Parts of a Business Letter

1. Parts of a Business Letter “Umm, You’re Eating My Trash!”

2. Who Writes Letters These Days? There are many ways to communicate with people. With a partner, brainstorm several ways people communicate with others. When would writing a letter be the most effective form of communication?

3. Two Types of Letters • There are two types of letters: • Friendly letters: • Personal letters written to someone you already know • Tone is informal • Purpose: thank-you notes, party invitations, letters to friends • Business Letters: • Usually written to a company or someone you don’t know • Tone is formal • Purposes: apply for a job, complain, suggest a change, request a product, etc.

4. FORMATTING A BUSINESS LETTER • Business letters follow a specific format. This helps the reader know where to find information. • There are two standard formats for a business letter: • BLOCK FORMAT • MODIFIED BLOCK FORMAT

5. MODIFIED BLOCK FORMAT Source: businessletterformat.org

6. BLOCK FORMAT Source: businessletterformat.org

7. BLOCK FORMAT • In this assignment, we will be using the BLOCK FORMAT. • In block format, everything is aligned to the left-hand margin of the page. • You do not indent paragraphs

8. Parts of a Business Letter • There are six parts : • Return address • Inside address • Greeting / salutation • Body • Closing • Signature Line

9. The Return Address • The RETURN ADDRESS shows where the letter originated. • It consists of three lines: • 1st Line: The writer’s street address (do not use any abbreviations) • 2nd Line: City, state, and zip (you may abbreviate the state) • 3rd Line: The date (The month should be spelled out in full) • Example: 123 Main Street Grosse Pointe, MI 48236 December 5, 2011

10. RETURN ADDRESS PRACTICE • Write your return address on the lines below: _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ • Julia Schreiber lives in Dayton, Ohio. Her house is located at 525 Irving Avenue. Her ZIP is 45409. Write a return address for Julia on the lines below. Use today’s date. _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________

11. Return Address: Answers • Julia Schreiber lives in Dayton, Ohio. Her house is located at 525 Irving Avenue. Her ZIP is 45409. Write a return address for Julia on the lines below. Use today’s date. 525 Irving Avenue Dayton, OH 45409 December 7, 2011

12. The Inside Address • The INSIDE ADDRESS contains the name and address of the recipient. • It can consist of THREE or FOUR lines

13. Inside Address (Continued) • Example of a Three-Line Inside Address: • Mr. Terry Breedlove 1581 Oxford Road Detroit, MI 48236 • Smith Car Repair 191 Brown Street Centerville, OH 45458

14. Inside Address (Continued) • Examples of a Four-Line Inside Address • Mrs. Jamie Mauceri, President Mauceri Accounting Services 45 Second Street Mobile, AL 08648 • Dr. David Zalenski, Chief Surgeon(capitalize the title) St. John Medical Center 555 Moross Road Beverly Hills, CA 90210

15. Inside Address Practice • Write the inside addresses for each of the following: Tropical Tan is located at 388 Northam Drive. The city is Tampa. The state is Florida. The ZIP is 45872. Dr. Anne Hunsaker’s office is in the town of St. Louis. The state is Missouri. The street address is 15 Bugleboy Avenue. The ZIP is 54352

16. Inside Address Answers Tropical Tan 388 Northam Drive Tampa, FL 45872 Dr. Anne Hunsaker 15 Bugleboy Avenue St. Louis, MI 54352

17. Inside Address Practice • Todd Sollar is the assistant principal of Parcells Middle School. The school is located at 77 Mack Avenue in Evart, New York. The ZIP is 12332 • Susan Shelton is the director of packaging for the Crispy Crunch Potato Chip Co. The company is located in the town of Knoxville, which is in the state of Tennessee. The ZIP is 34980. The address is 609 Country Creek Way.

18. Inside Address Answers Mr. Todd Sollar, Assistant Principal Parcells Middle School 77 Mack Avenue Evart, NY 12332 Ms. Susan Shelton, Director of Packaging Crispy Crunch Potato Chip Co. 609 Country Creek Way Knoxville, TN 34980

19. The Greeting • The GREETING is also called the SALUTATION. • It appears below the inside address. • It is always followed by a colon (:) • If you know the person’s name, use the LAST NAME only • Examples: Mr. Smith, Mrs. Nianouris, Dr. Frazo, Miss Jenkins • If you don’t know if a woman is married or not, use Ms. • To Whom It May Concern is used when you don’t know the name of the person to whom you’re writing.

20. Greeting Practice • Write a greeting line for the following people: • Elizabeth Michels • Mr. Thomas Madigan • Miss Jennifer Passage • Dr. Christine Flanagan • A person in the complaints department of the Winter Wool Hat Co.

21. Greeting Practice Answers • Write a greeting line for the following people: • Elizabeth Michels • Dear Ms. Michels: • Mr. Thomas Madigan • Dear Mr. Madigan: • Miss Jennifer Passage • Dear Miss Passage • Dr. Christine Flanagan • Dear Dr. Flanagan: • A person in the complaints department of the Winter Wool Hat Co. • To Whom it May Concern:

22. The Body • The BODY of your letter is the most important part. It is the main message of a letter. The body is where the writer • states the purpose for writing • gives facts, examples and statistics • asks for change • makes suggestions • explains how he or she can be reached

23. The Closing • The CLOSING in a business letter is written after the body. • It is aligned to the left • It is always followed by a comma • The first word begins with a capital letter • All other words are written in lower case. • Common Closings: • Yours truly, • Sincerely, • Respectfully, • Sincerely yours,

24. The Signature • The SIGNATURE comes after the closing. This is where the writer signs his or her name. • Leave space between the closing and the signature to sign your name. Your typed name will appear below your signature.