San Diego Unified School District
EUGENE BRUCKER EDUCATION CENTER
4100 Normal Street, San Diego, CA 92103-2682
Fax:
(619) 725-xxxx
(619) 725-xxxx
Template Name
Template Position
Template Office of
(Format: 12 point “Times New Roman” block style)
January 1, 2008 (written in full – never abbreviated or represented by figures) Gregg 1314
(If used, this notation is typed 2 lines below date line at the left margin in bold caps.) Gregg 1315
PERSONAL or CONFIDENTIAL
(Start the inside address at the left margin on the fourth line below the date or below any notation that falls
between the date and the inside address) Gregg 1319
Mr. John L. Smith
President
ABC Education Company, Inc.
P. O. Box 1234
San Diego, CA 92101-1234
(Type the salutation, beginning at the left margin, on the second line below the inside address) Gregg 1346
Dear Mr. Smith:
(If used, the subject line appears between the salutation and text of the letter with one blank line above and
below; can be centered for special emphasis and/or typed in all caps.) Gregg 1353
Subject: Office Manual Update on Letter Format
(Begin the text of the letter on the second line below the subject line, if used, or on the second line below the
salutation) Gregg 1354a
This is a sample letter to show the district standard. Guidelines have been shown for spacing,
font, and format. Letters are formal in nature, usually addressed to people outside the district,
as opposed to memoranda that are informal, internal documents. If you are writing in response
to a letter or some other document, it is helpful to refer to that document by date in the first
sentence of your letter. Gregg 1354b
Use single-spacing and leave one blank line between paragraphs. Gregg 1355 (Exception:
Draft letters are always double-spaced and clearly marked “DRAFT.”) Align each line of the
message at the left margin. Do not justify the right margin as the insertion of extra space
between words to make each line the same length can sometimes produce unintended “rivers”
of white space running vertically through the text. Studies have demonstrated that text with a
ragged (unjustified) right margin is easier to read. Gregg 1356a and 1356b
Refer to the Gregg Reference Manual for directions when including quoted material, tables,
enumerated items in a list, or bulleted items in a list in the body of a letter. This information
can be found in Section 13, 1357-1358.
BECOMING AMERICA’S BEST
Letter to Mr. John L. Smith
Page 2
June 26, 2001
(Leave one or two blank lines [two lines are preferred] below the last line of the continuation page heading
and resume typing the letter.) Gregg 1385a
If you use the header feature in your word processing program, type a continuation page
heading consisting of the following: the name of the addressee, the page number, and the date
(must match the date on the first page). The three-line format is preferred. Gregg 1384
If a letter takes two or more pages, do not divide a short paragraph (with only two or three
lines) at the bottom of a page. Always leave at least two lines of the paragraph at the foot of
one page and carry over at least two lines to the top of the next page. Gregg 1356d, 1385b
Never use a continuation page just for the closing section of a business letter. The
complimentary closing should be preceded by at least two lines of text. Gregg 1385c
(Type the complimentary closing on the 2nd line below the last line of the body of the letter) Gregg 1358
Sincerely, (Capitalize only the first word of a complimentary closing; i.e., Sincerely yours.
Place a comma at the end of the line.) Gregg 1359a,b
(Type the writer’s name on the 4th line below the complimentary closing) Gregg 1362a
Terry Grier
(Arrange the writer’s name and title on two or more
Superintendent of Schools
lines to achieve good visual balance) Gregg 1363a
(Type the initials of the typist at the left margin on the 2nd line below writer’s name and title) Gregg 1370b
kh
Enc. (If one or more items are to be included in the envelope with the letter, indicate that fact
by typing the word Enclosure [or an appropriate alternative] at the left margin on the line below the
reference initials.) Gregg 1373a
c: J. Doe
K. Nakamura
W. Kowba
G. Flores
K. Bachofer
(Start the copy notation on the line directly under any previous notation [i.e.,typist’s initials, enclosure
notation] or on the 2nd line below the writer’s name and title.) Gregg 1376c
Alphabetize the names by rank: nondistrict addressees, board members, superintendent, Executive
Committee members, then all other district staff.
NOTE: The mission statement should appear ONLY on the first page of correspondence, not on subsequent
pages.