A medical assistant is composing business correspondence using the simplified letter style. Which of the following features should the assistant use?

In simplified letter style, the objective is to create a clean and straightforward design that emphasizes clarity and professionalism in business correspondence. A key characteristic of this style is that both the dateline and salutation are aligned to the left margin.

Using a left-aligned dateline and body text facilitates easy reading and maintains a consistent layout that is visually appealing. The simplified style omits traditional elements like the salutation (which typically includes "Dear") and the closing signature block, favoring a more direct approach.

Center aligning the dateline and salutation would deviate from the essence of the simplified letter style, as it disrupts the straightforwardness and can create confusion regarding the alignment of the text. Therefore, while the center alignment is not standard for this style, a correct implementation would ensure that all necessary parts of the letter are left-aligned for coherence and clarity.