1.3　Writing of Each Section and Their Respective Positions in a Business Letter

1.3.1　Letter head or heading

Letter head or heading refers to the sender’s name，address，telephone number，fax number，etc.Usually it is written in the upper right hand margin of the writing paper.Most business firms and other organizations use stationery with a center-printed letter head that includes the name，the address，the postcode and the telephone number of the firm.

1.3.2　Date

It refers the date on which the letter is written.The date consists of the month，day and year.In writing dates，please note that“month”can be abbreviated，but“year”must be written in full.It is put two spaces below the letter head or put in the left-hand margin two spaces below the letter head.

1.3.3　Inside name and address

Inside name and address refers to the receiver’s name and address.It is written in the left-hand margin about two spaces below the date.It appears exactly the same way as on the envelope.It is important to include the postcode in order to facilitate mechanical mail-sorting.

1.3.4　Salutation

Salutation is the polite greeting with which the writer starts his letter.The use of salutation depends on the writer’s relationship with the receiver.The customary formal greeting in a business letter is“Dear Sir”or“Dear Madam”for addressing one person and“Dear Sirs”or“Dear Mesdames”or“Gentlemen”for addressing two or more persons.If the receiver is known to the writer personally，a warmer greeting is preferred，such as“Dear Mr.×××”or“Dear Ms.×××”.Special attention should be paid to the punctuation used after the salutation：after“Dear Sir”，“Dear Madam”，“Dear Sirs”，“Dear Mesdames”，“Dear Mr.×××”and“Dear Ms.×××”，a comma is used instead of a colon as in a Chinese letter.However，after“Gentlemen”，a colon is used.In addition，the first letter of each word in the salutation should be capitalized.

Salutation is usually written two spaces below the inside name and address.

1.3.5　Subject line or caption

Subject line is actually the main topic of the letter.It is inserted between the salutation and the body of the letter.It is expressed as“Re：”.For instance，if the letter is mainly concerned with the L/C No.1234，then the subject line can be written as“Re：L/C No.1234”.

1.3.6　The body of the letter

This is the most important part of the letter.It contains the actual message of the letter.It states the writer’s idea，opinion，purposes and wishes，etc.So it should be carefully planned.It generally consists of three sections：the opening paragraph，paragraphs containing main points and the ending paragraph.The first section is the opening paragraph，introducing yourself if it is the first letter between you and the receiver，or referring to the previous letters if there were some correspondences.The second section contains the main points and it may consist of several paragraphs（Note：one point，one paragraph）.The third section is the ending paragraph，indicating the writer’s plan，expectations，wishes，etc.

1.3.7　Complimentary close

Complimentary close is merely a polite way of ending a letter.It is in agreement with the salutation.The most commonly used complimentary closes are as follows：

The formal ones are“Yours faithfully”or“Faithfully yours”and“Yours truly”or“Truly yours”； The less formal ones are“Yours sincerely”or“Sincerely yours”.

Please note that the punctuation used after these complimentary closes is a comma，and the first letter of the complimentary close should be capitalized.Generally the complimentary close is put in the right hand margin two spaces below the body of the letter.

1.3.8　The writer’s signature and his job title or position or designation

It is common for the writer to sign his name immediately below the complimentary close.The signature can be made either in the writer’s own name or in the company’s name.If the writer represents his company，the company’s name should come first，and then the writer’s signature.Under the signature，generally comes the writer’s printed name for easy identification.Below the writer’s printed name is his or her designation.For instance：

ABC Company

（Signature）

John Smith

Sales Manager

1.3.9　Enclosure

If something is enclosed in the letter，note it below the designation to draw the receiver’s attention to find the enclosure（s）like“Encl：a pricelist”or“Encl（s）：a catalogue and a pricelist”.It can be put in the left hand margin two spaces below the designation of the writer.

1.3.10　Postscript

If the writer wishes to add something he forgot in the body of the letter or for the sake of emphasis，he may add a postscript two spaces below“Encl.”.e.g.

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