The Formats of a Business Letter-business English.pdf

formats of business letter

1. The Formats of a Business Letter

2. Know the elements of a business letter
Grasp the three formats of a business letter
Master the format of an envelope
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Learning Objectives

3. 1. Letterhead（信头）
2. Reference （信函编号）
3. Date （日期）
4. Inside address （信内地址）
5. Attention line （注意项）
6. Salutation （称呼）
7. Subject line （事由）
8. Body of the letter （信函正文）
9. Complimentary close （信尾敬语）
10. Signature （签名）
11. IEC block （缩写名、附件、分送标志）
12. Postscript （附言）
Elements of a business letter
Elements
Sample

4. Sample
Letterhead
Inside Address
Body
Salutation
Complimentary Close
Signature
Bluestone Engineering Corp.
2 Aston Road
East Finchley
London
April 15, 2005
Mr. Green
Pacific Foreign Trade Company
12 Holly Road
North Walsham
Dear Mr. Green,
We greatly appreciate your cooperation and assistance in the business
of recent weeks. We are cordially inviting you to an evening function on
Saturday, April 23, 2005, at London Hotel, at 7 o’clock sharp.
I do hope that you will be able to spare the time to share this occasion
with us.
Yours faithfully,
Leo Burns
General Manager
Date

5. Elements of a business letter
1. Letterhead (信头)
Usually, the letterhead consists of several parts,
such as the sender’s name, address, telephone
number, E-mail address, web address and fax etc. It
is often put on the upper side of the letter.
Edwards and Mason Insurance Agency
66 Martin Lane, East Chicago IL, 60010
Telephone: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Example:

6. Elements of a business letter
2. Reference Number (信函编号)
For the convenience of filing and reference, the
letters are sometimes given numbers in specific
forms. Generally, the reference number is placed
right above the date, or on the left side of it.
Example:Your Ref: CNN/011
Our Ref: 12345/XY

7. Elements of a business letter
3. Date (日期)
The date can be put on the left or right side of the
letter, with space of 2 to 4 lines from the letterhead.
Be sure not to leave out the date in business letters.
And the date should be written in formal ways.
Example:January 27, 2006

8. Elements of a business letter
4. Inside Address (信内地址)
The inside address includes the addressee’s name,
title, company name, address, city, state and zip code
etc., among which the addressee’s name and
address are required to accord with the ones on the
envelope. It is often placed below the date and on the
left upper side of the letter.
Example: Mr. Francis Lawrence
Vice President
Swinton Co.
87 Unico Avenue
Toronto, ST 9878
Canada

9. Elements of a business letter
5. Attention Line (注意项)
If the addressee’s name is not included in the inside
address, attention line can be used to indicate the
particular addressee. It often lies between the inside
address and salutation.
Example:1. Attention of Marketing Manager
2. Attention: Mr. Daniel
3. Attention Sales Manager
4. ATTENTION PERSONNER MANAGER

10. Elements of a business letter
6. Salutation (称呼)
The salutation is the greeting word to the addressee. It
is put below the inside address with space of about
two lines.
The formal salutations go like: Dear Mr. Smith, Dear
Mrs. Smith, Dear Miss Brown, Dear Ms. White etc. For
more male addressees, “Messrs.” are needed to put
before the names; for more female addressees,
“Mmes.” are used.

11. Elements of a business letter
Example:
Inside Address Salutation
Mr. Bill Stevenson Dear Mr. Stevenson
Ms. Eva Stevenson Dear Ms. Stevenson
Messrs. Wilson and JacksonDear Messrs. Wilson and Jackson
Mmes. White and Gray Dear Mmes. White and Gray
The President Dear Sir or Madam
Ladies and Gentlemen To Whom This May Concern

12. Elements of a business letter
7. Subject Line (事由)
The subject line is a brief introduction to the topic
and content of the letter. It is often put one or two
lines below the salutation, and it can be underlined
or not.
Example:Subject: Men’s Bicycles
Re: Sales Confirmation No.2536
Your Order No.:
Reference:

13. Elements of a business letter
8. Body of the Letter (信函正文)
The body is the most important part of the letter, which
conveys the sender’s wishes, requests, proposals
etc. to the addressee.
Generally, it is made up of three paragraphs. The first
introduces the topic, the second informs the
addressee in detail, and the last makes a conclusion
or brings forward some suggestions.

14. Elements of a business letter
Dear Sirs,
I am writing to you in reference to your advertisement in
Fujian Daily of March 19 for an English editor responsible for
English pages.
I am enclosing my resume, and I would be greatly
appreciated if you would seriously consider my application
since I believe that… tell you more about my personal
information, including my references, to whom I can refer you
as to my character and ability.
If you should entertain my application favorably, I would
spare no trouble to acquit myself to your satisfaction. I look
forward to your early reply.
Sincerely yours,
Johnson
Example:

15. Elements of a business letter
9. Complementary Close (信尾敬语)
The complementary close is a courteous, friendly and
formal way to end the letter. The words are often
used like: Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Yours sincerely,
Cordially; more formal ones, like Truly, Respectfully,
Faithfully (yours).
Example:Yours truly,
(Signature)
John Smith
Sales Manager

16. Elements of a business letter
10. Signature (签名)
The signature lies three lines below the complementary
close, with the space for handwritten signature.
Example:Respectfully yours,

(Signature)
John Smith
Personnel Department Manager

17. Elements of a business letter
11. IEC block (缩写名、附件、分送标志)
　 (initials，enclosures and carbon copies block)
12. Postscript (附言)
In business letters, the postscript is used to lay extra
stress on some important thing rather than to
mention something forgotten in the letter.
Sometimes the sender writes it by hand. The
postscript is often shortened as P.S.
Example:P.S Wish to see you at the Trade Fair on
September 9.

18. Three formats of a business letter
Three
Formats
Block / Full format (齐头式)
Indented format (缩进式)
Modified block format (修正
齐头式)
Sample

19. Three formats of a business letter

20. Three formats of a business letter
1. Block / Full format (齐头式)
In the letter written in the block format, each line starts
from the leftmost side, without any space left. Now it
is widely used in the business letter.
Example:

21. Letterhead
Our Ref No.:
Your Ref No.:
December 12, 2009
Mr. Robert White
International Investment Ltd.
77 Pearl Road
Swanton, Manchester,
England
Dear Madam,
………………………………………………………………..………………….…
……………………………………………………………………..………………
Yours sincerely

Zhou Hua
Sales Manager

Three formats of a business letter

22. Three formats of a business letter
2. Indented format (缩进式)
In the letter written in the indented format, date,
complementary close, signature start from the
central-right part of the line, and subject lies in the
central part. In each paragraph, the first line starts
from the left side with space of five letters，and the
other lines start from the leftmost side.
Example:

23. Three formats of a business letter
Three formats of a business letter
Letterhead
Our Ref No.:
Your Ref No.:
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 June 1, 2005
Mr. Robert White
International Investment Ltd.
77 Pearl Road
Swanton, Manchester,
England
Dear Madam,
………………………………………………………………..………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
Yours sincerely

Zhou Hua
Sales Manager

24. Three formats of a business letter
3. Modified block format (修正齐头式)
The letter in modified block format is similar to the one
in indented format, but the first line of each
paragraph need not be indented.
Example:

25. Three formats of a business letter
Three formats of a business letter
Letterhead
Our Ref No.:
Your Ref No.:
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 June 1, 2005
Mr. Robert White
International Investment Ltd.
77 Pearl Road
Swanton, Manchester,
England
Dear Madam,
………………………………………………………………..……………………
……………………………………………………………..………………………
　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　 　 Yours sincerely
　　　　　　　　　　　　
　　　　　　　　　　　　 Zhou Hua
　　　　　　　　　　　 Manager

26. Format of an envelope
The envelope should be written in a certain format,
especially for the business letter.
Example:

27. Format of an envelope
By Airmail
Registered
(航空 挂号
）

28. Format of an envelope
NB: If the letter has to be delivered by others, “c/o” (the
abbreviation of care of ) is required to be marked out on
the envelope.
Example:
Mr. Mathew Goldsmith
c/o Miss Juliet Goldsmith
411 West 116th Street
Wien Hall
New York, NY 10027
U.S.A
By Airmail Registered(航空 挂号）

29. Thank you !