A GUIDE TO DOCUMENT

FORMATS

Business Letters

Spacing and Punctuation

Two spaces after end punctuation (periods,

question marks, and so forth)

Letter Placement and Line Headings

Letter Placement and Line Headings

Experts say that a ragged-right margin is easier

to read than a justified margin.

You might want to turn off the justification

feature of your word processing program if it

automatically justifies the right margin.

Business Letter Parts

Letterhead.

8.5 x 11 inch paper

Official name

Street address

Web address and email

Telephone and fax numbers

Dateline

One blank line below the last line of the

letterhead

Or 2 inches from the top edge of the paper (line

13)

Delivery Notations

MESSENGER DELIVERY

CONFIDENTIAL

CERTIFIED MAIL

CAPITAL LETTERS

TWO BLANK SPACES ABOVE THE INSIDE ADDRESS

Inside Address

Address of the organization

Person receiving the letter

Single spaced

Starting at the left margin.

Generally, one to nine blank lines between

dateline and inside address

Inside Address

Attention Line

Salutation

One blank line below

inside address

or the attention line (if used).

Courtesy title and last name

Colon after salutation, not comma or semicolon

No individual full name in salutation

Subject

One line below or above the salutation

Body

Single-spaced

Double-spacing between paragraphs.

Double-spaced with indented paragraphs for

very short messages

Complimentary Close

One blank line below the last line of the letter

Formal

Very truly yours

Informal

Sincerely

Cordially

Signature Block

Writer’s typed name

Optional identification

Three or four blank lines below the complimentary

close.

Name and title

Same line or separate line depending on length

Commas to separate categories within same line

Commas not to conclude a line

Signature Block

Others

Others

Others

Others

Second-Page Heading

Second-Page Heading

Plain-Paper Return Address

Place your address immediately above the date

Do not include your name.

You will type and sign your name at the end of your

letter.

Avoid abbreviations

Plain-Paper Return Address

Block style

Type the return address at the left margin

Modified Block Style

Start the return address at the center to align with the

complimentary close

Plain-Paper Return Address

Letter and Punctuation Styles

Block style

All lines begin at the left margin

Modified block style

Date and closing lines appear in the center

First line of each paragraph may begin

At the left margin

Or may be indented five to ten spaces

Block Letter

Block Letter

Modified Block Style

Envelopes

Folding

Folding

ENDReference: Essentials of Business Communication

By: Mary Ellen Guffey

Raphael James Dizon

Presented by: