BusinessLetter Writing

Formatting and Structure

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Letters?

Letters are one of the most widespread forms of written communications. A letter must convey a writer’s thoughts, ideas, wishes, orders, and opinions according to his/her particular purpose clearly, concisely, correctly and in an interesting manner.

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First Impression

l Paper quality (weight + Cotton)l Appearance (printing)l Margins and line lengthl Spacing (b/w lines and words)l Special Symbols ( ½ , ®, ©, bullet symbols etc) l Corrections

In the modified block style letter shown at the left, the date is centered or aligned with the complimentary close and signature block, which start at the center. Mixed punctuation includes a colon after the salutation and a comma after the complimentary close, as shown above and at the left.

Why do we write letters?

InviteInvite ApologizeApologize

CongratulateCongratulateCommiserateCommiserate

ComplainComplain OrderOrderInquireInquire

AcknowledgeAcknowledgeExplainExplain

ApplyApply ThanksThanks

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PARTS OF BUSINESS LATTERS

ESSENTIAL PARTSNON- ESSENTIAL PARTS

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STANDARD PARTS

1. Heading-Letterhead2. Inside Address3. Salutation4. Main Body5. Complimentary Close6. Signature Area

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HEADING- Letterhead

l Name of the firm and its full postal addressl Name of departmentl Telephone, fax, telex number, URL and e-mail.l Optional

Directors name Logo / Trade mark Firm’s starting date

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HEADING- Letterhead

HEADING

LETTERHEAD DATE

BUSINESS NAME

ALL CONTACT ADDRESSES

LOGO

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LOGO

l Monograml Insignial Embleml Signl Symboll Crestl Mascot

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EXAMPLE OF HEADING

Business Name & Logo FUIEMS

All Contact Address

New LalazarRawalpindi Cantt.Email: abc@fuimcs.edu.pkURL: www.fuiems.comPhone: 051 34526654Fax: 051-11223344

October 18, 2010

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INSIDE ADDRESS

l Name of addressee with titlel Address of Receiver

Example:Mr. A. W. Raja,General Manager,ABC Corporation,P.O. Box 1022Islamabad.

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Salutation and Complimentary Close

Salutation(Opening Greeting)

Comp. Close (Signing off)

Context

Dear Sir/Madam/Sirs

(Name not used)

Yours faithfully,

Formal SituationsRecipient not personally knownRecipient senior in years, position

Dear Dr/Mr/Mrs/Miss

Raja,Dear ColleagueDear Customer

Yours sincerely,

Friendly (or would-be friendly, e.g. for selling or conciliatory letters).Established relationships.Implied relationships.

Dear Javed/ sadiaMy dear Javed /

sadiaetc.

Yours,Yours

sincerely,Kind regards.Best wishes.Affectionately,

Close, informal relationships.More personal.

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BODY

Semi-block Paragraph

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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BODY

Block Paragraph

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE

l Yours sincerely, Sincerelyl Sincerely yours,l Yours faithfully,l Faithfully yours,l Yours cordially, Cordiallyl Cordially yours,l Yours truly,l Truly yours,

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Example of Complimentary Close

Cordially yours,

Your’s Sincerely

Yours sincerely, √

Signature Area

SignNameDesignation

Example: __________________Saleem AzmatMarketing Manager

Signature Area• Sign• Name• Designation

Example: __________________Saleem AzmatMarketing Manager

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NONESENTIAL PARTS

1. Addressee notation2. Reference number3. Mailing Notation4. Reference initial5. Attention Line6. Subject Line7. Enclosure8. Copy Notation9. Post-script10.Second-Page Heading

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1. Addressee notation

Addressee notation is written to make the readership of the letter restricted. It is written two lines above inside address. It is written in capital letters.

Ways:CONFIDENTIALPERSONALPLEASE FORWARD

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2. Reference number

Reference Number: (Account No., File No., Case No.)

This in to give any number to business letter e.g. Ref. No.: FUIEMS/Exams/ F09/09. It helps to search for a particular business letter.

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3. Mailing Notation

Whenever letter is sent by special / extra ordinary means such as Special Delivery, Certified, or Registered Mail then we write mailing notation. A small caption (By Redg. Post, By UMS, By TCS, By Hand etc.) on top of letter, two spaces below the date line, double space before the inside address or below the last notation, is made to give importance to letter so reader realize it.

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4. Reference Initial

Sincerely,

Signature

Umar TalalManagerUT/sn orUT:sn orUT:SN

Sometimes the writer and the signer of a letter are different people. At least the file copy of a letter should bear both their initials and as well as the typist’s.

Example:

UT/sn/mak (signer, writer, typist)

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5. Attention Line

When you want to direct a letter to specific person/department in an organization, you can use an attention line.Its placement is normally between the inside address and salutation with a blank line before and after it. Normally it is flushed with the left margin although it may be centered.Example: For the attention of: Mr. Raja

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6. Subject Line

Subject Line helps tell your reader at a glance what your letter is about. It also helps in filing. It may or may not include the word subject. It is normally placed on the second line below the salutation and centered. It may be capital and lowercase or just capital and also underlined.

Example:

Subject: Summer 2007 Sales Meeting

Subject: Summer 2007 Sales Meeting

Subject: Summer 2007 Sales Meeting

SUBJECT: SUMMER 2007 SALES MEETING

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7. Enclosure

The notation alerts the receiver to check for enclosure. It is usually typed a single or double space under the reference initial. It also reminds whoever prepares your envelope for mailing that something is to be enclosed. For an attachment that word may be typed in place of “enclosure”.Example:Enc. (or Encs, for more than one items)Enclosures 2 (two docs are enclosed)Enclosed: 1) CV

2) Attested copy of NIC 3) Attested Final Transcript

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8. Copy Notation

When you want persons other than the addressee to receive a copy of your letter, the names of these persons should be typed just below the reference initials or the enclosure notation whichever is last. Type “cc” before the copy notation names if you are sending them a carbon copy. Type “c,”, “pc,” or “copy” if it is a photocopy. Recipient’s address may be included after their names.When you do not want the addressee to know that other persons are getting a copy of the letter, type “bc” (blind copy) or “bpc” ( blind photocopy) and the recipients’ names on the copies only.

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9. Post-script

If you forget to write any thing in body of the letter, or if you want to emphasize or stress upon a point already in your letter or if you want to include a brief personal message (greetings) unrelated to the letter, a postscript, typed or handwritten (with or without “P.S.,” “PS,” or “PS:”) can be written at the end. Example: P.S., Please also send the rate list.

PS, Eid Mubarik PS: Mary Christmas and Happy New Year

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10. Second-Page Heading

If the letter is long and an additional page is required, a second page heading is used. The name of the receiving person or organization, page number, and date are included in the second page heading, however reference number can also be included. Two line are left empty after the second page heading and then the body is written.

Example:Mr. SharikOctober 18, 2010Page 2

OR

Mr. Sharik, October 18, 2010, page 2

Mr. Sharik Ahmed -2- March 10, 2010

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PUNCTUATION

PUNCTUATION

OPEN CLOSED MIXED/STANDARD

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PUNCTUATION

l Punctuation Style• Open Punctuation

• No line of letter part, except the body, has any punctuation at the end unless an abbreviation requires a period.

• Mixed / Standard Punctuation • In mixed punctuation a colon follows the salutation; a

commas follows the complimentary close.• Closed Punctuation

• In closed punctuation a comma follows the salutation; a commas follows the complimentary close. British and Asian writers use closed punctuation

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FORMATS

SEMI BLOCKMODIFIED BLOCK

BLOCK

FULL-BLOCK

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FORMATS

l Semi-Block Letter in which indented paragraphs are used. It is the

oldest and traditional way of writing a business letter.l Block

The date, complimentary close and the signature section begins at the horizontal centre of the page or are placed so that they end near the right-hand margin. Attention and subject lines may be indented, centered, or begin at the left margin where all other parts begins. This letter style is used often and is attractive on the page.

l Full-Block Every line begins at the left margin. This is a common

format because it is quick and easy to set-up. It is most popular format for writing business letter.

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FORMATS

FORMAT PARAGRAPH PUNCTUATION

Semi-block Semi-Blocked Closed

Block Blocked Mixed

Full-blocked Blocked Open

SEMI BLOCK LETTER WITH

CLOSE PUNCTION

SEMI-BLOCKED WITH CLOSED PUNCTUATION

TBG Torch Bearers Group, Foundation University, New Lalazar, Rawalpindi. Phone No. 051 5564321 E-mail: fuimcs@fuimcs.edu.pk

Ref. No. CS/BBA/FUIMCS/04/01 May 15, 2005 Chacha Stationary Store, By Regd. Post 123 Royal Lane, Mammon Abad, Lahore.

Attention: Mr. Sulman Hanfi, Sales manager. Dear Sir,

Purchase of 20 Calculators.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

---------------------------------------------------------------.

Yours sincerely,

Encl. Three Noor Ahmed . Manager.

c.c. Mr. Ahmed Salman. A.M./b.k. Mktg. Manager. Shahjee Enterprises.

444-A Johar Town 2, Lahore

P.S. Eid Mubarak.

BLOCKWITH

MIXED PUNCTION

BLOCKED WITH STANDARD/MIXED PUNCTUATION

TBG Torch Bearers Group Foundation University New Lalazar Rawalpindi Phone No. 051 5564321 E-mail fuimcs@fuimcs.edu.pk

Ref. No. CS/BBA/FUIMCS/04/01 May 15, 2005 Chacha Stationary Store By TCS 123 Royal Lane Mammon Abad Lahore

Attention Miss Fatima Noor Principal Dear Madam:

Business Seminar on Product Marketing

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------.

Yours sincerely,

Encl. Three Anum Saleem, Manager.

c.c. Ministry of Education A.M./b.k. Islamabad

P.S. Eid Mubarak

FULL BLOCK WITH

OPEN PUNCTION

FULL-BLOCK WITH OPEN PUNCTUATION

F U I M C S

Foundation University New Lalazar Rawalpindi Cantt. Phone No. 051 5564321 E-mail fuimcs@fuimcs.edu.pk Ref. No. CS/BBA/FUIMCS/04/01 May 15, 2005 XYZ Traders P.O.Box No. 786 Lahore By UMS Attention Mr. Saeed Khan Mktg. Manager Dear Sir Purchase of Stationary Items ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------. Yours sincerely Noor Ahmed Manager A.M./b.k. Encl. Two c.c. Ms. Huma Khan H.R. Manager ABC & Sons Roohi Plaza, Machine Chowk Jhelum P.S. Eid Mubarik

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Envelopes

The quality of the envelope is just as important for first impression as the quality of the stationery. In fact, letterhead and envelopes should be of the same paper stock, have the same color ink, and be imprinted with the same address and logo. Most envelopes used by businesses are No. 10 envelopes (9 ½ inches long) which are sized to contain an 8 ½ -by-11-inches piece of paper folded in third. Some occasions call for a smaller, No. 6 ¾, envelope or for envelopes proportional to fit special stationery.

Next slides show the two most common sizes.

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Addressing the envelope

No matter what size the envelop, the address is always single spaced and in block form – with all lines aligned on the left. The address on the envelope is in the same style as the inside address and present the same information. The order to follow is from the smallest division to the largest:

Name and title of recipientName of department Name of organizationName of buildingStreet address, office number, P.O. Box numberCity, state/province and zip/postal codeName of country (if the letter is being sent abroad)

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To: ________________________

From: _____________________

Date: ______________________

Subject: ____________________

Date________

To: _____________________

From: ___________________

Subject: _________________

Date: ______________________

Subject: ____________________

To: ________________________

From: ______________________

To:________________________ Date:__________________________

From:______________________ Subject:________________________

MEMORANDUM (Internal Letter) General Format