15.1: The Heading Section
- Page ID
- 177945
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The heading section of the personal letter includes these elements: date, return address, address of the individual being sent the letter and the salutation elements.
Date
Placement and Format: Place the date 1 inch from the right edge, \(1.75\) inches from the top of the page. Use the "Day Month Year" or "DD Mmm YY" format for letters addressed to a military/government organization. In the "DD Mmm YY" format, the month and year are both abbreviated for consistency. For civilian addressees, use the "Month Day, Year" format.
Finally, unless the date of signature has legal significance, date the original and all copies of the correspondence at the time of dispatch.
Examples:
| Military Addressees - Day Month Year | 15 October 2014 |
| Military Addressees - DD Mmm YY | 15 Oct 14 |
| Civilian ADdressees - Month Day, Year | October 15, 2014 |
Return Address
Place the sender’s return address flush with the left margin on the second line below the date. Include the sender’s rank, full name, duty title, organization and complete mailing address using single spacing between lines.. Use a period after abbreviations such as "Mr.," "Ms.," "Mrs." and "Dr." Do not use punctuation in the last line of the address except for the dash in the \(\mathrm{ZIP}+4\) code. The standard format for spacing between the state abbreviation and the ZIP code is two spaces. For examples, refer to the "Forms of Address, Salutation and Complimentary Close" section of this chapter.
Example:
| Chief Master Sergant David L. Jones Duty Title Organization Street Address City, ST 12345-6789 |
Receiver’s Address
Place the address of the individual the letter is being sent to on the third line below the return address. Include the receiver’s title or rank, full name and complete mailing address using single spacing between lines. Use a period after abbreviations such as "Mr.," "Ms.," "Mrs." and "Dr." Do not use punctuation in the last line of the address except for the dash in the \(\mathrm{ZIP}+4\) code. The standard format for spacing between the state abbreviation and the ZIP code is two spaces. For examples, refer to the "Forms of Address, Salutation and Complimentary Close" section of this chapter.
Example:
| Lieutenant Colonel Getty A. Letter Duty Title Organization Street Address City ST 12345-6789 |
Salutation
Place the salutation on the second line below the receiver’s address. The salutation begins with "Dear" followed by the title (or rank) and last name of the receiver. Do not use punctuation in the salutation. For examples, refer to the "Forms of Address, Salutation and Complimentary Close" section of this chapter.