FORMATS OF BUSINESS LETTERS

FORMATS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

A business letter is written formally and in a set format. It is very essential to know about the various formats before writing a letter.  A writer has to pay attention to the letterhead, width & margin, outward number, date, inside address, salutation, the body of the letter, complimentary close & signature. It depends on the writer’s choice to choose a letter format for all business correspondence of all departments to maintain uniformity.

Types of Formats for a letter

There are following three types of formats are used for business correspondence:

1. Full block format
2. Modified format
3. Semi-block format/ Intended

Full block format:

This is the widely used format of business letters in every business organization. The main feature of the full block format is that all the content of the letter appears on to left-hand side including complimentary close & paragraph. Every line of a paragraph is started from the left margin.  

2. Modified block form:

It is one of the oldest & traditional formats of a business letter. In this format date &reference number are placed on the right side top. The inside address, salutation, and subject line are typed with the immediate left-hand margin. The complementary close & signature appears on the right-hand side bottom.  

3. Semi-block/intended form:

The content of the beginning like the inside address, subject, salutation, and the main body is started on the left-hand side. The first line of each paragraph is intended five spaces from the left margin.  The date,  complimentary close & signature will appear on the right-hand side bottom of the letterhead.