1. Formatting a Business Letter

2. Overview  Sender’s Address  Date  Recipient's Address  Salutation  Body  Closing  Enclosures  Typist Initials

3. Sender’s Address  Usually included in the letterhead  Do not write the sender’s name or title, but you may need the company name  Included the street address, city, and zip code  Single space the address and double space after Sender’s Address Example:123 Winner’s Road New Employee Town, PA 47630

4. Date  The date the letter was written or finished on  Date can be written:  Month Date, Year  Double space after date Example:March 16, 2001

5. Recipient's Address  Write to a specific individual at the firm you are addressing  Address the individual with the correct title  (Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr.)  Always address with a higher title if you are unsure of someone being a Dr.  Single space the address and double space after the address

6. Recipient’s Address  Example: Ernie English 4555Writing Lab Lane Write City, IN 12345

7. Salutation  Use the same name as the recipient’s address  Personal title and last name followed by a colon  Double Space after Salutation Example: Dear Mr. English:

8. Body: 1 st Paragraph  Friendly opener  State the main point of the letter  Use a couple of sentences to explain the purpose of your letter  No details yet!  Single space paragraph and double space after

9. Body: 2 nd Paragraph or More  State details to explain your purpose  Background Information  Statistics  First-hand accounts  A few short paragraphs should be enough to support your reasoning  Single space paragraphs and double space after each paragraph

10. Body: Closing Paragraph  Restate your purpose and why it is important.  Employment related end with contact info  Informational close with gratitude for the reader’s time  Single space paragraph and double space after

11. Closing  Capitalize the first word only  Example: Thank you,  A comma should follow the closing  Space three times after the closing to leave room for the signature  Type the Author’s Name  Example: Sincerely, Lucy Letter

12. Enclosures  If you have Enclosures type “Enclosures” one line below the Closing  Optional: you may list the name of each document you are including in the envelope  Example: Sincerely, Lucy Letter Enclosures

13. Typist Initials  The person who typed the letter  Only needed when the author is not typing their own business letter

14. Example Label the different parts of the letter on the example:  Salutation  Closing  Sender’s Address  Enclosures  Recipient's Address  Body  Typist Initials  Date

15. Questions: 1. Who is this letter addressed to? 2. What is the subject of the letter? 3. Why did the writer send this letter? 4. What is the sender’s address? 5. What is the purpose of this letter?