It is important to write business letters correctly, because the impression you create depends on how you write them. Even if almost everything is done via email nowadays, business letters aren’t extinct or considered totally out of style so it still pays to know how to write and format them properly. Business letters are more formal than business emails. They communicate something more official in a business situation.
List of steps to follow when writing a business letter:
Type of letter you need to write
Business letters have a sender and a recipient (person who receives the letter). The sender can be a person or a group (like a company) and the recipient can be another person or group. Depending on the sender’s reason for writing, there are several types of letters. Have a look at the main types of business letters:
- Letter of complaint: A business letter written by someone (a person or a company) who is dissatisfied with the products or services offered by a company. When writing a letter of complaint, it is important to try to keep a polite tone, even if you are very upset or have a lot of complaints to make.
- Letter of inquiry: This type of letter is written by someone who has questions about the activity of another company. If you are planning to write a letter of inquiry, make sure you try to find out as much information as you can before writing. Then make a checklist with everything else you need to find out about, so that you don’t forget some important points.
- Cover letters: These are written by people who are applying for jobs. They are usually sent together with a resume. A good cover letter can get you a job, but people writing cover letters often make mistakes or try too hard to impress the reader.
- Adjustment letters: These letters are sent as replies to letters of complaint. They can be tricky to write because your reader is usually a dissatisfied customer who is hoping to get the most out of a bad business situation.
- Order letters: This type of business letter is sent to place an order with a company. Order letters need to include correct information, so you need to double-check all figures before sending them. Your language needs to be accurate so that there is no room for mistakes. It is better to use simple and clear language. Long sentences can be ambiguous (uncertain) and difficult to follow.
- Other letters: There may be all sorts of other business situations in which people may be writing letters. For example, a person might write a letter…
- to convince others to buy their products or services.
- to recommend employees for jobs.
- to announce their resignation.
Write a short outline
After you have decided what type of letter you are going to write,first of all, start gathering all the information you can on the situation you are writing about. If you are writing a letter of complaint, you should know exactly what the problem was and what you hope to achieve as a result of your letter. If you are writing an order letter, remember to gather all the information about the product you need.
Next, write down the main ideas you want to include. You can write down full sentences, or just key words if you are in a hurry. For example, if you are writing a cover letter, your main ideas could look like this:
- What job you are applying for.
- Why you think you would be good for the job/why the company should hire you.
- Why the job would be good for you.
- When you are available for an interview.
If you know the main ideas, you know how many paragraphs you are going to write. Remember to have only one main idea in a paragraph. This will help the reader follow your points more easily, and your letter will be structured and logical.
Use the right layout and salutation
Business letters have quite strict rules when it comes to layout (format and order). You need to include the sender’s and the recipient’s addresses and follow some simple rules:
- Start with the sender’s address. You can write it in the top right or left corner. Don’t include your name or title because these will appear at the end of your letter.
- Leave an empty line and write the date just below the sender’s address. If you are writing to a company in the United States, remember to use the American date format: month, date, year.
- Leave another empty line and write the recipient’s title, name, position and address. Pay attention to titles. We use Mr. for men, Miss for unmarried women, Ms. for women we are not sure are married and Mrs. for married women. It is always safest to just use Ms. for women.
- Start the letter with the right salutation, depending on whether you know the recipient and how well you know them. In American English, we use a colon after salutations in formal business letters. In British English, we use a comma. Here are some examples:
Dear Mr. Rahul: (If you know the recipient’s name.)
Dear Rahul: (If you know the recipient quite well and call each other by your first names.)
Dear Sir or Madam: (If you don’t know the recipient’s name.)
To Whom It May Concern: (If you don’t have a specific person to whom you are writing. It is a bit more general than “Dear Sir or Madam.” It is best to try to find a contact person when writing a business letter.)
- Close the letter appropriately, depending on the salutation you used at the beginning:
(Dear Mr. Rahul:) Yours sincerely / Sincerely / Sincerely yours,
(Dear Rahul:) Best / Best regards / Kind regards,
(Dear Sir or Madam: / To Whom It May Concern:) Yours faithfully / Faithfully / Faithfully yours.
- Sign your name if you are sending a hard copy and then write your name (your title is optional) and your position:
[Signature]
[Ms.] Rina Smith
Director of Acquisitions
Use appropriate vocabulary for the type of letter you are writing
Depending on the type of business letter you are writing, you can choose to use some of the sentences and phrases suggested below.
Letters of complaint:
- I am writing to complain about…
- I am writing to draw your attention to…
- I recently purchased … from your company.
- Not only…(did the product arrive late), but…(it was faulty as well)
- As you can imagine, I was quite disappointed/upset when…
- I suggest that I get a full refund.
- I feel entitled to a refund.
- I would be grateful if you could give me a refund.
- I would appreciate it if you could replace the product.
- I look forward to receiving a prompt reply.
Letters of inquiry:
- I am writing to inquire about…
- Would you be kind enough to provide me with some information about…
- I would be appreciative if you could help me find out…
- Could you tell me whether…
- I would also be interested in…
Cover letters:
- I am writing to apply for the position of…
- I am writing in response to your advertisement…
- I would like to apply for the position of…
- I am particularly interested in this job because…
- As you can see from my resume,…
- As you will notice in my resume,…
- I am currently employed by…
- I am keen to pursue a career in…, because…
- My main strengths are…
- I would be available for an interview starting…
- Should you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Adjustment letters:
- Please accept our apologies for…
- We sincerely apologize for…
- The mistake was apparently due to…
- We are currently working on…
- To prevent this from happening again,…
- We understand how upset you must have been when…, but unfortunately…
Order letters:
- We would like to place an order for…
- We look forward to receiving your offer for…
- Could you please confirm the prices for…
- We are looking forward to your confirmation.
Check your spelling
When writing a business letter, perfect spelling is essential. If possible, spell check to make sure your spelling is correct.
Check your grammar
Grammar mistakes are a bit trickier. What you can do is to know your grammar weak spots. For instance, do you tend to forget adding s for the third-person singular when using the present simple? Or do you overuse the? Then it is time to double-check for these mistakes.
Check your punctuation
It is so difficult to focus on different types of mistakes all at once—spelling, grammar and punctuation. So try to make time to proofread your letter a separate time for punctuation mistakes.
Format your letter
Leave formatting for the end; it is less time consuming. Most business letters use a block format, and are left-justified and single-spaced. You should use double spacing between paragraphs to make it clear where a paragraph ends and where another one begins. The most common font is Times New Roman 12, but Arial also works just fine.
That’s it! Business letters are less complicated once you follow these easy steps.
