Full block style: Align all elements on the left margin.
Modified block style: Down the middle of the page, align the return address, date, closing, signature, and typed name; align other elements on the left page margin.
Business letters in the United States usually contain the following information in this order:
1- Date of writing
Date is usually in one of two ways: 1. Day Month Year or Month Day, Year
2- Return address
3- Recipient's address
4- Salutation or Greeting
Type Dear, followed by the person's name. End the line with a colon. Use "Mr." for a male recipient and Mrs./Ms for Female. If you do not know how a female recipient prefers to be addressed, it is best to use "Ms." If you don’t know the name of the person, use a title instead (i.e., Dear Editor, Dear Madam)
5- Message (body of the letter)
6- Closing
Today the most common closing in business letters is "Sincerely."
7- Signature, name, and position of recipient
Also a business letter may include the following information (optional):
- Enclosures (Encl:): If you are enclosing additional information with your letter such as a forms, resume, C.V (curriculum vitae), Invoice, Price list and etc, skip two single lines after your typed name and type "Enclosure" or "Enclosures." If you use the plural, you have the option of stating the number of enclosures in parentheses.
- Carbon Copy Recipients (cc:)
- Reference Initials (of the typist)
Example:
[Date, Ex: February 10, 2009]
[Name of Sender]
[Address1]
[Address2]
[Name of Recipient]
[Address1]
[Address2]
Dear Mr./Ms. [Name of Recipient]:
This is a typical business letter. Although there are many different styles, these days this format is commonly used. There is no need to indent. All lines begin at the left margin including the date, complimentary close, and signature. Some authors named this format as "modified block with block paragraphs."
This style is usually typed with mixed or standard punctuation. The salutation is followed by a colon, and the complimentary close, by a comma. This form of punctuation is widely used in most business correspondence and letter writings.
Remember to always leave a space between the valediction and the name, so the person who is sending this has plenty of room to sign the letter.
[Closing, Ex: Sincerely, Kind regards, Sincerely yours, Best regards and etc.],
[Signature]
[Name and Position of Sender, John Smith, CEO]
[Carbon Copy Recipients (cc:), Ex: cc: Dr. Jane Smith, Provost]
[Enclosure1]
[Enclosure2]
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President/CEO
