Особенности деловой переписки на английском языке/§2. Business correspondence

I. Types of business letter layouts

Layout is the way in which writing and pictures are arranged on a page (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, p. 798). There’re 3 types of business letter layouts:

1. block style — all paragraphs (blocks) (except the sender’s references block) use left-alignment; there is 1-line space between lines within a block; 2-line spaces between the blocks; no punctuation marks are used except in the main body of the text; the coordination between the salutation and the complimentary close should be observed;
2. semi-block style –sender’s and recipient’s reference, salutation and the main message blocks are left-aligned; all other blocks – centre-aligned; 1-line space between lines within a block; 2-line spaces between the blocks; punctuation marks are widely used;
3. indented block style — the use of the indented line in every new paragraph; paragraphs within the main message block are with a 1-line space; complimentary close and signature block tend to be right-aligned; it is considered to be more conservative.