The Business Letter

There are some important differences between a friendly letter and a business
letter. And although this second kind of letter is called a business letter, its style
is used for any kind of formal letter. It is not used exclusively for conducting
business.
Most businesses have letterhead paper. This is paper that already has the
company logo, name, and address preprinted on it. At the top of the paper you
will see something like this:
JONES AND SONS
Plumbing Done Right
2990 West Main Street
Johnstown, IL 60622
(311) 555-1234

Most individuals do not use letterhead, so the examples of business letters given
here will be for paper without a letterhead.
There are several possible parts to a business letter. Compare these to the
parts of a friendly letter:

Start with the date on the left. Then include your return address, about
two lines below the date. Your phone number is often included
immediately following your address.
June 30, 2009

2990 West Main Street
Johnstown, IL 60622
(311) 555-1234

Skip a line and then type the name of the person to whom you are
writing followed by the company name and address.
Ms. Mary Brown
Jones Medical Center
400 East Oak Street
Johnstown, IL 60634

If you don’t know the name of the person to whom you should be
writing, use an attention line to identify who should be looking at your
letter (manager, accountant, etc.).
Attention: Billing Manager

Give the subject of the letter on its own line.
Subject: Billing Problem

The greeting is next, followed by a colon ( : ).
Dear Ms. Brown:

Skip a line and then begin the body of the letter. Use as many lines or
paragraphs as necessary to express why you have written to this person.
I am a patient who . . .

Include a polite final statement on its own line, if you wish.
Thank you.

Close the letter and follow it with a comma.
Sincerely,

Skip four lines to provide a place to sign the letter.
[Your signature]

Type your full name and title (Manager, Chairperson, etc.) after the
space left for your signature.
[Your typed name]
[Your title]

If someone else typed your letter, show your initials in capital letters
(WS), followed by a slash, followed by the initials of the person who
typed the letter in lower case (bk).
WS/bk

If you are enclosing a document with your letter, skip a line and indicate
that at the end of the letter.
Enclosure (1)

If a business letter is typewritten, it should always be single-spaced. Let’s look
at some sample letters.

Sample You know the name of the person to whom you are writing.

June 30, 2009

2990 West Main Street
Johnstown, IL 60622
(311) 555-1234

Ms. Mary Brown
Jones Medical Center
400 East Oak Street
Johnstown, IL 60634

Subject: Billing Problem

Dear Ms. Brown:

I am a patient who underwent outpatient surgery on my left hand on May
3, 2009. My doctor was Dr. Wilma Jones, and I am insured by the Johnstown
HMO. My insurance number is ABC2003.

On June 25, 2009, I received a bill from your office in the amount of
$2,500.00. It is my understanding that my insurer will cover $2,400.00 of
this amount.

Please contact Mr. Roger Smith at Johnstown HMO for confirmation of my
insurance and to adjust my bill. Inform me of any other steps I must take
to correct this error.

I have enclosed a copy of my insurance policy with this letter.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

William Green
WG/bk

Enclosure (1)

The Body of a Business Letter
The body (content) of a business or formal letter is very different from the body
of a friendly letter. A business letter isn’t casual, it isn’t newsy, and it doesn’t
contain personal details that have nothing to do with the purpose of the letter.
A business letter is brief and to the point. Look at how the body of the preceding
sample business letters fits into the descriptions that follow:

• The first paragraph of a business letter introduces you and the subject of
the letter. (I am a patient. I had hand surgery.)
• The second paragraph describes the details of the reason for the letter. (I
received a bill for the surgery, but I have insurance. There’s a mistake.)
• If there is a third paragraph, it provides additional information needed
to understand the reason for the letter.
• The final paragraph summarizes what you want to happen and can
contain a word of thanks. (Contact my insurance company. Let me
know what else I have to do.)
• Describe any enclosures in the letter. (My insurance policy.)

How to Write Business Letter in English:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PZ3gU1XzK5bx83uEWaP1eensdpcCkjtC/view?usp=sharing

How to Write Business Letter:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1osY1Sfn81aXy_cp-HgYGVy2_sMalaasX/view?usp=sharing

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