English

• Characteristics of a Business Letter (8 Cs)

  • Clarity
  • Conciseness
  • Consideration
  • Courtesy
  • Concreteness
  • Cheerfulness
  • Correctness
  • Character
• Clarity


  Clearness of the idea
• Conciseness


  Completeness of idea with the use of the fewest number of words possible
• Consideration


  Taking the "you" point-of-view
• Courtesy


  The use of polite expressions to show respect
• Concreteness


  The use of vivid, specific words that appeal to the senses
• Cheerfulness


  The use of positive expressions that signal lively disposition in life
• Correctness

  Accuracy of facts, figures, spelling, grammar, format, and others
• Character


  Shows the writer's own style or uniqueness in writing
• Kinds of Business Letters

  • Letter of Application
  • Letter of Inquiry
  • Letter of Complaint and Adjustment Letters
  • Letter of Request
  • Letter of Sales
  • Letter to the Editor
  • Letter of Resignation
• Letter of Application


  Also called a "cover letter", draws a clear connection between the job you are seeking and your qualifications listed in the resume
• Letter of Inquiry


  The purpose is to obtain information from the reader, useful when you need information, advice, names, or directions
• Letter of Complaint and Adjustment Letters


  The purpose of the claim letter is to convince the reader that you have a legitimate complaint that deserves a desired response, a complaint letter requests some sort of compensation for defective or damaged merchandise or for inadequate or delayed services, an adjustment letter is a response to a complaint letter
• Letter of Request


  Written when we ask for information, special services, favors, or materials, also called a letter of petition or letter of appeal
• Letter of Sales


  Written to sell a product or service, provides clear and specific information that will explain why they should be interested in buying your product or service
• Letter to the Editor


  Particularly effective in communicating your views, helps editorial writers gauge the interest in the community for particular issues and may stimulate them to take an editorial stance on an issue readers are writing about
• Letter of Resignation


  A letter written to resign from a company or an organization
• Basic Parts of a Business Letter

  • Heading
  • Dateline
  • Inside Address
  • Salutation
  • Body of the Letter
  • Complimentary Close
  • Signature block
  • Reference Initials
• Heading


  Contains the information that the reader needs to answer the letter and to file the letter for office reference, includes the street address, town, province, country and zip code
• Dateline


  May be typed left or right depending on the letter style used, on the letterhead paper only the dateline is entered two or three spaces below the last line of the printed heading, the dateline style accepted in business does not abbreviate or use a number to indicate the month
• Inside Address


  Also considered as the introductory/ or complimentary address, directs the letter to the receiver, consists of the name of the person (with proper title), firm or corporation to whom the letter is sent, the address, the town and the province, typed two to three spaces below the dateline
• Salutation


  A greeting and expression of courtesy to put the reader in a friendly reception frame of mind, typed two spaces below the inside address
• Body of the Letter


  The most important part of the letter, consists of the full message of the letter, indentation in the body has to be deep enough to distinguish paragraphs and to have them alike within the letter
• Complimentary Close


  A cordial expression to close the letter, only the first letter of the first word is capitalized, typed two spaces below the last line of the body
• Signature block


  Identifies the writer, the name of the writer is typed four to five spaces below the complimentary close, the letter has no binding effect if the writer fails to sign their name
• Reference Initials


  The initials of the writer or the typist or the stenographer, typed in the lower corner of the letter
• Optional Parts of a Business Letter

  • Attention Line
  • Subject Line
  • Enclosure
  • Carbon Copy Notation (CC Notation)
  • Blind Carbon Copy Notation (Bcc Notation)
  • Postscripts
• Attention Line


  Needed if the business letter is addressed to the company rather than to an individual, or if the writer wishes their letter to reach a particular individual with a business concern, typed two spaces below the inside address
• Subject Line


  Used to immediately inform the reader of what the letter is about, placed two spaces below the salutation, may be typed in full capital letters or underlined for emphasis
• Enclosure


  A reminder that there is an enclosure, usually typed under the typist's or stenographer's initials
• Carbon Copy Notation (CC Notation)


  Placed after the enclosure or reference initials, shows that other copies of the letter are being sent to one or more persons other than the addressee
• Blind Carbon Copy Notation (Bcc Notation)


  Used if the writer does not want their reader to know that they are sending a carbon copy of the letter to another person, the writer should retain a copy of the cc or bcc notation for their file
• Postscripts


  Emphasize a point made in the letter or they may make a special offer, designed to draw special attention, may be placed about two spaces below the last line of the letter (below the reference initials), may be preceded by the letters P.S. or B.S. (notabene, "Note Well")
• Styles of Business Letters

  • Block Style
  • Modified Block
  • Semi-Block
  • Hanging Indented
  • Indented
• Block Style


  Everything under the letterhead (dateline, inside address, salutation, body of the letter, complimentary close and signature) is aligned along the left margin
• Modified Block


  Certain parts of the letter such as the dateline, the complimentary close, the signature are aligned to the right to help balance the other parts of the letter which have a left hand alignment
• Semi-Block


  Exactly the same as the modified block except that the first line of each paragraph is indented
• Hanging Indented


  Seldom seen in the business letters other than sales promotion letters, the unusual design can arrest the attention of the reader
• Indented


  The inside address and the complimentary close and signature are indented, this style is already obsolete