1.
BUSINESS LETTERS MADE SIMPLE Keyboarding

2.
PURPOSE <ul><li>What do I want the reader to know? </li></ul><ul><li>What kind of business letter am I writing? </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Letter of inquiry </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Letter of application </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Letter of complaint </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Letter of regret </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Thank you letter </li></ul></ul>

3.
AUDIENCE <ul><li>How well do I know them? </li></ul><ul><li>How much do they know about my subject? </li></ul><ul><li>How will they feel about my message? </li></ul><ul><li>What vocabulary will set the tone? </li></ul>

4.
FORM <ul><li>Choose a font that is easy to read . </li></ul><ul><li>1 to 1½ inch left and right margins. </li></ul><ul><li>1 to 1½ inch top and bottom margins. </li></ul><ul><li>Present information </li></ul><ul><ul><li>completely </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>concisely </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>professionally </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Be consistent – block or modified block. </li></ul>

5.
PARTS OF A PERSONAL-BUSINESS LETTER <ul><li>Heading </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Writer’s complete address (Return Address) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Current date </li></ul></ul><ul><li>Inside Address </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Receiver’s complete name, title, company and address (Letter Address) </li></ul></ul>Return Address Inside Address 1” - 1 1/2” QUAD

6.
<ul><li>If you have a letterhead, you don’t need the Return Address… </li></ul>However… Garden Center 123 Pine Street Oak Ridge, NJ 07438

7.
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER (continued)… <ul><li>Salutation </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Begin with Dear: </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Use Mr. or Ms. before the receiver’s name </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Use Dear or Attention followed by an appropriate title, such as Customer Service Department or Sales Manager. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Use Dear Sir or Madame or Ladies and Gentlemen . Include BOTH genders for a general audience. </li></ul></ul>

8.
RULES OF THUMB… <ul><ul><li>AVOID ABBREVIATIONS EXCEPT FOR STATES AND TITLES. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>(Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc. – FL, NJ, OH) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>PLACE A SINGLE WORD TITLE AFTER THE NAME SEPARATED BY A COMMA. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Mrs. G. DeGraw, President </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>PLACE A LONGER TITLE ON A SEPARATE LINE. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Mrs. G. DeGraw </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Executive Director of Safety </li></ul></ul>

9.
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER (continued)… <ul><li>Body </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Single-space paragraphs, double-space between paragraphs. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Two paragraphs. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Avoid long phrases. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Avoid making business letters longer than one page. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Heading on Page 2. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Ms. Moss 2 or Ms. Moss Page 2 </li></ul></ul>Return Address Inside Address 1” - 1 1/2” QUAD DS Salutation: DS Body

10.
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER (continued)… <ul><li>Complimentary closing </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Use Sincerely, Sincerely yours, or Yours truly . Capitalize only the first word; end with a comma. </li></ul></ul>Yours truly, Very truly yours, Sincerely, Sincerely yours,

11.
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER (continued)… <ul><li>Signature lines </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Leave four lines (QS) for your handwritten signature </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Type your name and title below the signature line. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Type the words Enclosure(s) two lines below the typed signature. </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Sending a copy of the letter elsewhere? </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>cc: PLUS the person or department name. This line goes beneath the enclosure line. </li></ul></ul>

12.
PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER (continued)… <ul><li>Reference initials… </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Double spaced after the typed signature line </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Lowercase initials </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Examples: /ged </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>HE:ged GED </li></ul></ul>Sincerely, Mrs. G. DeGraw Mrs. G. DeGraw, President /ged

13.
R E V I E W <ul><li>PARTS OF A PERSONAL-BUSINESS LETTER: </li></ul><ul><ul><li>Return Address (includes DATE) </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Inside Address </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Salutation </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Body </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Complimentary Close </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Reference Initials </li></ul></ul><ul><ul><li>Enclosures (if any) </li></ul></ul>

14.
123 Pine Street Oak Ridge, NJ 07438 October 30, 2005 ABC Company 345 Spruce Street Whatever, IL 01233 Dear Mr. Brown: Insert the part of the body of the letter here. The body of the letter should tell something about what you hope to convey. It should also have a closing paragraph in it. There should be at least two sentences per paragraph. Sincerely, Mrs. DeGraw Mrs. DeGraw, Chairperson /ged Enclosure Return Address Inside Address Salutation Body Complimentary Close Reference Initials Enclosure(s)

15.
BLOCK versus MODIFIED BLOCK <ul><li>BLOCK </li></ul><ul><li>All parts of the letter begin at the left margin. </li></ul><ul><li>Paragraphs are NOT indented. </li></ul><ul><li>MODIFIED BLOCK </li></ul><ul><li>The heading and complimentary close begin at the center of the page. </li></ul><ul><li>Paragraphs ARE indented. </li></ul>