format of letter

1. FORMAT OF LETTER &
TYPES OF LETTER
Dr. Anjali Ramnani,
Assistant Professor, GLS
University

2. TYPES OF PUNCTUATION STYLES
•There are three types of punctuation styles.
1.Open Punctuation: In this style, no commas and full stops are used in any
part of the letter except in the body in which the usual punctuation marks are
used.
2.Mixed Punctuation: In this style, comma is put after the date, the house
number (if any), the salutation and the complimentary close and a full stop
follows the last line of the inside address.
3.Closed Punctuation: This is the conventional style of punctuation. Here
comma is put after the date, every item in inside address, the salutation and
the complimentary close and a full stop follows the last line of the inside
address.

3. FORMAT OF A LETTER – VARIOUS
TYPES
•There are five styles ( lay out) of presenting a letter which are as under:
1.Indented Style: This is the oldest style and now outdated. The inside
address is indented as shown below and every paragraph begins three to five
spaces away from the margin. For e.g.,
Neil Publishing House,
896, Mahatma Gandhi Road,
Mumbai 400001.

5. •Full Block Form: This is the most modern style.
•There is no indentation from the left margin at all.
•Every line, including the date and the complimentary close, begins at the left
margin.
•The address has no punctuation at the end of the line.
•The salutation and the complimentary close do not have a comma at the end.
•There is double line space between the parts and between the paragraphs.

7. •Modified Block form: This style is a modification of the full block form.
•The inside address is in block form.
•The date and the complimentary close are kept on the right in their usual
position.
•The salutation and the complimentary close are followed by a comma.
•All the paragraphs begin at the left margin and there is double space between
the paragraphs.

9. •Semi-indented form: This form is also called semi-block form.
•It has the inside address in block form but the beginning of every paragraph is
indented.
•The date and the complimentary close are on the right side.
•The salutation and the complimentary close are followed by a comma.

11. •Hanging Indention form: In this style, the inside address is in the block
form.
•The date and complimentary close are on the right.
•The beginning of every paragraph is at the left margin, but the subsequent
lines of every paragraph are indented three to five spaces.
•This style is adopted for sales letters, brochures and other documents in
which striking appearance is useful.
•In this style, the inside address is in the block form.
•The beginning of every paragraph is at the left margin, but the subsequent
lines of every paragraph are indented three to five spaces.

13. TYPES OF LETTERS
A business organization maintains its relationship with its various stakeholders through
letters. These letters are written for different purposes and their content varies tremendously.
On the basis of their content and its impact on the receiver, the following types of letters have
been identified:
•Good News Letter: A letter that conveys pleasant information to the receiver of the letter is
known as a good news letter.
•Neutral Letter: A letter that is of interest to the receiver but is not likely to generate any
emotional reaction is referred to as a neutral letter.
•Bad News Letter: A letter that conveys unpleasant information to the receiver of the letter is
known as a bad news letter.
•Persuasive Letter: A letter through which the sender tries to persuade the receiver to do
something he/she may not want to do is known as a persuasive letter.