Business Writing

An Introduction

What is business writing?

A wide range of different writing jobs and formats including both: internal communication within the company or organization and external communication interfacing with the public or other organizations on behalf of the company or organization

What does it include?

Letters & Memos Proposals & Reports Power Point Presentations Newsletters Press releases Marketing brochures ,Copywriting ,web copy Blogging Resumes and job applications Emails Faxes Minutes of a Meeting

Letters and Memos

The primary difference between Business Letters and Business Memos is the intended reader.
Letters are usually between two businesses or the business and the client. They are more detailed and formal Memos are usually internal i.e. within the organization. They are shorter and more informal

Both letters and memos require a professional tone with clear, precise and unambiguous language

Proposals
Proposal A Proposal can be of one page or many but the basic structure comprises of
Introduction: explaining the background to the problem and why it needs to be solved.
The Proposed Solution: explaining how the problem can be solved.

Costs: explaining what is required financially or in terms of manpower or facilities, to see the solution though successfully
Statement of Request: the specifics that the person making the proposal is requesting.

Reports
A report can cover many different areas with different purposes. These can be Progress Reports
Report of the work accomplished within a specific time period

Feasibility Reports
Evaluation report of a proposal designed to determine the difficulty of carrying out a designated task

Research Reports
It is the compilation of findings from a piece of research

 All reports will basically comprise of

Introduction: outlining the purpose of the report and the areas to be covered. Body: including all the facts and figures with details of how the information was gathered. Conclusion: an evaluation of the information collated and presented. Recommendation: a statement of what has to be done in the future on the basis of what has been inferred from the material gathered and the conclusion.

Power Point Presentations

Power point presentations are often based on proposals and reports, employing a visual presentation of the most striking points of the information to be imparted, combined with a speech delivered by the presenter.

Newsletters
Newsletters are generally written for the company employees, clients or customers. They are written in a journalistic style. While being interesting and informative they also convey the managements message or promotions in entertaining and readable articles.

Press Releases
Press releases generally adhere to a strict format:
Headline: an attention grabbing statement of the main point of the story. 5 Ws and an H: The first paragraph condense the whole story by telling Who What When Where Why and How Body: Expand on the story, but keep everything on one page. Contact details: They give full details about the organisation putting the story out, and the full contact details of the person who can give journalists more information (names, addresses, website, telephone, e-mail etc) End: The press release is generally concluded with ###

Marketing Brochure, Copywriting and Web Copy

These are written from the point of view of highlighting the products or services of the organizations. Marketing brochures, copywriting, and web copy all require skills in sales or promotional writing.

Blogging
A new development in Business Writing the emergence of Blogs or Web Logs. Many companies are realising the potential of blogs for promoting their company or their products and therefore professional writers are being hired for writing the blogs of the company

Resumes & Job Applications

These are used by professionals for the purpose of soliciting jobs and new opportunities by communicating their competencies and experiences to companies in an clear and concise manner.

Emails
It has become an important part of business communication in recent times. Messages as email can be sent over great distances in minimal time. As a general rule the content should not be more than a couple of paragraphs. Anything longer should be sent as attachment. Grammar and spelling ARE important in business email Appropriate use of cc and bcc where required

Faxes
It is the short form of Facsimile (exact copy). Fax is a document sent over the telephone line. In spite of the emergence of emails, Fax is still an important form of business communication because
It is easier to handwrite than to type Since emails are not signed at times sometimes they are unacceptable in business communication

Minutes of Meeting
The written minutes of a meeting are a meeting report that is sent after the meeting, it states what was said and decided during the meeting. The minutes contain the date of the meeting, as well as the initials and names of the people who attended Minutes of meetings usually include: Minutes of the last meeting Matters arising from the last minutes The agenda of the meeting itself Any other business (AOB) Meeting minutes also show who is responsible for carrying out action. In a column on the right-hand side, we put the person's initials in bold to show that he or she will perform the action.

EXERCISE I :
Email, Fax or Letter

Answer Key
Sl No 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Description Applying for a job Booking a conference room at a hotel Telling colleagues to attend a meeting Ordering stationery Telling colleagues about a new member of staff Complaining about a delivery service Thanking a customer Sending out a meeting agenda Resigning Apologizing to an important business contact Type of Correspondence Letter / email with Resume attachment Fax Email Fax / email Email Email / fax Email / letter Email Letter Letter

Writing Business Letters

Business letters are written with the intention of getting the reader to respond. They should have a Clear purpose, should be Concise and unambiguous All business correspondence should preferably be on the business letter head. The format of letters is either block, semi block or modified block style

The Structure of the letter

The Start
Dear Personnel Director, Dear Sir or Madam: (use if you don't know who you are writing to) Dear Dr, Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms Smith: (use if you know who you are writing to, and have a formal relationship with - VERY IMPORTANT use Ms for women unless asked to use Mrs or Miss) Dear Frank: (use if the person is a close business contact or friend)

 The Reference
With reference to your advertisement in the Times of India, With reference to your letter of 23 rd March With reference to your phone call today Thank you for your letter of March 5 th

The Reason for Writing

I am writing to inquire about apologize for confirm

 Requesting / Agreeing to request / Giving bad news

Could you possibly? I would be grateful if you could I would be delighted to Unfortunately

I am afraid that

Enclosing documents
I am enclosing Please find enclosed Enclosed you will find

 Closing Remarks
Thank you for your help Please contact us again
if we can help in any way If there are any problems If you have any questions

Reference to future contact

I look forward to ...
hearing from you soon meeting you next Tuesday seeing you next Thursday

 The Finish
Yours faithfully, (If you don't know the name of the person you're writing to) Yours sincerely, (If you know the name of the person you're writing to) Best wishes, Best regards, (If the person is a close business contact or friend)

Example of a Business Letter

Institute of International Trade and Marketing
Shri Rajesh Verma ABC Exports DLF Estate Gurgaon Haryana Date: 16/08/2010

Sub: Conference on international marketing Dear Shri Verma, As a valued member of the Board of Governors of the Institute, I have great pleasure in inviting you to a conference on the future of International Marketing to be held at Claridges Hotel on Thursday August 26th. Highlights of the conference include 1) Indian exports situation 2) New emerging markets 3) Proposed policy changes regarding the same The seminar is presented by a distinguished panel of professional speakers who will provide expert advice on the topic of International exports. I have enclosed a detailed outline of the topics that will be covered, which I am sure that you will not want to miss. If you would like to join us please confirm the same by August 24th. I look forward to seeing you in this event. Yours sincerely (A K Singh) Director IITM Enc: Detailed Program

EXERCISE II :
The Structure of letters

Answer Key Exercise II

g) Company logo e) Receivers name and address c) Date j) Subject heading b) Greeting

a) Opening sentence i) Main body of text

l) Closing sentence

h) I look forward to k) Yours... d) Signature f) Senders name j) Senders title i) Indication of attachment

Tips for writing Business Letters

This is with reference to the earlier example
It is normal to write Shri Rajesh Verma in the first line of the receiver's address and underneath to write Dear Shri Verma without the initials The subject heading in India comes before Dear Shri Verma but in some international conventions it comes after Dear Shri Verma In modern business letters Dear Shri Verma and Yours Sincerely are not followed by a comma

 If you know the name of the person you must use it rather than use Dear Sir/madam You can use abbreviations in letters if they are well known or expanded elsewhere in the letter Short, simple sentences are better than long, complex ones Bullets and numbers can be used in letters if required Enc. Is used if you are sending something in addition to the letter e.g. a cheque

EXERCISE III :
The Structure of letters : Addressing

Answer Key : Exercise III

Addressee Company Man (name unknown) Correct Answer Dear Sir or Madam Dear Sir

Woman (name unknown)

Name and Sex unknown Man Married woman or widow Unmarried woman Woman (the modern way) Woman (marital status unknown) Married couple

Dear Madam
Dear Sir / Madam Dear Mr. Verma Dear Mrs. Verma Dear Miss Verma Dear Ms Verma Dear Ms Verma Dear Mr. and Mrs. Verma

Unmarried couple
Friend / acquaintance

Dear Mr. Verma and Ms. Sinha

Dear Rajesh

Addressee Dear Sir or Madam Dear Mr. / Mrs. / Ms. Sharma Dear Anand Family and close friends

Correct Answer Yours faithfully Yours sincerely (With) Best wishes / regards (With) love

The Structure of Fax

Generally, FAX is sent with a cover sheet FAX cover sheets are essential when sending Faxes so that they reach the correct person and give information about the sender The letterhead should be added on top of the FAX cover sheet List the date couple of lines below the letterhead The rest of the cover sheet should have the following fields
Company Name : To: From: Recipient's Fax No: No of pages of Fax including the cover sheet: Notes:

Institute of International Trade and Marketing

2, Park Road New Delhi 110118

FAX
Date: 18/08/2010 Company Name: ABC Exports To: Shri Rajesh Verma From: A.K. Singh, Director IITM Recipients Fax No: (011) 24564320 No of pages including cover sheet: 2

Dear Shri Verma, Enclosed is the invitation for the CONFERENCE on International Marketing organised by IITM Date: 26th August 2010 Time: 9 A.M. Venue: Hotel Claridges, New Delhi If you have any query regarding the same, please feel free to contact me. Best Regards A.K. Singh

The Structure of Email

Email is much less formal than a written letter. It is usually short and concise. If you are writing to someone you don't know, a simple "Hello" is adequate. Using a salutation such as "Dear Mr Smith," is too formal. When writing to someone you know well, feel free to write as if you are speaking to the person. You can use abbreviated verb forms (He's, We're, He'd, etc.) Include a telephone number to the signature of the email. This will give the recipient the chance to telephone if necessary. It is not necessary to include your email address as the recipient can just reply to the email. When replying eliminate all the information that is not necessary. Only leave the sections of text that are related to your reply. This will save your reader time when reading your email. Use cc: and bcc: as per requirement Have a formal / respectable email ID for official purposes

MEMORANDUMS
Memorandums are a form of letter written inside the business. Some memos may be classified as reports.

Heading : Memorandum/Interoffice Memorandum Followed by : Date, To, From, Subject May add : Department, Plant, Location, Copies to

ABC STORES, INC.

To: From: Date: Store: Copies to:

MEMORANDUM

Subject : Form for in-house letters

This is an illustration of our memorandum stationery. It should be used for written communication within the organization.

Notice that the stationery uses no form of salutation. The writer does not need to sign the message. He or she needs only to initial after the typed name in the heading.

EXERCISE IV :
Writing Letters, Fax and Email