Tuesday, May 19, 2015

1. Discuss business letters.
2. Write a business letter. It must have a minimum of two paragraphs. (Type it in Chromebook and turn it in to "Business Letter" folder in  Google Classroom.)
3. Some suggestions for subjects:
     a. asking for information about a product or service
     b. expressing interest in the company or school
     c. requesting an appointment
     d. making a recommendation
     e. introducing a person
     f. making a complaint
     g. thanking someone for a courtesy
     h. making a business transaction
     i. instructions
4. You do not have to use one of the suggestions above; you may use one of your own.
5. Use block form.
6. One may use an indented form in a business letter, but in my opinion, the block form is better suited for a business letter and is easier to do, as well. If you want to see an example of indented form, click on the link below. 

Business Letter 

Block Form from https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/BusinessLetter.html

5 Hill Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53700

March 15, 2005

Ms. Helen Jones
President
Jones, Jones & Jones
123 International Lane
Boston, Massachusetts 01234

Dear Ms. Jones:

Ah, business letter format-there are block formats, and indented formats, and modified block formats . . . and who knows what others. To simplify matters, we're demonstrating the block format on this page, one of the two most common formats. For authoritative advice about all the variations, we highly recommend The Gregg Reference Manual, 9th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001), a great reference tool for workplace communications. There seems to be no consensus about such fine points as whether to skip a line after your return address and before the date: some guidelines suggest that you do; others do not. Let's hope that your business letter succeeds no matter which choice you make!

When you use the block form to write a business letter, all the information is typed flush left, with one-inch margins all around. First provide your own address, then skip a line and provide the date, then skip one more line and provide the inside address of the party to whom the letter is addressed. If you are using letterhead that already provides your address, do not retype that information; just begin with the date. For formal letters, avoid abbreviations where possible.

Skip another line before the salutation, which should be followed by a colon. Then write the body of your letter as illustrated here, with no indentation at the beginnings of paragraphs. Skip lines between paragraphs.

After writing the body of the letter, type the closing, followed by a comma, leave 3 blank lines, then type your name and title (if applicable), all flush left. Sign the letter in the blank space above your typed name. Now doesn't that look professional?

Sincerely,

John Doe
Administrative Assistant