Business Letters

Submitted To: Ms Rupali Kumar

Made By: Kriti Goel (71) Kanika Sanduja (68) Rashmi Kumari (119) Neha as

Business Letters
A business letter is a letter written in formal language, usually used when writing from one business organization to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. The overall style of letter will depend on the relationship between the parties concerned. Business letters are formal paper communications between, to or from businesses Business letters are sometimes called "snail-mail" (in contrast to email which is faster).

Who writes Business Letters?

Letters are written from a person/group, known as the sender to a person/group, known in business as the recipient. Some examples of senders and recipients: business business business consumer job applicant company citizen government official employee employee staff member staff member

PURPOSE
What do I want the reader to know? What kind of business letter am I writing?
Letter of inquiry Letter of application Letter of complaint Letter of regret Thank you letter

Why write Business Letters?

To persuade To inform To request To express thanks To remind To recommend To apologize To congratulate To reject a proposal or offer To introduce a person or policy To invite or welcome To follow up To formalize decisions

Good business letter

Be clear, brief and businesslike Do not write confused, overlong or pointless letter Be polite and friendly Do not be rude or patronizing Write concise and purposeful letter Do not try to write in a litrary style Do not try to impress with your writing

Four principle
1. 2. 3. 4. Short Simple Strong Sincere

ADVANTAGES OF BUSINESS LETTERS

provides written communication visual information is included can range from one to many pages it is lot cheaper a written record of the message will be kept the message is communicated in written format and therefore should be unambiguous can contain detailed information such as figures enables long distance communication to take place

DISADVANTAGES OF BUSINESS LETTERS

can take time to deliver can be lost not 100% sure of security , can easily be opened and read or sent to the wrong address Takes time to produce letter and can be inconvenient if an urgent message has to be delivered No guarantee or assurance that message has been received unless feedback has occurred If recipient does not understand any information, then they have to reply to the message stating the problem and then wait for another message reply from the sender. they also take up a lot of space when it comes to storage

Business Letter Vocabulary

Enclosure- Extra document that is added to an business letter. Body - The content of the letter; between the salutation and signature. Bullets - Small dark dots used to set off items in an unnumbered list. Direct mail / Junk mail - Marketing letters addressed to a large audience. Attachment - Extra document or image included with a email. Inside address - Recipient's mailing information. Logo - Symbol or image that identifies a specific organization. Memorandum (memo) - Document sent within a company (internal), presented in short form. Punctuation - Marks used within or after sentences and phrases (e.g. periods, commas). Salutation - Greeting in a letter (e.g. "Dear Mr. Abhay"). Tone - The feeling of the language (e.g. serious, enthusiastic)

Formatting Business Letters

There are two main styles of business letters:
Full block style: Align all elements on the left margin. Modified block style: Down the middle of the page, align the return address, date, closing, signature, and typed name; align other elements on the left page margin.
Block format is the most common format used in business today. In Block format, nothing is centered. The sender's address, the recipient's address, the date and all new paragraphs begin at the left margin

Planning a Business Letter

Who am I writing this letter to? Formal / Informal Why am I writing this letter? Objective / Purpose Are there specific details I need to include? Facts / Data Do I require a response? - Action How can I organize my points logically? First you would introduce yourself. Second you would state your concern or reason for writing. After the main content of your letter you would include information on how you can be contacted. The end of the letter is also a place to express gratitude, wish good-luck, or offer sympathy.

Writing a Business Letter

An effective letter in business uses short, simple sentences and straightforward vocabulary. The easier a letter is to read, the better. You will need to use smooth transitions so that your sentences do not appear too choppy.

What are the types of Business Letters?

Personal Business
Not on Letterhead Contains your typed Return Address

Formal Business
Typed on Letterhead Letterhead
Already contains your return address You dont retype it
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What are the Required Parts of a Business Letter?

Heading Inside Address Salutation Body Complimentary Closing Signature Optional:
Enclosure Typists Initials
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Whats in The Heading

(your information)
Personal Business Letter (no letterhead)
Your return address
Only abbreviation is Postal Code - NJ

May include Phone#, Fax#, Email@ Date

Formal Business Letter (on letterhead)

Date only

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What is the Inside Address

(addressees information)
Persons Name, Title Company Name/Department Company Address

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PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

Heading
Writers complete address (Return Address) Current date
1 - 1 1/2

QUAD

Inside Address
Receivers complete name, title, company and address (Letter Address)

PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER (continued)

Salutation
Begin with Dear: Use Mr. or Ms. before the receivers name Use Dear or Attention followed by an appropriate title, such as Customer Service Department or Sales Manager. Use Dear Sir or Madame or Ladies and Gentlemen. Include BOTH genders for a general audience.

Salutation
First and foremost, make sure that you spell the recipient's name correctly. You should also confirm the gender and proper title. Use Ms. for women and Mr. for men. Use Mrs. if you are 100% sure that a woman is married. Under less formal circumstances, or after a long period of correspondence it may be acceptable to address a person by his or her first name. When you don't know the name of a person and cannot find this information out you may write, "To Whom It May Concern". It is standard to use a comma after the salutation.

Salutation
Some common ways to address the recipient: Dear Mr. Powell, Dear Ms. Mackenzie, Dear Frederick Hanson: Dear Editor-in-Chief: Dear Valued Customer Dear Sir or Madam: Dear Madam Dear Sir, Dear Sirs Gentlemen:

RULES OF THUMB
AVOID ABBREVIATIONS EXCEPT FOR STATES AND TITLES. (Mr., Mrs., Ms., etc. FL, NJ, OH) PLACE A SINGLE WORD TITLE AFTER THE NAME SEPARATED BY A COMMA. Mrs. G. DeGraw, President PLACE A LONGER TITLE ON A SEPARATE LINE. Mrs. G. DeGraw Executive Director of Safety

What is the Body?

(The actual letter)

Brief and to the point!
Strictly Business

Guideline 3 paragraphs
Brief Introduction Contents - What I want Conclusion and Thank you

Each paragraph:
Single Spaced Followed by one blank lines
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First paragraph
In most types of business letter it is common to use a friendly greeting in the first sentence of the letter. Here are some examples:
I hope you are enjoying a fine summer. Thank you for your kind letter of January 5th. I came across an ad for your company in The Star today. It was a pleasure meeting you at the conference this month. I appreciate your patience in waiting for a response.

After your short opening, state the main point of your letter in one or two sentences:
I'm writing to enquire about... I'm interested in the job opening posted on your company website

Second and third paragraphs

Use a few short paragraphs to go into greater detail about your main point. If one paragraph is all you need, don't write an extra paragraph just to make your letter look longer. If you are including sensitive material, such as rejecting an offer or informing an employee of a layoff period, embed this sentence in the second paragraph rather than opening with it.

Here are some common ways to express unpleasant facts:

We regret to inform you... It is with great sadness that we... After careful consideration we have decided...

Final paragraph
Your last paragraph should include requests, reminders, and notes on enclosures. If necessary, your contact information should also be in this paragraph. Here are some common phrases used when closing a business letter: I look forward to... Please respond at your earliest convenience. I should also remind you that the next board meeting is on February 5th. For further details... If you require more information... Thank you for taking this into consideration. I appreciate any feedback you may have. Enclosed you will find... Feel free to contact me by phone or email

Complimentary Closing
Here are some common ways to close a letter. Use a comma between the closing and your handwritten name (or typed in an email). If you do not use a comma or colon in your salutation, leave out the comma after the closing phrase:
Yours truly, Yours sincerely, Sincerely, Sincerely yours Thank you, Best wishes All the best, Best of luck Warm regards,

PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER (continued)

Signature lines
Leave four lines (QS) for your handwritten signature Type your name and title below the signature line. Type the words Enclosure(s) two lines below the typed signature. Sending a copy of the letter elsewhere? cc: PLUS the person or department name. This line goes beneath the enclosure line.

Writing Tips
Use a conversational tone. Ask direct questions. Double-check gender and spelling of names. Use active voice whenever possible. Use polite modals (would in favour of will). Always refer to yourself as "I". Don't use "we" unless it is clear exactly who the pronoun refers to. Rewrite any sentence or request that sounds vague. Don't forget to include the date. Day-Month-Year is conventional, however, to avoid confusion, write out the month instead of using numbers (e.g. July 5th, 2007)

123 Pine Street Oak Ridge, NJ 07438 October 30, 2005

ABC Company 345 Spruce Street Whatever, IL 01233 Dear Mr. Brown: Insert the part of the body of the letter here. The body of the letter should tell something about what you hope to convey. It should also have a closing paragraph in it. There should be at least two sentences per paragraph. Sincerely,

Mrs. DeGraw
Mrs. DeGraw, Chairperson Enclosure

Thank You!