Writing Letters Technical Letters Instructor Madiha Neelam 1

Writing Letters Technical Letters Instructor: Madiha Neelam 1

The Importance of Letters Represent your company’s public image and your competence More personal than a report, yet more formal than memos or e-mail More permanent than e-mail Constitute an official legal record of an agreement 2

Writing Effective Letters Analyze Your Audience: Have a clear sense of your purpose and theirs Select the best communication strategy Draft, revise, and edit your letter 3

Letter Components Essential Components Writer’s Address Date Inside Address Salutation Letter Body Complimentary Close Signed Name Typed Name Optional Components Subject Line New Page Notations Enclosure Notation Copy Notation 4

ESSENTIAL COMPONENTS OF A LETTER 5

Personal Address Street address City State Company Address Company’s name Street address City State 6

Full Calendar Date May 31, 2009 31 May 2009 2 spaces 7

Address of the reader Reader’s Name Reader’s Title Company Name Company Street Address Company City Company State 2 spaces 8

IF you know the reader’s name, salutation will be First / Last Name Followed by Colon For example Dear Mr. Smith: Dear Ms. Jones: Dear Miss / Mrs. Jones: Dear Chris Evans: OTHERWISE Use title Dear Vice President: Use department’s name Accounting Department: 2 spaces 9

Includes Introductory Paragraph Discussion Paragraph Concluding Paragraph 2 spaces below salutation 2 spaces b/w paragraphs 10

Place a comma after complimentary close Preferred close is Sincerely, 2 spaces below body 11

Sign your name legibly 12

Type your name Mention your title (Optional) 2 spaces below complimentary close 13

OPTIONAL COMPONENTS OF A LETTER 14

Must have a topic & focus Can be used instead of salutation All CAPS 2 spaces below inside address 15

Enclose information as Enc. ; OR Enclosures(2); OR Enclosure: August Report 2 spaces below writer’s and typist’s initials 16

For a copy of letter, write cc (complimentary copy) pc (photocopy) For copies sent to other readers, write pc: Reader Ma, e 2 spaces below enclosure notation 17

Letter Formats Full-block format All text typed on left margin Spaces between paragraphs Simplified format Same as full block format except No Salutations Subject Line introduced No Complimentary Close 18

Full Block Format 19

Simplified Format 20

Classifications of business letters Positive Customer relations letters responding favorably to a writer’s request or complaint Sales letters promoting a product Neutral Letters requesting information about a product or service, placing an order, or responding to some action or question Negative Customer relations letters refusing a request, saying no to an adjustment, etc. 21

Types of Letters Letters of Inquiry Sales Letters Good-News Letters Bad-News Letters Complaint Letters Adjustment Letters Cover Letters 22

LETTERS OF INQUIRY 23

Inquiry Letter You require information about any matter of interest to you It must Contain an effective technical writing style Involve audience through pronoun usage Avoid grammatical errors Must contain the essential letter components 24

Components of Inquiry Letter Body Introduction Tell your reader why are you writing Inform reader about subject matter What are you writing about? OR What info do you want? 25

Components of Inquiry Letter Body Discussion Specify your needs Ask precise questions List specific topic of inquiry Quantify your questions 26

Components of Inquiry Letter Body Conclusion Must be precise Mention when do you want a response Provide a specific date for response Explain why do you want response by the given date 27

References Retrieved from: http: //www. henleycov. ac. uk/public/xfiles/general/progarea/Over seas/LCCI/Level 2/Letter/Lesson 1. doc http: //www. 4 hb. com/letters/index. html 28