Writing Better English for ESL Learners

The Business Letter

There are some important differences between a friendly letter and a business
letter. And although this second kind of letter is called a business letter, its style
is used for any kind of formal letter. It is not used exclusively for conducting
business.
Most businesses have letterheadpaper. This is paper that already has the
company logo, name, and address preprinted on it. At the top of the paper you
will see something like this:

JONES AND SONS

Plumbing Done Right

2990 West Main Street

Johnstown, IL 60622

(311) 555-1234

Most individuals do not use letterhead, so the examples of business letters given
here will be for paper without a letterhead.
There are several possible parts to a business letter. Compare these to the
parts of a friendly letter:

• Start with the date on the left. Then include your return address, about
  two lines below the date. Your phone number is often included
  immediately following your address.
  June 30, 2009

2990 West Main Street

Johnstown, IL 60622

(311) 555-1234

• Skip a line and then type the name of the person to whom you are
  writing followed by the company name and address.
  Ms. Mary Brown
  Jones Medical Center
  400 East Oak Street
  Johnstown, IL 60634


• If you don’t know the name of the person to whom you should be
  writing, use an attention line to identify who should be looking at your
  letter (manager, accountant, etc.).
  Attention: Billing Manager

Writing Letters 157