Business Correspondence:

1
Business Correspondence

• Professional Business Letters

2
In a business environment, people use documents
to communicate with others!

• Business Documents include
• Memos
• Letters
• Newsletters
• Resumes
• Proposals

3
Essential Letter Elements

• Date Line
• Month, Date, Year
• Inside Address
• 3 to 8 lines below the date line
• Addressee's courtesy title plus full name
• Job title
• Business affiliation
• Full geographical address
• Example Mr. Paul Smith
• Personnel Director
• Juniper Culinary Academy
• 202 Park Boulevard
• Juniper, NV 89268

4
Essential Letter Elements

• Salutation
• Two lines below inside address
• The line at the start of a letter including the
  greeting and the recipients name
• If you do not know the name, avoid using To whom
  it may concern Impersonal
• Instead use recipient's title
• Example Dear Personnel Director
• Message
• Two lines below salutation
• Body of the letter
• Single spaced with one blank line between
  paragraphs

5
Essential Letter Elements

• Complimentary Close
• Two lines below the last line of message
• Capitalize only the first word
• Example Sincerely yours,
• Signature Block
• At least four blank lines below
• Leave room to sign name

6
Reference Initials

• If someone other than the writer keys the letter,
  place their initials (lower case) a double space
  below the writers name
• ss

7
Attachment/Enclosure

• If there are attachments or enclosures, double
  space and indicate this under the initials.
• If multiple enclosures are referred to in the
  letter , follow the word Enclosures with a
  colon and two spaces and list each enclosure
• Enclosures Brochure
• Membership

8
Copy Notation

• A copy notation indicates that a copy of a letter
  is being sent to someone other than the addressee
• Use c followed by the name of the person(s) to
  receive a copy.
• Place a copy notation a double space below the
  last line of the enclosure notation or the
  reference line if there is no enclosure
• c Robert Anderson
• Maria Sanchez

9
Postscript

• A postscript is additional text that may be added
  after a letter has been completed.
• It is the last item in the letter. Key it a DS
  below the last letter part.
• The postscript is used to place additional
  emphasis on the text or to reemphasize a part of
  the text included in the body.
• Remember to RSVP by May 15, 2011 for the annual
  crawfish boil.

10
Margins

• TOP 2
• LEFT 1
• RIGHT 1
• BOTTOM 1

11
Three Types of Letters

1. Block Business Letter
2. Modified Block Business Letter
3. Personal Business Letter

12
Block Letter Style

• Block
• All components of letter begin flush with the
  left margin

13
Modified Block Letter Style

• Modified Block
• Date, complimentary close, and signature block
  are positioned approximately one-half inch to the
  right of center or at the right margin
• All other components begin flush with left margin

14
Differences in Personal Business Letters
Business Letters

• Personal Business Letters
• Your street address is typed two inches down
• Next line has the city, state, and zip
• The dateline is on the line following the city,
  state, and zip

• Business Letters
• Companies use letterhead which includes their
  street address, city, state, zip, and phone
  number
• Therefore, business letters from companies do not
  need to have this information keyed in.

15
Personal Business Letter

• Personal Business Letter Modified Block Style
• Your street address is typed two inches down
• Next line has the city, state, and zip
• The dateline is on the line following the city,
  state, and zip

16
ASSIGNMENT ON BLOG

• You need to write a professional thank you letter
  to one of your teachers in the MODIFIED BLOCK
  LETTER STYLE
• Handwrite your first draft then switch with a
  partner and use the proofreading symbols to check
  each others letters
• Person proofreading needs to sign the bottom of
  first draft
• The body must be three paragraphs
• Let the teacher know why you are writing to them
• Why you chose that teacher
• Closing paragraph- thanking the teacher for the
  hard work they do!