Personal-Business Letter Format and Definitions

A letter from an individual to a business is called a:

Personal-Business Letter: a letter from an individual to a business.

A personal letter contains the following parts (in order):

• Date line
• Inside Address
• Salutation
• Body
• Complimentary closing
• Signature
• Writer's identification

Definitions:

• Date line: the month, day, and year the letter is typed (keyed)
• Inside Address: the name and address of the person to whom the letter is being sent
• Salutation: an opening greeting such as Dear Ms. Jones
• Body: the text of the letter
• Complimentary closing: a closing to the letter such as sincerely or Yours truly
• Signature: the writer's signature
• Writer's identification: the writer's keyed name and address

To format a personal-business letter in block style:

1. Use the default margins
2. Press enter 6 times to leave a 2-inch top margin
3. Key all lines beginning at the left margin
4. Key the date
5. After the date, press enter 4 times and key the inside address. Space once between the state and the ZIP code
6. After the inside address, press enter 2 times and key the salutation
7. Press enter 2 times and begin the body of the letter
8. After the last paragraph, press enter 2 times and key the complimentary closing
9. Press enter 4 times. Key the writer's name and address