BUSINESS LETTER

BUSINESS LETTERS Business letters are usually written between people who do not know one another well, or do not know one another at all.

PURPOSE A business letter usually focuses on one topic and has a very formal (serious) tone. Common types of business letters include Letters of request Letters of complaint Letters to editors or officials Letters of information

STRUCTURE Is made up of seven sections Each section contains explicit information. Very specific, little room for flexibility of structure. Let’s take a closer look!

1. HEADING 1. Heading The heading consists of your address and the date. Street #, Street Name City, (comma) Province Abbr (Period) Postal Code Date: Month Day, (Comma) Year Example: St. Toronto, ON. L2R 3V6 May 13, 2009

2. INSIDE ADDRESS The inside address consists of the name and address of the person to whom you are writing. Example: Sam Hunt, Director The Knitting Mill Ave Toronto, ON. L3V 7O1 The inside address appears four lines below the heading (if word processed) or one line below the heading (if hand written).

3. SALUTATION The most traditional salutation is Dear, followed by Miss, Mrs., Mr., or Ms. followed by a colon. Example: Dear Mrs. Jones:

4. BODY The body is the main part of the letter in which you write what you have to say to the addressee. Skip one line after the salutation. Be concise. Ensure that sufficient information is given so that your purpose is clearly understood and your request is well received. Business letters are usually formal, so the language that you use should also be formal. The body is typically slip up into three parts: the introductory, main and closing body paragraphs.

4A) BODY OPENING The first paragraph of the body. Must state 1.A generalized introduction to yourself 2.Your reason or purpose for writing.

4B) BODY MAIN The middle paragraph(s) of your body. This may span into two or three paragraphs depending on your letter and how much rationale is needed. This section must 1.Expand on your reason/purpose for writing. 2.Give details, examples, support or explanation Should be the biggest, “meatiest” part of the letter Should be well organized and articulate

4C) BODY CLOSING The final body paragraph before you close. Should be relatively short and have great clarity. Needs to 1.Reiterate the reason/purpose for writing. 2.Express some form of interest in further contact.

5. CLOSING The closing is the ending to your letter. It appears at the bottom of the letter, directly under the body. Only the first word in the closing should be capitalized. It is always followed by a comma. Example: Yours truly, Sincerely,

6. SIGNATURE The signature is your full name signed using your LEGAL signature. Typically this is done in cursive. Your signature should appear directly below the closing. It should always be written in ink.

7. YOUR NAME PRINTED Print out your name so there is no mistaking it from your legal signature.

GENERALLY Regardless of the type of letter or why you are writing it, included must be identification the purpose of the letter explanation of the details of the situation organization of your thoughts appropriately in sentences and paragraphs utilization of vocabulary that is appropriate and effective a signature your letter with your own name

WHAT DID YOU FIND? Avenue Newsome, AB T6y OwB May, 14, 2012 Helen Westminster, Chairperson Carver School Board P.O. Box 5140 Carrington AB T24 4S7 Dear Mrs. Westminister, My name is Jamie Gandner and I attend Inspiration School in Newsome Alberta. I am writing to you today because I would like to tak to you about a homework policy. The policy that I would like to establish would be a wonderful system for the amount of homework given out. The policy would help teachers give out only a certain amount of homework per night that is coordinated with their grade. In each grade, the amount of time would increase by ten minutes each new school year. Also, homework would never be assigned on weekends, holidays, spring or summer breaks. I, personally, do not think that this policy would cause any problems. This policy has a sufficient amount of time and work per day to have happy teachers and students. I have also already talked and gone over this policy with some of my teachers and they enjoyed my presentation and gave me excellent feedback. I thank you for your time and patience. Please notify me of your decision addressed to the address above. Sincerely, Jamie Gardner

LET’S TRY!

ENVELOPE FORMAT Addresses should be typed or written in upper-case or block letters. All lines of the addresses must be formatted with a uniform left margin. Punctuation marks (such as commas and periods) should NOT be used unless they are part of a place name (e.g., ST. JOHN’S). The postal code should always appear on the same line as the municipality and province or territory name, and should be separated from the province by two spaces. The two-letter abbreviation for the province name should be used wherever possible; abbreviations for street (ST), avenue (AVE), and boulevard (BLVD) should also be used. The return address should be formatted in the same way as the main address.

AVERAGE JOE 123 ANONYMOUS PERSON DR NE CALGARY AB T3J 4C6 GEORGE W. BRANDON PO BOX 725 WASHINGTON AB T3N 0B4 *Notice : -UPPER Case -Left Aligned -No Punctuation unless in name -Postal Code on same line as city