Given below are the standard instructions concerning the forms which are used in business letters of all types. Alternative forms and variations applicable to specific situations are fully discussed, making it easy to understand. We take up in turn the various formats of a business letter, which are as follows.
Heading (place & date)
A point to be noted is that the business letters should preferably be written on letter-heads printed on a good quality paper.
The heading indicates when and where the letter was written. It usually consists of the name and postal address of the company, firm or organisation for whom the letter is written and must include the date of writing. Reference number, if any, may also be given, which is useful in filing the letter. If should furnish the person addressed with close information he will need to reply. The heading of the letter should be perfectly laid out with careful punctuation.
Inside Address
The inside address of a letter comprises the name and designation of the person, or title of the firm, to whom or to which the letter is written, with the residence, place of business or any other place which may be chosen for the receipt of the letter. The inside address corresponds to the address on the envelope, except that in the inside address, the town or city and district and country can be written on the same line. The inside address should never be omitted from business letter because copies of such letters need proper filing and preservation. Without the inside address, such copies would be of little value for reference, as one could not decipher as to whom the letter was addressed to. The different items in the address—the name of the addressee, the street, the town, the district and when a letter is to be sent abroad, the country should be separated by commas.
In writing the inside address, place the appropriate title before the names of individuals. Select from the titles given below:
Mr.—Used in addressing a man who has no special title. e.g. Mr. Rakesh Dutt Sharma.
Mrs.—Used in addressing a married woman. e.g. Mrs. Shalini Sharma.
Messrs.—Used in addressing a firm of men and women, when the name denotes individuals. e.g. Messrs. Om Diesel Engineers Ltd.
Doctor (Dr.)—Used in addressing a man or woman who holds a doctor’s degree as in medicine, law, literature, philosophy etc. e.g. Dr. Ram Dutt Sharma.
Professor (Prof.)—Used in addressing college and University teachers of professorial rank. eg. Prof. Shiv Prasad Verma
Honorable (Hon.)—Use in addressing persons holding high positions in the government, members of legislative bodies, foreign diplomats, judges etc. eg. Hon. Suresh Kumar.
Salutation
The salutation is the complimentary term used to begin the letter.
Always capitalise the first words of the salutation.
Capitalise the word ‘dear’ only when it is the first word of the Salutation—
Dear Sir,
My dear Sir,
The various salutations imply different degrees of formality as follows:
Very Formal My dear Sir: or Sir;
My dear Madam Madam:
Formal Dear Sir Dear Madam
Gentlemen: Madames:
Less Formal Dear Mr. Panday Mr. Panday
or My dear
Official Sir: Gentlemen:
The salutation in a business letter should be followed by a comma.
Body of the letter
The body of the letter is the part which contains the message or the information to be communicated; and it is, of course, of much importance; In this, as in the other parts of the letter, good form is always desirable for which the following points need to be noted.
There should be a margin at the left hand side of the page; and all, except paragraph lines, should be left on the right-hand side of the page, but care should be taken to make the ends of the lines as uniform as possible which can be done by dividing long words at the end of a syllable.
Care should also be taken to divide words only at the end of a syllable, using a hyphen (-) to show the division; and words of one syllable should never be divided. When in doubt about the division of a word, consult a dictionary which gives the proper division of all words that can be separated.
The body of a letter should leave ample space to close the letter with a complimentary phrase and signature. When more than one page is necessary for the information to be written, use other sheets. But number them all without fail. Also never use a second or third sheet just to close the letter. Never write a business letter on both side of the sheet.
All topics dealt with in a letter should be taken in the order of their importance, and each topic should have a separate paragraph. A few suggestions on this topic are as follows.
After completing all that is to be said about one particular topic, begin the next time with the paragraph space about half an inch to the right of the left hand margin, but excessive paragraphing should definitely be avoided.
The body of a letter should be punctuated like ordinary printed or written matter. Well-written letters do not require much punctuation, but whatever is necessary, should not be omitted.
Complimentary close
The complimentary close should be placed two lines below the body and towards the centre, the end of the complimentary close should not run into the right margin. If should preferably begin at a point directly beneath the heading. Only the first word should be capitalised; and a comma should be placed after the last word.
Which of the standard forms of complimentary close should be used, depends on the degree of formality expressed in the salutation and in the letter.
Some of the most common forms are as follows :
Yours Truly
This form is non-committal. It is generally used with salutations such as “Sir”, “Madam”, ‘Gentlemen’, “Dear Sir”, “My dear Sir”, or “My dear Madam”.
Yours very truly or very truly yours
These forms are less formal as compared to “Yours Truly”. They are generally used with salutation such as “Dear Sir or Madam”, “Dear Mr. Verma”, “My dear Mr. Verma”, “Gentlemen”.
Sincerely yours or Yours sincerely, very sincerely yours of cordially yours
These are also less formal than “Yours truly”
respectfully yours or yours respectfully
These are used in official letters, anybody to whom one wishes to show respect.
Note it
Participle endings such as the following should be avoided:
Hoping this meets your approval, we remain;
Trusting you find these terms satisfactory, we are;
Instead end the letter with a direct statement as follows:
We hope this meets with your approval
Yours truly
We believe these terms will be satisfactory
Yours truly
the signature
The signature is the name of the writer or of the firm or company he represents, placed after the complimentary close. There are several points in connection with the signature which should be carefully noted as follows:
The signature should be plainly written.
The signature should consist of two parts: the written signature and the writer’s name and official position, if any, typed in below the written signature.
Four lines should be left between the complimentary close and the typewritten name of the writer’s actual signature.
Whether the signature is blocked or indented, depends upon the arrangements of the heading and addresses.
When the firm’s name appears first, the firm is supposed to be responsible for what has been said in the letter. On the other hand, if the name of the individual appears first, he is supposed to be responsible for his statements e.g.—Very truly yours
Om Diesel Engineers Ltd.
Rakesh Dutt Sharma
Company Director
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