 Business Correspondence

 Writing Business Letters

 Business Correspondence

 Exchange or dissemination of information in an organization in a written format

 Formal language

 From one business organization to another. (Correspondence between such organizations and their customers,
clients and other external parties)

 Types of Letters

Personal—Business Letter

 A personal-business letter is a letter that is sent from an individual to a person or business/organization.

Business Letter

 A business letter is sent from a business or organization to another or to an individual.

1. Letterhead if the letter is from a business.

2. Return Address-the address of the person writing the letter.

3. Dateline-Complete and current date.

 In the absence of letterhead, the address of the sender should be written as follows:

2nd Floor Cancio Building 1047

Metropolitan Ave., Makati City

The dateline comes two spaces after the heading, as in:

Correct: June 24, 2017

19 February 2017

Wrong: Feb. 19, 2017

2/19/2017

4. Letter Address/Inside Address-the address of the person receiving the letter.

THE INSIDE ADDRESS

 shows the name and address of the recipient of the letter.

 includes the appropriate title of respect of the recipient; and copy the name of the company exactly as that
company writes it.

When you do have the names of individuals, remember to address them appropriately: Mrs., Ms., Mr., Dr., and so on.
Example:

Mr. Juan de la Druz, President

Mars Home Appliances, Inc.

123 Ayala Avenue

Makati City

Atty. Juan de la Cruz

Cruz Law Office

3F LKG Tower, Ayala Avenue

Makati City

5. Salutation-the greeting of the letter. Example: Dear Sir or Madam:

The salutation

 directly addresses the recipient of the letter

 is followed by a colon (except when a friendly, familiar, sociable tone is intended, in which case a comma is
used).

If you don't know whether the recipient is a man or woman, the best solution is to:

 make a quick, anonymous phone call to the organization and ask for a name; or,

 address the salutation to a department name, committee name, or a position name

 e.g. "Dear Personnel Department," "Dear Recruitment Committee," "Dear Chairperson," "Dear
Director of Financial Aid," and the like.

6. Body-the message of the letter.

The message

 is contained in the body of the letter, the paragraphs between the salutation and the complimentary close.

 has three parts:

 the opening (presents the subject of the letter);

 the body (discusses the subject); and

 the closing (rouses the reader to certain action).

7. Complimentary Close-the ending of the letter. Example: Sincerely yours, Cordially, Very truly yours

The complimentary close

  Only the first letter is capitalized,

 It is always followed by a comma.

 The complimentary close serves to end the message.

 It is written two spaces below the last line of the message.

 Some samples of complimentary close

 Major Parts of a Letter

8. Handwritten Signature-the author signs the letter after it has been printed.

The Signature

 Usually, the sender’s name is typed four lines below the complimentary close, and the signature comes in
between.

 Whenever possible, include the title or the name of the position just below the name.

For example:

Very truly yours,

9. Keyed Name-the authors typed name.

10. Typist Initials-initials of the typist.

1. Letterhead if the letter is from a business.

2. Return Address-the address of the person writing the letter.

3. Dateline-Complete and current date.

4. Letter Address/Inside Address-the address of the person receiving the letter.

5. Salutation-the greeting of the letter.

6. Body-the message of the letter.

7. Complimentary Close-the ending of the letter.

8. Keyed Name-the authors typed name.

9. Handwritten Signature-the author signs the letter after it has been printed.

10. Typist Initials-initials of the typist.

 Additional Elements

Reference Line - A system of tracking letters by chronological numbers, employee initials, department codes. May also
be the invoice number or job reference number.
On-Arrival Notation- PERSONAL
CONFIDENTIAL
PRIVATE AND CONFIDENTIAL
STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

3. The Attention Line - is used when a letter is addressed to a company in general for the purpose of directing the letter
to the attention of specific person or group within the company that can care of handling the message.

Example:

Attention: Mr. Pol Magno

4. The Subject Line - A device used if a writer wants the reader to know in advance the subject matter of the message.

It is written two spaces below the salutation.

Example:

Subject: Reimbursement of the excess payment

5. The enclosure or attachment - This is usually is written directly below the reference initials for verification purpose
only that something is included in the letter for the good of both the writer and the recipient.

Example:

Common abbreviations are: Att(s) for Attachment(s), or Encl(s) for Enclosure(s)

Example:

Encl: Brochure or Att: Brochure

Encls: Brochure or Atts: Brochures

Order Form Order Form

6. The carbon copy/xeroxed copy/copy

furnished notation
- is used when the writer sends duplicate copies of the letter to other people other than the addressee.
- is normally written below the reference initials with the notation cc or xc or cf,.
- is indicated on all copies of the letter.
Example:

Cc: Mr. Aradel Lazaro

Ms. Tina Muñoz

Atty. Gerry Maningding

7. Postscript (P.S) (P.P.S) (P.P.P.S) – Notes that a writer might forget and wanted to add in the letter.

Example:

P.S.

I will be there 20 minutes earlier.

 Kinds of Business Letter

1. Adjustment Letter

a. response to a claim or complaint.

b. For the customer-begin with the adjustment

c. For the company- present facts and be courteous

2. Inquiry Letter

a. Ask information to recipient

b. Include contact number and only relevant info.

3. Follow-up Letter

a. Sent after an initial talk

b. Sales letter + Thank you letter

4. Letter of Recommendation

a. Given by previous employer/superior for reference before hiring.

b. Includes relationship, work ethics, and mostly good points of the applicant.

5. Cover Letter

a. Used to describe what is enclosed and why it is sent.

b. Very short and succinct

6. Resignation Letter

a. Giving notice of the last day of employment,

b. Reason/s for leaving.

7. Sales Letter, Order Letter, Complaint Letter…

  Formats of Business Letter

 FULL BLOCK FORMAT

May 17, 2017

Mr. John Ed Bonifacio

Manager, IT Resource Center

Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Dear Mr. Bonifacio:

This is the full block format in business letter writing. In fact this is a good sample.

As you can see, all information are aligned left. There is no indention whatsoever in any of the parts.

My dear students, you can add more if you like.

I hope that you are going to make use of this format later.

Respectfully,

Rafael Silan

Technical Writer

 SEMI-BLOCK FORMAT

May 19, 2017

Mr. John Ed Bonifacio

Manager, IT Resource Center

Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Dear Mr. Bonifacio:

This is the semi-block format in business letter writing.

As you can see, all information are aligned left except the date, complimentary

close, name and signature. There is no indention whatsoever in the message.

I hope that you are going to make use of this format later.

Respectfully,

Rafael Silan
Technical Writer
  Modified block form

May 19, 2017

Mr. John Ed Bonifacio

Manager, IT Resource Center

Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Dear Mr. Bonifacio:

This is the modified block format in business letter writing.

As you can see, this is different from the other two shown to you earlier. In this format, the inside
address and saluatation are aligned left. The paragraphs in the message have indentions. Just like the semi-
block form, the date, the complimentary close, the name and signature are aligned right.

I hope that you are going to make use of this format later.

Respectfully,

Rafael Silan
Technical Writer
 Simplified form

May 19, 2017

Mr. John Ed Bonifacio

Manager, IT Resource Center

Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Dear Mr. Bonifacio:

This is the simplified format in business letter writing. Please note that this is a 4th type and that each
reference has its name for the business letter formats.

As you can see, this is different from the other three shown to you earlier. This format is unique in such
a way that:

1. The inside address and saluatation are aligned left.

2. The paragraphs in the message have indentions.

3. Just like the semi-block form, the date, the complimentary close, the name and signature are

aligned right.

4. If you have noticed, the simplified format has bulleted or numbered parts , just like this one.

I hope that you are going to make use of this format later. If you have quetions, please feel free to
approach me. Alternatively, you may also get in touch with me through the contact information I gave you.