9
Formatting Letters,Letters, Formatting
Memos, and E-MailsE-Mails Memos, and
The more elaborate our means
of communication, the less we
communicate.
—Joseph Priestly, 18th-century
English theologian
A standard book has a title page, chapter
titles, page numbers, margins, and paragraphs
to organize the topics. Readers expect publishers
to have this formatting in books. Similarly,
readers of business documents have expectations
about how those documents should appear.
In this chapter, you will learn the standards
of formatting for routine documents used in
business communication: letters, memos, and
e-mails.
Objectives
Terms
standard formatting
visual cue
white space
readability
headings
parallel structure
block-style letter
modifi ed-block-style
letter
date
inside address
salutation
mixed punctuation
open punctuation
body
complimentary close
signature
signature block
reference initials
enclosure notation
copy notation
postscript
memos
templates
guide words
notations
blind copy
e-mail
netiquette
When you complete Chapter 9, you will be able to:
• Increase the readability of your writing by
applying standard formatting.
• Format letters using standard elements and
styles appropriate for business letters.
• Format memos using standard elements and
styles appropriate for business memos.
• Use netiquette when creating and formatting
e-mails.
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