Here are the Standard Parts of the Business Letter. These must be taken into consideration while dealing with your Business Partners are employees.

Most business letters have the following parts:

Parts of Business Letter

1. Heading
2. Date
3. Inside address
4. Salutation
5. Body
6. Complimentary close
7. Signature
8. Reference Section

Standard Parts of the Business Letter

1. Heading

A heading shows where the letter comes from. If letterhead stationery is not used, the address, not your name, is typed above the date 2 inches from the top.

2. Date

Usually the date is typewritten two to six lines below the last line of the letterhead. Date sequence preferred in America is month, day, year – March 6, 1998 – with the month spelled out. Others prefer day, month, and year –6 March, 1998. Date in figures – 3/5/98- should be avoided as it can create confusion.

3. Inside Address

The inside address should begin with the addressee’s name preceded by a courtesy and/or professional title. It is written two spaces below the date on the left hand margin. The order of items is

(1) Courtesy title, (2) Name, and,
(3) Executive or professional title, if any.

All parts are typed single-spaced.

Mr. Ahmed Hassan, Principal,
Government College,
Lahore

4. Salutation

Salutation is typed two spaces below the inside address and two spaces above the body of the letter. It is an expression of courtesy to put your reader in a friendly frame of mind. The following salutations are

For Men For Women
Most Formal: Sir, Madam,
Formal: My dear Sir, My dear Madam,
Less Formal: Dear Sir, Dear Madam,
My dear Mr. Khan, My dear Mrs. Khan,
Friendly: My dear Haleem, My dear Mah Noor,
Dear Naeem, Dear Sara,

A comma or colon should be used after the salutation. Gentlemen should be used in writing to a company, organization or any group of men and women. “Mesdames’ ‘or’ Ladies’ should be used when writing to an organization made up entirely of women.

5. Body

Most letters are typed single-spaced, with two spaces between paragraphs, before and after the salutation and before the complimentary close. A short letter could be double-spaced with additional blank line spaces before and after the date and within the signature area. When second page is used, addressee’s name, page number, and date is written at the top.

6. Complimentary Close Body

If the letter begins with a formal salutation (Sir, Dear Sir) it will close with “Yours faithfully”.

If it begins with a personal name Dear Mr. Khan, it will close with “Yours sincerely”,” your truly” or “cordially”.

Informal closes as Warm regards, Best regards/wishes are also used. A comma is used after complimentary close.

It is related to the salutation, so the same degree of formality should be used in it. e.g.,

Salutation Complimentary Close
Dear sir, Yours sincerely,
Dear Madame, Yours sincerely,
Sir, Yours respectfully,

It is written two spaces below the last line of the body. In full block format, it is written on the left hand side of the page.

7. Signature

It’s a Important part of Business Letter. Always type your name after the handwritten signature and the position in the firm. It is better to give courteous title (Mr, Miss, etc.) to avoid confusion. A letter should always be signed in INK.

Very truly yours,
Ahmed Hassan
(Mr) Ahmed Hassan
General Manager.

Four spaces should be given between the complimentary close and name.

8. Reference Section

The reference section may include information about the message composer, the typist, and sometimes word processing data. Only initials are used. They are typed two spaces below the name and positions of the person signing the letter. It’s a Important part of Business Letter.

The above are the Standards parts of the Business Letter for Optional Parts of the Business Letter See the Following Post.