Communications 11 and 12
What is a Business
Letter?
• Overview of Letter Parts
– Dateline and Letter Address
– Salutation
– Closing Letter Parts
• Letter Format
• Letter Placement
Overview of Letter Parts
• Letterhead
• Dateline
• Letter Address
• Salutation
• Body
• Complimentary Closing
• Writer’s Name and Title
• Reference Initials
Dateline and Letter Address
• Dateline
– Date letter is mailed
– QS (4 spaces below
dateline)
Include personal title
• Letter address
– Person who receives
the letter
– Include personal title
– One space before
Postal Code
One space before Postal Code
Salutation
• Salutation
– Salutation is the
greeting
– Open punctuation
requires no mark
following the salutation
No punctuation following the salutation
Proper Salutations
• Ladies and Gentlemen
– Appropriate when the letter is addressed to a
company
• Dear title and surname
– Standard letter address
– Use professional titles (Dr., Rev.) or personal
titles (generally Mr. or Ms.)
– Example: Dear Mr. McDonald
Letter Parts
• Body
– Body is the message
• Complimentary closing
– The complimentary
closing is the farewell
• Writer’s name and title
– QS (4 spaces)below
complimentary close
Block Letter Style
• All lines begin at left margin
• Default side margins
• Vertical position:
– Center the page vertically
or
– Position dateline 2.3” to 3” from the top of the
page, depending on length of the letter
Letter Placement Table
Length
Margins
Position on Page
Short (1-2 Para)
Default
Center page
Average (3-4 Para)
Default
Center page or
Dateline 2.7” from top
Long (4 or more Para) Default
Center page or
Dateline 2.3” from top
Centering Letter on Page
File
Page setup
Layout tab
Vertical alignment
Center
Print Preview
• Shows how a
document will look
when it is printed.
• Use it to check the
placement and format
of the letter before
printing.
Steps to Creating a Letter
1. Key the letter
2. Use correct spacing
between parts
3. Correct errors
4. Check the spelling
5. Delete extra hard
returns (¶) above
date or below initials
6. Center letter on page
7. Use Print Preview to
check placement
8. Position date
manually if necessary
9. Print, proofread, edit
if necessary
Sample Letter
• Click letter to see sample business letter
with proper formatting