A: Format and Layout of Business Documents 1
Appendix A: Format and Layout of Business Documents
This appendix offers practical guidelines for producing professional-grade documents. The advice applies
primarily to printed pieces but is also applicable to documents rendered as PDFs or other digital formats.
APPENDIX OUTLINE
First Impressions
Paper
Customization
Appearance
Letters
Standard Letter Parts
Heading
Date
Inside Address
Salutation
Body
Complimentary Close
Signature Block
Additional Letter Parts
Letter Formats
Envelopes
Addressing the Envelope
Folding to Fit
International Mail
Memos
Reports
Margins
Headings
Page Numbers
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A: Format and Layout of Business Documents 2
LECTURE NOTES
First Impressions
Create a positive first impression with your choice of
• Paper
• Customization
• Appearance
Paper
Key aspects of paper include
• Weight (20-pound is most common, but 16- and 24-pound versions are also used)
• Cotton content (25 percent cotton is preferred for formal letters)
• Size:
Customization
Customized stationery has letterhead with information such as the firm’s
• Name
• Logo
• Address
• Phone number
• Fax number
Appearance
For the best appearance
• Center letters on the page and set all margins at 1-inch minimum.
• Do not use justification, varying line length makes the message easier to read.
A: Format and Layout of Business Documents 3
• Include the proper spacing after punctuation:
Letters
Standard Letter Parts
Standard letter parts include the following
• Heading
• Date
• Inside address
Your heading depends on the type of paper you use:
The date’s position depends on the type of heading you use:
• Place the date one blank line beneath the letterhead.
• If you aren’t using a letterhead, place the date immediately below (without any extra line
The inside address is placed one or more lines below the date (depending on the length of the letter)
and includes the following:
• Addressee’s name, preceded by the addressee’s courtesy title (Dr., Mr., Ms.)
A: Format and Layout of Business Documents 4
• Address
• Order and layout choices vary from country to country
For the salutation, be sure to
• Use first name for colleagues and close business associates (if culturally appropriate).
• Use a title and last name for all other correspondence.
• Spell names correctly.
You may also use a salutopening (omitting the “Dear” and using the recipient’s name in the first few
words of the body).
The body is almost always single-spaced, with one blank line before and after the salutation or
salutopening, between paragraphs, and before the complimentary close.
The body may include indented lists, entire paragraphs indented for emphasis, and even subheadings.
If it does, all similar elements should be treated in the same way.
Place the complimentary close on the second line below the body.
The signature block
Additional Letter Parts
Additional letter parts are optional; use the following as needed:
• Addressee notation
• Attention line
• Subject line
Copyright © 2018 Bovée and Thill LLC
• Is placed two lines above the inside address
Use an attention line when the inside address does not include the name of a specific person.
The subject line tells the recipient at a glance what the letter is about.
The second-page heading
• Needs to be used whenever an additional page is required
The mailing notation (Special Delivery, Registered Mail) usually follows the reference initials and
enclosure notation, and comes before the copy notation.
The Postscript begins with one of the following:
• P.S.
• PS.
A: Format and Layout of Business Documents 7
Folding to Fit
To fold letters properly
International Mail
For international mail, follow the instructions at www.usps.com/international.
Memos
When preparing a memo, include the title (MEMO, INTEROFFICE CORRESPONDENCE, or similar) at
the top of the page either centered or aligned with the left margin
At the top of a memo, place introductory information such as
• TO:
• FROM:
If a memo has wide distribution, type See distribution list or See below after To: and place recipient
names at the bottom of the page (usually in alphabetical order except when high-ranking officials deserve
more prominent placement).
Courtesy titles need not be used in a memo, unless you would use one in person with the recipient.
The subject line should be short but informative.
For the body of the memo:
• Start on the second or third line below heading.
• Use single-spacing, with double spacing between paragraphs.
Copyright © 2018 Bovée and Thill LLC
Always follow the organization’s standards for reports, if one exists. Otherwise use the following general
guidelines.
Margins
Set margins as follows:
• Top margin should be 2 inches from the top of the paper for prefatory parts,
supplementary parts, the first page of text, and the first page of each new chapter.
Headings
Page Numbers
When numbering report pages
• Do not number the first page of the report (title page).
• Number prefatory parts using lowercase roman numerals (without dashes or periods).
• Number prefatory parts 1 inch from the bottom, centered.