Business Writing

Importance of Business Correspondence

Business letters were not essential in the olden days, but now the importance of letters has increased
because of the vast expansion of business, increased demand as well as supply of goods.

1. Help in maintaining proper relationship.

2. Inexpensive and convenient mode.

3. Create and maintain goodwill.

4. Serve as evidence.

5. Help in expansion of business.

Purpose of Business Writing

Business writing is informative, instructive, persuasive, and transactional. The goal of business

writing is to transmit information to a reader, so clear language is necessary to help a reader
understand information easily, says Cullen, adding, "Writing clearly is one of the harder aspects of
business writing."

"The main aim of business writing is that it should be understood clearly when read quickly. The
message should be well planned, simple, clear, and direct." 

Ginger, a writing-reference website, notes that business writing must:

• Convey information: Business communications such as research reports or policy

memorandums seek to distribute knowledge.

• Deliver news: Professional writing is often used to share recent events with an audience made
up of others from inside or outside the company.

• Direct action: Many professionals use their business writing skills to tell others what to do or
how to do it.

• Explain or justify: Professional writing is a suitable way to provide an explanation or justify an

action that has already been taken, particularly if the matter is a complicated one.

• Influence someone to take action: Business communication is often used to influence others to
take a specific action, whether to use a certain tool during the course of business or to purchase
a product or service that is on offer.
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Parts of a Business Letter

1. Heading:

- name and postal address of the business, E-mail address, Web-site address, Telephone
number, Fax number, Trade Mark or logo of the business (if any)

2. Date:

- Date is normally written at the right hand side corner after the heading as the day, month and
years. Some examples are 28th Feb., 2015 or Feb. 28, 2015.

3. Reference

- Indicates letter number and the department from where the letter is being sent and the year. It
helps in future reference. This reference number is given on the left hand corner after the
heading. For example, you can write reference number AB/FADept./2015/27

4. Inside Address:

-Includes the name and full address of the person or the firm to whom the letter is to be sent;
written on the left hand side of the sheet below the reference number. Letters should be addressed to
the responsible head, e.g. the Secretary, the Principal, the Chairman, the Manager, etc.
Mr. Juan dela Cruz
Branch Manager
Bank of the Philippine Islands
San Pedro Branch
Davao City

5. Subject:

- It is the statement in brief that indicates the matter to which the letter relates. It attracts the
attention of the receiver immediately and helps him to know quickly what the letter is about.
th
Subject: Your order No. C317/8 dated 12 March 2015.
Subject: Inquiry about Samsung television
Subject: Fire Insurance Policy
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6. Salutation:

- Placed below the inside address. It is usually followed by a comma (,)

Sir/Madam: For official and formal correspondence

Dear Sir/Madam: for addressing an individual

Dear Sirs/Dear Madam: For addressing a firm or company.

7. Body of the Letter

a. Opening Part: attention of the reader should be drawn to the previous correspondence,
if any.

For example, “with reference to your letter no. 326 dated 12th March

2015, I would like to draw your attention towards the new brand of

television.”

a. Main Part : contains the subject matter of the letter. It should be precise and written in
clear words.

b. Concluding Part: contains a statement the sender’s intentions, hopes and expectations
concerning the next step to be taken. Further, the sender should always look forward to
getting a positive response. In the end, terms like Thanking you, With regards, With warm
regards may be used.

8. Complimentary Close. It is merely a polite way of ending a letter. It must be in accordance with
the salutation.

Salutation Complementary Close

i. Dear Sir/ Dear Madam Yours faithfully

ii. Dear Mr. Reyes Yours sincerely

iii. My Dear John Yours verysincerely(informal)

9. Signature:

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 - Written in ink, immediately below the complimentary close. The signature should be legible,
the name of the writer should be typed immediately below the signature. The designation is
given below the typed name. where there no letter head is in use, the name of the company too
could be included below the designation of the writer.

Yours faithfully,
For M/S Acron Electricals
(Signature)
PAULO REYES
Partner

10. Enclosures. This is required when some documents like cheque, draft, bills, receipts, lists,
invoices, etc. are attached with the letter. These enclosures are listed one by one in serial numbers.

Encl: (i) The list of goods receive

(ii) A cheque for Rs. One Thousand dtt. Feb. 27, 2003

(Cheque No… ) towards payment for goods supplied.

11. Copy Circulation: required when copies of the letter are also sent to persons apart of the
addressee. It is denoted as C.C.

C.C. i. The Chairman, Electric Supply Corporation

ii. The Director, Electric Supply Corporation

iii. The Secretary, Electric Supply Corporation

12. Post Script. Required when the writer wants to add something which is not included in the body
of the letter. It is expressed as P.S.

Example:

P.S. – in our offer, we provide two years warranty.

Types of Business Letter

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 1. Business Inquiry Letter.

Tel. 123536474 M/s Acron Eletricals E-mail: elc@acr.vsnl.net.in

Fax.: 124326742 22/c, Main Road Daryl Website:
hhtp://www.acronelc.comFAx
Monterde, Cebu City Dated: July 27, 2015

Ref. PR/F/20022/27

M/s Infinity Fans

Infinity Complex
Infinity Industrial Estate
Cebu City- 500032

Subject: Inquiry about the prices of the fans

Dear Sir:

We are dealing in retail trade of electrical appliances. We should be interested in selling your
project, Infinity Fans, through our retail showroom. Could you, therefore, send us your
quotations and let us know
2.

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