GENERAL

PRINCIPLES IN
LETTER WRITING
Letter writing is part and
parcel of an individual’s life.
They have to write letters when
applying for jobs, when giving
recommendations, when selling
or ordering a merchandise and
many other instances.
8 principles in writing letters:
1. Be brief and go directly to the
point
2. Be courteous
3. Be businesslike
4. Be accurate
5. Be clean and neat
6. Be complete and thorough
7. be self critical
8. Be prompt
List of some of the most
overworked expressions:
 as per
 as regards
 each and every
 first and foremost
 for your information
 at the present
 along this line
 at hand
 all in all
 in terms of
 I remain
 majority of
 herewith
 I take pleasure
 of the above date
self made man
 CORRECT LETTER LAY-OUT
 Just like the dress and
appearance when you’re an
applicant, the appearance of a
business letter creates an
impression upon the recipient
of the letter.
A letter that is nest and pleasing
to the eye invites reading and
attention that one, which is
dirty and with noticeable
erasures.
 PAPER
 White bond paper is usually
use in writing letters. The paper
should be good quality and
unruled. Most companies uses
8.5 x 11 inches bond paper.
 LETTERHEAD
 the letterhead often times
serves as an advertisement for
the company or organization.
It is usually found at the
uppermost part of the paper
(sometimes at the bottom).
 MARGIN AND SPACING
 According to Laster and
Pickett, the margin at the top
and the bottom should be 1.5
inch while at the sides should be
1 inch.
 PUNCTUATION
 Open Punctuation
 a comma is used between
names of city, and state , town
and province and between
figures showing the day of the
month and the Year.
 Close Punctuation
 a period is place at the last
line of the heading and at the
last line of the inside address.
The last Line of the signature is
also punctuated by a period
while all preceding lines except
the pen writtern signature are
punctuated with a comma.
 FORMS OF INDENTION
Block
The heading, complimentary
close, and signature are found at
the right half of the page while the
inside address and paragraphs are
written at the left side.
 Modified Block
Each paragraph is
indented
 Full Block
All parts(from heading to
signature) of the letter are
written at the left side and the
open punctuation is used.
 Indented
each line of the heading and
inside address is uniformly
indented either 3 or 5 spaces.
Beginning of the paragraphs are
also indented while the
complimentary close is in line
with the dateline and the
signature is written 2 to 3
spaces to the right.
Hanging or Overhanging
The heading, inside address, and
signature follow the bock form
while beginnings of paragraphs are
even with the left margin. All the
other lines are indented 5 spaces
from the left margin.