The format of the business letter

1. LETTER WRITING
The Business Letter

2. OBJECTIVES:
 To readily identify the parts of the business letter
 To observe the various formats of the business
letter
 To observe examples for the format and body of the
business letter
 To use this knowledge to correctly fill in the parts of
the business letter
 To play a game testing their knowledge of the
business letter

3. WHAT IS THE BUSINESS LETTER?
 “A business letter is type of letter which serves as
a means of communication written for commercial
purposes. These purposes can be a business deal,
complaint, request, warning, notice, invitation,
declaration, information, apology and various other
corporate matters.”
(Retrieved on March 30, 2020 from
targetstudy.com/letters/business-
letter/#TypesofBusinessLetters)

4. AUDIENCES OF THE FORMAL LETTER
 Companies
 Government Offices
 Organizations
 Institutions
 Businesses
 individuals

5. TYPES OF BUSINESS LETTERS
 Application letter
 Acceptance letter
 Apology Letter
 Customer Claim
Response Letter
 Demand Letter
 Invitation Letter
 Information Request
Letter
 Information Response
Letter
 Job Applicant Not Hired
 Letter of Complaint
 Letter to the Editor
 Letter of Intent
 Notification of Error Letter
 Order Request Letter
 Resignation Letter
 Resume Cover Letter
 Reception of Gift Letter
 Recommendation Letter
 Sales letter
 Thank You Letter

6. FEATURES OF BUSINESS LETTERS
 Formal language – Standard English; no
contractions; no slangs or colloquialisms (no street
language or internet slangs); no contractions such
as ‘didn’t’ ‘I’m’, ‘you’re’, ‘won’t’ etc.
 Written in 3 paragraphs
 Should cover only one page
 Always has the signature of the writer
 Well organized
 Polite in tone
 Clear and concise language

7. FEATURES OF THE BUSINESS LETTER
 Three C’s
Clear
Concise
Courteous

8. PARTS OF THE BUSINESS LETTER
So what are
the parts of the
business
letter?

9. PARTS OF THE BUSINESS LETTER
Tell us what
you know.

10. PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER
 The Letter head – this is the FIRST part of the
letter. It is also called the ‘header’, ‘the return
address’ or ‘the sender’s address’. It is the address
of the person/company who is sending the letter.
 Parts of the letter head:
 The address of the person sending the letter: lot
number, street, district, town, parish
 Date the letter was written

11. 1. THE LETTER HEAD/RETURN ADDRESS
 Write each part of the return address on a separate
line.
 Omit punctuation of the address.
 Write the smaller area before the larger area
e.g: 2 Lyle Road (smaller area)
Cross Roads (larger area)
o Write the date on a separate line, immediately
BELOW the return address.

12. THE LETTER HEAD/RETURN ADDRESS
4 Brown Street
Scarborough
Kingston 8
December 18, 2007
Lot number and Street
District/Town
Parish

13. 2. THE INSIDE ADDRESS
 The inside address is otherwise called the
receiver’s address. It is the SECOND part of the
letter. This is the address of the person to whom
you are sending the letter (person RECEIVING).
 Give the full name and title of the person.
 Indicate their position/title/role in the company.
 Give the name of the company, then the address.
 Write each item in a different line.
 No date is to be placed after this address.
 It is written ABOVE the salutation.

14. THE INSIDE/RECEIVER’S ADDRESS
Mr. John Evans
Executive Director
We Care Nursing Home
12 Bob Street
Constant Spring
Kinston 8
Name of Company
Address:
-Lot number and
street
-Community/Town
-City/Parish
Position/Role/Title
Person’s name and title

15. DON’T DO THIS:
Creative Comfort Living
15 Luke Street
New Kingston
So exactly WHO is
this letter addressed
to? WHO should get
it when it goes there?
I don’t
know!

16. 3. THE SALUTATION
 This is otherwise called the greeting. It is the
THIRD part of the letter and is placed right above
the body. It directly refers to the person for whom
the letter is meant.
 Use formal salutation: Dear Sir, or Dear Mr, Mrs,
Ms, Dr and the person’s surname: Dear Mr Raimes,
Dear Dr Bartholomew
 No first names are used.
 If you choose to use punctuation, place comma at
the end.
 DO NOT WRITE A COLON BETWEEN THE ‘DEAR’
and THE PERSON’S NAME.

17. DO NOT DO THIS:
 Dear: Mr Raymond
 Dear Ms Suzette Small
 Dear Sharon
 Hello Mr Salmon
NO!

18. 4. THE SUBJECT LINE
 This is like a title for the body of your letter. It tells
what the letter is about. It comes AFTER the
salutation, right above the body.
 May be in bold or underlined.
 Avoid lengthy subjects. Use only a phrase as your
subject. E.g:
 Subject: Permission to Use School Premises

19. 5. THE BODY
 This should consist of about 3 paragraphs.
 Organize your thoughts well so each paragraph
deals will something else.
 The first paragraph introduces your content – giving
a brief overview. It states the purpose of your letter.
 The second paragraph tells the details.
 The third paragraph tells the reader what decision
you wish them to make after receiving this
information.
1
2
3

20. 6. THE CLOSURE
 This is the last part of the letter. It is called a
‘complimentary close’ because it ends the letter in a
polite manner.
 It must match the salutation.
 Dear Sir
 Dear Madam
 Dear Sir or Madam
 Dear Sirs
 Dear Mr Morris
Yours
Faithfully
Yours
Sincerely

21. THE CLOSURE Tell us of some
other
complimentary
closes you can
think of.

22. THE CLOSURE
 Other complimentary
closes:
 Yours respectfully
 Yours truly
 Yours cordially

23. THE CLOSURE
 Must be on the same side as the return/sender’s
address because it helps identify who is sending
the letter.
 Must have the sender’s hand-written signature
ABOVE the sender’s FULL name.
 Write your position below your name.

24. PRACTICE
Discussion and Individual work
Activity time!

25. EXERCISE 1 - DISCUSSION
15 Braeton Close
St Andrew
Jone’s Town
25 Beecham Road
Kingston 5
Jamaica
Subject: I have a problem with one of your customer service agents.
Dear: Mr Andrew Stamp,
____________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________
_______________________________
Yours sincerely
Miss Brown
Something is
not right. Can
you find it?

26. EXERCISE 2
 For the body of the
letter on the next slide,
write the addresses,
date, salutation,
subject line and closure
(with your signature).
Use the format of the
body of the letter to
determine whether you
should use block or
modified block style.
Your Turn!

27. I am writing today to complain of the poor service I received from your
company on June 12, 2016. I was visited by a representative of That Awful
Company, Mr. Madman, at my home on that day.
 Mr. Madman was one hour late for his appointment and offered nothing by
way of apology when he arrived at noon. Your representative did not
remove his muddy shoes upon entering my house, and consequently left
a trail of dirt in the hallway. Mr. Madman then proceeded to present a
range of products to me that I had specifically told his assistant by
telephone I was not interested in. I repeatedly tried to ask your
representative about the products that were of interest to me, but he
refused to deal with my questions. We ended our meeting after 25
minutes without either of us having accomplished anything.
 I am most annoyed that I wasted a morning (and half a day's vacation)
waiting for Mr. Madman to show up. My impression of That Awful
Company has been tarnished, and I am now concerned about how my
existing business is being managed by your firm. Furthermore, Mr.
Madman's inability to remove his muddy shoes has meant that I have had
to engage the services, and incur the expense, of a professional carpet
cleaner.
 I trust this is not the way That Awful Company wishes to conduct business
with valued customers—I have been with you since the company was
founded and have never encountered such treatment before. I would
welcome the opportunity to discuss matters further and to learn of how
you propose to prevent a similar situation from recurring. I look forward to
hearing from you.

28. EXERCISE 3 – INDIVIDUAL WORK
 Write a business letter
to a company
complaining of faulty
merchandise you
received.
 200-250 words
Your Turn!