How do I format a business letter?

Business letter format

• What is the most authoritative source for format of business letters? If different formats are "more authoritative" in different situations or settings, please expound.

• Answer:

  Atkruse – This is actually a fascinating issue, particularly in the days of Internet and e-mail. Many of us have guides on our shelves that pre-date the use of e-mail addresses and URLs. "The Chicago Manual of Style," which was written for book publishing, ducks the issue of letter writing and suggests checking in the reference sections of the library: The Chicago Manual of Style FAQ (2002) http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/cmosfaq.CMS.html If the University of Chicago won't touch the issue (nor do two other well-known authorities on writing, the Modern Language Association and the American Psychological Association), then we need a knowledgeable trade group or business publisher. The American Management Association (AMA) not only does seminars on business letters but has published a book on the topic which includes several hundred pre-formatted examples: American Management Association "The AMA Handbook of Business Letters, 3rd Edition" Jeffrey L. Seglin and Edward Coleman, http://www.amanet.org/books/catalog/0814406653.htm McGraw-Hill's Professional Book division has concentrated on business topics long enough to carry substantial authority. Their most-general letter writing guide is: McGraw-Hill/Contemporary "The Business Style Handbook -- An A-to-Z Guide for Writing on the Job with Tips from Communications Experts at the Fortune 500", Helen Cunningham and Brenda Greene http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/cgi-bin/pbg/searchresult.html?q=Business+Style+Handbook A second well-known business publisher, John Wiley & Sons, has more than a dozen letter writing titles offered. But one title: "Letter Writing for Dummies" doesn't carry much authority. However, they do suggest "Webster's New World Letter Writing Handbook," which covers both business and personal letters: John Wiley & Sons http://www.wiley.com/cda/product/0,,0764525247,00.html In checking several U.S. business school libraries, the first two titles are most-commonly on the shelf. AUTHORITIES IN THE U.K. -------------------------------------- McGraw-Hill has sold more than 100,000 copies of "The McGraw-Hill Handbook of Business Letters" by Anne Coe, giving it commercial success if not academic authority: McGraw-Hill Education European (2001) http://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/html/0071166718.html Oxford University Press, well-known for its dictionaries and references, published a book in 2002 by Bertha Naterop on English and American business letter writing, "Business Letters for All." Unfortunately the Oxford Press website is impossible to navigate, bumping U.S. users out to an "English as a Second Language" page and a search engine that finds nothing. It is available via Amazon.co.uk AUSTRALIA, CANADA, INDIA, SOUTH AFRICA, NEW ZEALAND ---------------------------------------------------- A quick check of libraries in other countries shows each the AMA and the two McGraw-Hill titles appearing repeatedly. There are several Google researchers in each of these English-speaking countries that may want to comment on what's commonly used. Google search strategy: "business letters" + "style guides" + U.S. "business letters" + format + U.S. For the U.K. search, the Google advanced search capability was used, eliminating the country reference but limiting search to .uk domains If anything is unclear in this answer, please let me know via a clarification request before rating it. Best regards, Omnivorous-GA