Business Writing

1. Business writing
Letters
Memos

2. Before writing
 What is the exact message?
 How will it act upon the receiver?
 What would be the receiver’s reaction-
pleased/ displeased/ neither pleased nor
displeased but interested/ not interested

3. Good news letters
 Which please the receiver- follows direct
organization of ideas.
 Pleasant news/ ideas
 /
 Details or explanations
 /
Closing message/ thought

4. Routine letter
 Received with interest
 Major ideas
 /
 details or explanations
 /
 Closing thought

5. Routine claim letters
 When the writer thinks that because of guarantee
or other terms and conditions, the request for
adjustments will be automatically granted
 1. Request action in opening sentence
 2. Give reasons supporting the request/ action
 3. End with an appreciation for taking action
requested. ( page 101)

6. Reply- yes
 First sentence expression of willingness
( page 102)
 But note words like grant and claim is not
used.
 View complaint positively
 Letter should be polite and with respect.
 Avoid negative expressions
 State facts and action desired.

7. Reply- no to a request
 Begin- general situation as a context in which the
request was considered.
 Assure reader that his/ her matter is considered
with great understanding and care.
 It’s the circumstances and not the merit of the
request.
 Agree with the reader in some way.
 Give a sincere compliment
 Give facts,reasons and factors for refusal
 Do not highlight the refusal.


8. Persuasive letter
 Letters which arouse reader's interest and induce
them to act as directed.
 Opening sentence-1. A startling statement of fact
 2. A remedial measure to a problem
 3. An alarming question.
 4. A special product or scheme or plan feature.
 Middle section- details, benefits, why proposal
should be accepted.
 Request action- yes response to the proposed
request.


9. Differ
 May not be dated
 No personal salutations
 Usually a post scriptimportant information
( page 113, 114)

10. Memos
 Within organization/ office to
communicate routine matters,
 Less formal
 It directly states the subject ( page 115)

11. How to write a Memo
 Begins straight with the subject
 Short- friendly to solicit similar response
 Give necessary and sufficient info
 Do not assume everyone knows everything
related to issue
 Explain causes of problems or reason for
change
 Be clear, concrete and specific
 Be pleasant
 Ask for suggestions and feedback

12. Uses of memo
 To provide information
 To issue an instruction
 To convey policy decision
 To offer suggestions
 To record/ report an agreement
 ( page 117)

13. Form & layout of business letter
 Full block style
 Semi-block style
 Simplified style
 ( page 126-128)

14. Reference
 Insert a reference line.
 Includes initials of writer ( upper case) and
the typist ( in upper or lower case)
 A file or departmental reference may be
included
 E.g. GBD/ST GBD/st/ Per1
 GBD/ST/134

15. Date
 Shown in full
 Day/ month/ year
 No commas
 E.g 12 July 2003
 Or month/ day/ year often with a comma
 E.g. July 12, 2003

16. Inside address
 Name and address of recipient typed n separate
lines as on envelope.
 Address the person exactly as they sign
 E.g Mr Douglas Cowles
 General Manager
 Cowles Engineering Co Ltd
 12 Bracken Hill
 Manchester
 M 60 8AS

17. Special markings
 If confidential, include as part of inside
address, one clear line above it.
 Inside address should have the name of the
recipient and full address.
 Typed in upper case

18. Salutation
 If name has been used in inside address,
use a personal salutation
 E.g. Dear Mr Leighton, Dear Douglas,
Dear Miss Tan, dear Rosehannah
 Letter addressed to head of the department
or whose name is not known then use
 Dear Sir or Madam

19. Heading
 Brief indication of content of letter.
 Placed one clear line space after the
salutation
 Upper case is generally used.
 E.g
 Dear Mrs Marshall
 INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE- 24
AUGUST 2003

20. Complimentary close
 Yours faithfully- used when Dear sir/
Madam is used
 Yours sincerely- for personalized
salutations

21. Name of sender and designation
 After complimentary close 4 or 5 spaces should
be left for signature
 Name can be in upper case or initial capitals
 Designation or dept.directly beneath name
 Title of Mr is never shown
 It is usual courtesy to add title for females
 Eg.
 Yours faithfully
 LESLEY BOMAN( Mrs)

22. …contd.
 Signed on behalf of the sender, write ‘for’ or ‘pp’
in front of the senders printed name
 Pp is abbreviation for per procurationem means
‘on behalf of’
 E.g.
 Yours faithfully
 For EDWARD NATHAN
 Chairman

23. Enclosures
 Affix a colored ‘enclosure’ sticker usually
in the bottom left-hand corner of the letter
 Or Type three dots in the left hand margin
on the line where the enclosure is
mentioned in the body of the letter
 Or type ‘Enc’ or ‘Encs’ at the foot of the
letter, leaving one clear line space after
senders designation.

24. Copies
 When you need to send copy to a third
party ( usually someone in the senders
organization) type CC or Copy followed by
name and designation of the copy recipient.
 If two or more- show them in alphabetical
order

25. Case study
 Page 130