Despite the fact that email communication remains one of the most widespread means to convey daily corporate messages, business letters are still commonly used to transmit important information. A carefully composed business letter can be a rather powerful tool of formal conversation. In order to create a professional business letter, it is important to use the correct format and follow the specific template.
Being able to compose a business letter is important not only for corporate workers but also for students, as such an assignment can be a part of the curriculum. Moreover, it will definitely be in handy after graduation, as it will give a person more chances to succeed in any sphere. But what if you have absolutely no clue how to create a professional business letter and keep asking yourself “how to write my essay?”. Here we have some useful tips on how to overcome this challenge.
Business Letter Format and Template
The typical business letter has to contain the following points:
- Person`s contact information: full name, job title, company name, company`s physical address (including city, state and zip code), phone number, and email address.
- Date (month, day, year format).
- The contact information of the recipient: full name, job title, company name, company`s physical address (including city, state and zip code).
- Salutation: here it would be great to use such phrases as: “To Whom It May Concern”, “Dear Mr./ Ms. /Last Name/.”
- Body:
When writing the body of the business letter, it is important to keep in mind the basic rules to format it. First of all, the spacing has to be always single, except for the double one between the paragraphs. Margins should be about 1 inch on all of the sides. The text of the letter has to be justified left. Fancy fonts and cursive should be avoided in favor of plain fonts with a minimum size of 12.
The body has to deliver the main idea of the whole business letter. The writing style has to be clear, simple and oriented on the target audience. It is important to break the paper into several paragraphs, avoiding long sentences and complex formats. If the intention of the business letter is to convince someone to do something, it is crucial to highlight the benefits for the opposite party.
- Closing: it has to be short and precise (near two sentences long). A good closing paragraph has to explain the reason for writing and express the appreciation for considering the sender`s request. It can finish with such phrases, as: Sincerely yours, Respectfully, Cordially, Best regards, etc.
- Signature: it has to be added beneath the closing with four single spaces in between them. Signature has to follow the standard format:
Handwritten signature
Full name
Title
Business Letter Writing Style
Considering that business letter writing falls under formal writing, the language style has to be corresponding. The tone of writing has to be professional, not casual. However, it is important not to cross the line here. The person, who creates a cover letter has to remain friendly and sound like themselves.
The language has to be clear and formal, thus the usage of different figures of speech, jargon or emojis has to be excluded.
Make sure to proofread business letter once it is completed. The presence of grammatical errors or spelling mistakes can leave a rather negative impression about the sender.
Useful Tips
In case if you are not sure if you are writing a business letter correctly or if the format is appropriate, it is always useful to check the available samples of various types of business correspondence. It may as well grant you with some ideas or eye-catching phrases to use.
The second tip is always being honest and not including the untruthful information to the business letter just to keep the recipient interested, as it can be easily checked and the other party will unlikely agree to cooperate.
It is allowed to use personal pronouns in case if the sender is expressing their own opinion, but if they are speaking on the behalf of the company, a “we” pronoun has to be used instead.
Reading the completed business letter out loud will help to catch the errors that were not noticed before and easily fix them.
Conclusion
Writing of a business letter can be easily accomplished if the person is aware of the correct format and useful tips to follow. The most important thing is to use formal language, proofread the paper for grammar and spelling mistakes and make sure the writing format corresponds to the template and is oriented on the target audience. Now that you are aware of all the specifications, you are totally ready to compose a business letter on your own.
