Session 6: Writing Formal Letters and Technical Reports

LearningTasks

By the end of this session students are expected to be able to:

 Define formal letter and technical report

 List common types of formal letters and technical reports
 Explain essential components of formal letters and technical reports
 Write formal letters and technical reports

SESSION CONTENTS

STEP1: Presentation of Session Title and Learning Tasks

READ orASKstudents to read the learning tasks and clarify

ASK students if they have questions before continuing

STEP 2: Definition of a Formal Letter

This is a letter exchanged between or among people/organisations for certain

purposes.

STEP 3: Common Types of Formal Letters

Common Types of Formal Letters

 Letter of inquiry
 Letter of offer
 Letter of acknowledgement
 Letter of acceptance
 Letter of complaint
 Letter of application
 Letter of resignation
 Recommendation letter
 Cover letter
 Order letter
 Follow-up letter
STEP 4: Essential Components of a Formal Letter

Activity: Buzzing (10 minutes)

ASK students to pair up and buzz on the following question for 2 minutes

 What are the essential components of a formal letter?

ALLOW few pairs to respond and let other pair to add on points not mentioned

WRITE their response on the flip chart/board

CLARIFY and SUMMARIZE by using the content below

Essential components of a Formal Letter

Writer’s address
This can be:
 Personal address to include street/location and postal office box number/city
 Company address to include company’s name, street location or postal address
and city

Date
Full calendar date of when the letter was written, for example 06 September 2015.

Reference number
A number useful for reference by a recipientfor relevant matters.

Receiver’s/Reader’s address
Address of the reader to include reader’s name/title, Company Street or postal address
and city

Salutation
 It set the speed for the tone of the letter. For example, Dear Sir, with first names or
Surname name
 The use of salutation is determined by the relationship between the sender and the
receiver.

Subject or Reference statement

 This is the theme of the letter
 It should be short, clear, and written in the capital letter

Body of the letter

This includes introductory, discussion, concluding paragraphs

Complementary close
 It is determined by the salutation, such as;
o “Dear Sir” takes a “Yours faithfully”, complementary close,
o With a “Dear Mr/Mrs”, salutation, takes a “Yours sincerely” complementary
close.

Signature (writer’s signature)

Sender’s name
 Type the name of the sender
 Mention your title/position (optional)

Copy to (if any)

For copy of letter write
 cc (complimentary copy)
 pc (photocopy)

STEP 4: Formal Letter Writing

 Ways a Formal Letter should be written:

o The address of the writer (sender’s) should appear in the top right hand corner
o The date should go under the address
o Always write the name and the address of the addressee on the left, above the
salutation
o Always leave a wide margin on the left, so that when filed the letter is still
legible
o If writing to someone who is not personally known to the writer, begin with
Dear Sir or Dear Madam
o A writer should be as brief as s/he can; but s/he should include as much
relevant information as possible
o Whenever possible the subject of the letter may be placed as a heading beneath
the salutation
o Formal letters almost always end with: yours faithfully, though: yours truly is
also possible if the writer wants to be less formal
 Refer students to Handout 6.1: Sample of Formal letter

STEP 6: Definition of a Technical Report

Activity: Brainstorming
Ask students to brainstorm on the following question:

 What is a technical report?

ALLOW few students to respond

WRITE their responses on the flip chart/ board

CLARIFY and SUMMARISE by using the content below

A technical report is a specific form of writing that is organized to guide management and
organization to make decisions.

STEP 7: Common Types of Technical Reports

Common Types of Technical Reports

 Investigative reports:
Any organization or Government can commission a report to investigate a matter,
a question or a situation

 Informative reports:
Require written information about a certain issue/topic

 Business reports:
It is written administrative reports

 Special reports:
 o Reports specific to certain organization
o Contents of reports relate specifically to the work of the place/area, for
example hospital reports, pharmacy reports and Court reports (deals with
matters relating to Court of Law).

STEP 8: Essential Components of Technical Reports

Common report structures

 Short report
o Title page
o Introduction
o Discussion
o Recommendations
o References

 Science report
o Title page
o Introduction
o Method & materials
o Results
o Discussion
o Conclusion
o Appendices
o References

 Business report
o Title page
o Executive summary
o Table of contents
o Introduction
o Discussion
o Conclusion
o Recommendations
o Appendices
o References
STEP 9: Technical Report Writing

Guidelines for report writing

 The purpose of the report should be clearly stated

 Set a schedule on the tasks and time required to complete the report.
 Arrange the information in a logical order for example accurate details, logical
conclusion and recommendations (if any)
 Use indirect speech except for personal reports
 Give the report a clear heading
 Plan the lay-out carefully, pay attention to headings and paragraphs
 Write the date and sign the report

Refer students to Handout 6.2: Sample of Formal/technical report

STEP 10: Key Points

 Formal letter is the one exchanged between or among people/organizations for
certain purposes while a technical report is a specific form of writing that is
organized to guide management and organization to make decisions

 There are various types of formal letters and technical reports depending on the
need and purpose
 In writing formal letters and technical reports it is important to consider the
essential components and guidelines

STEP 11: Evaluation

 What are the formal letters and technical reports?

 What are the common types of formal letters and technical reports?
 What are the essential components of formal letters and technical reports?
 What are guidelines for writing formal letter and technical reports?

STEP 12: Assignment

 Activity: Take Home Assignment

ASK the students to work on the following Assignment

 Prepare official letter to DMO requesting for fast moving medicines in your pharmacy
 Prepare and submit an official weekly report on consumption of medicine in the dispensing unit

REFER students to recommended reference

References

Burger,B.A. (2009) Communication skills for pharmacist; building relationships, improving

patient care (4th ed.). New York: American pharmacist association

Burnard, P. (1992). A communication skills guide for health care workers (1st ed.). London:
Edward Anorld

Hubley, J (1993).Communicating Health. An action guide to health education and health

promotion (1sted.).  London: MacmillanKadeghe, M. (2005) Communication skills;
theory and practice (3rded.). Dar essalaam: Afroplus Industries Ltd.

Kariuki, M. K.&Munga, E. C. (2011)Fundamentals of communication skills (1st ed.). Mwanza:

Victoria Education Promotional Centre Ltd.

Kurtz, S.,Silnerman,.J.& Draper, J. (1998) Teaching and learning communication skills in

medicine (1st ed.). London:Raddiffe Medical Place Ltd.

Mahundu, C.M. (1999). A manual on communication skills (1sted.). Ndanda: Benedictine

Publishers

Pitt, B. (1991). Health, teacher’s diploma communication. Harare: MOH

Rungapaidiachy, D. M. (1999) Interpersonal communication and psychology (1sted.).

Massachusetts: Butterworth-Heinemann
 Handout 6.1 Sample of Official Letter

Handout 6.2: Writing Formal/Technical Report

 A formal report provides information and presents recommendations based on

that information.
o Examples include weekly/monthly reports, research reports and
problem solving reports.
 Each type of report has its own specific requirements for effective preparation,
but general guidelines can be applied to all formal reports using the following
format;
Components of the Formal Report

The following components are found in most formal reports. They can be omitted or
included as required:

1. Front Matter

 Letter to introduce the report to the person who requested it and/or to whom
the report is being sent o Brief summary of the entire report
 Title page
 Table of contents o List of figures o List of tables

2. Body

 Introduction: The purpose, problem statement, background information,

research methods, limitations and preview of the report
 Discussion: Data, findings and results
 Conclusion: Summary of purpose, problem statement, relevant background,
research methods and findings, recommendations to the reader on the best
course of action

3. Back Matter

 Appendix or appendices
 Bibliography or references
 Glossary