business letters: block style

Letters are laid out in two basic styles or variations thereof: the block style and the indent style. The one recommended by the Canadian government’s Treasury Board for administrative correspondence is the block style. (The Board recognizes that the full block style may not be suitable for all types of correspondence.) In it all lines begin flush with the left margin, including the sender’s address, the date, the complimentary close and the signature, as illustrated in the example found in BUSINESS LETTERS: MODEL LETTER.

Note that the federal government authority for document layout is the Treasury Board, acting through the Federal Identity Program (FIP) in accordance with Chapter 470 of the Board’s Administrative Policy Manual. Guidelines on layout, paper and envelope size, and related items may be found in the FIP Manual. Any future recommendations and directives on document layout issued through the FIP will take precedence over recommendations made in these articles.

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