reader’s name you can address the other
person by his title
* Dear Vice President of Operations
* Or address the letter to the reader’s department (accountant
department) ,if you address the letter to the department, (dear)
would be inappropriate and should be omitted
* Dear sir and dear madam cannot be used because they show gender
language
* Other salutations include GOOD MORNING
* TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN
* Are also inappropriate
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER
(continued)…
1” - 1 1/2”
• Body
– Single-space paragraphs,
double-space between
paragraphs.
– Two paragraphs.
QUAD
– Avoid long phrases.
– Avoid making business
letters longer than one
DS
page.
– Heading on Page 2.

DS
Ms. Moss 2 or Ms. Moss
Page 2
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER
(continued)…
• Complimentary
closing
– Use Sincerely,
Sincerely yours, or
Yours truly. Capitalize
only the first word; end
with a comma.
*1) Yours Faithfully
If you do not know the name of the person,
end the letter this way.
*2) Yours Sincerely
If you know the name of the person, end
the letter this way.
*3) Your signature
Sign your name, then print it underneath
the signature. If you think the person you
are writing to might not know whether you
are male of female, put your title in
brackets after your name.
* If your letter is longer than one page, you’ll
need to cite your name, the page number, and
the date on all pages after page 1. place this
notation either with the left margin at the top
of subsequent pages or across the top of
subsequent pages.
* LEFT MARGIN ,SUBSEQUENT PAGE NOTATION
* Mairaj Tariq
* Page 2
* May 31, 2005
* ACROSSS TOP OF SUBSEQUENT PAGES
* Mairaj Tariq 2 May
31,2005
* If the writer has been typed by someone other
than writer, include both the writer’s and the
typist’s initials two spaces below the typed
signature. The writers initials are capitalized,
the typists initials are typed in lower case, and
the two initials are separated by a colon. If the
typist and the writer are the same person ,this
notation is not necessary
* Sincerely,
* signature
* W.T.Winney
* WTW:mm
* If your letter enclosed information, such as a
report, or graphics mention this enclosure in
the letter and then type and enclosure
notation two spaces below the typed signature
Show the number of enclosures such as
Enc (2)
Or specify what has been enclosed
Enc : January working report
* If you have made a carbon copy or a photocopy
of your letter, show this in a copy notation
* Type the copy notation two space below the
typed signature or two spaces below either the
writer’s or typist’s initials or the enclosure
notation
* If you are sending copies of the letter to other
readers, list these readers’ names following
the copy notation
* cc : Maria Rashid ,Talha Baloch
123 Pine Street
Oak Ridge, NJ 07438
October 30, 2005

ABC Company
345 Spruce Street
Whatever, IL 01233

Dear Mr. Brown:

Insert the part of the body of the letter here. The

body of the letter should tell something about what
you hope to convey.

It should also have a closing paragraph in it. There

should be at least two sentences per paragraph.

Sincerely,

Mrs. DeGraw
Mrs. DeGraw, Chairperson

/ged

Enclosure
*The following abbreviations are widely
used in letters:
*asap = as soon as possible
*cc = carbon copy (when you send a copy
of a letter to more than one person, you
use this abbreviation to let them know)
*enc. = enclosure (when you include other
papers with your letter)
*pp = per procurationem (A Latin phrase
meaning that you are signing the letter
on somebody else's behalf; if they are not
there to sign it themselves, etc)
*ps = postscript (when you want
to add something after you've
finished and signed it)
*pto (informal) = please turn
over (to make sure that the
other person knows the letter
continues on the other side of
the page)
*RSVP = please reply
Full block format
Your address
Date
Inside address
Salutation
Letter body
sincerely
Signature
Typed name
ST:bd
Cc:jeremy isaacs
* Same pattern except
* Subject: MARKETING OF NEW PRODUCT
* Salutation
* your address
* date
*Inside address
*Salutation
*Letter body
* sincerely,
* signature
* name
* etc
* It also has the same format as modified block format only
that the paragraphs in body are indented
* Your address
* Date
* Inside address
* Subject
* Letter body
* Signature
* Typed name
* etc
* A covering letter is the one that accompanies
your CV when you are applying for a job. Here
is a fairly conventional plan for the layout of
the paragraphs.
* Opening Paragraph
Briefly identify yourself and the position you
are applying for. Add how you found out about
the vacancy.
* Paragraph 2
Give the reasons why you are interested in working for the company
and why you wish to be considered for that particular post. State
your relevant qualifications and experience, as well as your personal
qualities that make you a suitable candidate.
* Paragraph 3
Inform them that you have enclosed your current CV and add any
further information that you think could help your case.
* Closing Paragraph
Give your availability for interview, thank them
for their consideration, restate your interest
and close the letter.
* A letter of enquiry is when you are approaching
a company speculatively, that is you are
making an approach without their having
advertised or announced a vacancy.
* Opening Paragraph
Introduce yourself briefly and give your reason
for writing. Let them know of the kind of
position you are seeking, why you are
interested and how you heard about them.
* Paragraph 2
Show why their company in particular interests
you, mention your qualifications and
experience along with any further details that
might make them interested in seeing you.
* Paragraph 3
Refer to your enclosed CV and draw their
attention to any particularly important points
you would like them to focus on in it.
* Closing Paragraph
Thank them, explain your availability for
interview and restate your enthusiasm for their
company and desire to be considered for posts
that might as yet be unavailable.
* Block Format: Business Letter
* Return Address Line 1 1
Return Address Line 2
* Date (Month Day, Year) 2
* Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. Full name of recipient. 3
Title/Position of Recipient.
Company Name
Address Line 1
Address Line 2
* Dear Ms./Mrs./Mr. Last Name: 4
* Subject: Title of Subject 5
* Body
*Paragraph
1.........................................
...........................................
...........................................
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Body Paragraph
2.........................................
...........................................
...........................................
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Body Paragraph 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
...........................................
...........................................
...........................................
......6
Closing (Sincerely...), 7
* Signature 8
* Your Name (Printed) 9
Your Title
Enclosures (2) 10
Typist Initials. 11
*Your Address: (Not needed if the letter is printed on
paper with the company letterhead already on it.):
The return address of the sender of the letter so the
recipient can easily find out where to send a reply to.
Skip a line between your address and the date.
*2. Date: Put the date on which the letter was written
in the format Month Day Year i.e. August 30, 1981.
Skip a line between the date and the inside address
(some people skip 3 or 4 lines after the date).
*3. Inside Address: The address of the person you are
writing to along with the name of the recipient, their
title and company name, if you are not sure who the
letter should be addressed to either leave it blank,
but try to put in a title, i.e. "Director of Human
Resources". Skip a line between the date and the
salutation.
* . Salutation: Dear Ms./Mrs./Mr. Last Name:, Dear Director of
Department Name: if recipient's name is unknown. Note that
there is a colon after the salutation. Skip a line between the
salutation and the subject line or body.
* 5. Subject Line (optional): Makes it easier for the recipient to
find out what the letter is about. Skip a line between the subject
line and the body.
* 6. Body: The body is where you write the content of the letter;
the paragraphs should be single spaced with a skipped line
between each paragraph. Skip a line between the end of the
body and the closing.
* . Closing: Let's the reader know that you are finished with your
letter; usually ends with Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Thank you, and
so on. Note that there is a comma after the end of the closing and
only the first word in the closing is capitalized. Skip 3-4 lines
between the closing and the printed name, so that there is room for
the signature.
* 8. Signature: Your signature will go in this section, usually signed in
black or blue ink with a pen.
* 9. Printed Name: The printed version of your name, and if desired
you can put your title or position on the line underneath it. Skip a
line between the printed name and the enclosure.
* 10. Enclosure: If letter contains other document other than the
letter itself your letter will include the word "Enclosure." If there is
more than one you would type, "Enclosures (#)" with the # being the
number of other documents enclosed that doesn't include the letter
itself.
* 11. Reference Initials: If someone other than yourself typed the
letter you will include your initials in capital letters followed by the
typist's initials in lower case in the following format; AG/gs or AG:gs.
* 3519 Front Street
Mount Celebres, CA 65286
* October 5, 2004
* Ms. Betty Johnson
Accounts Payable
The Cooking Store
765 Berliner Plaza
Industrial Point, CA 68534
* Dear Ms Johnson:
* It has come to my attention that your company, The Cooking Store
has been late with paying their invoices for the past three months.
* In order to encourage our customers to pay for their invoices before
the due date, we have implemented a discount model where we'll
give you 2% off your invoice if you pay us within 10 days of receiving
the invoice.
* I hope that everything is going well for you and your company. You
are one of our biggest customers, and we appreciate your business. If
you have any questions, you can feel free to contact me at (555)
555-5555.
* Sincerely,
* Signature
* Bob Powers
Accounts Receivable