1. Business Documents: Business Letters
Obj – Day 1
Business Documents:
Business Letters
3.01 Business Letter and Personal Bus. Ltr.

2. Business Letter A Business Letter
is a form of communication used to convey a formal message to one or more parties.

3. Business Letter (continued)
Examples of uses of Business Letters:
Company’s communication to stockholders
Superintendent’s communication to parents
Bank’s communication to customers

4. Business Letter: Components (in order as they appear in the letter)
Letterhead (optional for Business Letter use )
A Letterhead is:
preprinted information in the header
and sometimes included in the footer
usually contains the:
company name
company address and address
logo
other contact information

5. Business Letter: Components (continued)
The Dateline
the Date the letter is written
the Date is spelled out,
such as April 30, 2010
not or 4/30/2010

6. Business Letter: Components (continued)
Attention line (optional for Business Letter use)
If used:
keyed on the first line of the Inside Address
used to address a specific person or job (example: Sales Manager) within an organization

7. Business Letter: Components (continued)
Subject line (optional for Business Letter use)
Keyed below the Salutation
because it is considered part of the message
Key the word SUBJECT in ALL CAPS,
followed by a colon and the topic, also in ALL CAPS
example: SUBJECT: MEETING SCHEDULE
Used to give the reader a quick overview of the topic

8. Business Letter: Components (continued)
The Inside address
The Inside Address includes:
the name of the addressee
the name of the business
the street address, city, state abbreviation, and zip
The Salutation
The Salutation is the greeting
such as, Dear Mr. Cox

9. Business Letter: Components (continued)
The Message
The Message is the letter content.
Key paragraphs in:
Single Space (SS) format with
a Double Space (SS) between

10. Business Letter: Components (continued)
Complimentary closing – the goodbye, such as Sincerely
Company signature (optional) – the keyed name of the company in ALL CAPS, placed a Double Space below the Complimentary Close
Writer’s signature block – the author’s name and title
may be keyed on one or two lines, depending on length

11. Business Letter: Components (in order) (continued)
Reference initials – the initials of the typist of the letter
No punctuation is used with the initials
Example: mw
sometimes the author’s initials are used as well (keyed first)
Example: bc/mw or BC/MW

12. Business Letter: Components (in order) (continued)
Enclosure notation (optional) – indicates that another document is included with the letter.
Sometimes the enclosures are identified.
example: Enclosure: Résumé
Copy notation (optional) – indicates the names of other parties who have received copies of the letter.
example: cc Mrs. Diane Moon

13. Personal Business Letter
What is a Personal Business Letter?
It is correspondence between an individual and another individual or a corporate entity.

14. Personal Business Letter (continued)
Examples of use of a Personal Business Letter
Formal thank you note
Letter of complaint
Letter of application to accompany a résumé

15. Personal Business Letter: Components
A Personal Business Letter has the same Components as those required in a Business Letter.
It is formatted according to the same guidelines as a Business Letter.
HOWEVER– a Personal Business Letter includes the Return Address of the author (who is the writer of the letter) at the top of the document, just above the Dateline.

16. Letter of Application What is it, and Why is it used?
A Letter of Application is an example of a Personal Business Letter.
A Letter of Application:
introduces the job applicant
accompanies a résumé

17. Letter of Application (continued)
How is the Letter of Application organized?
The first paragraph:
introduces the job applicant to the prospective employer, and describes what position he is applying for and how he learned of the job opening.

18. Letter of Application (continued)
The second paragraph:
details his experience and education
The third paragraph:
requests an interview

19. Student Activity (Due 10.25.11)
You are applying for a secretarial position that will involve answering telephones, taking messages, typing letters and other correspondence, using Excel and Access, and coordinating a schedule. Write a letter of application to the following address and company:
8409 Leesville Road, Raleigh, NC 27613
Leesville Road High School
Attn: Scott Lyons
Please be sure to include all components and be thorough in your description of yourself and when listing your experience, skills, and education.