Structure of Business letter

(A. I. Patel) 

Radhanagari Mahavidyalay, Radhanagari.

B. Com. I semester II

Subject- English 

1) Structure of Business letter:

An official letter looks different from a personal letter and from other types of business document. The structure of a business letter has a number of elements or parts. Thes e seven elements that normally appear in every letter are fixed location on the sheet. The main parts of the letters: heading, date, inside address, salutation, body of the letter, complimentary close and typical signature. In addition to these, some other details included in some letters: your reference number, our reference number, attention line, subject line, identification marks, enclosures. Let us now briefly discuss about the different elements/parts of business letter. The essential parts of business letters are as follows: 

i) Heading: 

The heading of a business letter usually contains the name and postal address of the business, E-mail address, Web-site address, Telephone Numbers, Fax number, Trade Mark or Logo of the business (if any). The heading is normally printed or typed in the middle of the page.

ii)Date: 

The date is normally written on the right side corner after the heading as the day, month and year. Dates are written in various ways. Some examples are like in British practice, 28th February, 2017 or in American practice, February 28, 2017; or Modern practice, 28-02-2017.

iii) Reference Number: 

Reference number is also an important part of the letter and it should be properly placed. It indicates letter number and the department from where the Metter is being sent and the year. It helps in future reference. This reference number is given on the left hand corner after the heading. Some companies include both, Our Ref. No,and Your Ref. No. in their letters. For example, we can write reference number as AB Dept. 20016/25.

iv) Inside Address:

Inside address contains the name and address of the company or the firm or a person to whom the letter is to be sent or who receives the letter. It also contains full name/designation and business address of the person. This is written on the left hand side of the sheet below the reference number. Letters should be addressed to the responsible head e.g., The Secretary the Principal, the Chairman, the Manager, etc.

V)subject:

It is a statement in brief, that indicates the matter to which the letter relates. It attracts the attention of the receiver immediately and helps him to know quickly what the letter is about. An indication of the subject of the letter may quicken its disposal. Usually it is typed and double-spaced between the salutation and the first line of the body of letter. The word "subject is followed by a colon and then the matter is indicated. It is like the title of a report indicating the contents. For example:

Subject: Your order No. C 317/8 dated 12 March 2016.

Subject: Enquiry about Samsung Television.

Subject: Fire Insurance Policy.

vi) Salutation: 

This is placed below the inside address. It is usually followed by a comma (.). The choice of salutation would depend upon your relationship with the receiver and the form of inside-address. If you are addressing an organization (company, society, association. club, agency) you use for example: Dear Sirs/ Dear Madam - for addressing a firm or company. Sir/Madam - for official and formal correspondence. If you are addressing the officer by name you may use any of these - Dear Rajesh/Dear Rajeshwari - (Informal). Dear Shri Rampal/Dear Smt. Seema - (Formal), My Dear Shri Raghvendra/ My Dear Smt. Shubhangi (too informal/personal). The circulars sent for sales promotion or for promotion of data from a large population have salutations such as 'Dear Customer', 'Dear Reader', 'Dear Subscriber', 'Dear Member' etc.

vii) Body of the letter: 

This comes after salutation. The body contains the message of the letter. It is generally made up of three parts:

(a) Opening Part-

       It is the introductory part of the letter. It is an introductory statement specifying the nature of the business or the occasion for writing the letter. In this part, attention of the reader should be drawn to the previous correspondence, if any. For example - with reference to your letter No. 360 dated 12 March 2016, I would like to draw your attention towards the new brand of Sedan Car.

(b) Main Part - 

      This part usually contains the subject matter of the letter. It should be precise and written in clear words - the message that you are conveying along with essential details.

(c) Concluding Part-

         It contains a statement of the sender's intentions, hopes or expectations concerning the next step to be taken. Further, the sender should always look forward to getting a positive response. At the end, terms like - Thanking you, With regards, With warm regards may be used.