Parts of a Letter

I. Discussion topics.

Discuss the following question with your group-mates:

1. Do you think it necessary to stick to the basic conventions for effective letter writing? If your answer is "yes" say why.

II. Reading.

Parts of a Letter

A letter must contain many parts to communicate its message. These parts and their placement in your letter form the basic conventions of effective letter writing. Your reader will be in the habit of looking for certain information in certain places in your letter. It is your responsibility as a letter writer to meet your reader's expectations. By doing so you will create a good impression.

Parts and Components

Explanations

Letterhead		It is printed and supplied by your employer. It is used only for the first page of the letter.
	Trading name	It must be registered and displayed.
	Logo	It is a visual symbol or device which communicates memorably what a company or institution does, or with what it would like to be associated.
	Postal address Post code (BE), Zip code (AE) Telephone number Telegraphic, cablegram address Telex number
BE	Names of directors Addresses of registered office Registered number Registered location	The legal requirements are to protect the letter’s reader from difficulties of identification or communication resulting from unscrupulous dealings.
Letter reference	The letter-writer’s initials The letter-typist’s initials A coded file reference	‘Our ref’ is given to outgoing letter. ‘Your ref’ – to incoming letter. In the US, it is normally situated in the end of a business letter. e.g. Our ref HT/JN WA 151 (BE) Your ref LMK/pb (BE) JB:DB (AE) JB:db (AE)
Date	Day, month, year	It is typed few lines below the letterhead. e.g. 16th July,1991 (BE) 16th July 1991 (BE) July 16th 1991 (AE) July 16,1991 (AE) NB 3/1/94 - the third of January nineteen ninety-four (BE) - the first of March nineteen ninety-four (AE)
Reader of the letter	Company, institution or individual
Reader’s address	Name, street, town, county or state, post code, country	It is typed as it will appear on the envelope
Attention reference	Specified person’s title or position and name following on the same line	It is not always required. It should be used when the letter is addressed to a company or organization as a whole, but you want it to be handled by a specific individual at the company or within the organization. It should be underlined or typed in capitals. e.g. For attention of Mr Greene (BE) ATTENION: Mr Greene (AE)
Care of	c / o	It refers to a person in the company who is responsible to take care of the letter and delivery to a relevant person / department.
Salutation	Commonly greeting (Dear …) a courtesy title, reader’s last name	‘Dear Sir’, ‘Dear Madam’, ‘Ladies and Gentlemen’, are acceptable in cases of extreme formality. When the reader’s name is not known, the person’s title is the next best term in a salutation.
Subject-heading	Brief summary of letter’s theme	It is often omitted, but its inclusion is a courtesy to your reader. By alerting him to the content of your message, you enable him to decide whether the letter requires immediate attention. It should be underlined or typed in capitals. e.g. REPAIR OF MODEL 7342 (BE) Repair of model 7342 (BE) SUBJECT: Repair of model 7342 (AE) In AMS format the word ‘subject’ is omitted.
Letter message	Content
Complimentary close	Closing assurance	It’s a polite formal way to end a letter. Standard forms are: Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, etc.
Signature	Author’s signature
Author’s identity	Typescript of author’s name	It is typed four lines below the complimentary close to allow space for the signature. When letters are signed by a secretary for his / her principle, ‘for’ or ‘p.p.’ is commonly inserted before the typescript name. e.g. for John Smith Production Manager
Author’s official title	Author’s title or position in the company
Enclosure	Indication of accompanying material	This is a practical courtesy to prevent your reader from discarding important matter with the envelope. It consists of: enc. encs. Enc. Encs. Encl. Enclosure Enclosures
Letter copy(ies) reference	Indication of copies ‘ recipients	It tells the reader who has been sent a carbon copy of the letter and consists of: copy to, copies to, cc (carbon copy), xc (xerox copy)
Continuation sheet details	Page number, date and recipient name	It is typed at the head of page 2 and subsequent pages of the letter.

NB When the letter's contents are confidential the following "warning headings" may be prominently displayed on both the letter sheet or envelope

CONFIDENTIAL or

PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL