FULL BLOCK LETTER FORMATTING RULES

The nine parts of a letter are (1) Letterhead, (2) Date, (3) Inside Address (4) the salutation, (5) the body, (6) the closing, (7) the signature, (8) the signature line, and (9) the postscript.

  1. Letterhead – Your Address in Header with a graphic ( Centered or Left Aligned)
  2. Date – Written Month Day, Year
  3. Inside Address – Addressee Name, Title, Address, City St, Zip
  4. Salutation – the greeting – usually Dear and then the person’s name
  5. Body – main part of the letter – usually three paragraphs
  6. Closing – the polite ending – often Sincerely or Yours truly
  7. Cursive Signature – signature of your name using a black or blue ink pen
  8. Signature Line – your name typed
  9. Postscript – (optional) any information you forgot to include in body

Letterhead ______

______

______

Date ______, ____

______

INSIDE ADDRESS______

______, ______

SALUTATION______,

______

______

BODY

______

______

CLOSING______,

CURSIVE SIGNATURESignature

TYPED SIGNATURE LINE______

POSTSCRIPTP.S. ______
Spacing is important. Below is proper spacing for the friendly letter.

HEADING( Enter Key 4 times) – This means ___ blank lines

SALUTATION:( Enter Key 1 time ) – This means ___ blank lines

BODY PARAGRAPH( Enter Key 1 time ) – This means ___ blank lines

BODY PARAGRAPH( Enter Key 1 time ) – This means ___ blank lines

BODY PARAGRAPH( Enter Key 1 time ) – This means ___ blank lines

CLOSING( Enter Key 4 times) – This means ___ blank lines

SIGNATURE LINE( Enter Key 1 time ) - This means ___ blank lines

POSTSCRIPT

*remember to sign your name within the Closing and Signature Line space as shown!

Besides spacing, there are several other format rules to remember.

  1. Letters may be neatly handwritten, but should be typed in Times New Roman, size 12 font.
  1. All words in heading are spelled out completely – no abbreviations. The only exceptions to this arethe state abbreviations (IL, MI, PA). Also, state abbreviations do not contain any punctuation and are ALL CAPS.
  1. In the Letterhead and Inside Address, there are two spaces between the state abbreviation and the zip code.
  1. All zip codes are 5 digits long.
  1. In the date, there is a comma after the day, i.e.: September 18, 2010
  1. The salutation is followed by a comma.
  1. A salutation is capitalized, and in a multi-word salutation, all important words of the greeting are capitalized.
  1. The closing is followed by a comma.
  1. The closing is capitalized, and in a multi-word closing, only the 1st word is capitalized.
  1. The postscript is abbreviated, capitalized,and punctuated. There are two spaces between the abbreviation and the actual message. A postscript should be no longer than one or two sentences.

Part A. Block Format Letter and Envelope Test – 20 points

(2 points for each item correctly typed and properly placed)

DO NOT WRITE ON THIS SHEET!

Read Instructions Carefully.

Unscramble the parts of the letter listed below to create a friendly style letter. Using MS Word type the letter in Full Block Format, Arial size 12 font. Print Preview, edit the letter as necessary, Center the letter vertically on the page. Start on the top line, and be careful to show proper spacing between the parts of the letter (as described above). Print Previewtoproofread.Correct any errors. Save and Print. Then go to Part B below.

“Your Name” ------Typed Signature Line

I am writing to tell you what I did over the weekend. We went to

my grandma’s house, and she made a huge turkey dinner! It was

awesome! After dinner, we went sledding with our toboggans.------Body Paragraph 1

Dear John, ------Salutation

Mr. John Smith

2929 Green Trails Drive ------Inside Address

Lisle, IL 60532

P.S. I forgot to tell you that Ralph called me! ------Postscript

Your Name

Address (Graphic) ------“our Letterhead”

City, St Zip

Please write back to me to let me know how your weekend was. I

can’t wait until we see each other this summer. Bye! ------Body Paragraph 2

Write back soon, ------Closing

Your Name (use your own cursive handwriting) ------Signature

September 12, 2010 ------Date

PART B. Envelope – 14 Points (2 points for each item correctly typed and properly placed)

Type in the fields provided below.

It is important to address an envelope correctly. An envelope shows who is sending a letter and who is receiving a letter. Name, address, city, state, and zip code must be placed in the proper places.

*All letter format rules pertaining to address abbreviations, punctuation, and spacing apply to the envelope as well.

INSTRUCTIONS –

  1. Using the fields in the example below, type your name and the school’s address as the return address.
  2. Address the envelope to the addressee in the letter you just typed.
  3. Type the word “STAMP” in the proper spot you where it would be placed for mailing.
  4. Print Preview – Save – Print this page. Staple to your letter and hand in.

The sender is:The receiver is:

“Your Name”Janet Munch

90 Pleasant View Ave.75 Robin Boulevard

Smithfield, RI 02917Denver, CO 74013

#10 Envelope for mailing letter.