ENGLISH 106

Business Correspondence
Business correspondence...

is the communication or exchange of information in a written format for the process of business activities

can take place between organizations, within organizations or between the customers and the organization

is generally of widely accepted formats that are followed universally

General Principles in Letter Writing
Letter writing is part and parcel of an individual's life. Engineers, technicians, scientists, nurses, doctors, and
chemists are not excluded. They have to write letters when applying for jobs, when giving recommendations, when selling
or ordering a merchandise, when giving reports and many other instances.
There are eight principles in writing letters. Laster and Picket (1981) enumerated them as follows:
1. Be brief and go directly to the point
2. Be courteous
3. Be businesslike
4. Be accurate
5. Be clean and neat
6. Be complete and thorough
7. Be self-critical
8. Be prompt

The Four C's of Effective Business Letter

The criteria for effective business letters are better remembered as four C's: COMPLETENESS, CONCISENESS,
CLARITY, and COURTESY.

A. COMPLETENESS - means the inclusion of all necessary details to avoid writing other letters
to ask for the missing

information. Details in the letter of invitation should include:

1.) Date and time of the seminar.
2.) Room and building (venue) where the seminar is to be held.
3.) Expected audience - approximate number and age range.
4.) Specific topic to be covered by the speaker/theme of the
seminar.
5.) Provision for open forum.
6.) Complete name, position, and address of the writer.
For example :
The president of the club has to invite a guest speaker for a seminar on
computer technology on the 3rd day of December, 2013.

B. CONCISENESS - is to convey the message in as few words as possible without sacrificing

the meaning. Economy of words is the rule in business. Unnecessary words and expressions
should be omitted and hackneyed expressions avoided like: "I received your letter of the 10th
instant," or "Hoping for your continued patronage, I beg to remain...", "Enclosed please find," "we
acknowledge receipt of your kind letter." These are stereotyped expressions that have lost their
impact. They are also wordy and can be said simply and directly.
Examples of needless words and ideas to be omitted:
Please repeat the sentence again (5 words)
Please repeat the sentence. (4 words)
You will like the new style and will be very much pleased with it. (14 words)
You will be very much pleased with the new style. (10 words)
Accident due to excessive speed often end fatally for those involved. (11 words)
Accidents due to excessive speed often end fatally. (8 words)

C. CLARITY - expresses one's ideas or thoughts clearly and accurately demands a mastery of
sentence structure and the meaning of words. Words with the same sound (homonyms) but with
different meanings confuse young writers. Advice(noun) should not be confused with advise(verb);
it's (contraction of it is) with its (possessive form); their (possessive form) with there(adverb) and
they're(contraction of they are); your with you're (contraction of you are); piece (a portion or part)
with peace(absence of war)
The rule is precision in the use of words. Already has a different meaning from all ready;

altogether from all together; lose from loose or from loss; continual from continuous; farther from
further.
Using concrete nouns instead of abstract terms, strong verbs instead of weak verbs, helps in
conveying ideas clearly.
Examples:
INCORRECT : " The various concerns of our office precluded our shipment of your goods
earlier."
CORRECT : " The flooding of our warehouse and the absence of many of our workers
D.
COURTESY
- How
many customers have been lost to a company because of a discourteous
prevented
the early
shipment
of your order."
employee! A smile, a courteous
greetings, offers of assistance, can help win a contract.
Letters, too, can gain customers, earn their good will, and retain their patronage. The usual
"Please do your work faster" can be expressed in a more concrete way : "Please type these
expressions of courtesy like "Will you please" or "Thank you" or "Would you like to" are like magnets
letters in fifteen minutes"
that attract.
or "Deliver this message to Mr. Cinco before 9 o'clock this morning."
Another way of showing courtesy is by using the you point of view in your letters. The you
attitude means considering the interest, feelings, and background of the reader.
Avoiding the use of negative statements like "Your letter arrived late; hence we could not
ship your order earlier" helps create good will. A courteous way would be to write: "We attended to
your order on the day we received your letter. Did you receive it on time?"

Expressions that Should be Avoided in Writing Business Letter

1. Use of cliches or hackneyed phrases is a great sin in letter writing. Cliches are expressions that have lost their
impact through overuse.
They are trite expressions that have become worn out through old age and hard service
examples :
Last but not least
easier said than done
At this point in time
work like a dog
First and foremost
face the music
In this day and age
it was better late than never
2. Slang or too casual sounding expressions in business letters should be avoided
examples :
pull him together
beef up
shell out
sketchy
chap
hoot
chill out
cool
3. Avoid imprecise (vague) or informal words. Use formal expressions
examples :
Imprecise: thing, stuf
Precise : reasons, causes, aspects, concerns
INFORMAL

FORMAL

good
just like

magnificent
for example

flunking
asap

failing
as soon as possible

btw

by the way

cause

because

cuz

cousin

bc

busy
Below is a list of some of the
most overworked expressions that
are often times found in business letters, reports, and academic papers.
anticipating your reply
each and every
in due time
at the earliest possible
time
are of the opinion
enclosed herewith
as regards
let me
point out
for your information
first and foremost
at the present
in this connection
for all intents and purposes
along this line
at hand
for your files
introduction

for the purpose

as of this writing

majority of
need no

for your information

pleasure
hereby advise
remind you
I take pleasure
in the amount of
consideration

herewith

all in all

I note with

heartfelt gratitude

may I suggest

permit us to

in due course
as per

in terms of
regarding the matter
large number of
take into

CORRECT LETTER LAY-OUT

A letter must be pleasing in appearance and correct in form. The appearance of a letter depends upon many things.
First is the color and quality of the paper used, the way the letter is arranged on the page, its form, the typing which
should be free from errors and mistakes. All these create a favorable first impression.
PAPER
A white bond paper is usually used in writing letters. The paper should be of good quality and unruled. The better
the quality, the more effective the impression. It should also be of standard size. Many companies, institutions or
individuals use the 8 1/2 x 11 inches bond paper. The half sheet is usually 8 1/2 x 5 1/2 while the executive size is 7 1/4
x 10 1/2.
Using colored paper in writing letters is also acceptable. Some companies or organizations use paper with delicate
colors such as tints of gray, brown, blue or green.
The envelop should also match the quality and the color of the paper used.

THE LETTERHEAD

It is placed at the uppermost part of the paper (or sometime, at the bottom) where one will find the firm's or
individual's name, the address, telephone number and fax number. Some firms also put their logos as well as the services
they offer or the products they sell.

ESSENTIAL PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

1. HEADING - must give the full address of the writer and the date of the letter. If there is a letterhead, the date may be
written either under the
letterhead or flushed with the right margin.
2. INSIDE ADDRESS - is the address of the person or organization for whom the letter is written. If the writer wants the
letter to go to a particular
person in the organization, he may use either of two forms:
Examples:
Bro. Andrew Gonzales, President
The Linguistic Society of the Philippines
Bro. Andrew
Gonzales
Linguistic Society of the Philippines
OR
De La Salle University
OR
President,
Linguistic Society of the Philippines
Dela Salle University
Taft Avenue, Manila
De La Salle
University
Taft Avenue, Manila
Attention : Bro. Andrew Gonzales, President
Taft Avenue, Manila
3. SALUTATION - is also called as greeting. It should be consistent with the tone of the letter, the first line of the inside
address and the complimentary
close. It is written flushed with the left margin two spaces below the inside address and is always followed by a
colon.
The salutation of a letter addressed to business firm or an organization is :
Dear Sir:
Dear Madam:
Gentlemen:
In some instances, a business letter is addressed to a company or a department of a company but marked for the
attention of particular person. In
such letters the "attention line" is placed two lines above the salutation thus:
_____________________
_____________________

_____________
The Linguistic Society of the Philippines
De La Salle University
Taft Avenue, Manila
Attention : Bro. Andrew Gonzales, President
Gentlemen:

4. BODY - the body of the letter should follow the principles of good writing. Typewritten business letters are usually
single-spaced with a double
spacing between paragraphs. The subject matter should be well-organized and its tone should be taken and direct.
5.COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE - the complimentary close should be consistent with the tone of the letter and with the
salutations. Ordinary business

letters addressed to strangers beginning either the usual Dear Sir, and others, should close with Yours truly,
Yours very truly or Very truly yours.
Professional letters or business letters addressed to an individual with such an opening a Dear Mr. Sardonas
may well be closed with the
more friendly Yours sincerely, Sincerely yours, Cordially yours.
6. SIGNATURE - this should be directly below the complimentary close. In a typewritten letter, the name may be
typewritten beneath the signature. A
married woman should sign her name and not her husband's name. Her status is indicated by the use of
parentheses as ...
Example :
(Mrs.) Carmelita Castro-Lopez

MARGIN AND SPACING

A letter should appear like a beautifully framed picture with margins in proportion to the length of the letter.
According to Laster and Pickett (1981) the margin at the top and bottom should be 1 1/2 inch while the margin at the
sides should be 1 inch. Short letters should be proportionally centered on the page.
In typing the letter, the single space is used within the parts of the letter while the double space is used between
paragraphs and between the parts of the letter.

BUSINESS WRITING FORMATS

A. Full Blocked Format
This is considered the very modern style because of the ease in typing the letter. Every part of the letter is written
at the left-hand margin including the date, the complimentary close and the signature. Each new line of the paragraph is
blocked and is therefore not indented. To indicate paragraphs, leave a line of space in between the paragraphs.
B. Modified Full Blocked Format
This is a modification of the block format in the sense that all the paragraphs of the body are likewise not
indented. However, the dateline, complimentary close, signature and signatory's designation line instead of being flushed
to the left margin are flush aligned to the right margin.
C. Semi-Blocked Format
This format is like the modified blocked format. However, the body paragraphs are indented. This style is
considered conservative. It is almost the same as the blocked style except that every line of the paragraph is indented
five or ten spaces. The attention and subject lines are centered.
D. Blocked Format
This is the most common style in use today. The date, the complimentary close and the signature are written at
the right-hand margin. The attention and subject lines may be indented. Every line of the body starts at the left margin
and is not indented.
E. INDENTED FORMAT
This style is considered ultraconservative. It is the oldest letter arrangement. The indented style is timeconsuming because of the many indentions that the writer has to make: every line of the inside address is indented five
spaces; every new paragraph is also indented five spaces; the closing section which includes the complimentary close,
the signature and the writer's identification is also indented five spaces. Another distinctive trait found in this style is the
use of the closed punctuation. The opening and the closing sections end with a period. This include the date, the inside
address, the writer's identification, the reference initials and other optional parts like the enclosure and the carbon copy
notations.
FORMAT ILLUSTRATIONS:
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Lyceum of the Philippines
Intramuros, Manila

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Lyceum of the Philippines
Intramuros, Manila

July 20, 2013

July 20, 2013

Mr. Federico G. Soler
President
Telegreenland Communications
980 Paseo de Roxas
Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Dear Mr. Soler:

Dear Mr. Soler:

____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
________

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
___________________________________

____________________________________________________
____________________________________________________
________

_____________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________
_________

_____________________________________________
_________________________________________

_____________________________________________
___________.

Yours sincerely,

July 20, 2013

Mr. Federico G. Soler
President
Telegreenland Communications
980 Paseo de Roxas
Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Mr. Federico G. Soler

President
Telegreenland Communications
980 Paseo de Roxas
Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Dear Mr. Soler:

__________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
__________________________________________
_______________________________________________
_______________________________________________
__________________________________________
_______________________________________________

Yours
sincerely,

HENRY CRUZ
Property Officer

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Lyceum of the Philippines
Intramuros, Manila

Yours
sincerely,

HENRY
CRUZ

Property

HENRY
CRUZ

Property

A. FULL BLOCKED FORMAT

C. SEMI-BLOCKED FORMAT

B. MODIFIED FULL BLOCKED FORMAT

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Lyceum of the Philippines
Intramuros, Manila

COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES

Lyceum of the Philippines
Intramuros, Manila

July 20, 2013

July 20, 2013

Telegreenland Communications
980 Paseo de Roxas
Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Mr. Federico G. Soler

President
Telegreenland Communications
980 Paseo de Roxas
Ayala Avenue, Makati City

Attention: Mr. Gonzalo Monteverde

Gentlemen:
Subject : Complaint from an irate caller
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
________________________BODY_____________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
________________________________________.
Yours sincerely,

Dear Miss Rosal:

________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________

HENRY CRUZ
Property Officer

Yours sincerely,

HENRY CRUZ
Property

Officer

The Parts of a Business Letter

A business letter has the following main parts:
1. letterhead
2. date
3. inside address
4. salutation
5. message
6. complimentary close
7. signature
8. reference initials
The optional parts are:
1. attention line
2. subject line
3. enclosure notation

4. carbon copy notation

5. blind carbon copy notation
6. postscript