The various or different parts of business letters can be discussed in the

following ways:

1) Letter Heading or Sender’s Name and Address: The first and

foremost part of the letter is the HEADING that contains the name and
address of the sender/firm. The name and address of the sender is usually
written/typed or is in the form of a letter head. The address of the sender
should be complete and accurate in all respects, i.e. correct number or serial
of building, correct name of road, city or town, pin code etc. The heading
should comprise of telephone number, telex or fax number, e-mail id, address
etc. The design of the letter head is flexible and is chosen in keeping with
the nature of the individual/ firm.

A specimen of Letter Heading is given below:

X.Y.Z COMPANY PVT.LIMITED

(Suppliers of Stationary Products)
A-1 Kirti Nagar, New Delhi – 110015
Grams: KINGS Tel: 91-011-2356789
Fax: 91-011-2378653
www. xyzcompany.com

_____________________________________________________________
THE STATE BANK OF MAHARASHTRA
Regd. Office: 10, Deshbandu Gupta Road, New Delhi – 110035 Tel: 91-011-
2873673
mailto: manager@sbmindia.com

Ref. No. ___________ Dated _________

___________________________________________________________________________
C.S.T No. DLH/B-6/8978 L.S.T No. 2002

RAJ FURNITURES
Mfrs. & Dealers in all types of Furnitures
G-67, Kirti Nagar, New Delhi-110015
Ref. No. _________ Dated
__________

______________________________________________________________________________
In the absence of a printed letter head we can also type the letter heading or
the sender’s address and contact details.

2) Date – It represents the date when the letter is addressed by the sender.
The date is written below the reference number or is written on the upper
right hand corner of the paper. It depends upon the style or approach
followed in letter writing. The date can be written in any of the fashions or
style – 15/8/2007 or August 15, 2007 (US) or 15th August 2007 (British). In
some western countries the first digit is treated as month and not day so
some times it becomes confusing if the date is written in figures. The ideal
way of writing the date in a business letter is 15th August 2007.

(3) Sender’s Reference Number – It represents the number of file or folder

where the copy of letter sent out has been kept in records. The reference
number can be written/typed/printed in the following ways:

Ref. No. _________

(On left-hand side of upper portion of paper)

The reference number of the sender firm is denoted to easily locate the
desired bill or information from the records. The format of reference number
may comprise of initials of the firm’s name, name of the department, year
and then the serial number of Despatch or Outward Mail Register. These
details are the fundamentals of a complete reference number. A specimen of
the reference number is given below:

Ref. No. XYZA/Sales/99/2345

The above reference number is quoted while responding or replying to the

letter written by the sender. It helps or facilitates in locating the desired letter
in less time.

4) Inside Address or Receiver’s Address – Inside Address represents the

name and address of the person to whom the letter is written or addressed. It
is written after the reference number and the date in a business letter and
should contain the full name and address of the addressee – person or firm,
number of building or plot, name of street, road, name of town and city with
its pin code number. The inside address is always written towards the left
hand margin. In case of window envelopes sufficient space should be left
above and below the inside address. The letter is folded in such manner that
the inside address is visible through the window. The inside address should
be written completely and legibly.

5) Salutation – The next part after inside address is salutation. It can be

described as a token of respect shown in business letter to the reader. The
customary form of writing salutation in a business letter is ‘Dear Sirs’ when
we address company or firm and ‘Dear Sir’ when we address a letter by the
person’s name or designation. When it is addressed to lady we use ‘Dear
Madam’ and when it is addressed to a group of ladies we use the salutation
‘Dear Mesdames’. If we address the letter to a honorable dignitary or V.I.P or
High Authority, then we may simply write ‘Sir’ as the salutation. The
salutation should be written on the left hand margin below the inside
address.

6) Subject – It is the subject matter of a business letter presented in short.

For example – we can have subject lines like “Supply of goods” or “Placing an
order”. The subject is generally written after the salutation in a business
letter. The subject heading may be underlined so that it is displayed
prominently and significantly in a business letter. It can be denoted by words
like ‘Sub.’ or ‘Re.’ The subject heading should be either written in middle or
towards the left hand margin. Examples of subject headings are:

Dear Sirs,

Sub: Order of Goods

Or

Dear Sirs,

Re.: Quotation of Items

The subject should describe in short the content of a business letter and
should serve to inform the reader of the purpose of the letter.

(7) Body of a Letter – The body of a letter refers to the lines or paragraphs
of information included in a business letter. The body of letter comprises a
suitable opening paragraph, followed by a series of paragraphs that outline
the information contained in the letter. Each paragraph should be closely
linked with each other. The paragraphs should be brief, concise and relevant.
The business letter is closed with a suitable and fitting closing paragraph that
may consist of a suggestion from the sender about a future course of action.
It should be leave a good impression on the reader.
(8) The Complimentary Close – The ideal business letter should be closed
with words like “Yours faithfully”, “Yours sincerely” etc. The words “truly” or
“affectionately” are used for personal and friendly letters while “Yours
sincerely” is used for most formal and demi-official (personal cum official)
letters. The subscription or complimentary close is written at the end of the
letter. It can be written either on right hand corner or on lower left hand
corner of the page depending upon the layout used in writing a business
letter. The close is followed by the name of the company or firm and can be
written or addressed as:

Yours faithfully ,

Sd/-
Adil Khan
Proprietor

The business letter should be duly signed by an authorized signatory of the

company or firm. An unsigned letter shows negligence or an unprofessional
attitude of the sender and leaves a bad impression on the reader. An
unsigned letter has no real validity.

(9) Other Miscellaneous Information – There are other matters that form part
of the business letter and these are as follows:

(a) Enclosures – Enclosures are referred to those paper, document, price-list,

catalogues, samples etc that are enclosed or attached with the business
letter. The enclosures should be clearly indicated in the letter and it should
state how many papers or documents have been enclosed with the letter.
The usual or common way of writing enclosures in a letter is as under stated:

Encls:
1. Resume
2. True copies of certificates
3. Testimonial

ENCL: AS ABOVE
ENC: Cheque No. 012789 for Rs. 5000/-

Enclosures are written on the left hand bottom corner of the end of the letter.

(b) Postscript – Postscript refers to the left over information to be

incorporated in a letter and can be written at the end of the letter in a blank
space available on a paper or letter head. It should be done by writing words
‘P.S’ and should be signed by authorized signatory. It is advisable to avoid
writing the postscript in a business letter except if it is used to draw attention
to an important part of the letter. For eg. In a sales letter you may have a
postscript that says:
P.S.: Remember this offer is valid till 15th September 2010 only.

(c) Mailing Directions – If the sender prefers to specify any specific direction
of posting a letter like ‘Registered Mail’, ‘Registered A.D’, ‘Urgent’,
‘Confidential’ or ‘Express’, then it has to be written or typed at the top of the
letter under the letter head. These notations or mailing direction should bear
prominence in a letter and should be boldly marked. In a window envelope it
is advisable to place the notation above the inside address, so that it can be
seen from the outside. In other cases, the same notation as in the letter,must
also be typed on the envelope.

(d) Attention Line – If the sender wishes to draw attention of a particular

person or officer then the letter can include an attention line e.g.:

For the kind attention of: Mr Raj Verma

or
ATTN: Mr Raj Verma.

The attention line is usually placed after the address lines and before the
salutation.

(e) Copy to Notation or Endorsements – If we need to deliver the same

letter to another person or office then we use notations such as:
Copy to: The Principal
Or
C.C. to: The Principal
Or
Copy forwarded to : The HR Manager
Or
B.C: Blind Copy or Blank copy (The receiver is unaware of this copy and
hence it is only marked on the copy itself and not on the original letter)

The above notations are written or typed at the end of a letter. It is placed
near the left hand margin .

(f) Identification line: This refers to the initials of the dictator and typist.
They are usually placed at the end of the letter against the left margin. E.g.:

PR/lm
PR lm
TR: mj
T:m