What & How

What makes it different?

Business writing strives to be crisp and

succinct rather than evocative or creative
It stresses specificity and accuracy
It reflects the unique purpose and
considerations involved when writing in a
business context.
Audience has limited time in which to read it
and is likely to skim.

Contd.

They want to know the "bottom line": the

point you are making about a situation or
problem and how they should respond.
Personal pronouns (like I, we, and you) are
important in letters and memos.
The best writers strive to achieve a style that
is so clear that their messages cannot be
misunderstood.

What do you think?

PASSIVE: The net benefits of subsidiary

divestiture were grossly overestimated.
[Who did the overestimating?]
ACTIVE: The Global Finance Team grossly
overestimated the net benefits of subsidiary
divestiture.

Characteristics

Business writing should be clear and concise.

You still need to think about your tone and the
audience for whom you are writing.
Example:
After carefully reviewing this proposal, we have
decided to prioritize other projects this quarter.
Nobody liked your project idea, so we are not going
to give you any funding.

Contd.
A good business letter is brief, straightforward, and
polite. If possible, it should be limited to one singlespaced typewritten page. Because it is so brief, a
business letter is often judged on small, but
important, things: format, grammar, punctuation,
openings and closings. A business letter is not the
place to try out fancy fonts or experimental writing
styles.
(http://writingcenter.gmu.edu)

Contd.

Brief and concise: Get to the point, use short sentences

Getting/catching attention
Arousing interest and creating wants
Convincing: by clear, concrete and simple statements
Encouraging readers to take actions
Courteous or polite: have positive tone, avoid stupid tone
for others.
Complete: give necessary background information
Concrete

Structure of Business Letter

D:\Campus Matters\Academic Matters\Business En
glish\Structure of Business
Letters.doc
D:\Campus Matters\Academic Matters\Business
English\
businessletter.pdf

Examples

D:\Campus Matters\Academic Matters\Busines

s English\examples of business
letters.doc

Thank you