The Proper Way to Type a Letter
It is often said that writing skills are in decline. However, while the age of micro-blogging and sound bites may seem to have rendered the conventional letter irrelevant, being able to address an audience properly is more important than ever. Especially in business communication, knowing how to format a letter can make you stand out from the rest of the field and indicate you are someone to be taken seriously. Format your typed letter properly by including the date, your address, the recipient's address and a proper salutation.
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Instructions
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Place the sender's address at the top of the page, aligned with the left margin. You don't need to include your name because it will show up in the closing. Begin with the street number and address. On the next line, type the city, followed by a comma and the state, followed by a space and the ZIP code. Skip a line and type the date of writing. If you wrote the letter over more than one day, write the date on which the letter was finished.
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Skip a line and write the recipient's address. Begin with the recipient's full name on its own line, if you know it. On the next line, type the recipient's title (for example, "Customer Relations Manager"), if he or she has one. Type the address beginning on the next line in the same format as the sender's address.
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Skip a line and write the salutation. Use the same name as included in the recipient's address. If you know the recipient personally, use the recipient's first name ("Dear Jack," for example). If it is a more formal letter to someone you don't know, use the recipient's surname ("Dear Mr. Wilson"). If you know only the recipient's title, use a non-gender-specific salutation, such as "To whom it may concern."
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Follow the salutation with a colon and a blank line. If you are writing a business letter in relation to a specific reference, write "Re:" followed by the reference (for example, "Re: Account 123"). Follow the subject line with another blank line.
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Write the body of the letter. Each paragraph should follow a blank line and be left-aligned to the margin.
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After the final body paragraph, skip a line and write a closing such as "Sincerely" or "Thank you," followed by a comma. Skip four lines after the closing and type your name. This leaves enough room for a signature. If you are enclosing any documents with the letter, skip a line after your name and write "Enclosures:" followed by the number of documents (for example, "Enclosures: 3"). Alternatively, you may list the names of all documents enclosed instead of a number. This may be useful if you are providing specific documents that have been requested, since it serves as a quick checklist.
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Tips & Warnings
If you are using letterhead that includes your address, you don't need to write your address again.
References
Resources
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