1. (a.k.a. How can I come up with something to say in the BODY of a business letter?)

2. information that relates to you and your letter’s topic normally found at the very beginning of the body of the business letter can be anywhere from three to ten sentences in length

3. clear information about why you are writing the letter to the recipient (e.g., to convince, inform, request…) follows the background information in the first paragraph of the letter (usually the last sentence in the first paragraph) normally is stated as one clear sentence

4. information to help fulfill the purpose of the letter (e.g., to help convince, inform, or request…) make up the second paragraph of the business letter—enough details are required to fully achieve the purpose of the letter should be seven to ten sentences long

5. directions for the recipient of the letter, including what you want him/her to do and how he/she can do this begins the third (final) paragraph of the business letter generally one or two sentences long

6. Leaves the reader/recipient of the letter with a good feeling; often includes the words “thank you” directly follows the Operations sentence(s) in the letter’s final paragraph Normally one sentence in length