A business Letter is one type of official letter that functions as a communication medium between two or more companies. There are many differences in writing a business letter compared to other notes, where the letter is usually informational, persuasive, motivational, or promotional.
The business letter should be typed and printed on regular white paper with a size of 5 x 11 in delivery. Check out a complete explanation of Business Letters, starting from Definitions, Formulas, Writing Steps, Components, Practice Questions, and Key Answers.
Definition of Business Letters
A business letter is a type of letter that functions as a written communication tool to convey various business goals and the world of work. The plans also vary from statements, agreements, invitations, information, etc. Usually, this Business Letter is made by a company and sent by another company to clients and stakeholders.
In addition, individuals can also use business letters for correspondence and show professionalism in work and business, according to their individual needs. One of the benefits of a business letter is its ability to strengthen relationships with other companies or even stakeholders, such as companies or clients.
You can also maintain good relations with customers through a business letter. Even though business letters can be sent via email, it’s not uncommon for companies to write them down on a critical piece of paper. This includes verification, references, statement letters, and others.
A business letter is not infrequently used when someone asks for work references from the party concerned and applies for a job.
Types of Business Letters
1. Formal
This type of letter is usually intended for formal purposes or correspondence. For example, when you want to agree with a client or other company, you need a business letter as an official statement. In addition, Business Letters are also usually used to solve various problems and when requesting sales reports. Referring to these things, a formal business letter is needed, starting from using letterhead.
2. Informal
Unlike a formal letter, an informal letter is a type of business letter that is casual and not too stiff. Usually, this informal letter is used to ask for work references when you want to thank you, evaluate employees, and much more. Even so, you still have to pay attention to the writing style and the parts of the letter. Informal letters can also usually be sent via email.
Steps to Write a Business Letter
A company issues a business letter to another company or between an agency and a customer, client, or other party or group outside the agency. This letter itself is issued depending on the relationship between the two parties.
The contents of this letter are also quite diverse: in the form of a request for information or a response from a party, a proposal for the supply of goods, conveying cooperation, apologizing for inconvenience or mistakes to the client, and so on. The importance of using a letter is to keep written evidence.
The recipient will also take this form of written communication more seriously than other forms. To report a good business letter, here are some tips that you can apply:
- Use good, professional letterhead. Using paper, we no longer have to include the company name in a letter format.
- Use standard letter formats and templates. This format is more commonly used according to business letter templates in general.
- Show a professional impression; this impression can be realized using formal Indonesian, spelling accuracy and punctuation, not using abbreviations, and so on.
- Use good grammar with effective sentences (short, concise, and clear).
- Provide color to emphasize words; don’t forget to use the highlight feature in writing applications.
- Try to be persuasive. Make sure the contents of the letter contain a convincing invitation.
- Re-read the letter before sending it. Don’t be negligent by sending a business letter without writing errors in spelling or punctuation or choosing inappropriate words because this will show how professional the sender is.
The Sentence Writing book Exploration of Models & Exercises is a book that provides procedures for pouring ideas into sentences, developing sentence elements, varying expressions in sentences, increasing the readability of sentences and sentence elements, equating the concepts of ideas in the Indonesian frame of thinking into structures of feeling English, and applying elegant academic writing.
This book will make writing activities an enjoyable, exciting, and satisfying exploration and exploitation, which can create competent and superior individuals.
Business Letter Components
Business Letters are formal communications using paper or business mediums and are usually sent through the Post Office or sometimes by couriers. Business letters are sometimes called “mail” (as opposed to the faster email). Here are the components of a business letter that you need to know:
1. Letterhead
Letterhead or letterhead is an identity in the form of an emblem, name, address, and telephone from the letter’s sender.
2. Reference Lines
An English letter usually contains the first letter of the person in charge who signed the letter, followed by a slash or colon and the name of the person who typed the letter. Some companies add specific codes or numbers based on their filing system. Reference is placed at the top of the letter above the date.
3. Date Line
This is the date the letter was created. Meanwhile, the format for writing dates is month/day/year, for example, August 15, 2021. – The example for writing dates uses the same as writing in Indonesian except that the date is added to the suffix of multilevel numbers. The position of the date on the Business letter is on the right above the letter.
4. Inside Address
This section contains the name of the recipient of the letter, to whom this letter is addressed, and their position, company name accompanied by their address. If you are unsure who (word) the letter is addressed to, do not leave this section blank, but try using the title, such as “Director of Human Resources.” Don’t forget to leave a gap between the date and the recipient.
5. Attention Line
An Alternative to Placing Mail Recipients.
6. Subject Line (Regarding)
Regarding making it easier for the recipient of the letter to find the purpose of the letter, for example, invite, Apology, and so on. This section is optional in the letter, meaning we can include it. The subject is usually placed between the salutation and the letter’s contents.
7. Solution (Opening Greetings)
In this section, “Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms. (name of recipient)”, for example, “Dear Mr. Fathoni.” But if the recipient’s name is unknown, write the department’s name, for example, “Dear Director of the Department of Human Resources.” Give a space between the greeting and the contents, for example, Dear Mr. Krisman and Mr. Chrisman.
8 . Body of Letter (Content of Letter)
In the letter’s body, you write down what you want to convey. Paragraphs in the contents of the letter must use a single space (single space) and without any separation between each paragraph. Leave a space between the end of the body and the business letter’s closing.
9. Closing Regards
This section is a marker that the letter has been completed, usually ending with writing “Sincerely,” “Sincerely yours,” “Thank you,” and so on. There is a comma at the end of the closing, and only the first letter is capitalized. Leave a space of 3-4 lines between the cover and the name used for the signature.
10. Signature (Signature)
This part is the signature of the sender of the letter, usually in black or blue ink.
11. Enclosure (Attachment)
If a letter contains other documents or attachments besides the letter, the author must display the number of branches by using “Enclosure (number of attachments),” for example, “Enclosure (6)”.
12. Carbon Copy Notation (copy of the letter)
This section is used to inform the recipient of the letter that this letter is being sent to parties who need to know the CONTENTS of the letter. CC is placed at the bottom left of the letter. Example: CC: Finance Section
Essay writing has become a demand for educated literacy needs, especially in academia; understanding and the habit of writing essays can be valuable in making dissertations, theses, articles, journals, and the like.
Example of a business letter
Example 1:
19 Front Street
Jakarta, ID 11545
July 7, 2020
Ms. Liliaceous Plant Jackson
Marketing Manager
BB Bread Co.
325 Plazaland
Jakarta, ID 11345
Dear Ms. Jackson,
It has come to my attention that your company, Shot Bread Co., has been late paying the bills for the past two months. To encourage our customers to buy their invoices before the date, we’ve enforced a reduction model where we’ll provide you with five hours off your invoice if you pay a North American country within ten days of receiving it. I hope that everything goes well for you and your company. You’re one of our biggest customers, and we tend to appreciate your business. If you have any queries, contact Pine Tree State at (021) 532-5445.
Sincerely,
(Signature)
Bob Holmes S.
Example 2:
PT JAYA ALWAYS
Jl. Tanjung Barat No. 12
Phones. (0265) 354612
Tasikmalaya
46123
to Designation Affair
PT FORWARD
Jl. Malioboro twenty-three Tasikmalaya
Dear Sirs,
Through this letter, allow us to introduce our company to you. Our company, Noble Metal Jaya Always, distributes workplace writing papers. Per the data we collect, noble metal MAJU TERUS may be a property company that’s growing chop-chop and can open a selling workplace in Tasikmalaya.
This association allows us to supply several writing paper products we tend to market. Besides this letter, we tend to attach an inventory of things and their costs. If your company wants our services, contact a North American country at (0265) 35412, and we’ll deliver the products to the location.
Further, we will send you an associate invoice every finish of the month for transactions occurring within the corresponding month. We will provide a special discount if you purchase more than Rp. 2,000,000.- (two million rupiah).
We hope this supply will proceed in a very kind of cooperation with advantages for each party. If Mr……is interested, we tend to be a unit able to create shows and conduct any mentioned. Therefore, we intend to submit the supply letter delivered. Thanks for your attention.
Sincerely,
PT JAYA ALWAYS
Example 3:
19 Front Street
Jakarta, ID 11545
July 7, 2020
Ms. Lily Jackson,
Marketing Manager for BB Bread Co. 325 Plaza Indonesia Jakarta, ID 11345 Dear Ms. Jackson, It has come to my attention that your company, BB Bread Co., has been late paying the bills for the past two months. To encourage our customers to purchase their invoices before the date, we’ve implemented a discount model where we’ll offer you 5% off your invoice if you pay us within ten days of receiving the invoice. I hope that everything goes well for you and your company. You are one of our biggest customers, and we appreciate your business. If you have any questions, contact me at (021) 532-5445.
Sincerely,
(Signature)
Bob Holmes S.