Which is the most common type of business letter where all elements are left justified group of answer choices?

A business letter is typically a document you send to a reader outside of your organization. A memo is used internally in business (See memo format).

Examples of types of business letters include resignation letters, recommendation letters, congratulatory letters, complaint letters, reference letters, rejection letters, response letters, or really any other professional letter.

We've written a sample letter below that shows the proper business letter format including the salutation, body, and closing.

Here is a standard business letter format model, based on The Business Writer’s Handbook:

LETTERHEAD

(DATE - Three lines below the letterhead)
March 22, 202_ 

(INSIDE ADDRESS - Include the recipient’s name, job title, and address, two to six lines below the date, depending on the length of the letter.)
Mr. George Vogel
Director of Operations
New York Transit Authority
New York, NY 10010

(SALUTATION - Two lines below Inside Address, aligned to the left margin. Note a business letter salutation uses a colon. A personal letter uses a comma.)
Dear Mr. Vogel: 

(BODY - Begin two lines below the salutation, justified left.)
Enclosed is our final report evaluating the safety measures for the New York City Transit System. 

The report addresses all issues you raised in our last meeting. I believe you will be happy with the resolution of the issues. However, if you have any further questions, I would be happy to meet with you again.

Thank you for your willingness to fully share data, and for your insights as we compiled this report. Your experience was invaluable.

(CLOSING - Two spaces below the body. Use "Best regards" or "Best wishes" if the recipient is a close colleague.)
Sincerely,

(YOUR SIGNATURE, HANDWRITTEN)
Marilyn Jones

(WRITER’S SIGNATURE BLOCK - Your full name four lines below the closing. Include business job title and individual contact info like your return address or email address.)
Marilyn Jones, Ph. D. 
Director of Research

(END NOTATIONS AS NEEDED - letter writer initials/typist; enclosures; courtesy copies)
MJ/ls
Enclosure: Final Safety Report
cc: ITS Safety Committee Members

Note that all text and paragraph lines are fully justified left, also known as block style. It is also acceptable to indent the Inside Address, Closing, Signature, and Writer’s Signature Block. If you choose this format option, indent them to the center of the page and align all of these elements.

Using a common font like Times New Roman is best.

CONTINUING PAGES

If a letter requires a second page (or, in rare cases, more), always carry at least two lines of the body text over to that page. Use plain (non-letterhead) paper of quality equivalent to that of the letterhead stationery for the second page. It should have a header with the recipient's name, the page number, and the date. Place the header in the upper left-hand corner or across the page.

For example:

Ms. M.C. Marks
Page 2
March 16, 2012
(We prefer this format.)

OR

Ms. M.C. Marks                           Page 2                         March 16, 2012

Letter writing is just one of the skills that we teach in our most popular effective business writing course.

Use a professional tone: Save casual, chatty language for email - your printed business letter should be friendly but more professional. As Scott Ober suggests in his book Contemporary Business Communication, "The business writer should strive for an overall tone that is confident, courteous, and sincere; that uses emphasis and subordination appropriately; that contains nondiscriminatory language; that stresses the "you" attitude; and that is written at an appropriate level of difficulty." That said, be sure to sound like yourself - you don't want your letter to read as if a machine wrote it.

Write clearly: State your point early in your letter. To avoid any miscommunications, use straightforward, concise language. Skip the industry jargon and instead choose lively, active words to hold your reader's attention.

Organize your information logically: Group related information into separate paragraphs. In a long, information-packed letter, consider organizing information into sections with subheads. You may want to highlight key words to make them "pop" - this technique is possible with most word-processing programs and your color multifunction printer.

Use Color To Emphasize Words In Text: It's easy to put a few words in color to draw attention to them. Just select the type and click the arrow to the right of the Font Color button, choose the color you want, then click the button. Or, try highlighting a few words in the text. Select the type you want to emphasize, then click the Highlight button. Note: When highlighting parts of a document you intend to print, use a light color such as yellow, light green, or light blue. If you wish to remove the highlighting, select the text and click the Highlight button again.

AutoText automates applying color (or any type style), which would ordinarily take numerous clicks or commands. Say you're creating a report that compares your organization's performance against that of your competitor. Word can automatically color your company's name every time it appears, making those entries easy to locate.

Be persuasive: Establish a positive relationship with your reader right away. If you have a connection to the reader - you've met before or have a mutual colleague, for example - mention it in your introductory paragraph. Whether you think your reader will agree with the point of your letter or not, it is important to find common ground and build your case from there.

Understand your reader well enough to anticipate how he or she will react when reading your letter. Address his or her needs or wishes, or a specific problem, and then outline your solution. Provide proof in the way of examples and/or expert opinions to back up your point. Make sure to maintain a friendly tone.

Conclude your letter with a "call to action." State clearly what your reader needs to do or believe to achieve the desired solution and then state what you, the writer, intend to do next to follow up.

Proofread your letter: All your careful crafting and printing can't cover up spelling or punctuation errors, which leave a lasting negative impression.

Now that you've learned the secrets of writing an effective business letter, you're ready to start composing. Good luck!

For more tips for your small business, check out our Small Business Insights.

Professional correspondence should have a clean, polished look, which is where proper business letter format comes in. The overall style of the correspondence depends on the relationship between you and the letter’s recipient, and it can contain almost anything. Read on to learn more about the two main types of business letter as well as four indentation types that are used less frequently.

Full Block Style

The full block style business letter layout is more popular than other business letter templates, and given the option, it is the one most people prefer to use. When you use this business letter format, all the information is typed flush left and margins are set at 1 to 1 ¼ inches all the way around. This happens to be the default setting in most word processing programs including Microsoft Word. The left justified type is easy to read, looks crisp on the page, and leaves little room for error. If you are new to writing business letters and your company doesn’t have a policy in place concerning business letter format, you may find this is a good place to start. Follow the salutation or greeting with a comma or colon. In the United States, colons are sometimes preferred; in the United Kingdom, greetings are usually followed by commas. If you aren’t sure which your company prefers, use a comma for all greetings other than the generic “To Whom It May Concern,” which is always followed by a colon.

Full block style business letters have a formal look, however they can be used in any business situation. If you are looking for a single format that will work well in every situation, this is a good one to use.

Modified Block Style

The modified block style business letter is the second-most popular layout. It has a clean, traditional look, with your company’s return address, the date, the closing, and the signature line being started at the center point of the page. All other elements including inside address, greeting, body, and enclosures notation are left justified, and paragraphs are followed by either double or triple spacing. Like the margins on a full block style business letter, the margins of the modified block style business letter layout are set to 1 to 1 ¼ inches. Follow the salutation or greeting with a comma or colon. In the United States, colons are sometimes preferred; in the United Kingdom, greetings are usually followed by commas. If you aren’t sure which your company prefers, use a comma for all greetings other than the generic “To Whom It May Concern,” which is always followed by a colon.

Modified block style business letters are less formal than full block style letters. If you are corresponding with someone you already have a good working relationship with, the modified block style letter is a good one to use.

Standard Format

The standard business letter has the same look as the block style business letter, meaning that all lines are flush with the left margin. All margins should be set at 1 ½ inches. The greeting or salutation in a standard format business letter is always followed by a colon. An optional subject line follows the salutation or greeting. This is written in all caps, and should read “SUBJECT” or “RE:” (an abbreviation for ‘reference’). This should be followed by a brief description of the letter’s subject, an account number, or other applicable information. The subject line is often underlined. The letter’s closing is followed by a comma. A standard format business letter has some additional, optional elements added to the closing and signature area. If a third person, such as an assistant or secretary, typed the letter, a blank line should follow the sender’s information located below the signature. The typist’s initials should follow the sender’s initials on a line located just below the blank line, with the sender’s initials in uppercase and the typists in lowercase. For example: “KS:pj” or “MJ:ak” On the next line, you should indicate whether a copy of the letter is being sent to anyone else with the notation “cc:” in lowercase letters. For example: “cc: John King” On the line below that, you should indicate the presence of enclosures, if appropriate. Note that the abbreviation “Encl:” beginning with a capital ‘E’ is used with standard business letter format. For example: “Encl: copy of invoice” Standard format business letters are quite formal. Because they include an optional subject line, they are ideal for situations in which you need to create a formal response or communicate about an account number or case number.

Open Business Letter

The open format business letter looks almost exactly like the block format business letter. There are two basic differences between the two layouts:

• There is no punctuation after the greeting or salutation
• There is no punctuation after the closing

The open format business letter has a clean, formal look just as the block format letter does. It is suitable for all business communications.

Semi-Block Business Letter

In the semi-block format business letter, all text is aligned to the left margin. As in other business letter templates, each paragraph is separated by double or triple spacing. The main difference between this type of correspondence and others is that the first line of each paragraph is indented. The semi-block format business letter is a little less formal than the block format letter and slightly more formal than the modified block format letter. It works well in almost all situations and is a good choice if you find yourself on the fence about which format to use.

Modified Semi-Block Business Letter

The modified semi-block format business letter looks almost identical to the modified block letter, with just one difference: The first line of each paragraph is indented. The modified semi-block business letter is the least formal-looking of all business letters and is best for using when you know the recipient very well.

Business Letter Writing Tips

Regardless of which business letter format you prefer, use the following basic tips to ensure that your correspondence has a clean, professional look.

• Save the fancy fonts for personal correspondence. Business letter format rules dictate that plain fonts like Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman be used. Your company may have a preferred font; if so, use that one.
• 12-point font is the standard for all business letter formats
• Follow the salutation or greeting with a comma or colon. In the United States, colons are sometimes preferred; in the United Kingdom, greetings are usually followed by commas. If you aren’t sure which your company prefers, use a comma for all greetings other than the generic “To Whom It May Concern,” which is always followed by a colon.
• The closing, which is also known as a valediction, is always followed by a comma.
• You can use any business letter formats with company letterhead, just skip the return address that is usually located at the top of the page.
• Print your business letters on standard 8- ½” x 11” paper. Use good quality white paper or choose a paper in a muted color like cream or gray. It is a good idea to use a matching envelope.
• Format business letter envelopes carefully. If you are new to the process of printing envelopes, practice using a plain sheet of paper to ensure that everything is in the right place.