Cover letter examples

Section 2.5

Letters

Use letters to communicate outside your organization. Whereas the memorandum is the primary vehicle for communication within an organization, letters are often used to communicate to individuals outside it, especially in formal and semiformal contexts.

Letters are an essential part of all business and technical communication because they are more formal and reliable than electronic mail and more precise and permanent than telephone or face-to-face conversations.

Types of Letters

Like memoranda, letters perform many functions in scientific and technical communication.

The following are some of the most common types of letters written by people in technical fields.

Business letter format with letterhead

Format of a Letter

If your organization has a specific style for business letters, follow that format. Otherwise, follow the guidelines provided here.

Business letters are commonly either full-block formatted, with every line starting at the left margin and usually a business letterhead at the top of the page, or modified-block formatted, with the heading and the closing aligned at th

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