BUSSINESS LETTER

1. what is business letter ? and what is the component of business letter ?

A business letter is usually a letter from one company to another, or between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. The overall style of letter depends on the relationship between the parties concerned. Business letters can have many types of contents, for example to request direct information or action from another party, to order supplies from a supplier, to point out a mistake by the letter's recipient, to reply directly to a request, to apologize for a wrong, or to convey goodwill. A business letter is sometimes useful because it produces a permanent written record, and may be taken more seriously by the recipient than other forms of communication

components

business letter consist of letter head on which are printed a dateline, an inside address, a salutation, a subject line, the body of the letter, a complimentary closing, a signature block, an ID line and notation.

- dateline

usually keyed 2.5 inches/15 lines below the top edge or .5 inch/3 lines below the letterhead. should be written out December 15, 2011

- inside address

states the title and address of the person for whom the letter is intended. for a physician- Dr.____ or ____M.D. ___M.D. is preferred

- salutation

Keyed flush with the left margin on the second line below the inside address. should refer to the receiver on the letter,using a title and surname (last name) Dear Mrs Brown. If the receiver and sender know each other well, first name may be used. in formal correspondence, is followed by a colon, a comma should be used in informal.

- subject

used to bring the subject of the letter to the readers attention. should be typed 2 lines below the salutation and two lines above the body of the letter

- body

begins two lines below the salutation or subject line. is single spaced with a blank line between paragraphs. leave a blank line above and below a list, and indent each item on the list .5 inch from the left margin.

- complimentary closing

placed two lines below the last line of the body and consisting of one of the following- Sincerely, Yours truly, Best regards. followed by a coma. one the first letter of the first word is capitalized.

- signature block

contains the senders name on the first line and title on the second. should be typed four lines below to allow the signature.

*signed by the MA- routine business nature/supply orders *signed by the doctor- medical reports, letters by the insurance company, consultation or referral letters and letters clinical in nature.

- ID line

typist initials are sometimes included two lines below the signature block. the traditional full form includes the initials of the person responsible for creating the letter followed by a colon or a slash and then the typist;s initials

- notation

includes information such as the number and type of enclosure and the names of other people who receive copies of the letter. typed two lines below the signature block or ID line.

- full block

typed with all lines in standard letter format, flush left. quick and easy to write. one of the most common formats used in medical practice

- modified block

all lines begin at the left margin, with the exception of the date line, complimentary closing and keyed signature, which usually begins at the center position

- simplified

all lines are keyed flush with the left margin. most modern letter style. in most situations in a medical office, style may be to informal.

- envelopes

three common used sizes-6 3/4, 7 and 10 (also called business size). most common in the medical office are 6 3/4 and 10. 6 3/4 with a window is often used for mailing statements

- return address

for the sender should be placed in the upper left corner

2. explain the differences between of full block style and semi block style letter

Semi-Block Format

The semi-block format business letter is a little less formal than the block format letter and slightly more formal than the modified block format letter. It works well in almost all situations and is a good choice if you find yourself on the fence about which format to use.
Semi-block business letters differ from most others in that the first line of each paragraph is indented. Look at the modified semi-block business letter template if you’d like to try another format with indentations. It is the least formal of all the formats shown on this page

Full Block Format

Full block style business letters have a formal appearance, however they can be used in informal business situations as well as formal ones. If you are looking for a single format that will work well in every situation, this is a good one to use. Notice that the following business letter format is laid out so that it is easy to read. It is also a template that is very easy to type, as there are no indents to worry about.

3. give example full block style business letter and semi block

Full Block Format Business Letter Template

Your Name
Address
Address
Phone
Today’s Date

Recipient’s Name
Company
Address
Address
Address
Dear (Recipient’s Name),

This block format business letter template illustrates how quick and easy communications can be to type. Notice that it looks very much like the semi-block letter format, except the paragraphs are not indented. This is a format you can use for all business occasions.
Notice that all elements in this letter are left justified. This formatting provides a crisp, modern look that many people prefer. If you have any enclosures to include in this letter, make a note at the bottom left, a few spaces below the signature block. Just write “enclosures:” and follow up with the names of any items inside the envelope. A brochure, an application, or a copy of an invoice are some of the things you might think about including.

Sincerely,

Your First name, Last name, and Title

Semi-Block Format Business Letter Template

Your Name
Address
Address
Phone
Today’s Date

Recipient’s Name
Company
Address
Address
Address

Dear (Recipient’s Name),

This semi-block business letter format looks very much like the block letter format, except the

paragraphs have been indented. Semi-block format letters are just a little more formal than modified semi-block business letters.

Notice that the sender’s address, the closing, the signature, and the signature block are left justified.

The only elements of this business letter format that are not left justified are the first lines of each of the paragraphs.

If you have any enclosures to include in this letter, make a note at the bottom left, a few spaces below

the signature block. Just write “enclosures:” and follow up with the names of any items inside the envelope. A brochure, an application, or a copy of an invoice are some of the things you might think about including.

Sincerely,

Your First name, Last name, and Title

Writing a Business Letter

In this lesson, you will learn how to write a formal business letter. A business letter is a formal letter used to communicate with a specific individual or group. It is called a business letter because most of these specific individuals and groups usually belong to a business.
Why should you learn how to write a business letter? Writing business letters is a very important skill to have because business letters are also used to communicate your desire for a job. When you send your resume to businesses, you will usually also include a cover letter that needs to be typed up as a business letter.
So, let's begin.
Here is an example of a business letter.

As you can see, everything is written so that it is aligned to the left. The paragraphs are not indented. All the margins should be set at one inch. And yes, the business letter is almost always typed up. The font size should be set at 12 pt, and the font type should be a formal one, such as Times New Roman or Arial.
There are six parts to the business letter: the heading, the recipient's address, the salutation, the message, the closing, and the signature. We will discuss the heading, recipient's address, and the salutation in the opening section. We will discuss the message in the body section and finish with the closing and signature in the ending section.

The Opening

The opening of your business letter is made up of three parts. It includes the heading, which includes the writer's address and the date, the recipient's address, and the salutation.
For the heading, you include your own address in the U.S. Post Office format with your street name on one line and your city, state, and zip code on the next line. Then, skip a line between your address and the date. Next, write the date formally with the month written out followed by the day, a comma, and then the year in four digits. Skip another line after the heading.
Next, include the recipient's address. Use a proper salutation of the person if at all possible, whether it is Dr., Mr., Ms., Mrs., or Miss. If you are not sure of the salutation, you can use the person's full name along with his or her official title. Include the street address, city, and state in the U.S. Post Office format. If the address is an international one, write the country in all capital letters on the line directly underneath the address. Skip another line after the recipient's address.
Now, include the salutation. The salutation begins with 'Dear' along with the recipient's name. Include the same Dr., Mr., Ms., Mrs., or Miss that you used in the recipient's address. Unless you're on a first name basis with this person, use their last name only. If you don't know how to address them, then include their first and last name. End the salutation with a colon and then skip another line between this salutation and your message.