Example of Professional Letter

What is a professional letter? Well, in the simplest of terms, a professional letter is one that is written for a purpose that is official in nature pertaining to a certain business matter. Letters written as cover letters, for the purpose of interviews, scholarships, recommendations, etc. can all be brought under the gamut of professional letters. If you refer to an example, you will learn that the basic format of the letter always remains the same, with only the content changing according to the need of the hour. In this article, we tell you what the main parts of a professional letter are and what are the formats that you can follow.

Parts of a Professional Letter

Refer to any example and you will see that there are some basic features that need to be included in every letter. These features are listed out below in the order in which they need to appear in the letter.

• The address of the person writing the letter.
• Date on which the letter has been written.
• Name and address of the recipient of the letter.
• Salutation
• Body of the letter.
• Valediction
• Name and signature of the person writing the letter.

In most professional letters you will notice that there will be three main paragraphs. The first paragraph should express the reason for which you are writing the letter. This is important as with the volume of letters that most people receive it is important that your letter be concise, brief and to the point. Including the main point in the first paragraph will ensure that the recipient of the letter does not need to search for the purpose of the letter.

In the second paragraph, most professional letters will include the details that will be used to confirm what has already been said in the first para. In the third paragraph, the letter writer should summarize the letter for the reader, and provide the recipient with contact details. End the letter by thanking them for their time. If you have included any enclosures, mention so after your signature. With a formal letter it is of utmost importance to ensure that the tone of the letter is pleasant and conversational. If you need to be assertive, do not confuse the same with an aggressive tone. The language used in the letter is important. Before you send out a professional letter, it is extremely important that you proofread it for any grammatical, factual, or spelling errors.

Format of a Professional Letter

The best way to understand the format that you should use in order to write a professional letter is to refer to an example. Worldwide, there are three commonly used formats for a professional letter. In this article, we have illustrated each of these formats with the help of an example.

Block Format: The most popular of letter formats in which the entire letter is justified to the left hand side.

Philip Quinn VP, Human Resources Talent Scouters Ltd. 123 - Elm Street Capitol Center, New Jersey - 342 545 5th April 2011 Jeremy Griffins VP, Human Resources Assisted Communications 343 - Oak Road New Boulevard, New Jersey - 342 545 Dear Mr. Griffins, I, the undersigned, am the Vice President, Human Resources, at Talent Scouters Ltd., and I am writing this letter to you today on behalf of Mary Roark. Mary has worked as my executive assistant for almost three years now. During her tenure here, she has been an asset to my team. Mary is brilliant at organizing and is exceptionally good at multi-tasking. Her responsibilities, during her tenure here, included, handling correspondence and communication, researching subjects and managing my schedule. On several occasions, she has also had to proxy for me at meetings. She has a high level of business acumen and understands her responsibilities extremely well. Mary is extremely well suited for the post of Executive Assistant to the President and will be an asset to your company. I highly recommend her for the job. Please contact me at 967-789-6564 or at quinn_philip@gmailnet.com for any clarifications. Thanking you Yours sincerely, Philip Quinn

Modified Block Format: This letter format is such that the heading, closing, and signature line of the letter are centered and the rest of the letter is justified to the left.

Philip Quinn VP, Human Resources Talent Scouters Ltd. 123 - Elm Street Capitol Center, New Jersey - 342 545 5th April 2011 Jeremy Griffins VP, Human Resources Assisted Communications 343 - Oak Road New Boulevard, New Jersey - 342 545 Dear Mr. Griffins, I, the undersigned, am the Vice President, Human Resources, at Talent Scouters Ltd., and I am writing this letter to you today on behalf of Mary Roark. Mary has worked as my executive assistant for almost three years now. During her tenure here, she has been an asset to my team. Mary is brilliant at organizing and is exceptionally good at multi-tasking. Her responsibilities, during her tenure here, included, handling correspondence and communication, researching subjects and managing my schedule. On several occasions, she has also had to proxy for me at meetings. She has a high level of business acumen and understands her responsibilities extremely well. Mary is extremely well suited for the post of Executive Assistant to the President and will be an asset to your company. I highly recommend her for the job. Please contact me at 967-789-6564 or at quinn_philip@gmailnet.com for any clarifications. Thanking you Yours sincerely, Philip Quinn

Semi Block Format: This letter format is such that the heading, closing, and signature line of the letter are centered and the paragraphs in the letter are indented.

Philip Quinn VP, Human Resources Talent Scouters Ltd. 123 - Elm Street Capitol Center, New Jersey - 342 545 5th April 2011 Jeremy Griffins VP, Human Resources Assisted Communications 343 - Oak Road New Boulevard, New Jersey - 342 545 Dear Mr. Griffins, (Indent) I, the undersigned, am the Vice President, Human Resources, at Talent Scouters Ltd., and I am writing this letter to you today on behalf of Mary Roark. Mary has worked as my executive assistant for almost three years now. During her tenure here, she has been an asset to my team. (Indent) Mary is brilliant at organizing and is exceptionally good at multi-tasking. Her responsibilities, during her tenure here, included, handling correspondence and communication, researching subjects and managing my schedule. On several occasions, she has also had to proxy for me at meetings. She has a high level of business acumen and understands her responsibilities extremely well. (Indent) Mary is extremely well suited for the post of Executive Assistant to the President and will be an asset to your company. I highly recommend her for the job. Please contact me at 967-789-6564 or at quinn_philip@gmailnet.com for any clarifications. Thanking you Yours sincerely, Philip Quinn

These are the three most commonly used formats for professional letters. In this article, we have used the same example to highlight the different formats. Hopefully, you will now be able to draft a professional letter without any problem whatsoever.