Business Letter Content

A business letter has six components:

• Heading (return address or who is writing the letter, followed by the date)
• Business address ("inside address" - to whom the letter is written)
• Salutation (greeting)
• Body
• Closing
• Signature

Follow these guidelines when writing a business letter:

• Know your purpose. (Why are you writing? What do you hope to accomplish?)
• Know your audience. (To whom are you writing?)
• Address your letter to a specific person whenever possible. (Include titles such as Sir, Madam, etc.)
• Include a colon after the salutation. (Dear Sir
• Use fully-blocked format. (Left-justify paragraphs and leave one line between paragraphs.)
• Inform the reader know in the first paragraph exactly why you are writing.
• Request clearly the specific action you expect as a result of your letter.
• If this is applicable, state how the recipient of the letter will be helping the group or community involved if he or she undertakes this action.
• Use one of the following short polite closings—always followed by a comma: (The first two are used most commonly.)
• Yours sincerely,
• Yours respectfully,
• Yours very truly,
• Yours faithfully,
• Best regards,
• Skip two lines and type the name to be signed. The handwritten or typed signature is between the close and typed signature.
• Type the abbreviation Enc. below the typed name if you are enclosing a document.
• Keep your language formal, clear, and concise.
• Give careful attention to grammar, spelling, and punctuation.
• Ensure that your letter's content is clear and that you have proofread it carefully.