Special Parts of a Business Letter In addition to the six regular parts of a business letter, sometimes special or optional parts are necessary or wanted by the writer:
The Reference The Attention Line The Subject Line The Title / Section Name The Identification Line Enclosure Copies to (cc:)
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The Subject Line The subject line is used to immediately draw the reader's attention to the subject of the letter. It consists of the word Subject followed by a colon (:) and a word or words of specific information. The position of the subject line is not standardized. It may appear to the right of t he inside address, or centred on the page below the inside address or below the salutation. It is commonly placed below the salutation, as shown below. e.g.
The Reference This consists of the word Ref (short for Reference) followed by a colon (:) and specific information, often a serial or reference number. It is usually placed between the date and the inside address.
Soren Construction Co. 4335 Broadway Indianapolis, IN 46305 USA Attention: Mr Charles Graham
e.g. Nov 10, 1995
Dear Sirs: Subject: Rough Terrain Crane RK250-II
Ref: MHI/KSL/10/90 Soren Construction Co. 4335 Broadway Indianapolis, IN 46305 USA Top of page
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The Title or Section Name This is placed one space below the typewritten signature to identify the writer's position and/or the section s/he works in.
The Attention Line e.g. When a letter is addressed to a company or o rganization rather than an individual, an attention line may be given to help in mail delivery. NB An attention line is never given when the inside address contains a person's name. Attention lines are typically directed to: Sales Division, Personnel Manager, etc. or it may contain the individual's name. The attention line contains the word Attention (or Attn) followed by a colon (:) and the name of the office, department or individual. It is placed between the inside address and the salutation.
Sincerely yours, Peter Monet Peter Monet Sales Representative Top of page
The Identification Line e.g. Nov 10, 1995 Ref: MHI/KSL/10/90 Soren Construction Co. 4335 Broadway Indianapolis, IN 46305 USA Attention: Mr Charles Graham Dear Sirs:
When the person whose signature appears on the letter is not the person who typed the letter, there is an identification line. It consists of two sets of initials separated by a colon. Usually, the sender's initials are capitalized and the typist's are in lower case. The identification line is two spaces below the signature and even with the left margin. e.g. Sincerely yours, Peter Monet
Peter Monet Sales Representative
. Copy notation . File or account number and mailing notation
PM:dap
. postscript Attention line
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When you want to direct a letter to aparticular person or a department in anorganization, attention line can be added between the inside address and salutation,
Enclosure
with a blank line before and after it.
When something is enclosed with the letter, an enclosure line is usually typed one space below the identification line and even with the left margin. If there is no identification line, the enclosure line is two spaces below the signature. It is usually written Enc followed by a colon (:) and information.
with a blank line before and after it.
e.g.
. Subject line Consider a part of a body of the letter, ithelps tell your reader at a glance what yourletter is about. It also helps in filing. It is afterthe salutation and may or may not include theword “subject”. Preferably, it is c entered and
word “subject”. Preferably, it is centered and Sincerely yours, in capitals. Peter Monet Peter Monet Sales Representative
. Enclosures To return whoever prepares your envelop for mailing that something is to be enclosed, the
PM:dap Enc: Brochures
enclosure notation is typed under the reference section. This also alerts the addresses to check the enclosure. The
Top of page number of enclosures may also be mentioned. Copies to (cc:) When a copy of a letter is sent to another person, the letters cc followed by a colon (:) and the name of the person to whom the copy is being sent is typed one space below the enclosure line (or the identification line if there are no enclosures). If there is no identification line, it appears two spaces below the signature. The letters 'cc' traditionally stand for 'carbon copy'.
. Copy notation
e.g.
notation, whichever is last.
Sincerely yours,
Type “c”, :pc” or “copy” before the name andaddresses of the recipients, if it is aphotocopy, type “bc” blind copy only. If youdon’t want addresses to know that so meone
Peter Monet Peter Monet Sales Representative PM:dap Enc: Brochures cc: Mr. Kevin Walker Following are the optional parts which can also be included: . Attention line . Subject line . Enclosures
When you want persons other than theaddresses to receive a copy of your letter, thenames of these persons should be typedbelow the reference section or the enclosure notation, whichever is last.
else is getting a copy. . File or account number and mailing notation To help in filling and quick retrieval, file, loan, or account number may be typed above the body of the letter. Mailing notation words such as Special Delivery, Registered Mail, By Fax etc may be typed below the date line. . postscript
To emphasize a point already mentioned inyour letter or to include a brief personalmessage unrelated to the letter, a letter, apostscript, typed or written (with or without P.S P.S or PS) may be added or PS) may be added below everything below everything else typed on the page. If several notations are to used, the initials RECP may help you remember the proper order for arranging them vertically at the top margin: reference area, enclosure, copy notation, and postscript.
special or optional parts are necessary or wanted by the writer:_ The Reference This consists of the word Ref (short for Reference) followed by a colon (:) and specific information, often a serial or reference number. It is usually placed between the date and the inside address. e.g. Nov 10, 200Ref : MHI/KSL/10/90 Soren Construction Co. 4335 Broadway Indianapolis, IN 46305 USA The Attention Line When a letter is addressed to a company o r organization rather than an individual, an attention line may be given to help in mail delivery. NB An attention line is never given when the inside address contains a person's name. Attention lines are typically directed to: Sales Division, Personnel Manager, etc. or it may contain the individual's name. The attention line contains the word Attention (or Attn) followed by a colon (:) and the name of the office, department or individual. It is placed between the inside address and the salutation. e.g. Nov 10, 200Ref: MHI/KSL/10/90 Soren Construction Co. 4335 Broadway Indianapolis, IN 46305 USA Attention : Mr Charles Graham Dear Sirs:_ The Subject Line The subject line is used to immediately draw the reader's attention to the subject of the letter. It consists of the word Subject followed by a colon (:) and a word or words of specific information. The position of the subject line is not standardized. It may appear to the right of the inside address, or centred on the page below the inside address or below the salutation. It is commonly placed
below the salutation, as shown below. e.g. Soren Construction Co. 4335 Broadway Indianapolis, IN 46305 USA Attention: Mr Charles Graham Dear Sirs: Subject: Rough Terrain Crane RK250-II The Title or Section Name This is placed one space below the typewritten signature to identify the writer's position and/or the section s/he works in. e.g. Sincerely yours, Peter Monet Sales Representative Peter Monet The Identification Line When the person whose signature appears on the letter is not the person who typed the letter, there is an identification line. It consists of two sets of initials separated by a colon. Usually, the sender's initials are capitalized and the typist's are in lower case. The identification line is two spaces below the signature and even with the left margin. e.g. Sincerely yours, Peter Monet Sales Representative PM : dap Enclosure When something is enclosed with the letter, an enclosure line is usually typed one space below the identification line and even with the left margin. If there is no identification line, the enclosure line is two spaces below the signature. It is usually written Enc followed by a colon (:) and information. e.g. Sincerely yours, Peter Monet Sales Representative PM :dap Enc: Brochures Peter Monet Peter Monet Copies to (cc:) When a copy of a letter is sent to another person, the letters cc followed by a colon (:) and the name of the person to whom the copy is being sent is typed one space below the enclosure line (or the identification line if there are no enclosures). If there is no identification line, it appears two spaces below the signature. The letters ‘cc’ traditionally stand for ‘carbon copy’. e.g. Sincerely yours, Peter Monet Sales Representative PM:dap Enc: Brochures cc: Mr. Kevin Walker
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Optional parts of Business Letters
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Optional parts are those parts of a letter that we use when required. They are;
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Postscript is an after thought that you want to add in your letter. If you forget to mention a point in the body, you may write it in the postscript. It is written at the end of the letter b elow everything. You can write 'ps' before the postscript line.
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Some Special Features of the Business Letter
1) Attention line 2) Subject line 3) Enclosure notation 4) Copy notation
The personal notation
5) File or account number
The reference line
6) Mailing notation
The attention line
7) Postscript •
1) Attention line
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Attention line is used to forward a letter to a particular person or title or department when the letter is addressed to a company. Attention line is usually placed between the inside address and salutation. A blank line is left before and after it.
The subject line The identification line The enclosure notation The mailing notation The carbon copy distribution notation
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2) Subject line
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Subject line shows the main idea of your message. It is very helpful for the reader. He can u nderstand the whole idea of your letter from the subject line. You can use the word subject before the line or may omit it. It is usually placed on the second line below the salutation. It can be in th e center or on the left margin.
The postscript
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3) Enclosure Notation
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Enclosure notation shows that you have enclosed one or more documents with your letter. An enclosure can be anything in the envelope other than the message itself. If you want to enclose more than one item, you should indicate the number as Enclosure 4 or Enclosure 5. For attachment you should use the word attached. When enclosures are very important, you must mention the names of the documents. Enclosure notation is placed below Reference Section.
The personal notation If the letter is a confidential, a nd it is wanted to be read only by a particular person, the word personal or confidential is used . such notation should appear four spaces above the inside address as well as in the envelop.
The reference line It can refer to a bill, an order, a code or
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4) Copy Notation
a letter.
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When you want other persons to receive a copy of the letter, the names of those persons arranged in order of importance or in alphabetical order should be typed in a copy no tation. It is placed just below the enclosure notation. Type "cc" before the receivers' name if you are sending them a carbon copy, "pc" for photocopy and "bpc" for blind photocopy.
It is typed four spaces below the date line.
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5) File or account number
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Sometimes file or account number is typed above the body of the letter in a prominent place. It is very helpful for the sender's and the reader's company. Both can easily check their record.
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6) Mailing notation
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Mailing notation are the words such as Special Delivery, Certified or Registered Mail . They are placed a double space below the date line and a double space before the inside address. They can also be placed a double space under the reference initials.
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7) Postscript
The attention line if you want your letter is directed to the attention of a particular person, use the attention line. It is placed two spaces below th e inside address and two spaces above the salutation. It may be flush with the left-hand margin indented five spaces, or centred. Because the letter directed to the firm, a plural salutation is required.
The subject line It indicates the subject matter of the letter and makes it unnecessary to devote the first
paragraph to giving this information. this line is generally centred on the same with the salutation or two spaces below. If the full block style is used, type the subject line flush with the left –hand margin two spaces below the salutation. Place a colon after the word Subject and use initial capital letters for all important words. If the simplified style is used, the subject line is typed in all capital letters, but “Subject:” is omitted. ●
The identification line. It made up of the initials of the name of the person who dictated the letter and those of the secretary or typist. The initials may be in capital letters, in all small letters, or in capitalized letters for dictator and small letters for the secretary or typist. It is usually typed two spaces below the signature, flush with the left-hand margin.
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The enclosure notation. when the letter has enclosure, the notation is typed directly below the identification line, flush with the left-hand margin. Either the entire word enclosure, or its abbreviation, Enc. Or Encl. be used. If there is more than one enclosure, the number should be indicated.
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The mailing notation. This notation states the method of mailing: whether the letter is sent registered, airmail, special delivery…etc,. it is typed directly below the identification line or enclosure notation. It serves as a record to indicate that the letter was sent by other than regular mail.
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The carbon copy distribution notation. this notation states that a carbon copy of the letter is being sent to another person. It is ty ped two spaces below all other notation, flush with the left hand margin. Either the word Copy to or the abbreviation cc: may be used. The blind carbon copy notation (bcc:) is used when the addressor does not wish to indicate the distribution of the carbon copies to the addressee. It appears on all internal copies, but not on the letter sent to the addressee.
