Business correspondence is the communication or exchange of information in a written format for the process of business activities. Business correspondence can take place between organizations, within organizations or between the customers and the organization. The correspondence is generally of widely accepted formats that are followed universally.[1]

AnswerA business correspondence is a written communication between two business entities. It is a means through which views, ideas and information are formally communicated as part of business-oriented activities. It is aimed at improving the business relationship between two parties.

IMPORTANCE: Business correspondence is communication by businesses exchanging letters. There are around fifteen important facts about business correspondence. Some of the important facts are business letters are generally printed on 8 1/2 by 11 inch paper and are best kept to one page, avoid jargon, abbreviations, wordiness, and abstracts in business letters, and one of the main types of business letters includes requests. Another fact is that the overall tone and formality of the business letter depends on the relationship between the parties.

Need for written communication[edit]

1. Maintaining a proper relationship.2. Serves as evidence.3. Create and maintain goodwill.4. Inexpensive and convenient.5. Formal communication.6. Independent of interpersonal skills.[2]

Types of Business correspondence[edit]

Business letters[edit]

Business letters are the most formal method of communication following specific formats. They are addressed to a particular person or organization. A good business letter follows the seven C's ofcommunication. The different types of business letters used based on their context are as follows,

1. Letters of enquiry2. Letters of claim/complaints3. Letters of application4. Letters of approval/dismissal5. Letters of recommendations6. Letters of sales.

Official letters can be handwritten or printed. Modernisation has led to the usage of new means of business correspondence such as E-mail and Fax.[3]

E-mail[edit]

Email is the least formal method of business communication.It is the most widely used method of written communication usually done in a conversational style.

Memorandum[edit]

Memorandum is a document used for internal communication within an organization.Memo may be drafted by management and addressed to other employees.

Common Components and FormatsThe following is concerned with the mechanical and physical details of business letters. (All of the components discussed in the following are illustrated in Figure 1-1.)

Heading. The heading contains the writer's address and the date of the letter. The writer's name is not included and only a date is needed in headings on letterhead stationery.

Inside address. The inside address shows the name and address of the recipient of the letter. This information helps prevent confusion. Also, if the recipient has moved, the inside address helps to determine what to do with the letter. In the inside address, include the appropriate title of respect of the recipient; and copy the name of the company exactly as that company writes it. When you do have the names of individuals, remember to address them appropriately: Mrs., Ms., Mr., Dr., and so on. If you are not sure what is correct for an individual, try to find out how that individual signs letters or consult the forms-of-address section in a dictionary.

Salutation. The salutation directly addresses the recipient of the letter and is followed by a colon (except when a friendly, familiar, sociable tone is intended, in which case a comma is used). Notice that in the simplified letter format, the salutation line is eliminated altogether. If you don't know whether the recipient is a man or woman, the traditional practice has been to write "Dear Sir" or "Dear Sirs" — but that's sexist! To avoid this problem, salutations such as "Dear Sir or Madame," "Dear Ladies and Gentlemen," "Dear Friends," or "Dear People" have been tried — but without much general acceptance. Deleting the salutation line altogether or inserting "To Whom It May Concern" in its place, is not ordinarily a good solution either — it's impersonal.

PABLO, OMIBERTO JR. P. (ENG 106)

The best solution is to make a quick, anonymous phone call to the organization and ask for a name; Or, address the salutation to a department name, committee name, or a position name: "Dear Personnel Department," "Dear Recruitment Committee," "Dear Chairperson," "Dear Director of Financial Aid," for example.

Figure 1-1. Standard components of a business letter. In this example, the block letter format is used.

Subject or reference line. As shown in the order letter, the subject line replaces the salutation or is included with it. The subject line announces the main business of the letter.

Body of the letter. The actual message of course is contained in the body of the letter, the paragraphs between the salutation and the complimentary close. Strategies for writing the body of the letter are discussed in the section on business-correspondence style.

Complimentary close. The "Sincerely yours" element of the business letter is called the complimentary close. Other common ones are "Sincerely yours," "Cordially," "Respectfully," or "Respectfully yours." You can design your own, but be careful not to create florid or wordy ones. Notice that only the first letter is capitalized, and it is always followed by a comma.

Signature block. Usually, you type your name four lines below the complimentary close, and sign your name in between. If you are a woman and want to make your marital status clear, use Miss, Ms., or Mrs. in parentheses before the typed version of your first name. Whenever possible, include your title or the name of the position you hold just below your name. For example, "Technical writing student," "Sophomore data processing major," or "Tarrant County Community College Student" are perfectly acceptable.

End notations. Just below the signature block are often several abbreviations or phrases that have important functions.

Initials. The initials in all capital letters in Figure 1-1 are those of the writer of the letter, and the ones in lower case letters just after the colon are those of the typist.

Enclosures. To make sure that the recipient knows that items accompany the letter in the same envelope, use such indications as "Enclosure," "Encl.," "Enclosures (2)." For example, if you send a resume and writing sample with your application letter, you'd do this: "Encl.: Resume and Writing Sample." If the enclosure is lost, the recipient will know.

Copies. If you send copies of a letter to others, indicate this fact among the end notations also. If, for example, you were upset by a local merchant's handling of your repair problems and were sending a copy of your letter to the Better Business Bureau, you'd write this: "cc: Better Business Bureau." If you plan to send a copy to your lawyer, write something like this: "cc: Mr. Raymond Mason, Attorney."

Following pages. If your letter is longer than one page, the heading at the top of subsequent pages can be handled in one of the following ways:

Examples of following-page header format.

If you use letterhead stationery, remember not to use it for subsequent pages. However, you must use blank paper of the same quality, weight, and texture as the letterhead paper (usually, letterhead stationery comes with matching blank paper).

TYPES OF WRITING

Traits of Effective Writing:Although the type of writing you will be doing is important, the following are certain traits that ALL good writing follow:

Stimulating Ideas Logical Organization Engaging Voice Original Word Choice Effective Sentence Style Correct, Accurate Copy

Types of Writing:

PABLO, OMIBERTO JR. P. (ENG 106)

Cause/effect essay - Clearly distinguishes between a cause and an effect. Establishes a clear thesis statement. Presents information in an effective order.

Comparision/contrast essay - Uses subjects that have enough in common to be compared and or contrasted. Serves a purpose-either to help readers make a decision or understand the subjects being compared and/or contrasted. Presents several important, parallel points of comparison/contrast. Arranges points in a logical organization.

Definition essay - Tells readers what term or concept is being defined. Presents a clear and precise basic definition. Uses examples to show what the writer means. Uses words and examples that readers will understand

Description essay - Creates a main impression-an overall effect, feeling, or image -about the topic. Uses concrete, specific details to support the main impression. Uses details that appeal to the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch

Narration essay - Includes specific details to make the incident come alive for your reader. Focuses on re-creating an incident that happened to you over a short period of time (usually an emotional experience). Conveys a particular mood (feeling) - do you want to surprise your readers, make them laugh, have them share in your sorrow or fear?

Persuasive essay - Takes a strong and definite position on an issue or advises a particular action. Gives logical reasons and supporting evidence to defend the position or recommend action. Considers opposing views. Has enthusiasm and energy from start to finish.

Process analysis essay - Either helps readers perform the steps themselves or helps them understand how something works. Presents the essential steps in a process. Explains steps in detail. Presents steps in logical order (usually time order - chronological)

5 TYPES OF WRITINGDid you know there are actually five different types of writing?  Good writers want to use these types as guidelines to fit the purpose of their writing.  Know what type of writing you are being asked to write and gear your style to fit the purpose.  It will make your writing better and soon you'll be a master writer!

Descriptive   Like the word says, you describe.  Use your senses to describe the people and places you are writing about.  What do you see, hear, smell taste and feel.  The more detail you can add the better your descriptive writing becomes.  Create a picture for readers through description so they can step into your story and be a part

of it.  This type of writing is frequently used and may be found in books as well as magazines and newspaper articles.

Compare and Contrast   This type of writing allows the writer to point out similarities and differences about topics, subjects or objects.  Compare means to identify how your topics are alike or similar.  You state what they have in common.  On the other hand, contrast means to identify what is different about your your topic.  When contrasting, you state what makes the topic, subject or object unique or one of a kind. In writing to compare and contrast, you include both the similarities and the differences into the one piece of writing so the reader can grasp the big picture.  In this type of writing, you might be asked to compare and contrast two animals you find in Africa.  

Expository   This is a fancy way of saying explain or inform.  So, this is writing that explains something.  You may be writing how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich if you are asked to write an Expository essay.  In Social Studies, you may be asked to inform readers of how a war began or about how pyramids ever came to be.  You are informing readers.  Like Descriptive writing, you see Expository writing in books, magazines, and newspaper articles.  

Narrative   This is the kind of writing where you get to tell a story.  Everyone loves to hear story, especially about themselves, which would be a Personal Narrative.  A story will use literary elements like characters, a setting, a plot and a theme.  From novels to screenplays to plays, they are all narratives because they tell a story.    

Persuasive   Has a friend ever tried to get you to change your mind about something?  Then, that person was trying to persuade you.  If you wrote out your conversation, that would have been Persuasive writing!  With Persuasive writing, a writer tries to change your mind or your point of view.   Using facts and opinions, the writer tries to get you to see things his/her way.  Politics overflows with writing and speeches by people trying to persuade others to their way of thinking.   Sometimes, in newspapers and  magazines, you see Persuasive writing in articles called editorials. 

4 Types of Writing Styles

PABLO, OMIBERTO JR. P. (ENG 106)

Narrative : Narrative writing is the type of writing that tells a  story. Though it’s most commonly used when your child is

asked to write a personal essay (along the lines of  What I Did to Celebrate the Holidays), this type of writing can also be used for fictional stories, plays or even plot summarizations of a story your child has read or intends to write. Narrative writing typically uses the first person (“I).

Descriptive : Descriptive writing is used to create a vivid picture of an idea, place or person. It is much like painting with words. It focuses on one subject and uses specific detail to describe that upon which your child is focused. For example, if your child is asked to write about his favorite ride at an amusement park, his writing will not only tell the name of the ride and what it looks like, but also describe the sensation of being on it and what that experience reminds him of.

Expository : Expository writing is to-the-point and factual. This category of writing includes definitions, instructions,  directions and other basic comparisons and clarifications. Expository writing is devoid of descriptive detail and opinion.

Persuasive : Persuasive writing is a more sophisticated type of writing to which your child will introduced around fourth grade. It can be thought of as a debate in writing. The idea is to express an opinion or to take a stance about something and then to support that opinion in a way that convinces the reader to see it the same way. Persuasive writing is often in essay form, contains an explanation of the other point of view and uses facts and/or statistics to disprove that view and support your child’s opinion.

PABLO, OMIBERTO JR. P. (ENG 106)