Understanding Parts of a Letter

Understanding Letter Writing

• Writing a letter is an essential part of communication in personal and business endeavors.
• Effective written communication may be the reader's first interaction with the writer, so professionalism is crucial.

Parts of a Business Letter

• A business letter is a formal letter that follows specific formatting requirements.
• The seven components of a business letter are:
  • Heading
  • Recipient's Address
  • Salutation
  • Body
  • Closing
  • Signature
  • Enclosures

The Heading of a Business Letter

• The heading includes the business address, city, state, and zip code.
• If using letterhead, the business address is included on the letterhead, and the letter starts with a date.

Recipient's Address

• If not using letterhead, the company name, street address, city, state, and zip code should be included.
• Skip a line and enter the date in a formal format: month, date, and year.
• Include the title and name of the individual the letter is addressed to.

Salutation

• Skip one line after the date and place the recipient's address on the left margin.
• Use a title (e.g., Ms., Mr., Dr.) and include a colon after the addressee's name.

Body of a Business Letter

• The body is in block or modified block format, flush left, single-spaced within paragraphs, and double-spaced between paragraphs.
• The main point of the letter should be identified in the first paragraph.
• Following paragraphs should back up the points in the first paragraph.
• The closing paragraph should reiterate the first paragraph and provide a call to action.

Complimentary Closing

• The closing is flush left and placed one space after the last paragraph of the body.
• Use a capital letter for the first word of the closing and a comma at the end.
• Leave four spaces and type the sender's name.

Signature

• The signature is hand-written in the four spaces between the salutation and the sender's formal name.
• If the letter is to be sent electronically, do not leave blank lines.

Enclosures

• Include enclosures three lines below the signature line.
• Suggest including the number of enclosures or listing each enclosure by name.