BODY OF A BUSINESS LETTER
When writing a business letter, be careful to remember that conciseness is very important. In the first paragraph, consider a friendly opening and then a statement of the main point. The next paragraph should begin justifying the importance of the main point. In the next few paragraphs, continue justification with background information and supporting details. The closing paragraph should restate the purpose of the letter and, in some cases, request some type of action.
Your letter should be neither too long nor too short. The length of your letter will depend on whether the subject of the letter is a simple or a complicated one. You have to decide on the right amount of info to include in your letter. The reader will not be able to understand the message if you leave out important information. If you include too many details, he may be irritated.
Planning your letter in advance is the best thing to do. In this way you will be able to decide what to include, in which order and how you are going to express it. The best way produce a good business letter is to use the KISS formula (keep it short and simple). The body of most letters can be divided into three paragraphs, though some more may be necessary sometimes.
You should also avoid informal, colloquial language as well as phrasal verbs, idioms and short forms. This kind of vocabulary is considered inappropriate.
Capitalise the first word of the text (even if the salutation ends with a comma). The text is left-justified and a blank line is put after each paragraph. It is not common to indent the first line of a paragraph.
Content
· first paragraph: introduction and reason for writing
· following paragraphs: explain your reasons for writing in more detail, provide background information etc.
· last paragraph: summarise your reason for writing again and make clear what you want the recipient to do
Note: Your text should be positive and well structured.
To sum up
The language used should be:
· clear but courteous
· simple but formal
The message should:
· be neither too long nor too short
· have a clear sequence
Your key word to success: KISS
CLOSING
The closing begins at the same horizontal point as your date and one line after the last body paragraph. Capitalize the first word only (i.e., Thank you) and leave four lines between the closing and the sender’s name for a signature. If a colon follows the salutation, a comma should follow the closing; otherwise, there is no punctuation after the closing.