Example Application Letter 3:
Database Programmer—Annotations

Heading. The heading portion of a business letter includes the writer's address and date. For traditional business letters, you don't normally include your name in the heading.

Inside address. The inside address provides the full name, title, and address of the recipient of the letter. If you do not have a specific name, call the company or use some other strategy to find a name. An department name or a position title (which is used in this example) will work just fine.

Salutation. In this portion of the letter, use the same name as you used in the inside address. Be sure and punctuate the salutation with a colon, not a comma (which is for informal, friendly, nonbusiness letters).

Introduction. The introduction to any business letter should be brief—four or five lines at the most. In this application letter, the writer indicates the purpose of the letter (to apply for an employment opening), cites the specific job title, mentions how she heard about the opening, and summarizes her best qualifications.

Experience. In this first of two experience sections, the writer summarizes two jobs in which she did database programming work.

Experience—continued. In this second experience sections, the writer summarizes summarizes related database programming work. Even though we see details such as company names, software product names, this and the preceding paragraph could be improved with additional specific detail. Remember that strong details, related directly to the job you are seeking, are one of the keys to effective application letters. Of course, you don't want to overwhelm readers with details—provide just enough to capture readers' attention, make you stand out, and cause readers to remember you.

Newspaper, magazine, and book titles. Use italics (or underscores) for newspaper names, as well as for magazines and books. (Use quotation marks for titles of chapters or articles within newspapers, magazines, and books.)

Wrap-up. This final portion of the application letter contains the concluding paragraph and the signature block. Writers typically include information about contacting them, such as phone numbers, dates, and times, as is done in this example. When you write an application letter, don't forget to sign in the open area above your typed name. Also don't forget to indicate the enclosure of the resume.