Business Letters
Letters, brief message sent to recipient(s) that are often outside the organization. Bovee, C., & Thill, J. (2010). Business communication essentials: a skills-based approach to vital business English (4th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. They are often printed on letterhead paper, and represent the business or organization in one or two pages. Shorter messages may include e-mails or memos, either hard copy or electronic, while reports tend to be three or more pages in length.
While e-mail and text messages may be used more frequently today, the effective business letter remains a common form of written communication. It can serve to introduce you to a potential employer, announce a product or service, or even serve to communicate feelings and emotions. We'll examine the basic outline of a letter and then focus on specific products or writing assignments.
All writing assignments have expectations in terms of language and format. The audience or reader may have their own idea of what constitutes a specific type of letter, and your organization may have its own format and requirements. This chapter outlines common elements across letters, and attention should be directed to the expectations associated with your particular writing assignment. There are many types of letters, and many adaptations in terms of form and content, but in this chapter, we discuss the fifteen elements of a traditional block-style letter.
Letters may serve to introduce your skills and qualifications to prospective employers, deliver important or specific information, or serve as documentation of an event or decision. Regardless of the type of letter you need to write, it can contain up to fifteen elements in five areas.
Strategies for Effective Letters
Remember that a letter has five main areas:
- The heading, which establishes the sender, often including address and date
- The introduction, which establishes the purpose
- The body, which articulates the message
- The conclusion, which restates the main point and may include a call to action
- The signature line, which sometimes includes the contact information
A sample letter is shown in Figure 9.5 "Sample Business Letter".
Figure 9.5 Sample Business Letter

Always remember that letters represent you and your company in your absence. In order to communicate effectively and project a positive image,
- be clear, concise, specific, and respectful;
- each word should contribute to your purpose;
- each paragraph should focus on one idea;
- the parts of the letter should form a complete message;
- the letter should be free of errors.
Source: Saylor.org, Business Communications for Success, Corporate Communications section, http://saylordotorg.github.io/text_business-communication-for-success/s13-02-memorandums-and-letters.html
Resource
Use this web site for more tips on writing business letters. Writing Effective Business Letters
Austin Community College District Library, "Writing Effective Business Letters." http://researchguides.austincc.edu/busltr