Fillable Printable Business And Professional Writing Letter Template
Fillable Printable Business And Professional Writing Letter Template
Business And Professional Writing Letter Template
HUNTER COLLEGE SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK
WRITING CENTER
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONAL WRITING
Writing a Business Letter
Depending on the purpose of your business letter, there are several formats from which you
can choose. The most widely used business letter formats are full block, alternate block,
modified block, and memo. Remember, the format of the letter helps to establish its tone.
I. FULL BLOCK FORMAT
This is the most modern of the formats and the one most widely used; its clean direct look
lends itself well to technical communication, and its simple vertical format tends to reduce the
error rate since you simply do not have to be concerned about horizontal spacing to indicate new
paragraphs.
EIGHT COMPONENTS OF FULL BLOCK FORMAT
1. The heading includes the date the letter is written. If you do not use letterhead stationery, you
need to include your address over the date.
2. The address above the salutation is the letter recipient's full address. This address should
match the address on the envelope.
3. The salutation is the line that begins "Dear..." Use Mr. for men and Ms. for women. Try to
obtain a name to whom you can address your letter. If you cannot obtain a name, you should
use "To Whom It May Concern" as a salutation. You can also include an attention line two
spaces down from the recipient's address as well as a subject line (if necessary):
Attention: Technical Director
Subject: Purchase Order #41763
4. The body of your letter contains the text of your message.
5. The complimentary close should appear two lines below the last line of the body, at the left
margin. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word and always end the line with a comma.
You can use a variety of closures including Yours truly, Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Best regards
or Best wishes.
6. Your signature should be in blue or black ink. Allow four vertical spaces for your signature.
7. The identification line contains your typed name, and, if you have one, your title. Depending
on the purpose of the letter, you can position your phone number or social security number in
place of your title.
8. Enclosures (Encl) or distribution (cc) of the letter is placed two vertical spaces below the
identification line.
EXAMPLE OF FULL BLOCK FORMAT
HEADING
ADDRESS
SALUTATION
BODY
COMPLIMENTARY
CLOSE
SIGNATURE
IDENTIFICATION LINE
TITLE OR PHONE
NUMBER
ENCLOSURES OR
DISTRIBUTION
895 North Main Street
Bowling Green, OH 43402
February 16, 1994
Ms. Maria Reinaldo
Customer Relations
Ohio Telephone Company
133 Buckley Street
Columbus, OH 43217
Dear Ms. Reinaldo:
I received a collection notice from the Ohio Telephone Company on February 13,
1994. The letter states that I owe a past due balance from the September 16 to October
16 billing period in 1993. The letter also states that my service will be disconnected
unless I act immediately; however, I am now informing you for the second time that I
paid that bill on January 1st, 1994.
On January 15th, I received a call from one of your representatives about this matter,
and I immediately told him that approximately two weeks ago I sent a check to your
office for the due amount of $132.57. Unfortunately, I failed to get his name. I am
irritated that you have not taken care of this matter since I have the canceled check in
my possession, and I am enclosing a copy of it herewith.
I hope that this will settle the matter once and for all.
Sincerely yours,
Bill Moritz
Bill Moritz
(419) 352-5555
Encl: copy of canceled check
-3-
II. ALTERNATE BLOCK FORM
The only difference between the alternate block and the full block is that the alternate block
has a subject line. The subject line can save time for the receiver by informing her/him of the
purpose of the letter. The subject line is situated between the recipient's address and the opening
salutation. Skip two vertical lines down from the address and skip another two vertical lines
before the salutation.
EXAMPLE OF ALTERNATE BLOCK FORMAT
895 North Main Street
Bowling Green, OH 43402
February 16, 1994
Ms. Maria Reinaldo
Customer Relations
Ohio Telephone Company
133 Buckley Street
Columbus, OH 43217
SUBJECT: Collection notice of February 13, 1994
Dear Ms. Reinaldo:
(The remainder of the letter is exactly the same as the full block format.)
III. MODIFIED BLOCK FORMAT
Modified block format differs from full block in the placement of the heading, date,
complimentary close, signature, and identification lines. These components should all start
about halfway across the page, and be aligned vertically. The sample also shows that you begin
the paragraphs of a modified block letter with a one-tab or three to five space indentation. You
should retain the vertical doublespace between paragraphs. Although businesses seem to prefer
full block format, modified block is acceptable. Many people consider the modified block's
appearance more balanced and traditional.
EXAMPLE OF MODIFIED BLOCK FORMAT
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123 Corina Blvd.
Flushing, NY 11235
July 27, 1994
Popona Magazine
115 Eiken Street
New York, NY 10009
Attention: Editor
Subject: Article written by Ms. Tutenberg on June 30
Dear Editor:
On June 30, 1994, you published an article by the author Mary Tutenberg, which I found
to be very disturbing. Finally, President Clinton and Hillary Rodham Clinton are getting closer
to providing Americans with an opportunity to receive health care regardless of age, sexual
orientation or economic status. But Ms. Tutenberg does not want to see these health care
reforms take place, and so she makes it her ambition to use the health care issue as an
opportunity to unjustly attack homosexuals with AIDs, claiming that "the health care plan is
nothing but a disguised liberal plot to bring homosexuality and other such deviant behavior into
the main stream."
Being a homosexual, I find Ms. Tutenberg's homophobic commentary to be extremely
offensive, misinformed and unenlightened. To blame any disease on a particular group of people
or to punish people for the disease they have contracted is destructive to all Americans both
spiritually and physically. In the past, I have purchased your magazine because I found it to be
very informative: a magazine that views contemporary issues objectively. If you continue to
include such moral majority bigots as Ms. Tutenberg, I will stop buying Popona -- and so will a
lot of other people.
Sincerely,
Mr. Wallace Davis
Registered Nurse
cc: Ms. Tutenberg
IV. MEMO FORM
-5-
Memos are mainly used for inter-office, institutional or organizational communication;
however, increasingly, the memo letter format is being used for formal, external communications
as well as in informal, internal communications. If the memo is used for inter-office purposes,
leave out the "Dear" salutation and the "Yours truly" complimentary closure, and initial
the memo to the right of your name.
EXAMPLE OF MEMO FORMAT
TO: Sophia Hawkins, Fashion Director, Kuku Designs
FROM: Pat Klodowsky, Editor, BeeBop Magazine
DATE: September 10, 1994
SUBJECT: Fashion shoot on October 3, 1994
Dear Sophia:
It was great talking to you on the phone the other day, and I want to confirm the arrangements
we made for the fashion shoot.
As we briefly discussed, the shoot will feature all of your upcoming Spring Kuku Designs
collection, and we will be using the Central Park Zoo for our location. We are supplying all
models, props and equipment, and we will be picking up all clothing from you on September 25 -
- a list of which you will be sending me this week (as we arranged).
I will call you as soon as I receive your clothing list. At that time, I would love for us to have
lunch together. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours truly,
(Just use your signature here, since your name is listed above.)
cc: Max Photo Inc.
Encl: Detailed location site for shooting
CORRECT USAGE AND APPEARANCE
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Remember to proofread your letter for these items:
Spelling of the receiver's name
Spelling of the receiver's place of business
Spelling elsewhere -- including your own name and firm
Correct typing throughout
Correct dates
Subject-verb agreement
Pronoun reference
Noun-pronoun agreement
Punctuation.
CHECKLIST
9Did you type in a dateline to validate the letter as a record?
9Did you place a colon after the salutation?
9Did you place a comma after the complimentary close?
9Did you sign the letter below the complimentary close?
9Did you initial or sign the memo to the right of your name?
*Please note, if you are using company letterhead, type the second and all subsequent pages on
blank paper with the recipient's name and the page number in the upper left-hand corner. You
can also include the date, but this is not mandatory. For example:
Dr. Paula Mott
Page 2
May 2, 1994
