Writing business letters


A formal business letter

A formal business letter is an official legal record of company agreements and decisions. It may be read by many people in the company before it is sent. It should represent the company style of dealing with clients and stakeholders. Many companies will instruct their employees on the preferred style of communication. Generally, when writing business letters, we should be using formal and polite language (avoid abbreviations and contractions).

There are several different types of letter formats, and most word-processing software nowadays includes some templates to help you with writing. In this chapter we will focus on what all the types have in common.

Every business letter should include the following parts: date, inside address, salutation, body of the letter, complimentary close, signatures, and end notations (enclosures, etc.).

First, let’s look at the layout of a business letter below: Fig. 9.1.

The date should be written in the top left hand corner of the letter. Remember about different ways of writing dates in different countries using English in correspondence. The British and most of Europeans write date-month-year and Americans use the month/day/year structure.

Example:

Europe:      3. 09. 2016 (third of September 2016)

USA:           09/03/2016 (September the third, 2016)

The address should be the same as on the envelope.

The salutation is a traditional way of greeting the person or persons you are writing to. Use Dear and the person’s name (first and last, preceded by a title) if you know him or her; use Dear Sir or Dear Madam if you do not know them. If in doubt you can always use Dear Sirs. After salutation use the following punctuation marks:

American English:      Dear Mr. Smith: (notice full stop after Mister);

British English:           Dear Mr Smith

Fig. 9.1. Layout of a typical business letter


The body of the letter is the most important part of the letter, which includes the content you want to send. It can be short, or it can consist of a few paragraphs. Remember to write clear, logical and short sentences. Use correct grammar and simple vocabulary. Avoid complicated terms if you think the reader may not understand them.

The complimentary close is a traditional way of finishing the letter. Here are the most common phrases (followed by a comma):

-  Respectfully,

-  Respectfully yours,

-  Sincerely (American),

-  Sincerely yours (American),

-  Yours sincerely,

-  Yours truly (American),

-  With appreciation,

-  With gratitude.

Signatures are usually handwritten, even if they are copied. Sometimes they are placed above a printed name (see Fig. 9.1).

The end notations provide information about enclosures, i.e.: extra material included in the correspondence, e.g.: price lists, etc.