200
Unit 3 Writing for Successful Communication
Date Line
The
date
consists of the month, day, and year. The month is spelled in full.
The day is written in fi gures and followed by a comma. The year is written in
full and consists of numbers. For example:
December 18, 20--
Inside Address
The
inside address
is the name, title, and address of the recipient. The two
examples that follow show how to format an inside address.
Mr. Angelo Costanzo, Manager
Griffi n Plumbing Supply Co.
1987 Susquehanna Avenue
Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701
Ms. Denise Rodriquez
President & CEO
Urban Development Council
150 Grosvenor Avenue
Washington, DC 30005
Note that the state abbreviation is always two letters and in all capitals (all caps).
Salutation
The
salutation
is the greeting in a letter and always begins with Dear. This
is followed by the recipient’s fi rst name or, according to your relationship, title
and last name.
There are two types of punctuation used in letters.
Mixed punctuation
is a style in which a colon is placed after the salutation and a comma after
the complimentary close.
Open punctuation
is a style in which there is no
punctuation after the salutation or complimentary close.
Mixed Punctuation
Dear Perry:
Dear Mr. Fisher:
Dear Katherine:
Dear Ms. Randall:
Open Punctuation
Dear Perry
Dear Mr. Fisher
Dear Katherine
Dear Ms. Randall
Always address a letter to a specifi c person, unless you are intentionally
directing it to an organization. It may take a phone call or Internet search to get
the correct name, but it is worth the effort to personalize business messages.
Also, make sure you correctly spell the receiver’s name and use the appropriate
title: Dr., Mr., or Ms. (Mrs. is rarely used in business writing). Spell out and
capitalize titles such as Professor and Reverend. If you are unsure of a person’s
gender, use the full name:
Dear Pat Cashin:
Dear Ryan Gulati: