Additional Technicalities in

Writing Business Letters

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Format
Writing Materials to be used
Font Style
Envelopes
Folding a Standard Letter
Margin and Spacing
Heading
Courtesy Styles
Body

1. Format
It is the mechanical arrangement of words in the page:
indention, margins, spacing, typeface, headings, page
numbering, and division of letter sections.
The 4 Known Formats for Business Writing
-Full Block Style-most popular and easiest format
-Modified Block style-this gives a balanced look to the
letter
-Semi-Block Style-It is the most balanced of all styles
-Simplified Letter Style-popularized by National Office
Management Association(NOMA)
It is seldom used. However, its use is encouraged.

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Writing Materials to be used

Our letter reflects our professionalism
Business letters are written on a 8 x 11
stationery or bond paper.
Paper must be white, clean,uncrumpled,
unfolded, and of sufficient weight and
thickness
Surface must not be glossy to avoid
blurring ink
Should be free from fingerprints and
other marks
The writing material should not show

Font Style
The widely accepted font is Times
New Roman, size 12.
The letter must be free from erasures
or marks or correction fluid or
correction tape.

Envelopes
For short bond paper, it must be
short sized envelop too, 4 x 9 size
It has two regular parts: Outside
Address and the Return Address
-Outside Address-identical to the inside
address
-Return address-senders address

Folding a standard Letter

A business letter is folded twice into
horizontal thirds and placed into an
envelope
If an envelope window is used, the
address of the letter should be faced
out of it.

Punctuation Styles
It refers to the absence or presence
of punctuation marks at the end of
the lines of the heading, inside
address, salutation and the
complimentary closing.
Salutation-Colon
closing-Comma

Margin and Spacing

Left margin-1.5 inches
Right Matgin-1 inch
Top Margin-1 inch (can be adjusted to
achieve balance
Bottom Margin-1 inch
Double Spacing is observed between
parts of the letter . If the body of the
letter is short, it can be double
spaced too.

Heading
It tells the source of the letter and the date it was written
2 kinds of heading
1. Conventional Heading
when letter senders are not connected with any agency.
3-4 lines will do
First and Second Line
-no. of the house and name of the street
-if the no. of the house is one, then it should be written as words.
Above ten, in figures
-suite, apartment or room number appears after the street address
on the same line separated by a comma.
e.g. 47 Aguinaldo Street, Apt. 4
-if there is a post office (PO) box number, it is placed before the
street address.
e.g. P.O. Box 235, 116 Rizal Street

3rd Line
-it contains the name of the city, town,
or province
A comma is used to separate the
divisions
-contains numbers, and/or contact
emails.

 The Date
-the date when the letter was written
-name of the month must nor be abbreviated
-year should be written in numerals in full
and should never go beyond the right margin
-two popular ways to write the date:
American Style
British English Style

 American Style
December 18, 2009
British English Style
18 December 2009

2. Modern Heading
-is used when letters have bearing with agencies concerned.
Contains the following:
Name of the company
Address
Telephone number/s
Fax Number
Company Logo
Company motto
Names of Officials
Materials and Services offered
Advertising message
(others depending on the companys preference
Some are placed on the side, or botton margin, but most are on the
top.
Letter heads are also attractive and marks formality and prestige

The Inside Address

This part contains the pertinent information
regarding the addressee. This includes:
- Name
- Title
- Position
- Agency
- Business Address of the agency
It also serves as an aid in case the envelope be
damaged and the outside address becomes
unreadable.

Traditional Courtesy Styles

Mr.
-used to refer married, widower or
unmarried man with no other titles. It
is always abbreviated
Mr. Kim P. Ang
Mr. Su Wang
Mr. Elijah D. Lim

 Mrs.
-refers to widows and married ladies
Mrs. Em Em Pakto
Mrs. Happie Y. Kalipay
-if you want to include the maiden name of
the addressee, put a hyphen between the
maiden and married names.
Mrs. Victoria Bu-Ang
Mrs. Jumpy Lumukso-Omictin

 Miss
-used to designate unmarried ladies and popular
personalities. No abbreviation
Miss Jonah Gonzales
Miss Kris Aquino
Ms.
-used when the sender does not know/sure of the marital
status as well as the professional status of the female
addressee who does not have a professional title.
Ms. Jonah Louriz Gonzales
Ms. Raiza Kim Chris Chiu

 Professor
-used to refer to instructors who have
reached the rank of professor and
above.
-if only the surname is given, the word
Professor should be written in full.
Prof. Cres Darwin Abella
Professor Tagud

 Honorable
-used to refer to politicians who held key positions in
the government.
- Preferable that it is spelled out and be preceded by
the article The.
Dr.
-can be used to refer to persons who have finished
doctorate degrees in any branch os studies.
-When placed before the name, the title is used in
general terms.
-if one wants to be specific, the particular degree
can be placed after the name.
Dr. Maan Bermudo
Mrs. Maan Bermudo, Ph. D.

 Reverend
-refers to a minister, a priest or a
rector. It can be abbreviated.
Preferable to spell it out and be
preceded with the word The.
Rev. Jason Rivera
The Reverend Jason Rivera

 Addressing Married Couples

-the following styles can be used.
Mr. and Mrs. Aldwin Bongato
Mr. Aldwin and Mrs. Stacey Bongato
Dr. and Mrs. Jason Rivera
Dr. Alice and Mr. Jason Rivera
Drs. Alice and Jason Rivera

Other points to remember

It is advisable on the part of the ladysender to indicate her marital status
in brackets before her typewritten or
printed signature to enable the
addressee know the proper title to be
used in the inside address of the
response-letter.
(Mrs.) Alice X. Del Mundo
(Mrs.) Maan Abella

 Two titles to only one should be

avoided. The writer should decide
which is which; hence it is wrong to
write:
Dr. Benedicta H. Cumagun, Ph. D
Correct
Mrs. Benedicta H. Cumagon, Ph. D
Dr. Benedicta H. Cumagon

 When the abbreviations Jr. and Sr. follow

the name, the use of comma is optional
Alejo Cue, Jr.
Alejo Cue Jr.
If the addressee holds concurrent positions
in an organization, the title of higher nature
should be taken.
Dr. Liduvina C. Reyes, CESOIII
Vice President for Academic Affairs
College of the East
Bulanao, Tabuk

 If there are more than one addressee,

the names are written in alphabetical
order, according to position or rank, or
according to seniority.
Mr. Jollous Abella
Mrs. Raiza Bermudo
Mrs. Stacey Del Mundo
Instructors
Institute of International Culinary
And Hospitality Management (ICHEF)
Davao City, Philippines

The Salutation
Most Formal Salutations
-Sir
-Madam
Formal Salutations
-My dear Sir
- My dear Madam
Less Formal Salutations
-Dear Sir
-My dear Mr. Ancheta
-Dear Dr. Pumatay
Friendly or Intimate Salutations
-My dear Grace
-Dear Grace

The choice of the salutation depends upon

therelationship of the letter sender to the addressee.

Sir-should be reserved for official and military

letters. It can also be used to address somebody
who is holding a much higher position than the
writer.
Ladies and Gentlemen-if the letter is addressed
to an agency having an equal number of males
and females.
To Whom It May Concern, Dear Director, Dear
Personnel Director-non sexist salutation. Since
this is really extremely impersonal, this should be
avoided in writing

 The choice of salutation depends on

three factors;
-the relationship between the writer
and the addressee
-age gap
-professional gap