How do you write a professional letter?

You need to list your address, select a professional greeting, and write the body of the letter in order to write a professional letter. For more details on each of these steps and others you can take to write a professional letter, use this guide:

• List your address. Obviously, if you are using paper with professional letterhead, you can skip this step; however, if not, it is very important that you list your address when writing a professional letter.

  You should place the address clearly at the top of the page, or the left-hand corner, of your organization, business, company, or school. You do not have to add your name or title if you don't want to since it will be included in the closing of your letter.

  The information you must include here is the street address, city, state, and ZIP code for you or your organization.

• List the date you are writing the professional letter. Just below your address, you should list the current date.

  In the United States, the formatting for a date is a month, day, and then year, in that order. For example, October 17, 2023.

• Write the recipient's name and address. After the last step, you should skip a line and write out the name and address of the person or organization the letter is intended for.

  If possible, you should list an actual person; this helps get your professional letter to the right person or department within an organization. If you are unsure who you should address it to, do some research into the organization and see if you can find an appropriate person that relates to the contents of your letter.

  If you can not find this information, simply list the organization itself. However, if you can be more specific, like listing the particular department of an organization that the letter is intended for, this can also be helpful.

• Select a professional greeting. Generally, professional letters use the term "Dear X" as a standard greeting.

  However, some prefer to use the recipient's name solely. Unless you personally know the individual you are sending the letter to, you should not use their first name and address them as Mr., Miss, Ms., Mrs., or Dr., along with their last name.

  If you are unsure of a person's gender, it is acceptable to use their full name, first and last, instead of a personal title. Be sure to add a colon after the person's name or title, regardless of which style you choose.

• Write the body of your professional letter. Professional letters are most successful when they are concise and clear. You should stick to the objective of the letter and attempt not to add much in the way of "fluff" or "small talk."

  Generally, you should start with a friendly introductory sentence followed immediately by the reason for writing the letter. After briefing on the letter's intent, you should follow up with supporting details, background information, and justification that warrants the letter's sending.

  In your conclusion paragraph, you should restate the purpose of the professional letter and ask for some call to action, if one is necessary. You can also conclude with a standard statement, such as "Please contact me if you have any questions or concerns regarding this matter."

• Write an appropriate closing. At the end of your professional letter, you should include a polite and professional sign-off followed by a comma and then your full name or title, if appropriate.

  Good sign-off examples include "best regards," "thank you," and "sincerely." Once you have closed the letter, you should skip around four lines and include a section for your signature. You also should type out your name below your signature for clarity.

• Make sure you proofread your professional letter. After you are finished with your professional letter, there is one more step you must take before it is ready to be sent.

  Spend a decent amount of time proofreading your letter for grammar, spelling, and punctuation. This also gives you the opportunity to scrutinize its contents and to make sure it is delivering the right information and message. If you feel there are important details you didn't include or edits you can make, you should do so.