Elements
A business letter includes the following elements:
- Letterhead (Optional)
- Return Address (Writer Information)
- Date
- Inside Address (Recipient Information)
- Salutation (Dear Sb.)
- Subject (Title)
- Body (Content)
- Complimentary Close (Yours ...,)
- Signature
- Name and Title Lines
- Enclosure (Optional) (Enc. / Encl. / Enc: / Encl:)
Return Address
The return address style depends on the role of the writer.
If the letter is from a company, then the return address should be:
Name
Position
Company's Name
Company's Address
If the letter is from an individual writer, then the format should be:
Name
Home Address
Inside Address
The style of Inside address is the same as return address's, meaning that it also depends on the role of the recipient.
Subject
Be simple and be able to draw attention to the topic of the letter.
Body
The number of paragraph is generally 3-5.
Complimentary Close
The close depends on the salutation part.
If the salutation is one of Dear Sir,, Dear Madam, or Dear Sir or Madam,, then the letter should close with Your faithfully,.
If the salutation is personal name, such as Dear Mr.James,, then it should close with Yours sincerely,.
Enclosure
This part is optional normally, but if there are some attachments after the letter, than it becomes necessary.
The options of the enclosure are Enc. / Encl. / Enc: / Encl:.