Block Format for Business Letters
The style and format for writing business letters has evolved
over the past several decades and has adjusted itself to more or less the
corporate culture of its times. The most commonly followed and universally
accepted business letter format of the present times is the Block format of writing
business letters.
Apart from the Block Format there are also two more formats
namely the Modified Block Format and
the Semi-Block Format. But we
recommend that you follow the block format of business letters unless specified
otherwise by your organisation.
Business Letter
Format – The Block Format
The block format is the simplest format to follow and
specifies that all the content of the business letter should be left aligned and
justified. Note that you don’t indent at all in the block format or block
style. Have a look at the following sample business letter to understand the
different elements of the block format of business letters.
2130 Fairmount Ave
Philadelphia, PA 19130 I – Return Address
United States
Single
space
June 21, 2015 II – Current Date
Two
to three spaces
Mrs. Katie Ross
The Admissions Dept, Rockefeller
College
61 Nassau St III – Inside Address
Princeton, NJ 08542
United States
Double
space
Dear Mrs Katie Ross: IV – Salutation
Double
space
Subject: Application for scholarship V – Subject Line
Double
space
I write to you to
know the status of my application for admission into the prestigious fellowship
program at Rockefeller College....................
Double
space
The details of my
application are as follows................... VI - Body
Double
space
Please update me
with the status as soon as possible. I have also enclosed a copy of my
application for
reference......
Double
space
Sincerely yours, VII – Closing
Four to five spaces for signature VIII – Signature
Jonathan Webb IX – Printed Name
Student
Double
space
Enclosures (2)
1. Application Letter
2. Application Form X - Enclosures
Double
space
Reference Initials XI – Reference Initials
Margins and Paper: A Business
Letter is always written on a standard 8”x 11”A4 size paper with 1” to
1.5” margin on the each side of the paper. Official letters are printed on a
bond paper of good quality. The font has to a standard font out of Arial,
Calibri, Times New Roman or Verdana.
I – Return Address: The address of the sender is written without the name of the
sender. There is no heading or any indent and the address line starts on the
left.
II – Current Date: The date is
written after a single space starting with the month eg. January 10, 2015 or
starting with the day followed by the month eg. 10 January, 2015. The comma is
always placed before the year.
Refer to the sample above for line spacing mentioned in italics wherever applicable.
III – Inside
Address: The address of the recipient with the Name and designation of
the recipient. If you are not sure of the designation it’s better to leave it
blank. Note that both the return address and the inside address do not have any
commas or full stops.
IV – Salutation: The salutation
starts with a Dear followed by Mr. / Mrs. / Miss followed by full name and ends
with a colon. Some organisation prefer to leave out the word dear and simply
address the recipient with Mr./ Mrs/ Miss. A doctor should be addressed as Dr.
V – Subject Line: The subject line
is very important and should be as concise as possible yet give the full
context of the letter. Read more about how
to write a professional business letter to get this right. The above sample
is a type application letter.
VI – Body: The main content
of the letter is written mainly in three to four paragraphs. The first
paragraph is the introduction followed by the details and third and fourth
paragraphs are action points and conclusion respectively. Double line spaces
are left after each paragraph. The body changes as per the different types of business letters and needs to
be modified accordingly.
VII – Closing: The closing of
the letter is used to establish your position with respect to the recipient. It
tells the reader that you have finished and is usually written as ‘Sincerely
yours’ or ‘Thanking you’. Notice that only the first letter is capitalised and
not each letter. Keep this short to two to three words.
VIII – Signature: This is where
you sign. Leave enough space of four to five lines so that you signature is
just above your printed name.
IX – Printed Name: Your printed
name along with your designation. Again there are no commas or full stops in
here too.
X – Enclosure/s: If there is only
one enclosure mention it in front of the word <Enclosure:>. If you have
more than one enclosures the mention the number of enclosures other than the
letter itself in the brackets as shown above. Then write the document names and
reference numbers of each enclosure in a ordered list below it.
XI – Reference
Initials: (Optional) if you have marked cc or bcc to any other
department mention it here.
This is about it! Congratulations! You can now draft those perfect
professional business letters in the block format. However it’s always good to have
a look at some business letter templates
or application letters and
understand the process of drafting good
quality business letters.
Found this article useful or feel there is
something we left out? Let us know through the comments section below.
Block Format, Block format for Business Letters, Business Letter Format, Business Letter Template, How to write a Business Letter, Professional Business Letters
Location:
Philadelphia, PA, USA
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