Business

correspondence
DR. JAN-DOLLY GRACE LLAVOR- DEITA
Business letters are written for
many reasons- to collect
money, to request or grant
adjustments, to acknowledge
courtesies, to place orders, to
answer questions or to give
instructions.
The six C’s of business communication
1. Courtesy (pleasant feelings tone)
2. Consideration (thinking of the reader
first)
3. Correctness (no stumbling blocks)
4. Cleanliness (no misunderstanding)
5. Conciseness (every word counts)
6. Concreteness (detailness sharp,
definite)
Correctness
Poor spelling, careless letter layout,
haphazard punctuations, defective
grammar, all distract and clog the flow of
thought
Conciseness
Many people are extravagant in their use of
words. The result is that their expressions
lacks force and meaning.
 A. (Wordy-47 words)
I wish each and every person who receives this
notice and has a suggestions to make states what he
has to say on the enclosed card, sign it and drop in
the mail at once so that I may know his opinion as
soon as possible.

B. (Concise-12 words)
Please write your suggestions on the enclosed card
and mail it immediately.
Concreteness
Give life and meaning to your letters by using specific, concrete
words. Avoid abstract and genera terms.

A. (general)
1. We make the finest blankets.
2. This soap gives generous father.
3. This airplane is the fastest in the world.
 B. (concrete and specific)
1. Parce blankets are soft, light and fluffy. These blankets
provide great warmth added weight and induce restful
sleep.
2. Tide Ultra multiples itself in lather 300 times
3. The skytreak Pal jet holds the world’s speed record of
1,000 miles an hour.
Clearness
Clear writing comes from clear
thinking. A good correspondent never
begins to dictate his letter until he has
decided upon the central idea.
Consideration (The “you” attitude)
Consideration in letter writing means emphasizing
the you attitude.
You cater to your reader’s comforts. The you
attitude is simply thoughtfulness
A. Will you provide us your report? We are
collecting data for an important study?
B. Do you want for a free painting 2,487 men
considered the best kind they have ever seen?
Courtesy
A personality that engendered goodwill and
friendliness than does courtesy.
It generates goodwill. “Good will is the decision of the
customer to return to the place where he has been
well served.
Consider the following instructions:
Tactless: We are surprised that you were not
satisfied with our adjustment of your
complaint
Courteous: We are sorry that you were not satisfied
with the quality of the last shipment of men’s shirt that
we sent you on May 5.

Tactless: We do not consider that the present condition

of your business warrants our giving you a credit. Of
course, we shall accept your orders on cash basis.
The letter writer’s creed:
1. Be honest
2. Be informative, give facts
3. Be considerate
4. Be pleasant, tactful and courteous
5. Thank your way through
6. Save the reader’s time
BASIC PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER
1.Letterhead ( Heading)- contains the information that
the reader needs to answer the letter and to file the
letter for office reference. This includes the street
address, town, province, country, and zip code which
are typed on the top lines immediately above the
dateline …….
2. Dateline- the dateline may be typed left or right
depending on the letter style used. On the
letterhead paper, only the dateline is entered two to
three spaces below the last line of the printed
heading…..
a. dates should never be abbreviated.
Wrong- Jun. 25, 2016
Right- June 25, 2016 or military style 25 June
2016
b. Th, st, d should not be used after the day of
the month
Example: June 25 not June 25th
3. Inside address- this is sometimes considered
as the introductory/or complimentary address.
It directs the letter to the receiver. This is typed
two to three spaces below the dateline…..

a. name of the person ( with exact title)

b. firm or corporation
c. the address, the town and the province
Guidelines:
1. The inside address is the exact address on the envelop
2. A woman is addressed as Miss, Mrs., Ms. Is used if the status is
not determined
“ Miss is a complete word and is not followed by a period. The title
Mesdames or its abbreviated form of Mmes. May be used if all
women comprise the firm.
3. A man is addressed as Mr. and its plural form of Messrs, an
abbreviated form of the French word Messiurs.
4. The title Doctor may be abbreviated. Dr. Aurora A. Villanueva
5. Reverend should not be abbreviated and should be preceded by
The.
Example: The Reverend Nestor C. Duhilag
6. The title Professor is used for those who are professors
in Colleges and Universities. If only the surname appears,
the abbreviation should not be used.
Example: Professor Buyco or Prof. Ara Buyco
7. The position, which man holds like a manager,
secretary, superintendent, president or treasurer may
either precede or follow the name
Mr. Rusty Lopez
Manager
Lopez and Sons Company
8. The title honorable is applied to senators,
congressmen, embers of the cabinet, judges of the
court or to those who hold positions in the city,
province or country.

9. Name of the title cities should ne spelled out. The

ZIP Code is also included.
Mrs. Flora E. Arcamo
Vice President
Arcamo and Sons Company
Sampaguita Street
Dasmarinas, Cavite
7120
4. Salutation- This is considered as a greeting and an expression of
courtesy to put the reader in afriendly reception frame of mind. This is
typed two spaces below the inside address…..
Formal
Singular Plural
Sir Sirs
Madam Mesdames
Dear Sir Dear Sirs
Dear Mr. Lim Gentlemen
Dear Dr. Villanueva
Not Formal
Dear Pete
Dear Rosalinda
Guidelines:
1. Gentlemen or Ladies and Gentlemen is used when
addressing a company, committee, organization composed
of men and women. Ladies or Mesdames is used only
when writing to a company or organization composed of
entirely women.
2. The existing relationship between the writer and the
addressee determines the greetings to be used in the
salutation. Example Dear Sir or Dear Mr. Garcia.
5. Body- This is the most important part of the
letter. It consists of the full message of the letter.
The letter writer should see to it that indention in
the body has to be deep enough to distinguished
the paragraphs and to have them alike within the
letter…..
Rules:
1. The body of the letter begins two spaces below the salutation unless
the subject line appears in this position, the body then, starts two
spaces below the subject line.
2. A paragraph usually looks more impressive and dignified when
single-spaced. Normally, long letters are single-spaced and short letters
are double-spaced.
3. When a second page is needed, it must be an ordinary plain sheet of
the same size, color and quality as the letter head sheet. The second
page should bear the name of the addressee, the page number and the
date of the letter.
Example: Mr. Nicolas Estrada
2
June 25, 2016
Or Mr. Nicolas Estrada 2 June 25, 2016
6. Complimentary Close- just as you open
your letter with a word of friendly greeting, you
close it with a cordial expression. Only the
first letter of the first word is capitalized. This
is typed two spaces below the last line of the
body…..
Formal: Respectfully yours, Very truly yours,
Truly yours
Informal: Sincerely yours, Cordially yours,
Cordially
Salutation Complimentary close
Gentlemen or Ladies and Gentlemen Respectfully yours
Dear Dr. Ramos Very truly yours
Dear Mrs. Montessa Truly yours
7. Signature Block- This 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 his/her
name…..

Example: Sincerely yours,

Atty. Lorna M. Chavez

Personnel Director
8. Reference Initials- these are the initials of the
writer or typist or the stenographer, which are
typed in the lower corner of the letter…..

Example: PE
PSM/NBA

Note: A business letter with missing basic parts is

a wrong letter
OPTIONAL PARTS OF THE BUSINESS LETTER
1. ATTENTION LINE- This is needed if the business
letter is addressed to the company rather than to an
individual. However, if the writer wishes his letter to
reach a particular individual with a business concern, he
may use the attention line. This is typed two spaces
below the inside address….
David and Sons Company
23 Aurelio Street
Quezon City

Attention: Miss Princess Manalo

Gentlemen:

Note: The salutation has to agree with the inside

address and not with the attention line.
2. SUBJECT LINE- This is used to immediately
inform the reader of what the letter is about. This is
placed two spaces below the salutation. It may be
typed in full capital letters or underlined for emphasis.
Gentlemen:

Subject: Christmas Bonus

Or

Dear Mr. Gomez:

SUBJECT: CHRISTMAS BONUS….

3. ENCLOSURE: This is a reminder that there is an
enclosure and is usually typed under the typist’s or
stenographer’s initials ….

Example: PDE
Enclosure: check

JDL
Enc. Check
4. CARBON COPY NOTATION: This is
placed after the enclosure or reference
initials. It shows that other copies of the letter
sent to one or more persons other than the
addressee….

Example:
PDE
cc: Dean, College of Arts,
Sciences and Education
5. BLIND CARBON COPY NOTATION: It is used if the
writer does not want his reader to know that he is
sending a carbon copy of the letter to another person.
The writer should retain a copy of the cc or bcc for his
files….
6. Postscripts- These emphasize a point made
elsewhere in the letter or they may make special
offers. They are designed to draw special attention.
This may be placed about two spaces below the
last line of the letter ( below the reference initials).
This may be preceeded by the letters P.S. or N.B.
(notabene, “Note Well”) ….