5 Hill Street
     Madison, Wisconsin 53700

     March 15, 2005

     Ms. Helen Jones
     President
     Jones, Jones & Jones
     123 International Lane
     Boston, Massachusetts 01234 

     Dear Ms. Jones:

     Ah, business letter format-there are block formats, and indented formats, and 
     modified block formats . . . and who knows what others.  To simplify matters, 
     we're demonstrating the block format on this page, one of the two most common 
     formats.  For authoritative advice about all the variations, we highly 
     recommend The Gregg Reference Manual, 9th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 2001), 
     a great reference tool for workplace communications.  There seems to be no 
     consensus about such fine points as whether to skip a line after your return 
     address and before the date: some guidelines suggest that you do; others do 
     not.  Let's hope that your business letter succeeds no matter which choice 
     you make!

     When you use the block form to write a business letter, all the information
     is typed flush left, with one-inch margins all around. First provide your
     own address, then skip a line and provide the date, then skip one more line 
     and provide the inside address of the party to whom the letter is addressed.
     If you are using letterhead that already provides your address, do not 
     retype that information; just begin with the date.  For formal letters,
     avoid abbreviations where possible.

     Skip another line before the salutation, which should be followed by a colon.
     Then write the body of your letter as illustrated here, with no indentation 
     at the beginnings of paragraphs. Skip lines between paragraphs.
	 
     After writing the body of the letter, type the closing, followed by a comma,
     leave 3 blank lines, then type your name and title (if applicable), all
     flush left. Sign the letter in the blank space above your typed name. Now
     doesn't that look professional?

     Sincerely,
	  
	 
	 
     John Doe
     Administrative Assistant