Letter Format Summary (Mandy)

Evidence of Knowledge of Letter Format

Introduction:

Letters are more formal, primarily reserved for external use. A letter can create a permanent paper trail, it stands out from the crowd, also, it allows writer to control layout. However, a letter is slower than an e-mail, and it can create a permanent paper trail.

Most businesspeople today prefer to block format for letters with a simple “Sincerely” to close the letter. The block format follows by 3 styles. They are: Full-Block, Block, and Semi-Block.


Block Format:

1. Heading
2. Date Line
3. Inside Address
4. The Salutation
5. The Body
6. ComPlimentary Closing
7. Signature
8. Typed Name
9. Title
10. Additional Information


Letter: Full-Block


The identifying feature of a full-block letter style is the left justification of all ten structural parts of the letter:


XYZ COMMCO, INC [1 Heading]
111 Any Street -- San Francisco, CA 94118 -- (415) 221-1212



May 22, 2005 [2 Date Line]


John Smith [3 Inside Address]
XYZ Company
123 Anything Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94115

Dear Mr. Smith: [4 Salutation]

Blah blah blah. With the full-blocked letter style, each paragraph begins at the left
margin. Some more important information continues in the first paragraph for two to
four sentences. [5 The Body]

Blah blah blah. Between paragraphs there is additional line space indicating a new
paragraph. The date of composition, receiver’s address, complimentary close, sender’s
name, and sender's title, and additional information are also left aligned. This makes this letter style the easiest to format. [5 The Body]

Sincerely yours, [6 Complementary Closing]

Terry D. Sender [7 Signature]


Terry D. Sender [8 Typed Name]
Project Manager [9 Title]


TDS:YS [10 Additional Information]
CC: A. Receiver, B. Receiver

Letter: Block

The identifying feature of the block style letter is the left justification of all structural parts of the letter except for the following:

• The Date Line
• The complimentary closing Line
• The signature line

The dateline is placed to the right of centre, and may be moved to coordinate with the letterhead. The complimentary closeing and the signature line are typed to the right of the horizontal center of the page.

XYZ COMMCO, INC [1 Heading]
111 Any Street -- San Francisco, CA 94118 -- (415) 221-1212


May 22, 2005 [2 Date Line]


John Smith [3 Inside Address ]
XYZ Company
123 Anything Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94115

Dear Mr. Smith: [4The Salutation]

Blah blah blah. With the block letter style each paragraph begins at the left margin. Some more important information continues in the first paragraph for two to four sentences. [5 The Body]

Blah blah blah. Between paragraphs there is additional line space indicating a new paragraph. As before, this paragraph begins at the left margin, as do, receiver's address, salutation, and additional information. However, the date of composition, complimentary close, sender's name, and title are placed right of center. This makes the block style both functional and a bit more stylized in composition. [5 The Body]


Sincerely yours, [6 Complementary Closing]
Terry D. Sender [7 Signature]

Terry D. Sender [8 Typed Name]
Project Manager [9 Title]



TDS:YS [10 Additional Information]
CC: A. Receiver, B. Receiver

Letter: Semi-Block

The semi-block letter is a more traditional letter format than the full-block or block.

The indentifying features of the semi-block style letter is:

1. The left justification of

• the inside address (3)
• the salutation (4)
• the body <The indentation(five to ten spaces) of the first line of each paragraph> (5).

2. The dateline (2) is placed to the right or to harmonize with the letterhead.

3. The complimentary close (6) and the signature line (8) are typed to the right of the horizontal center of the page.

XYZ COMMCO, INC [1 heading]
111 Any Street -- San Francisco, CA 94118 -- (415) 221-1212


May 22, 2005 [2 Date Line]


John Smith [3 Inside Address]
XYZ Company
123 Anything Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94115

Dear Mr. Smith: [4 The Salutation]


Blah blah blah. With the semi- blocked letter style each paragraph begins with a five to ten space indent. Some more important information continues in the first paragraph for two to four sentences. [5 The Body]

Blah blah blah. Between paragraphs there is additional line space indicating a new paragraph. As before, the paragraph has a first line indent. The date of composition, receiver's address, complimentary close, sender's name, and sender's title are set right of center. The additional information is left aligned. [5 The Body]

Sincerely yours, [6 Complementary Closing]

Terry D. Sender [7 Signature]

Terry D. Sender [8 Printed Name]
Project Manager [9 Title]


TDS:YS [10 Additional Information]
CC: A. Receiver, B. Receiver