3. Parts of a Business Letter

A business letter is generally divided into the following seven parts:-

  1. The heading
  2. The inside address
  3. The subject
  4. The salutation
  5. The body of letter
  6. The complimentary
  7. The signature

1.Heading: It indicates when and where the letter was written and thus it comprises the postal address of the writer and the date on which the letter was written. The address may appear either in the centre or on the left-hand side of the letter in case where plain paper is being used. In case a letterhead is used by the sender which has address of sender pre-printed on it, then we need not write the sender’s address again. In such a case, we give only receiver’s address just below the date on left hand side of the letterhead. The date, however, generally appears on the left-hand side.

Note: The most preferred style lately is the left aligned style, i.e. A in the following example. We never write the word ‘date’, we give the date straightaway. There are two formats of writing date: 1. British format, wherein we give day, month and year; and 2. American format, wherein we give month, day and year. It depends on preference and requirement of sender which date format he/she follows.

Proper spacing between the name of the firm and its address and between the address and between the address and the date is of paramount importance. A few examples of a heading are given below:

A. Johnson Trading Company

18-Prince of Wales Street

London 3132 1A

UK

15th November, 2022

B. Johnson Trading Company

18-Prince of Wales Street

London 3132 1A

UK

15th November, 2022

C. Johnson Trading Company

18-Prince of wales Street

London 3132 1A

UK

15th November, 2022

Note: It is necessary to write “London (UK)”, when the letter is communicated between UK and another country.

2. The inside address: This comprises name and address of a person or the firm to whom the letter is written and appears of the left-hand side of the letter. This corresponds to the address on the envelope with the difference that in some cases, the number and the name of the street is omitted. This, however, is unwise and a complete address is always desirable, as otherwise, it may become difficult to locate a reference with the copy of the letter. Proper spacing and punctuation are necessary here as well.

The word Messrs is generally prefixed to a partnership firm or “& Co.”

EXAMPLE

Messrs Kepler Bros.

Boston (USA)

The above address on the letter is not sufficient. The better way to write the address

is:

Messrs Kelper Bros.

12 West Side Street

Boston 313 (USA)

3. The subject: It highlights the purpose of the letter, to the recipient at a quick glance. It should come below receiver’s address and can come above or below the salutation. Though it is not desirable to write one.

EXAMPLE

Re: Payment pending

Sub: Part-payment received

Ref: Account no. 26805/T

4. The salutation: This appears below the name and the address of the recipient (to whom the letter is written) or below the subject (in case subject is written after recipient’s address).

The various words used as salutations are:-Sir, Dear Sir, Sirs, Madam, Gentlemen, Dear Mr____, Dear Miss____, Dear Mrs____, Dear Ms____.

Sir: This has become very formal now-a-days and is not generally used expect in government correspondence.

Dear Sir: This is by far the most accepted form of salutation. However, this is used only when the relationship between the correspondents already exists.

Dear Sirs: This type of salutation is used in case of letters addressed to companies or partnership firms where the word Messrs is generally used and the letter is addressed to a firm and not to the manager or any other person.

Dear Sirs: This type of salutation is used in case of letters addressed to companies or partnership firms where the word Messrs is generally used and the letter is addressed to a firm and not to the manager or any other person.

Dear Miss, Dear Mrs, Dear Mr, Dear Ms: These are used only where the writer knows the recipient well and wants to give a personal (friendly) touch rather than being formal as usual.

5. The body of the letter: It is that portion of the letter which contains the message or the information which the writer wants to communicate.

The body of the letter should be divided into different paragraphs. Each subject should be dealt within a separate paragraph.

The first paragraph should introduce the subject-matter of the letter and where it is a reply, the reference number and date should be clearly mentioned. In the subsequent paragraphs, different topics may be discussed.

6. The complimentary close: This should always agree with salutation. The most common forms of complimentary close are:

  1. Yours faithfully
  2. Yours truly
  3. Yours very truly
  4. Yours respectfully
  5. Yours sincerely
  6. Yours obediently

Examples of suitable complimentary close to the salutations used are:-

Sir/Dear Sir Yours faithfully

or

Yours truly

Dear Madam Yours faithfully

or

Yours truly

Gentlemen/Dear Sirs Yours faithfully

or

Yours truly

My dear Sir Yours very truly

My dear Sirs Yours very truly

My dear Madam Yours very truly

Dear Mr Yours sincerely

Dear Miss Yours sincerely

Dear Mrs Yours sincerely

7. The signature: The complimentary close should be followed by the signature and name of the writer. In some cases, the name of the firm or the company is also mentioned after the name of the sender. Designation of the writer may also be mentioned whenever possible.

In case when the company’s letterhead is used, there is no need to write the firm’s or company name after the name of the sender.