Parts of a Business Letter: Structure and Examples

Business is a matter of professionalism. Thus, there is a definite format and parts of a business letter which is used by the people in and around the business to communicate professionally. Business letters also keep proof about the conversation taking place. Thus, every business must follow a basic format and parts of a business letter that will give a glimpse of etiquette.

Parts of the business letter will be discussed in this content, where we will give a presentation of the parts or components and each explanation of the same.

Explanation of Parts of a Business Letter

As known, a letter is a mode of communication between two or more people or groups, companies, etc. There are various kinds of letters. In this section, we will discuss the business letter and its various parts which act as vital components to the letter.

So, what is a business letter? What are the parts of a professional letter?

Business letters areformal letters that helps to maintain communication between the organizations or clients or with employees or customers etc. In this letter, one can discuss any important requiremnet, propose an offer or pitch their idea. Basically, with the business letters, matters are discussed professionally.. Now when the generation inclines to  electronic form, e-letters are popularly used.

Why should a Business Letter follow a Distinct Format?

A Business letter is used for transferring messages in a professional manner likegiving instructions, requests, orders, queries, answers, offer letters, notices, promotions, etc. It can be sent between the organizations or withing the organizations that means business letters can be sent intra or inter. The business letter has a specific format. Each component of the business letter plays a crucial role. To understand the format of a business letter, it is essential to explain the parts of a business letter in detail.

Hence, in the next section, we are going to take up each component of the letter and explain it in totality.

Components of a Business Letter

The business letter should be in a formal way and convey the content briefly and clearly. Every business letter has 12 parts. Each part of a business letter has to follow some rules and regulations to maintain the business letter. Let's understand each part of a business letter.

Parts of a Business Letter

As it is clear that the business letter has 12 parts, let us have a glance at each part in detail.

The Heading: It is also known as letterhead. It consists of the name or number or fax number of the writer. Some people may use the address or logo of the organization. As the receiver needs to know who the sender is, this part of the business letter plays a significant role.

Date: Even though it seems to be simple, the letter is incomplete without a date. So we need to write the date on the right-hand side top corner. It helps the receiver to understand when it happened if it is an incident or if it has a deadline to count the remaining days. It is essential in the parts of a professional letter. Of course for any letter.

Reference: It is imperative among all other parts of a professional letter. Usually, the department of an organization or logo, etc. can also be used as a reference. In some cases, the letter number is also considered as the reference of a formal letter.

The Inside Address: As all the parts of a formal letter are important, the address component is quite remarkable. We need to write on the left side of a formal letter. It includes name, address, contact number, postal code, designation, etc. 

Subject: Another vital component of a business letter is the subject. It refers to the reason for writing a letter to the recipient. The subject should be like a brief statement, specific to the point, eye catchy, understandable, and straightforward.

Salutation: Salutation is also termed as greeting or wishing. Before starting to write the content of the letter, the sender will greet the receiver based on their age and relationship. It may vary from one to another like respected sir, dear, hi, etc.

Body: It is the heart of all the parts of a business letter. It is the main content that a sender needs to convey to the recipient. So it should be clear, straightforward, understanding and also formal. The body of the letter is generally categorized into three parts. They are as follows:

Opening Lines: The opening lines should be the introduction of the sender if new and formal greetings and wishes will be there in the first paragraph.

Main Content: The sender should write the actual message clearly in a formal way. It should be the main point that needs to be conveyed to the recipient. The message should be proper and complete.

Closing Part: It is the ending part of the body. Here the receiver can understand what the sender is expecting, what his action is, or the next step to move, etc. These can be mentioned clearly. The concluding part should be in a polite way. Use some words to please the receiver in this part of a formal letter.

Complimentary Close: It is the concluding part of the whole letter. It depends on the salutation, which is based on the age and relationship of the recipient. It is also written politely. We use it.

Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, etc. in general.

Signature: While explaining all the parts of a business letter, one should give more stress on this part because a message without a proper signature is not valid. So the signature plays a vital role in the parts of a formal letter. It includes name, contact and designation. We should note that the surname is also essential.

Enclosure: It is a part of a formal letter that may or may not exist for all business letters. It is a process of enclosing the required documents. In the case of applications, invoices, registrations, offer letters, etc., the sender needs to attach the documents to the business letter. It is applicable for both soft copy and hard copy.

Copy Circulation: It is an option used to send to one or more recipients. It is mentioned in the letter with notation C.C. It helps to convey the same message to multiple receivers.

PostScript: It is an additional part of a business letter. It is used to add extra information along with the body of the letter. It is denoted as P.S.

These were the components of a business letter. Every part of a formal letter has its significance. Also, the letter may not be complete without any single part. So, one should be cautious about these parts of a business letter while writing because these letters may decide the growth and game of an organization.  The parts of a formal letter create an impression to the receiver if it is adequately presented. It is important to understand all the parts of a business letter correctly, to make use of them and get success.