BUSINESS LETTER -------Style and Format 2 - 德化论坛

LETTER STYLES

Many different letter styles have been used over the years. Some people arbitrarily prefer one over another. Of couse, you may developyour own preferences. Generally the most popular styles today are"full block,""modified block,"and "modified style with indented paragraphs." Because other styles are either out of date or used infrequently, we shall study the only three mentioned above.

FULL BLOCK STYLE

The full block style(Fig.1)begain each line at the left.This is somewhat less appealing because of the lack of symmetry. To offset a lopsided appearance toward the left,some firms use a letterhead with most of its printing on the right side.The full block style is the fastest to type,because typists do not have to set and use tab stops for indenting. Production rates are therefore boosted considerably.

MODIFIED BLOCK STYLE

The modified block style is currently one of the most popular styles. To most readers, this style is appealing because it achieves the best visual balance on the page. As Figure 2 shows,the date,complimentary close, and signature section are just to the right of centre.

MODIFIED STYLE WITH INDENTED PARGRAPHS

Many business letters use the this style(Fig 3).Although the full block style is widely used, the indented style also popular,probably because its paragraphs are indented in the same way as those books,newspaper, and magazines.