1. Personal-Business Letters
An Introduction to:
Personal-Business Letters
Business Letters
Envelopes

2. Personal-Business Letter Terms
Personal-Business Letter – A letter from an individual to a business/individual.
Date Line – The month, day, and year are the first part of a personal-business letter.
Inside Address – This includes the name and address of the business or person to whom the letter is being sent.
Salutation – A greeting such as Dear Mr. Corley.
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3. Terms Cont. Body – The body contains the message of the letter.
Complimentary Closing – A closing phrase such as Yours truly or Sincerely yours.
Signature – The writer’s signature is handwritten on the letter with black or blue ink.
Writer’s Identification – The writer’s keyed name and address are the last part of the letter. (An alternate style is to key the return address immediately above the date.)
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4. Personal-Business Letter Parts
Date line
Inside address
Salutation
Body Consists of Paragraphs:
Introduction
Main Point
Conclusion
Complimentary closing
Signature
Writer's identification
Reference initials
Enclosure notation
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5. Personal-Business Letter
Block Format
2" top margin or center vertically
QS or 6 returns for short letter
All lines begin at left margin
Side margins 1" or default
SS ¶
DS Between ¶ QS
At least 1" bottom margin
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6. Personal-Business Letter
Mixed Punctuation
December 3, 2004
Mr. J. J. Smiddy
South Hunter High School
1400 Rincon Road
Savannah, GA
Dear Mr. Smiddy:
This is the most commonly used punctuation style.
Use this style unless otherwise told.
Colon after salutation
Comma after complimentary close
Sincerely yours,
Ms. Julie Fowler
35 Preston Way
Garden City, GA
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7. Personal-Business Letter
Open Punctuation
December 3, 2004
Mr. J. J. Smiddy
South Hunter High School
1400 Rincon Road
Savannah, GA
Dear Mr. Smiddy
No punctuation after salutation
No punctuation after complimentary close
Sincerely yours
Ms. Julie Fowler
35 Preston Way
Garden City, GA
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8. Business Letter Terms
Business Letter – A business letter represents a company, not an individual, and is therefore prepared on official company stationery called a letterhead.
Letterhead – The company’s name, address, and telephone number are printed on the letterhead. Other information include: company logo, addresses, fax numbers, etc.
Writer’s Identification – The writer’s keyed name and job title are the last part of the letter.
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9. Terms Cont.
Reference Initials – The initials of the person keying the letter for the writer. Placed a double space below the writer’s identification.
Enclosure and Attachment Notations – When an item is sent with the letter, the word enclosure is keyed at the left margin a double space below the writer’s identification or a single space below the reference initials. This reminds the sender to include the item, and tells the receiver to look for the item, and serves as a record on the file copy. If the item is clipped or stapled to the letter, the word Attachment is used. For more than one item, key 2 Enclosures or 3 Attachments, etc.
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10. Business Letter Parts Letterhead Date line Inside address Salutation
Body
Complimentary close
Writer's name and title
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11. Business Letter Block Format
Place date 1" below letterhead or center page vertically
SS ¶s DS between ¶s QS
Side margins 1" or default
All lines begin at left margin
At least 1" bottom margin
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12. Business Letter Notations Notations begin at left margin
Sincerely yours,
Ms. Ilya Lindgren
Loan Managers dk
Attachment
c Ms. Carla Perez, Records Manager
Reference initials
Attachment notation
Copy notation
Notations begin at left margin
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13. Envelope Terms
Return Address – The name and address of the person sending the letter.
Mailing Address – The name and address of the person receiving the letter.
Mrs. Joyce Forno
6701 Carmel Rd.
Charlotte, NC
MISS ARNELLA WILSON
8746 LA JOLLA PKWY
SAN DIEGO CA
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14. Terms Cont.
Special Delivery – Special directions that are keyed 1.5 inches down from the top edge.
On-arrival direction – Words such as Personal or Confidential are typed at the left margin in capital and small letters underlined.
Mailing direction – Words such as Registered or Special Delivery are typed at the right margin in all caps and do not underline.
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15. Small Envelope 0.25" top margin Return address 0.25" side margin
Mrs. Joyce Forno
6701 Carmel Rd.
Charlotte, NC
MISS ARNELLA WILSON
8746 LA JOLLA PKWY
SAN DIEGO CA
Approximately 2"
Return address
0.25" side margin
Approximately 2.5"
Delivery address
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16. Large Envelope 0.25" top margin Return address 0.25" side margin
Mrs. Joyce Forno
6701 Carmel Rd.
Charlotte, NC
MISS ARNELLA WILSON
8746 LA JOLLA PKWY
SAN DIEGO CA
Approximately 2"
Return address
0.25" side margin
Approximately 4"
Delivery address
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17. Envelope Address Formats
Mrs. Joyce Forno
6701 Carmel Rd.
Charlotte, NC
Traditional format
Traditional format
Uppercase and lowercase letters
Includes standard punctuation
United States Postal Service recommended format
All capital letters
No punctuation except a hyphen in the ZIP code
MISS ARNELLA WILSON
8746 LA JOLLA PKWY
SAN DIEGO CA
USPS format
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