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| Practice 1 Have a look at the 1 st letter in section Letter Types . Let's analyze it's layout. To do so print it out and identify each block of information. Make boxes around each block and give them names accordingly. |
Practice 2 Given below is the scheme of a Block letter layout. Compare it with the 1 st letter and give each box a title (name of the block). Now you know where each block goes, so you can start planning the draft of your answer. |
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| Practice 3 Having learnt about blocks and the block style, check your understanding of the main points of a letter layout by considering if the following statements are true or false. You can get the right answers at the page bottom.
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1T, 2F, 3T, 4T, 5F, 6T, 7T |
Blocks
There are many ways to lay out a business letter. Your incoming letters in this course are examples of a modern way, called block style'.
Each block of information in a letter has its own name.
If you are writing a letter, your address is called 'return'.
If you have received a letter, your address is called 'inside''.
There is a block called the date '.
There is a block of reference ', which is a number given to the letter by the secretary/receptionist when she registers it in her Incoming/Outgoing post files.
Another block is called Greeting ' or 'Saluation' the way you address your addressee.
Quite often there is a block of Heading ', also called Subject '. This is where the theme or the key word of the letter goes.
The Body ' of a letter is the biggest block, as it contains the very text, while other blocks can be considered supplementaryt.
Of course there is a block of Closing ', which is followed by the block of Signature, Name and Position ' of the sender
Please note, that the Body should consist of more than 3 paragraphs . Business English experts are very particular about paragraphing a text. No Body text should come in one big piece of text.
Block Style
Block style is most useful to learn because it is accepted everywhere. However you should know its features and observe them, otherwise even little things like punctuation in the date makes it look negligent.
Its features are:
• the name and the address of the addressee (the person and company you are writing to) are at the top on the left;
• the date is on the right;
• there is no punctuation in the address or after Greeting or Closing;
• the paragraphs start just at the margin and there are one-line spaces between them;
• the writer's name and title are under the signature.
