Personal Business Letters and Common documents Document Formatting Personal Business Letters and Common documents

Purpose of Document Formatting Our focus will be to learn how to format personal business letters, business letters, and memos This is important regardless of your future occupation These are the rules you must follow in order to communicate effectively, Pay careful attention to spacing between document parts (that includes any margin changes)

What is a Personal Business Letter? A letter written from a person to a company Can be used for any purpose that requires written communication from an individual to a company Such as: To accompany returned goods Complaint letter Thank you letter Résumé cover letter

Personal Business Letter Styles and Punctuation There are 2 acceptable letter styles in business: Block style – all lines in the letter begin at the left margin (no tabbing or indenting) Modified block style – date line, complimentary closing and writer’s identification begin at midpoint Semi-modified block style - date line, complimentary closing and writer’s identification begin at midpoint and all body paragraphs are indented (or tabbed over) ½”

Letter Punctuation Mixed punctuation Open punctuation there will be a colon (:) after the salutation and a comma (,) after the complimentary closing The color formatting guide is an example of Mixed Punctuation. there will be NO punctuation after the salutation or complimentary closing The “Parts of a Letter” worksheet is an example of this style.

What is a Business Letter? Represents a company not an individual Usually prepared on company letterhead Company letterhead is official company stationery that often contains a logo along with the name, address, phone and fax number

What are the differences between a Personal Business and Business Letter? Writer’s company name and address should appear in the letterhead, so there is no need to type it again at the bottom of the letter Writer’s business title is usually keyed under the name Reference initials are added a DS (press Enter 2 times) after the Writer’s ID – These initials are of the person who types the letter Used to easily locate who typed the letter Enclosure or Attachment notations are added a DS below the Reference Initials This is a special section that is only added if something else is either physically attached to the letter or accompanying the letter in the same envelope

Differences between a Personal Business and Business Letter Personal Business Letter From a Company Written on Letterhead Writer’s business title (identification) is usually keyed under the name Has Reference Initials To a Company Has a Return Address (sender’s mailing address)

What are the similarities? Both are Formal Business Documents Margins (All top margins are 2”, Side – 1” or default) Parts of the Letter - Dateline, Salutation, Body, Complimentary Closing, Signature, Typed Name. Internal spacing (after date & closing – press “Enter” 4 times, Paragraphs – SS with DS between.)

What is a Memo? Used to communicate information quickly throughout a business or organization Memo parts: TO: - to whom the memo is written FROM: - who the memo is from DATE: - current date of memo SUBJECT: - precise, short point of memo

Memo Spacing 2” top margin Each of the four headings are DS (double spaced) and keyed in all caps followed by a colon (:) After the colon, the Tab key is pressed to line up the text that follows Be sure to check under Document Examples in Unit 7

Report There are many different acceptable ways to format a report Formatting depends upon the type and reason for report Examples are: Academic report Technical report

Academic Report Formatting Use default margins (don’t change margins) Change line spacing to double (entire document DS) Four headings at the top left margin Student’s name Teacher’s name Class or Subject Date After the Date heading, key the title of the report using initial caps (capitalizing the first letter of important words) then press Enter to begin keying report Indent the first sentence in each paragraph by pressing the Tab key

Summary In this Unit, you have learned how to format: Personal Business Letters Business Letters Memos Academic Report

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