When writing a professional letter in the United States, or to an American businessman, it's wise to follow the USA standard for business letter formatting. This means you position the addresses of the sender and recipient and using the proper salutation and closing. There are many occasions when a professional letter is appropriate. These include an business proposal, sales letter, application letter, a thank you letter, and a letter accepting or declining a job offer.
Every professional letter should contain the following, in this order:
- Sender's address;
- Date;
- Recipient's address (also called the inside address);
- Salutation (e.g. "To Whom It May Concern");
- Body;
- Closing (e.g. "Sincerely");
- Enclosures (Type the word "Enclosures" if there are other documents included with the letter, e.g. your resume. You may list the documents when more than one is included.);
- Signature;
- Typist's initials if you did not type the letter yourself.
Optional: Subject: If you consider adding a subject, it’s not common in the basic business letter format, but you may add it under salutation (UK standard) or above the salutation, which is nowadays also common. It starts with ‘Subject:’ and must be short, specific, and placed
The body of your letter should be single-spaced and left-justified. There should be a blank line between paragraphs. The body of the letter should contain:
- First paragraph, A friendly opening followed by a statement of the letter's main point.
- Second paragraph, Justification of the main point's importance.
- Third through, penultimate paragraphs Supporting information and details justifying the main point's importance.
- Closing paragraph, A restatement of the letter's purpose and a request for a specific action, when relevant.
What are useful suggestions when writing a business letter?
Here are some other tips for writing a proper professional letter.
- Make sure your letter is diplomatic and respectful.
- Keep it concise, also 'Short and Sweet'. Make sure the bottom line is clear without going through a lot of details.
- Use standard fonts. Verdana or Calibri (sans serif) of Times New Roman (Serif) are widely accepted fonts.
- Font size: typically typed in a 12-point size.
- Make sure to have correct grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Use a colon (:) after the salutation and a comma (,) after the closing.
- Ask somebody you trust to proofread the letter or check your letter thoroughly for errors before sending it.
What are the alternative formats of a business letter?
In modern business communication, there are also other common Business Letter formats that you use to draft a professional email or letter. This Modern Business Letter covers three different types of common letter formats: fully block format (the one in our example), modified block format, and semi-block format, additionally there is also UK business letter standard.
Therefore, when formatting your letter, make sure to use this business letter format template to ensure you structure and communicate in a professional. Feel free to download this intuitive template that is available in several kinds of formats or try any other of our basic or advanced templates, forms, or documents. Do not try to reinvent the wheel every time you are facing a challenge. Consider learning from others that have gone through the same challenge before you.
Download this Basic Business Letter template and save yourself time and effort. Making sure you follow the right communication guideline when drafting your letter just became a little easier!