Parts of a business Letter
The Head address: It is the name of the company
printed in the centre of the page with the detailed
address, telephone number. Where 2 addresses are to be
indicated, the name of the head office and the branch
sending the letter , the branch address will be at the top
and the head address is printed at the bottom of the
page.
Contents: name of the organization, nature of the
business, detailed telephone numbers, telegraphic code
no. some companies also print their emblem .it should not
occupy more than one fifty of the total space of the letter
Significance: return address
Telephone number
Nature of the business
Note: ( when there is no printed letter head it is customary
to write the full inside address on the top right hand side
of the page)
 The
Date: It is usually types three spaces
below the last line of the sender’s address
in the following manner
 In full block and N.O.M.A forms left hand
side, centre in the B.F.G form.
 Contents: In the U.S. date is written as
August 30, 2008 and in England 30th
August, 2008.never write 6/ 08/08.
 Significance: legal function, you know
when the letter was written and when a
transaction took place
Reference Number

Position: it is typed slightly above or below or in a line
with the date but on the opposite side some companies
print letter heads which clearly indicate where the
number is to be filled in.
 Contents: eg.1. Your reference:
Our Reference:
2. Ref. No
3. R.N.
It contains letters of the alphabet and numbers, depending
upon the system of filing in a company. It sometimes
also indicates the initials of the person who has sent out
the letter or the department from which it is sent
Significance: filing correspondence’
Helps to trace previous correspondence.
The Confidential Notation





Position: optional part and used only when the
contents of the letter are meant solely for and
exclusively for one person.
typed below the reference line on the left hand
side
Always remember if it is typed in the letter is
must also be typed on the envelope.
Contents: Confidential/Private/Personal.
Significance: Is not opened by the staff but
received by the person whose name is written.
Useful incase of character of employees, status
enquiries, high level policy decisions.
The Inside Address

Position: the full name of the person, firm or
company to whom you are addressing the letter
is written two spaces below the level of the date
and two spaces above the salutation and the
attention line in the left hand margin. It may be
typed in the indented form or the block form like
in the US. It is no longer the right thing to write “
To” before the address.
 Contents: name of the person, his designation,
name of the company or firm and its full postal
address. The same details should be typed on
the envelope
 Significance: filing for future reference becomes
easy’
 Important when window envelopes are used.
The Attention Line

Position: when used, the Attention line is to be placed
two spaces below the inside address and two spaces
above the salutation. It is usually written in the centre of
the page . It may be used with or without the subject line.
 Contents: contains the name of the person to whom the
letter writer would like to go in the company or firm. It is
underlined and can be used in one of the following ways:
 Attention of Mr. Patel
 Attention: Mr. Patel

Confidential: Attention Personnel Manager
 Personal Attention of Mr. Patel.
 Remember that since attn line is used to draw the
attention of a particular person the inside address should
be of a general nature.: the ABC Company Ltd.
 Significance: To attract attention from a particular
individual
The Salutation













Position: Left hand side below the inside address or Attention line.
It is typed flush with the margin and is never indented. IN NOMA
form it is omitted.
Contents: Greeting the person
Sir, ( when subordinates write to their superiors, very formal)
Dear Sir/ Madam ( when addressing individual officers in an
organization
Sirs/ Dear Sirs
Gentlemen: ( U.S.)
Dear Mr. Patel,( Used when business relations are friendly)
My dear Mr. Patel,( Used when relations are very friendly or close…
very rare)
Respected Sir,( No longer used in business letters only while
applying for a job
May it please your Excellency: ( formal way of addressing
presidents, prime ministers)
Dear Customer, Dear Reader,( used in Circular letters)
Significance: Traditional way of greeting the reader of the letter
It gives a clue as to the relationship between the letter writer and the
reader.
The Caption Line/ The Subject Line

Position: It is placed below the salutation just above the
body of the letter. In full block form it is typed on the left
hand side but in all other forms in the centre of the page.
 Contents: Short title to the letter. It consists of three
letters Re: , Ref. or Subj: Ref can only be used in
connection with some written communication
 Ref: Your letter dated July 3, 2008.
 In the US Re, Ref considered unnecessary and they use
a heavy underline.. This is placed above the salutation
 Significance: reader understands at a glance what the
letter is all about
 Filing purposes.
The Body of the Letter

Position: The letter itself , in paragraph form
begins a space or two below the Caption line.
When the Caption line is placed above the
salutation it is typed two spaces below the
Caption line.
The first line will be indented in each
paragraph. No indenting is done in the Full Block
form, modified and the N.O.M.A. Forms.
Paragraphs are indicated by extra spacing
between them. If the letter is very long it should
be indicated on a separate sheet of paper. It is
bad manners to type on the reverse side of the
page.
Body of the letter





Contents: A good business letter builds itself around its
central idea. If a banker is writing to a furniture
manufacturer regarding the poor quality furniture
manufactured by him he cannot in the same letter ask
him to collect his pass book. The latter information
should be stated seperately on another letter.
The beginning is important. Let the reader know from the
very first sentence what the letter is about. Use short
paragraphs. The usual form of letter is in the first
paragraph we write about any previous correspondence,
second the main message, third elaborate and fill in the
details and the last what action is to be taken and your
expectations.
The “ You attitude” should always be used while drafting
letters.
Negatives like cannot and impossible should be avoided.
Significance: It is the most important part of the letter. All
the other parts are relevant because they make the body
easier and more convenient.
The Complimentary Close



Position: It is polite way of saying “ good bye” It is typed
two or three spaces below the last line of the body of the
letter. In the full block form it is typed to the right of the
centre and in the NOMA form it is omitted altogether.
Contents: It must match the salutation. Thus formal
salutations like Sir, Dear Sir take the formal close like
Yours faithfully and yours truly. Dear Mr, will take a less
formal close like Yours cordially or vsery truly yours. The
complimentary close is followed by a comma. A common
mistake in India is to put apostrophe before “ s” , Your’s
in INCORRECT.
Significance: It helps to add a polite touch to the letter
and shows the relationship between the correspondents.
The Signature

Position: It is written four lines below the complimentary
close. In the full block form it is written to the left of the
page and in the other forms to the right of the centre. In
the NOMA form it is written on the left hand side just a
space or two below the last line of the last paragraph.
 Contents: It consists of the a. Handwritten sign of the
person sending the letter, b. full name of the person in
person or type, c. The name of the company or firm in
capital letters. This can be omitted if already mentioned
on the letter head. In case of partnership firm, Shah and
Patel
P.B.Shah.
In case of limited company
The Bharat Forge Co, Ltd.
S. Narayan
Secretary.

The Pro Signature: BY the agency can be used only if
they have been given power of
attorney to the person signing.
Yours faithfully,
per pro The Bharat Forge Co ltd.
Sign
Regional manager
 A power of attorney is said to exist where one person
has by a written document been appointed to act on
behalf of another person. We can use p.p or p. also.
Where a written document does not exist a junior agent
can sign “ for”.
Yours faithfully,
for The Bharat Forge Co ltd.
Sign
Sinificance: It is a proof that the person signing has written
what he has in the body of the letter.
Enclosures

Position: It must be typed a space or two below the
signature in the left margin.
 Contents: Information about additional papers sent along
with the letter.if more than one paper is enclosed then
we can indicate the exact number : Encl: 4.
Encls: 1. Cheque
2. Demand Draft
3. Transport receipt.
 Significance: This is very important for the clerk. If it is
indicated then he will extract them safely.
Copy to the notation


Position: It is typed two spaces below the Enclosure
notation, in the left margin. Though very few companies
use carbon copies , the phrase has remained as an
indication that a copy of the letter is being sent out to
another person.
Contents: When we send identical copy of the original
letter we use the abbreviation c.c.. When a frest letter id
typed we have to write cop: When we send identical
copy of the original letter we use the abbreviation c.c..
When a frest letter id typed we have to write copy to
• c.c. The President
Wool Merchant’s Association
Shepwool Street
Kanpur
b.c. This means blind or blank copy is
sometimes used before an address. When
an existing copy has to be sent to a third
party without informing the recipent of the
original letter.
 Significance: This is important for filing.

Initials of the Dictator and typist.

Position: This is typed at the end of the letter
always in the left margin.
 Contents: The initials of the dictator are typed
first followed by the initials of the typist. Initials of
the dictator should be in capital letters and that
of the typist in small letters.
PRST/tm, T.W./p.r.,PT im,M:j
Significance: this is imp from the point of view of
the sender of the letter. In business houses it
becomes necessary to pinpoint responsibilityfor
letters that are sent out and for future
investigation of any mistakes in them.
The Post script
 P.S.
has no place in a business letter. It is
only permissible if information is received
at the last minute and has to be inserted in
the letter. When P.S. is used it must be
initialed or signed by the letter writer to
show that it has not been added by
someone else.
Superscription
 It
means that which is written on the top or
the outside. The details written on the
envelope. The details are:
 Name and address of the addressee
 Name and address of the sender
 Mailing instructions, “Quick Mail”,
Registered A.D.
 Attention line to draw the attention of the
person.