Various Styles of letter writing

The following three styles of writing a business letter are commonly used:
1. Indented Style: This is also the most conventional style of letter writing.
It is regarded as old-fashioned. The format is as follows:
________________________INDENTEDSTYLE____________________________
Heading
Reference No. Date
To
Inside Address,
Subject:
Salutation,
Body of the letter
Complimentary Close
Signature
(Name)
Encls:
• The date is aligned with the right margin.
57
• The word 'To' is written along the left margin; no comma after 'To'.
• The inside address comes in the indented form in the line next to 'To'; with a
comma after each line.
• The salutation will be alligned with the left margin, exactly below 'To', with a
comma after it.
• The paragraphs of the text will be indented.
• The complimentary close will be alligned with the right margin, with a comma
after it.
• The signature will also be alligned with the right margin below the complimentary
close.
II Block Style with Mixed Punctuation: The block style coupled with mixed
punctuation is the most desirable form of writing business letters. Mixed
punctuation means that we use punctuation marks at some places, and at others,
we don't.
BLOCK STYLE WITH MIXED PUNCTUATION
HEADING
Ref No. Date
Inside Address
Subject:
Salutation
Body of the letter
58
2nd Para
3rd Para
Complimentary close
Signature
(Name)
Encls.:
In the block style, the date is alligned with the right margin, without a comma
in the end.
35.0 The inside address is to be alligned with the left margin, without commas and fullstop
after each line.
36.0 The salutation will be alligned with the left margin, without a comma.
37.0 The body of the letter will be divided into paragraphs that will begin with the left
margin. One-line space should be left after each paragraph, and the paragraphs
should not be indented.
38.0 The closing will be alligned with the right margin without a comma after it.
III Complete Block Style with Open Punctuation: Although this style is
very common in America, it is not a favourite with the Indians, as it becomes
heavy and unbalanced on the left side:
COMPLETE BLOCK STYLE WITH OPEN PUNCTUATION
Heading
Ref. no.
Date
Inside Address
Subject:
Salutation
59
Body of the letter
2nd Para
3rd Para
Complimentary close
Signature
(Name)
Encls:
29 The date is alligned with the left margin, without comma.
30 The inside address is to be alligned with the left margin, exactly below the date.
31 The subject is mostly written after the salutation.
32 The salutation, without comma, is also alligned with the left margin.
33 The paragraphs of the body are written as in block style.
34 The complimentary close will also be alligned with the left margin, without
comma.
35 The signature should also be alligned with the left side, below the closing.
36 As every thing is written on the left side, it looks heavy on the left side.
12.2.3 Types of Business letters
21. Enquiries, quotations and Replies: In a routine letter of
enquiry, state simply, clearly and concisely what you want – general
information, a catalogue or price list, a sample, a quotation, an estimate
and so on. When making an enquiry, observe the following rules:
􀁺 Begin with the question you want to ask; this would immediately indicate
what the enquiry is about.
􀁺 Put your request in the form of a question, not a statement.