Writing A Business Letter Part 2 Articles | Writing

By: Aaron Read

Continued..

Body:

The body of your letter should be written clearly and concisely. It includes as many paragraphs as are necessary to communicate the information. Paragraphs are generally short, no more than 4 or 5 lines.

If more documents are being enclosed with a business letter they should be mentioned in the body of the letter.

Closing:

A closing is included after the last paragraph of a business letter. Examples of closings in business letters include "Cordially (yours)", "Respectfully (yours)", "(With) best regards" and "(With) kindest regards".

The closing that is used will depend on the contents and formality of the letter, the writer's familiarity with the recipient, and the recipient's level of authority. "Yours truly" and "Very truly yours". These are often considered more affectionate and omitted from modern Business Letter style guides, but you will find them listed in older style manuals.

In UK English, a closing is followed by a comma ("Yours sincerely,") only if the salutation included a comma. If a comma is omitted from the salutation, the letter should be considered written in 'open punctuation', and the comma should therefore be omitted from the closing also ("Yours sincerely").

In the UK, the use of the closing "Yours sincerely," is generally reserved for a recipient whose name is known, substituting "Yours faithfully," where it is not known.

Signature:

The sender's signature is included after the closing. The sender's name and title should be typed under the signature. The sender's name should come before their title.

Typist's reference:

The typist's reference is optional and follows the sender's typed name and title. Typically, these are the last items in a business letter.

Typist's Initials:

If the letter was typed by someone other than the sender, the initials of the typist are typically included at the end of the letter. The sender's initials are typed in capital letters followed by the typist's initials in lower-case. The initials are separated by a slash. Example: PR/dr

Enclosures:

If more documents are being included, such as a resume or price list, an enclosure notation is used to show that they are included with the letter. Enclosures should be mentioned in the body of the letter.
Examples: Enclosure Enc: Quote

Carbon Copy:

If a business letter is being sent to people other than the recipient at the top of the letter it should be noted on the letter with the 'copy' or 'carbon copy' reference. Example: cc: Joe Blogs, Jane Doe

Society and culture influence writing a business letter. If you follow the steps outlined above you will be able to communicate with any business in the world from the biggest to the smallest without any problems.