BASIC ELEMENTS • A business letter is composed of basic and miscellaneous parts. Its
basic elements (Menoy, 2009) are the following:
1. Heading—consists of the sender’s address and the date line (month, day, and
year);
2. Inside address—consists of the name of the addressee (recipient), his
designation, his company and its business address;
3. Salutation—serves as the welcome part of the letter;
4. Body of the letter—gives the details of the communication and consists of
the introduction (purpose), the body (discussion/elaboration), and the conclusion
(token of appreciation/call for action/building of goodwill);
5. Complimentary close/ending—serves as the farewell part of the letter.
6. Salutation
7. Signature—consists of the name of the signatory (sender) and his
designation.
Types of Business letters:
1. Inquiry Letters :the purpose of this letter is :Ask for information which includes : State clearly what information you are requesting and why Write specific, concise, to the point questions that are both easy to understand and easy to
answer Specify when you need the answers by Thank the reader
2. Special Request Letters : the purpose of this letter is : Make a special demand which includes State clearly who you are and why you are writing Convince the reader to help Show you are hard working Discuss your reason for the request Show you understand the situation and have done research Discuss why the person you are writing to is the best person to help Specify when you need the answers by
3. Sales Letters the purpose of this letter is purpose: to persuade the
readers to “buy” a product, service, idea, or point of view which includes
• Grab the reader’s attention
• Highlight the product’s appeal
• Show the product's use
• Conclude with a request for action (buy it!)
• Appeal to the reader with reader-centered issues (health, convenience,
service, saving money…)
4. Customer Relations Letters : the purpose of this letter is purpose :
establish and maintain good relationships with the customers
5. Claim Letters: the purpose of this letter is : Express a complaint and
request specific action
• Clearly describe product or service with necessary details
• Explain the problem with details
• Propose a fair, precise, and appropriate request/adjustment
• Present an explicit deadline
•
• Adjustment Letters: the purpose of this letter is : Respond
to claim letter with solution
• Work to reconcile the situation and restore the customer's trust
in your company
• “Be prompt, courteous, and decisive”
• Use a positive or neutral tone without being begrudging or
taking full blame
• Start with an apology and admit claim is justified
• Quickly present favorable news
Planning business letter
Successful or effective business letters are always planed. The
actual purpose (s) cannot be fulfilled without proper planning.
Efficient writers give emphasis on the planning of business
letters, because each business letter has a long term effect. The
steps in planning business letters are as follows:
1. Determination of objectives:
Business letters are written to serve specific objectives. Thus
before writing the letter the writer should determine-
i. What is the primary or basic reason for writing the letter and
ii. What are the secondary reasons (if any)
• A business letter without an objective is like ‘a ship without a compass.’
2. Evaluation of the reader’s position: One thing must be realized by the letter writer that he/she is not writing the letter for himself /herself. That is in writing letters the writer always need to be careful about the point: “This letter will be read by another person and his/her attitude and level of understanding are different from the writer”.
Communication experts termed this point as a ‘psychological technique’.
• To evaluate the reader’s position following points need to be considered: i. Collection of information from previous contacts with the reader ii. Cultural background of the reader iii. Religious background of the reader iv. Educational background of the reader v. Understanding level of the reader vi. Need of the reader vii. In case of reply to a letter the ‘tone’ of that letter must be considered.
• 3. Outline the contents:
It is the rough drafting of the letter. Before
writing the actual letter an outline enables a
writer to revise the whole thing and to check
the order of the letter.
These are the major steps of planning of
a business letter which need to be followed to
ensure effective writing.
Lay-out
Meaning
It includes:-
1. Physical form of the letter.
2. Arrangement of the parts of letter.
3. Display of the various items of information in the letter.
Lay-outs of the Business letter
• Fully Indented Style
• Semi-Indented Style
• Full Block Style
• Modified Block Style
• The Noma Simplified Style
Fully Indented style
• Oldest Style and Outdated.
• Addresses are in indented style
• Every paragraph begins with three to five spaces
away from left margin.
• Indention causes the letter to look uneven.
• Takes more time to type due to indenting.
Company’s Address Phone No.
Date
Heading-Name of the Company
Inside Name
Address
Salutation
Subject
Body of the Letter
Complimentary Close
Signature & Designation
Semi-Indented Style
• Also called semi block form.
• Inside address in block form
• Beginning of every paragraph is indented
• Date and complimentary close are on right side
• Salutation and complimentary close are followed by comma in traditional style
Heading-Name & Address of the Company
Date
Inside Name
Salutation
Subject
Body of the Letter
Complimentary Close
Signature & Designation
Address
Full Block Style
• Modern Style.
• No indention from the left margin.
• Address has no punctuation at the end of the line.
• Salutation and complimentary close do not have comma at the end.
• Every line begins at the left margin
• Style looks heavy on the left and blank on right.
• Increases the speed of the typist.
Heading-Name of the Company
Company’s Address Phone No.
Date
Inside Name & Address
Salutation
Subject
Body of the Letter
Complimentary Close
Signature & Designation
Modified Block Style
• Modification of fully-blocked style.
• Date and complimentary close on the right
side.
• The subject of the letter is at centre.
• Gives the letter a balanced appearance.
Heading-Name & Address of the Company
Date
Inside Name & Address
Salutation
Subject
Body of the Letter
Complimentary Close
Signature & Designation
The Noma-Simplified Style
• Recommended by the National office Management
Association(NOMA) of America for business letters.
• Modification of the fully-blocked style.
• Professional and focused without unnecessary
formality.
• Salutation and the complimentary closing are not
used in this style.