A. Definition of letters
Written communication or instrument that affirms existence of a fact or obligation, or grant of a power or right.
What also is a business letter?
In general, the definition and understanding of the business letter is a letter that is used by a person, organization or institution that institutions deliver business messages in writing to the other party by using certain media whether it be sendinga letter via postal mail, faksmilie, telephone or via the internet.
Examples type of English Letter :
• Letter of work orders
• Letter of introduction business
• Mail order products
• Letter to move address
• Call Letters
• Letters billing
• Letters of cooperation contracts
• Letter of Agreement
• Letter of complaint
B. Part of Letter
Each letter has the parts and each part is it has a certain usefulness. Placement orlocation of the parts of a letter depends on the form of letters used.
Explanation of Letter :
(1) Letter Head
(2) Date
(3) Inside Address
(4) Subject
(5) Salutation
(6) Body Of The Letter
(7) Complementary Close
(8) Signature
(9) Enclosure
(10) Carbon Copy Notation
1. Letterhead (heading)
A letterhead is the heading at the top of a sheet of a letter paper. That heading usually consists of a name and an address, and a logo or corporate design, and sometimes a background pattern.
2. Date
A date contains the day, the month and the year when the letter was written.
British style : dd/mm/yyyy
Example : 20th November 2011
American Style : mm/dd/yyyy
Example : December 20th, 2012
3. Inside Address
An inside address contains a place of recipients, where the recipients live. An addressis a collection of information, presented in a mostly fixed format, used for describing the location of a building, apartment, or other structure or a plot of land, generally using political boundaries and street names as references, along with other identifiers such as house or apartment numbers. Some addresses also contain special codes to aid routing of mail and packages, such as a ZIP code or post code.
Example :
Example
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Format
|
Mr. I.M. A. Payne
ARAMARK Ltd.
30 Commercial Rd.
Fratton
PORTSMOUTH
Hampshire
PO1 1AA
|
Name
Company Name
Street
City Area/District
City/Town/Village
County
Postal Code
|
4. Subject
Type the gist of your letter in all uppercase characters, either flush left or centered. Be concise on one line. If you type a reference, consider if you really need this line. While it's not really necessary for most employment related letters, examples are below.
· SUBJECT: RESIGNATION
· LETTER OF REFERENCE
· JOB INQUIRY
5. Salutation
A salutation is a greeting used in a letter or other written communication, such as an email. Salutations can be formal or informal. The most common form of salutation in a letter is Dear followed by the recipient's given name or title.
Example : Dear Sir / Madam
salutation
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when to use
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Dear Sir / Dear Sirs
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male addressee (esp. in British English)
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Gentlemen
|
male addressee (esp. in American English)
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Dear Madam
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female addressee (esp. in British English)
|
Ladies
|
female addressee (esp. in American English)
|
Dear Sir or Madam
|
gender unknown (esp. in British English)
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Ladies and Gentlemen
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gender unknown (esp. in American English)
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To whom it may concern
|
gender unknown (esp. in American English)
|
6. Body of the Letter
A body of a letter is the part between the greeting and the closing. It contains the message of the letter. It is the reason for writing the letter and contains the main ideas that the writer wants to convey to the recipient.
7. Complimentary Close
A complimentary close is an expression used to say farewell, especially a word or phrase used to end a letter or message, or the act of saying parting words, whether brief, or extensive. A complimentary close shows your respect and appreciation for the person who is considering the request in your letter.
British Style
Example : "Yours faithfully", "Yours truly", "Yours sincerely"
American Style
Example : "Sincerely yours"
8. Signature
A signature is a handwritten (and often stylized) depiction of someone's name, nickname, or even a simple handwritten that a person writes on documents as a proof of identity and intent.
9. Enclosure
Enclosure tells the reader to look in the envelope for more. Type the singular for only one enclosure, plural for more. If you don't enclose anything, skip it. Common styles are below.
10. Carbon Copy Notation
cc: Stands for courtesy copies (formerly carbon copies). List the names of people to whom you distribute copies, in alphabetical order. If addresses would be useful to the recipient of the letter, include them. If you don't copy your letter to anyone, skip it.
C. Style Of Business Letter
English business letter is a formal letter style when compared to the other letters.Besides business letter format is very different to type another letter. In writing a business letter always wear a formal language and do not beat around the bush.Like all other types of securities, is central to the concept of writing a business letter.
And for the style of language, business English letter has a formal language. Avoidall slang and informal. Write a letter as you write your business to apply for a job,and do not write like you are writing to a friend or friends as a child. Avoidphrases like "you know what I mean", "it's cool", and "you know that".Considering some of these will help us to maintain our professionalism.
1. Full block style
for this type of full block style, has a full straight shape, which is flat on the left side, and also the style that is often used in writing a business letter. Row spacing on the letters are spaced one line and two lines for paragraph spacing. The form letter like this is the easiest form of a letter from the style of other letters.
2. Modified block style
The second type, which distinguishes this letter by letter Fullblock style is the placement date, signature, and some other parts of the letter is placed on the right. As of writing Enclosure (attachment), Postscript, and Carbon copy notation. In most cases of this kind are widely used in the enterprise.
3. Indented style
for the following indented style, has notched or scalloped shape on the writing of the letter. Format Style Indented paragraphs are spaced at 1cm from the left boundary of space on the first line of each paragraph. This form makes it ideal for a short destination address.
example :
4. Hanging style
Well, the type of the five below, has the form of hanging paragraphs and paragraphs are more inclined to the left, and the first line of a paragraph is a sentence at the beginning of the line, while the second row and so are spaced spaced 1cm from the left boundary in the first line of each paragraph.this example :
5. Semiblock style
into the following four types, has the shape similar to a half straight Modified Block Style of writing a letter, a different letter is in the body of the letter, namely in paragraphs, where each new paragraph are spaced 1 cm. Example :
reference :
http://yumiezhaa.blogspot.com/2012/11/format-and-style-that-were-on-english.html
http://www.eisya-korespondensi.blogspot.com/
