It is a form of communication that deals with day to day transactions in the workplace

business letters can be

A professional or business letter is one of the many forms of correspondence. It may be sent from:

Characteristics of a Business Letter

Types of a Business Letter

This type of business letter is written to inquire about the offered merchandise/service/product.

letter to place an order if one intends to purchase.

generally the second communication sent after initial contact.

A business correspondence to indicate that the recipient (a company or individual) received a communication or request.

A business correspondence written by the buyer about a problem with the products received.

Companies send this in response to customer complaint letters. These letters usually provide a solution to the problem posed in the original complaint letter.

when soliciting business from other organizations, or occasionally, from individual customers.

often comes from a prospective employee's previous employer to the business the candidate is applying to work for. This is also used in academic admissions.

Employees send letters of resignation to their employers when they are planning to leave their job

components of a business letter

This contains the sender’s address, which includes the street, city, and zip code.

This indicates the date the letter was written. The month is usually spelled out, followed by the day and the year.

This includes the name of the recipient and his or her address. The name is usually written with the person’s appropriate title.

It refers to the writer’s formal greeting to the reader/recipient.

This is where the message of the letter is found

1st paragraph: 2nd paragraph: Last paragraph:

is the expression used to end a letter. Level of formality for this part must be considered.

It includes the signature and name of the sender (job title can be indicated too). The name can be in all caps or CLC format

It indicates the typist’s initials.

It refers to the attachments to the letter.

It indicates the name of the secondary recipient of the letter.

Formats of a Business Letter

Mostly used form • Entire text is justified to the left

Inside address, salutation, and body are left justified • Date line, complimentary close, and signature block are typed from the right of the page

First sentence of each paragraph in the body is indented • Same format as to modified block

how to write business letter