The Essential Parts of the Business Letter
The Heading: the letterhead and
date.
Saudi Cable Company
200 King Abdullah Road
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 11220
The Inside Address.
The Salutation.
The Body of the Letter.
The Complimentary Close.
The Signature.
October 20, 2006
AL-Fowaz and Broths, Co.
110 New Street
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 2600
Gentlemen:
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??????????????????????????????????
???????????????.
Sincerely yours,
Ali Ahemed
Ali AL Ahemed
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Heading (letterhead and date)

It is usually printed, showing the name
and address.

The date is typed two spaces below
the last line of the letterhead.
The exact position of the date
depends on the design of the
letterhead and the style of the typing.
Saudi Cable Company
200 King Abdullah Road
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 11220
October 20, 2006

If the heading not printed, it must be typed in the upper right-hand part of the letter
sheet, with at least an inch margin at the top and to the right.

The words avenue, street, etc., are not abbreviated.
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 Numbered streets up to ten are spelled out, but numbered
streets beyond ten are written in figures.
 Do not use st, nd, rd or th when figures are used for numbered
streets or for days of the month in the dates.
 The name of cities must be written in full, but the name of
states should be abbreviated.
 Be sure to include the ZIP Code.
 Do not abbreviate the names of the month in the date line and
place a comma between the day of the month and the year.
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The Inside Address
 It gives the name and address
of the firm or individual to whom
the letter is addressed.
 It is placed at the left-hand side of
the sheet, at least two spaces below
the heading.
 The inside address must occupy
at least three lines.
Saudi Cable Company
200 King Abdullah Road
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 11220
October 20, 2006
AL-Fowaz and Broths, Co.
110 New Street
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 2600
 The exact position of the inside address
depends on the length of the letter and
the size of the sheet.
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 Regardless of the letter style, such words as Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., etc., must
always appear before the name.
 if the person to which the letter addressed has an official or business title,
this should appear after the name, either next to it or on the following line.
 Do not abbreviate official or business title.
 If there is apartment, room, or suite number, it should be placed after the
street address on the same line.
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Salutation
 Placed two spaces below the inside address,
the left-hand margin.
Mr.flush
Saad with
Al yousef
and Broths, Co.
 The first and last words and every noun areAL-Fowaz
capitalized.
 A colon (:) follows the salutation
except in open punctuation.
 Common used forms of salutation
are: singular form (Dear Mr., Mrs.
or Ms.).
 Plural form (Gentlemen or Ladies).
Other forms could be used.
110 New Street
Jeddah,
Saudi Arabia
2600
Mr. Saad
Al yousef
AL-Fowaz and Broths, Co.
110 New Street
Jeddah, Saudi
Gentlemen:
DearArabia
Mr. AL2600
yousef
Gentlemen: Dear Mr. AL yousef
???????????????????????
???????????????????????
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???????????????????????
???????????????????????
????????.
???????????????????????
????????.
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The body of the letter
 A business letter should be clear, concise,
AL-Fowaz and Broths, Co.
and direct. It is suggested that:
110 New Street
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 2600
 make sure that the subject matter of the
letter is presented in well-organized
Gentlemen:
paragraph.
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 Use words that are in common, accepted
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usage, avoid slang or trite expressions.
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?????.
 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.
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The complimentary close.
 It is placed two spaces below the body
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of the letter.
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???????????????.
 It appears at the right-hand side of
Sincerely yours,
the sheet except in the full-block
style in which appears at the left-hand margin.
 It is omitted when the simplified style is used.
 Only the first word of the complimentary close
is capitalized.
 A comma is placed at the end, except when open punctuation is
used.
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The signature.
 it is placed directly below
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the complimentary close.
????????????????????????
???????????????.
 It must be handwritten in ink, and
legible.
Sincerely yours,
Ali ALahmed
 No punctuation follows the signature.
 Titles or degrees, such as Mr.,
Ali ALahmed
Ph.D., etc., are not used in with
Manager
-------------------------------------------the signature.
Sincerely yours,
 The name of person who
signing the letters is typed four spaces
Saudi Gulf Co.
below the complimentary closing.
 If the simplified style is used the complimentary
close is omitted and the signature line is typed four spaces below the body.
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 An official title, if used, is placed directly below the typewritten name.
 In business letters, if the pronoun “W” is used instead of “I”, the name of the
firm appears before the writer’s signature. The firm’s name is typed two
spaces below the complimentary closing followed by the writer’s name four
spaces below the firm’s name.
 When a secretary signs the employer’s name to a letter the employer
dictated, the secretary places his or her initials directly below the
handwritten signature.
 When a secretary signs a letter in his or her own name, he or she indicates
that.
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Some Special Features of the Business Letter
The personal notation
The reference line
The attention line
The subject line
The identification line
The enclosure notation
The mailing notation
The carbon copy distribution notation
The postscript
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 The personal notation
If the letter is a confidential, and it is
wanted to be read only by
Personal
a particular person, the word personal
or confidential is used .
such notation should appear four spaces INSIDE ADDRESS
above the inside address as well as in the envelop.
 The reference line
It can refer to a bill, an order, a code or
a letter.
It is typed four spaces below the date line.
Date
Date
Refer to File No. 550
INSIDE ADDRESS
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 The attention line
if you want your letter is directed to the
INSIDE ADDRESS
attention of a particular person, use the attention
line. It is placed two spaces below the inside
Attention Mr. AL ahemd
address and two spaces above the salutation.
It may be flush with the left-hand margin
Gentlemen:
indented five spaces, or centred.
Because the letter directed to the firm, a plural salutation is required.
 The subject line
SALUTATION ---------Subject:
It indicates the subject matter of the letter
or
and makes it unnecessary to devote the first
Subject: Shipping Policy
paragraph to giving this information.
this line is generally centred on the same with
the salutation or two spaces below.
If the full block style is used, type the subject line flush with the left –hand
margin two spaces below the salutation. Place a colon after the word
Subject and use initial capital letters for all important words. If the simplified
style is used, the subject line is typed in all capital letters, but “Subject:” is
omitted.
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● The identification line.
It made up of the initials of the name of
// signature //
the person who dictated the letter and those
of the secretary or typist. The initials may
SJW: am
Enclosure or
be in capital letters, in all small letters, or in
2 Encls.
capitalized letters for dictator and small letters
for the secretary or typist. It is usually typed two spaces below the signature,
flush with the left-hand margin.
● The enclosure notation.
when the letter has enclosure, the notation is typed directly below the
identification line, flush with the left-hand margin. Either the entire word
enclosure, or its abbreviation, Enc. Or Encl. be used. If there is more than
one enclosure, the number should be indicated.
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● The mailing notation.
This notation states the method of mailing: whether the letter is sent registered,
airmail, special delivery…etc,.
it is typed directly below the identification
// signature //
line or enclosure notation. It serves as a record
SJW: am
to indicate that the letter was sent by other than
Enclosure or
regular mail.
2 Encls.
Special Delivery
cc: Mr. Saad
● The carbon copy distribution notation.
this notation states that a carbon copy of the letter is being sent to another person. It
is typed two spaces below all other notation, flush with the left hand margin. Either
the word Copy to or the abbreviation cc: may be used.
The blind carbon copy notation (bcc:) is used when the addressor does not wish to
indicate the distribution of the carbon copies to the addressee. It appears on all
internal copies, but not on the letter sent to the addressee.
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The Forms and Mechanics of Business
Letters
Letter Forms



Block Form:
Semi-block
The Complete-block


Simplified Letter
The Hanging-indention From
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The Block Form
 It is the most widely used form today.
 the block form takes its name
from the fact that the inside
address, the salutation, and
the paragraphs of the letter are
arranged in blocks without indention.
 Two spaces between each unit and
a single space within
the unit.
///////// Letterhead //////////
///////////////////////////////////////
Date
////////////////////////////////
//// Inside Address////
///Salutation///
//////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////The Body ////////////
/////////////////////////////.
Complementary
Signature
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 The open form of punctuation should always accompany the block form.
 The block form offers two definite advantage:
It offers time saving, because each part of letter except the date, the
complimentary closing, and the signature is aligned with the left-hand
margin.
Second, it is widely acceptable today.
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The Semi-block
 This form is exactly like the block form
except for the indention of paragraphs.
 Most general practice is to indent 10
spaces.
 Many typists let the salutation govern
the spaces in the indention.
For instance, if the salutation and
the name of the individual whom
the letter addressed to occupy 20 space,
the spaces in the indention will be 20
space.
///////// Letterhead //////////
/////////////////////////////////////
Date
////////////////////////////////
//// Inside Address////
///Salutation///
indention //////////////////////////////
////////////////The Body ////////////
/////////////////////////////.
//Complementary close//
//Signature//
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The Complete-block
● The basic principle of this form is to
bring all the elements of the letter to
the left-hand margin.
///////// Letterhead //////////
/////////////////////////////////////
// Date//
////////////////////////////////
//// Inside Address////
///Salutation///
//////////////////////////////////////////////////
///////////////////////////////////////
////////////////The Body ////////////
/////////////////////////////.
//Complementary Close//
// Signature//
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Simplified letter
The main characteristics of this form are
The complete elimination of the salutation
and complimentary close and the left-hand
format, which is in general like that of the
complete-block.
///////// Letterhead //////////
/////////////////////////////////////
// Date//
////////////////////////////////
//// Inside Address////
/////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////////The Body ////////////
//////////////////////////////.
// Signature//
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The hanging-indention form
It is acceptable in sales letters. The block form
with open punctuation is used in the inside
address; within the body of the letter, the first
line in each paragraph is brought out to the left
margin, but every other line in each paragraph
is indented five spaces. This form is effective
in attracting attention because of its different
arrangement from the common letter
arrangement.
//////////// Letterhead //////////
//////////////////////////////////////////
Date
////////////////////////////////
//// Inside Address////
///Salutation///
////////////////////////////////////////////////////
////////////////The Body ////////////
////////////////////////////////////////////////////.
/////////////////////////////////////////////
Complementary
Signature
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Mechanics of the Letter
● Arrange and center the letter on the page for symmetry and balanced
appearance.
● Select letterhead and stationery on the basis of simplicity of design and
quality.
● In the salutation and complimentary close capitalize only the first letter of the
first word, except for proper names and titles.
● The salutation and the complimentary close should agree in tone.
● Punctuate the salutation with a colon (:) and complimentary close with a
comma (,).
● Company policy should determine the signature.
● Signature should be legible.
● The date is usually written in the upper right-hand margin.
● The salutation should agree with the first line of the inside address.
● The second page of the letter should not be on letterhead paper and should
be clearly numbered.
● The initials of the dictator and the stenographer as well as a reference to any
enclosures should be indicated at the bottom of the letter.
● Envelopes should give the compete address.
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