TECHNICAL & BUSINESS WRIT

INSTRUCTOR: SEHAR R MIR

HU-212
BUSINESS LETTERS
INFORMATION AND ACTION REQUEST
• Many business message are written to request information or
action.
• Specific subject of each inquiry may differ, the similarity of
purpose in routine requests enables writers to use the
following writing plan.

WRTING PLAN FOR AN INFORMATION OR ACTION REQUEST

Opening: ask the most important question first or express a polite
command.
Body: explain the request logically and courteously. Ask other
questions if necessary.
Closing: request a specific action with an end date, if appropriate,
and show appreciation.
OPENING DIRECTLY
• The most emphatic positions in a letter are opening and closing.
Readers tend to look at them first. The writer, then, should
capitalize on this tendency by putting the most significant
statement first.
• If several questions must be asked, you can ask the most
important question at first.
ORDER REQUESTS

• Customers generally order merchandise by telephone,

catalogue order form or web page.
• Sometimes, though, you may not have the above details,
other times you wish to have a written record of the date
and content of your order.
• When you must write to order merchandise, use the
direct strategy, beginning with the main idea.
WRITING PLAN FOR AN ORDER
REQUEST
• Opening: authorize purchase and suggest method of
shipping
• Body: list items vertically; provide quantity, order
number, description, and unit price; and show total price
of order.
• Closing: request shipment by a specific date, tell method
of payment and express appreciation.
Business Letter Organization
• Even a short business letter should contain at least three
paragraphs: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Introduction:
Use the first paragraph to explain your purpose. Keep your
audience in mind.

If the letter is long, you may also want to provide a preview of the
letter that what it contains.
The preview can take the form of a single sentence (“This letter
describes the background of our customer service training program,
followed by recommendations to improve it in the future”), a
numbered or bulleted list, or even a full table of contents for a long,
detailed letter.
Body
• The body is the main content of your letter.

• If the letter is long, consider using headings to break up the

various points or topics. The body should be organized into
one or more paragraphs, each expressing one main idea or
point.
Conclusion

• The conclusion of a business letter is all about action and

results. What do you want the reader to do?

• Your closing should address topics or information you’ve

already covered. Don’t introduce new information in the
closing of your business letter—this will just distract your
reader from the points you’ve already made.
STANDARD ELEMENTS OF A BUSINESS
LETTER

• Sender address/Letterhead
• Date
• Inside Address
• Salutation
• Body
• Closing
• Signature
• Enclosure (if applicable)
Sender’s Address: First page of letter is typed on letterhead
stationery.
• If you are not using letterhead, include the sender's address
at the top of the letter.
• Do not write the sender's name or title, as it is included in the
letter's closing. Include only the building area/street address,
city, and zip code.

Pakistan Herald Publications (pvt) Ltd.

Haroon House
Dr Ziauddin Ahmed Road
Karachi 74200
 Date:
The date indicates when you composed the letter.
• Type it below either your stationery's letterhead or the typed sender's
address.
• The UK, the date format is day-month-year:
1 July 2014

• In the US, the date format is month-day-year:

July 1, 2014

Example:
Acme Explosives, Inc.
100-B Dry Gulch Alley
Lonesome Coyote, AZ 85789

July 14, 1997

 Inside Address:
• The inside address is the recipient's address. It includes your reader’s name,
title, and address typed at the left margin.
• Letter should be addressed to a specific person, if possible. Include a courtesy
title (i.e., Mr., Mrs., Miss, Ms., Dr.). Only omit the title if you do not know the
person’s gender.
• Follow a woman's preference in being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms. If you are
unsure of a woman's preference in being addressed, use Ms

Ms. Anna Brown

Chair
Department of Linguistics
Right State University
1415 University Drive
Felicity, OH 45434
• It’s always best to address a business letter to a specific
individual, but if you don’t know this information it is
acceptable to address the letter to a title (Sales Manager,
Shop Supervisor, Division Director, etc.)

Human Resources Director

Acme Corporation
246 Looney Tunes Lane
Hollywood, CA 90078
• When you need to address more than one person in accompany or institute, list
their names in alphabetical order on separate lines.

MS. Joan Sample

Mr. Norm Hartwell

• If the letter is addressed to a department within a company, but not to any

particular individual, you would place the company name on the first line and the
department in second.

Acme Corporation
Customer Relations
414 North State Street
Hollywood, CA 90078
Salutation:
• Use a colon (:) after the salutation in a business letter. Use the
recipient’s Sir name. (Dear Ms. Harsha:)

• If you don’t know the recipient’s gender or title, it is

appropriate to address them by first and last name
(Dear Chris Wilson:)

• If you don’t know the recipient’s name and gender, you can use
a title
(Dear Sales Manager:)
or a generic salutation (To Whom It May Concern:)
 Closing

• Sincerely, or Sincerely yours, are appropriate in most situations. If the complimentary

close is two or more words, capitalize only the first word.
• leave four lines between the closing and the sender's name for a signature. If a colon
follows the salutation, a comma should follow the closing; otherwise, there is no
punctuation after the closing.
• Women may indicate how they wish to be addressed by placing Miss, Mrs., Ms. or
similar title in parentheses before their name.
• For signature, use blue or black ink.

Example:
Sincerely,
(Signature goes here)
(Mrs.) Elisabeth Jackson
Assistant Manager
Enclosures

If you have enclosed any documents along with the letter, such
as a resume, you indicate this simply by typing Enclosures one
line below the closing.
As an option, you may list the name of each document you are
including in the envelope. For instance, if you have included
many documents and need to ensure that the recipient is
aware of each document, it may be a good idea to list the
names.
Typist initials

Typist initials are used to indicate the person who typed

the letter. If you typed the letter yourself, omit the typist
initials.

Courtesy Copies (formerly known as Carbon Copies):

Include the name and title (if known) of individuals

receiving courtesy copies of the letter.
Font

• Important factor in the readability of a letter is the font. The

generally accepted font is Times New Roman, size 12,
although other fonts such as Arial may be used. When
choosing a font, always consider your audience.

Punctuation

• Punctuation after the salutation and closing - use a colon (:)

after the salutation and a comma (,) after the closing.
 Tips for Writing High Impact Letters

 Letters should not exceed one page in length.

 Your letters must be error-free. Be sure to proof-read each letter for spelling,
punctuation and grammatical errors.

 All letters should be typed and printed on a laser-jet printer. Hand-written

letters or notes are unacceptable. Neatness counts and so does attention to
detail.

 If you are concerned about damage to your documents, you may want to use a
full size manila envelope for mailing. Remember that a professional
appearance is important. Be sure to type the return and mailing address
directly onto the envelope.

 In some cases you may be sending your documents to employers by e-mail. Be

certain that you keep this correspondence professional in manner and follow
the same guidelines provided regarding letter content and structure.
FORMALITY
Better
LETTER FORMATS:

FULL BLOCK
MODIFIED BLOCK
SEMI-BLOCK
• Block format

• This is the most common layout of a business letter. All parts of the
letter are left-justified. The main advantage here will be a fuss-free
and efficient preparation of the letter.
• It has a neat and simple appearance.
• Paragraphs are separated by a double line space.
Modified Block
• A traditional format used for business letters.
• The date, complimentary closing and signature are aligned towards the right of
the centre of the page. Paragraphs begin from the left margin. It gives a more
balanced feel and creates a visually attractive layout as the alignment of the three
parts mentioned above covers what would otherwise have been blank spaces
Semi-block
• The final, and least used, style is semi-block. It is much like the
modified block style except that each paragraph is indented
instead of left justified.
• This format is more conventional for informal personal letters in
which we want to exude a warm, relaxed and friendly
correspondence style.
• Write a letter of inquiry in full block, keeping in mind the
following letter writing case.

Your company (Maloney Insurance Company) is arranging a

conference on business ethics in September. You must select the
location on June, 20.
You consider Lakeview Conference Centre as a possible site.
You would like information about what kind of meeting rooms do
they have and at what cost?
Manager, Nancy Harsha, Lakeview Conference Centre, 414 North
State Street, Hollywood, CA 90078