Format Writing

 Friendly Letter (Friends or Family)

 Formal letter (includes business letters)

 Remember, you are writing a
formal letter to your
organization.
What is TONE?
the overall attitude a writer projects toward
the reader and the subject matter.
How do we create a FORMAL tone?
Sentence structure, formality and specificity of
vocabulary, and neatness all contribute to a
letter's tone.
 To write any type of
business letter, follow
•Acceptance Letter (yes/ legal) these basic steps:
•Acknowledgement Letter (Receipt)
•Adjustment Letter (a legal
document / addresses a complaint
or claim)
•Identify your reader
•Application Letter (request job
•Establish your objective
consideration/ interview)
•Determine your scope (how
•Complaint Letter (a legal document)
much researched
•Cover Letter (accompanies resume
information to include )
or order)
•Organize your letter
•Inquiry Letter (posing a question)
•Draft your letter
•Order Letter (request letter)
•Close (End) Your Letter
•Refusal Letter (reject an offer)
•Review and Revise Your Letter
•Response Letter (answers inquiry)
(proof for physical problems and
•Sales Letter (marketing)
edit for logic issues)
Source: Business Letters. Retrieved Dec. 3, 2007, from http://writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/business_writing/business_letter/
 Heading (sender’s return address and date)
 Inside Address (recipient’s address)
 Salutation (greeting)
 Body (paragraphs)
 Complimentary Close
 Signature Line (with or without title)
 Enclosure (optional)
 cc notation (copies sent to others)
 Sender/typist initials (optional)
 “Business letters [are] required in many
different situations . . . from applying for a job
to requesting or delivering information.”

 Writing for business should be “crisp and

succinct. It should be to the point, specific and
accurate.”

 “Even though business writing is possibly less

formal than it once was, your writing must . . .
adhere to the conventions of standard
American English” (spelling and grammar rules)
Source: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/business.html
 Modified Block Style Block Style

Semi-block Style

http://www.englishplus.com/grammar/00000144.htm
Letter head 1. Block Style
(Simplified) Letter
Format
SAMPLE

Everything flush
to left margin with
no indents.

Signature Block: Align this with the Complimentary

Close. Leave four blank lines to sign your name.
Don’t forget to sign your name exactly as you typed
it. Your title is optional and depends on the relevancy
and degree of formality you need or want to establish.
Source:http://jobsearchtech.about.com/od/letters/l/bl_mblock_p.htm
 2. Modified
Block Style
Letter Format
SAMPLE

Paragraphs are not

indented; however,
these parts of the
letter are centered:
•Sender’s return address
•Date letter written
•Complimentary closing
•Sender’s signature/title

http://www.englishplus.com/grammar/00000144.htm
 Company Logo or Letterhead

March 15, 2007 3. Semi-block

Style Letter
Format
Mr. John Smith, Director of Operations
SomeGroup Group

SAMPLE
100 SomeStreet Drive
Sometown, Alabama 34567

Dear Mr. Smith:

Thank you for your inquiry about Semi-Block format for letters. What
follows is a quick summary of the format and the conventions it uses.

Semi-block format or style is frequently called modified semi-block

because it is a slightly less formal modification of full block format. This letter
style places the date line in alignment with, or slightly to the right of dead
center. Another option for placing the date line in semi-block is flush right. Indent paragraphs 5
Similar to full block, semi-block places the inside address, salutation and any
end notations flush with the left margin. However, unlike full block, each body spaces. Everything
paragraph of semi-block is indented five spaces. The complimentary close else is flush at the left
and signature block are aligned under the date.
margin.
This page illustrates the spacing and layout of semi-block format. Both full
block and semi-block formats generally contain all of the necessary parts of a
letter.

Sincerely yours ,

Dr. Sheila Carter-Todd

 A Business letter’s text starts with a simple
and professional greeting such as,
The Word Dear, Mr./Ms./Title, & Last name of Person:”

Examples
Dear Dr. Smithsonian:
Dear Ms. Cleopatra:

 The difference between personal and business

letter greetings is that a colon (:) follows the
greeting of a business letter and a comma (,)
follows the greeting of a personal letter but
can be used in place of colon.
 A generally acceptable format for the body
of most business letters is block style, with
no indentions or centering of any parts.

 Paragraphs should also be single spaced

within the paragraph and double spaced
between different paragraphs.
 Each paragraph in the business letter should
contain different topics.

 The first paragraph should grab attention and

state the reason for the letter.

 The middle paragraphs, as in most letters,

should support your reason and go into
details.

 In the final paragraph, it professional etiquette

for the writer to thank the reader for taking his
or her time to read the letter.
 The end of a business letter marks the
biggest difference between business and
personal letters.

 The ending of a business letter usually

states ‘Truly,’ followed by four blank lines
for the writer’s signature and then
the writer’s typed name.
Business
Letter in
Block
Style
(notice that
you don’t
indent at all
in a block
style
business
letter)
1. Margins: the
space around your
letter.
1. Go to “File.”
2. Scroll down to
“Page Set-Up”
3. On the
“Margins” Tab,
Put “1-Inch”
for the top,
bottom, left,
and right
margins.
 2. You need
your own
address.
This part goes in
the “heading”
section.
Underneath
your address,
put the date.

Skip four lines.

 3. Put your
organization’s
address in the
“inside
address”
section.

Double space.
4. Salutation/Greeting
Dear Ms. Smith
(or whoever is
the head of your
organization)

Use Ladies and

Gentlemen when
name is unknown
Double space.
 5. Body: State
your purpose
for writing this
letter. Be
formal and
polite; the
organization is
doing YOU a
favor by
sending you the
information.
You may or may
not have more
than one
paragraph. If you
do, between each
paragraph, be
sure to double
space.
6. Closing:
Yours Truly
Four spaces
after the closing

Then your name. In

between the
closing and your
name, that is where
you would sign
your name.