STYLE OF LETTER

THE STYLES AND THE PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

Dialogue

Mr. Smith : Helen, did you notice the difference between the letter from BOAC and that of David & Company Ltd, New York?

Helen : Emm… Let me see. Yes. There is a difference in the style of the two letters. The letter from BOAC is semi-block style and the one from David & Company Ltd is full block or American style.

Mr. Smith : Quite right. How many styles or forms of business letter are there? Do you know?

Helen : Six, sir. 1. Intended or British style. 2. Full Block or American style. 3. Semi-Block style. 4. Modified-Block style. 5. Simplified style. 6. Hanging-Intended style.

Mr. Smith : One more. Can you recall?

Helen : Let me try. It’s… it’s… I’m sorry, I forgot it, sir.

Mr. Smith : Official style, isn’t it?

Helen : Ah, yes. That’s the one in which the inside address is placed at the left hand foot of the letter.

Mr. Smith : Good. In our office, we keep the samples of these seven styles. You can see them in the green file over there.

Helen : Thank you, sir. I’ll make a good study of them at once.

Mr. Smith : A good student!

Helen : Of yours.

Mr. Smith : In the file, you can also see a sample of complete parts of a business letter.

Helen : There are seven compulsory parts: Letter Head, Date Line, Inside Address, Salutation, Body, Complimentary Close, and Signature. The rest is called additional parts.

Mr. Smith : Quite right!