Types of Business Letters: Style
Whether you are a one-person operation or a member of an office with several employees, knowing how to format and type a business letter helps put your company in a more professional light. While there are only a few business letter styles, it's important to be familiar with each one so you can send written communications quickly and correctly.
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Modified Block
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Type the first line of each new paragraph flush with the left margin for this style. All lines of the body of the letter are flush with the left margin, according to English Plus. When you're typing a letter in modified block style, the date and closing of the letter are both placed in center alignment, according to Library Online. Skip one line between paragraphs, the greeting ---- "Dear _______:" and the body of the letter. When you've finished typing the body of the letter, skip a line before typing out the closing ---- "Sincerely: _______."
Semiblock
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As you start typing a letter in semiblock style, skip one line between the greeting and body of the letter. The first line of each paragraph is indented for this style, according to English Plus. When you finish typing one paragraph and begin the second, skip one line between paragraphs. As with the modified block letter style, skip one line between the body of the letter and the closing. Center the date and the closing for the semiblock business letter style.
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Block
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All typed lines are flush to the left margin (left justified) in the block business letter style. When you finish one paragraph and start a subsequent paragraph, skip one line between each paragraph.
Skip one line between the greeting and body of the letter and do the same between the body and closing of the letter.
General Formatting Rules
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Several sections have similar formatting with every business letter type. Each business letter begins with the heading, which contains your business address and the date of the letter. All business letters begin with the inside address ---- the name and title of the addressee, the business name and the full address. The formal greeting or salutation is placed two lines under the inside address.
The body of the letter ---- your reason for writing the letter and your request or response -- is contained here. Include a complimentary close three lines under the last line of the body of the letter. A few complimentary closes include, "Yours sincerely, Sincerely, Sincerely yours and Yours truly."
Insert four lines between the complimentary close and your typed name, so you have room to put your signature. Special notations should be flush to the left margin. These notations include CC for carbon copy and Enclosures for enclosed documents.
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References
- Photo Credit typing image by Razvan Stroie from Fotolia.com
