STRUCTURING BUSINESS LETTER

FOUR POINT PLAN

INTRODUCTION: BACKGROUND AND BASICS
 Briefly give the reasons for writing
 Refer to previous communication
 Who? What? Where? When?

DETAILS: FACTS AND FIGURES

 Give instructions
 Ask for information
 Provide all relevant data and details
 Separate into paragraphs for
separate themes
 Make sure the paragraphs flow
logically

RESPONSE OR ACTION: ACTION STATEMENT

 Action you want the reader to take
 Action you will take
 Deadline
 Conclusion

CLOSE: A simple, relevant closing sentence.

Sample I- This looks good

Lord Consulting Services

699 Knox Road HEADING
Ardmore, PA 19077
(610) 555-0124

January 23, 1998 DATE

Mr. James Penrod

Vice President, Sales INSIDE ADDRESS
ABC Computing
349 Vesper Road
Knoxville, TN 37966

SUBJECT LINE
Subject: Magazine samples
SALUTATION
Dear Mr. Penrod

Thank you for interviewing with Lord Consulting services. We enjoyed meeting with you and
discussing career opportunities.
BODY
After reviewing the results of your testing, we concluded that the ‘fit’ here with the rest of our
team wasn’t perfect. Your results indicate that you are a self –starter and highly analytical. We
were looking for a slightly different combination of skill sets.

We hire for several public relations positions each year, and generally these employess move
quickly to management levels. We’d like to consider you for the next available position,
because each department requires a different team composition.

Thank you again. We look forward to speaking with you again in future CLOSING AND SIGNATURE

Sincerely ,
Judy Lord
Judy Lord
Human Resource Manager ATTACHMENTS

POSTSCRIPT

1 a Routine Information Letter \

TABLE 8.1.1: OUTLINE FOR INFORMATION SHARES

Outline Content Example Message

1. Opening Main point of information Hi Karin,

I just saw a CFP for a new funding opportunity you can

apply for via the Ministry of Agriculture.

2. Body Information context and further Find it on the Greenbelt Fund’s Local Food Literacy Grant
details Stream page. If you haven’t already been doing this, you
should also check out the Ministry’s general page
on Funding Programs and Support to connect with any
other grants etc. relevant to the good work you do.

3. Closing Action regarding the information It looks like the deadline for proposals is at the end of the
week, though, so you might want to get on it right away.

Good luck!

Shradha

1b Routine Information

Imagine you are required to write an email to your team and give
them certain instructions. In the given sample the instructions are
about crediting the sources.

OUTLINE FOR INSTRUCTIONAL MESSAGES

Subject Line Content Example Email Message

Subject Line

1. Opening

2. Context
3. Instructions 1.

4. Closing

4. Signature Line

OUTLINE FOR INSTRUCTIONAL MESSAGES

Subject Line Content Example Email Message

Subject Line Procedure name How to find an undated webpage date

1. Opening Reader benefits Hi team,

Would you like to learn a nifty little hack that can help you
find information you need for properly crediting your
sources? Please find below instructions for how to
discover the date that a webpage was posted or last
updated if it doesn’t say so itself.

2. Context Context for the procedure Sometimes you need to know when exactly a webpage
was posted or updated, but it either doesn’t say or has a
copyright notice at the bottom with the present year, and
you know it was posted years ago, so that’s not accurate.
Rather than indicate “n.d.” (for “no date”) when citing and
referencing a source in APA style, you can instead find
out the actual date with a clever little trick.

3. Instructions Introductory clause and To find the exact date that the webpage was posted or
numbered list, each with an last updated, please follow the procedure below in your
imperative sentence (beginning Google Chrome browser:
with a verb)
2. Copy the entire URL (web address) of the webpage
you would like to find the date for by keying Alt. +
D and Ctrl. + C.
3. Open up a new tab in the Google Chrome browser.
4. Type “inurl:” in the “Search Google or type URL” field
in the middle of the page.
5. Paste (Ctrl. + V) the webpage URL immediately after
“inurl:” (with no space between them) and hit
the Enter (or Return) key; the web address will move
up into the address bar and, after hitting Enter, you will
see a list of search results, the top result of which
should be the webpage you’re looking for.
 6. Paste &as_qdr=y15 at the very end of the search
results page web address with no space between the
URL and the above code, then hit the Enter key again.
7. Find the date in grey text on the third line of the first
result of the new search results page, just below the
title of the page in purple on the first line and URL in
green on the second.
8. Adjust the controls (e.g., the date range so that it starts
at a date earlier than 15 years ago) above if the results
page says “Your search – [URL] – did not match any
documents.”

4. Closing Specific action request, closing
thought, summary, or deadline
with a reason
If you encounter a webpage where this hack doesn’t work
at all, go with the year given in the copyright notice at the
bottom or “n.d.” in your citation and reference if it doesn’t
even have a copyright year.
Good luck,

Nolan
3 a Routine request direct information

Imagine you are the HR head of a company and you are required to
send a mail to your Systems Manager asking him to update the
website and add the names of the new hires

OUTLINE FOR DIRECT INFORMATION OR ACTION REQUESTS

Outline Content Example Message

Subject Line Length

1. Opening Direct/Indirect approach

2. Body What information

3. Closing Any specific closing for rapport

building/Getting desired
result/Signature Line

OUTLINE FOR DIRECT INFORMATION OR ACTION REQUESTS

 Outline Content Example Message

Subject Line 3- to 7-word title Website update needed by Monday

1. Opening Main question or action request Hello, Mohamed:

Could you please update the website by adding the new

hires to the Personnel page?

2. Body Information or action request We’ve hired three new associates in the past few weeks.
context, plus further details With the contents of the attached folder that contains their
bios and hi-res pics, please do the following:

1. Proof the bios using Track Changes and send them to

me.
2. Post the proofed bios on the site right away and call
me as soon as they’re up. I’m sure your edits will be
fine, but I’d like to just quickly read them and suggest
further edits over the phone if need be since time is of
the essence here.
3. Downsize the pics to 72dpi and crop them so they’re
the same dimensions as the other portraits on that
page before posting them along with the bios.

3. Closing Deadlines and/or submission Sorry for the short notice, but could we have this update
details all wrapped up by Monday? We’re meeting with some
investors early next week and we’d like the site to be fully
up to date by then.
Much appreciated!

Sylvia

3 b Routine indirect request

Imagine you are a customer who has run out of warranty on a particular product
and now require help from the dealer. This is about the repair of your furnace.

OUTLINE FOR INDIRECT INFORMATION OR ACTION REQUESTS

Outline Content Example Message

Subject Line

1. Opening

2. Context

3. Main point

4. Closing

5. Signature Line

OUTLINE FOR INDIRECT INFORMATION OR ACTION REQUESTS

Outline Content Example Message

Subject Line Strategically vague Furnace repair needed

1. Opening Buffer pleasantries Hello Mike,

We’ve been nothing but impressed by the furnace and air

conditioner installed by Redmond Heating & Air five years
ago. We’ve recommended you to several friends because
of your exceptional customer service.

2. Context Background justification A few days ago, however, our furnace suddenly stopped
working. It’s a bit of a mystery because we’ve been
changing the filter regularly every month for the past five
years and had you in here for regular check-ups every
year, as per the terms of the warranty. When we checked
the warranty, however, we saw that it expired a week
ago. Talk about bad timing!

3. Main point Information or action request, to
which you will expect some
resistance
Given that we’ve been such responsible and loyal
customers, and that we’ve sent business your way a few
times, we’re wondering if we can still get you out here to
repair the furnace under the terms of the warranty. Can
we pretend that it’s expiring next week instead of last
week?
 4. Closing Deadlines and/or implementation I know this must be a busy time for you and we’re asking
details a lot already, but since it’s starting to drop below zero
outside and probably won’t take long to do the same
inside here, could you please come as soon as possible.

We’d be forever in your debt if you could help us out

here!

Many thanks,

Belinda

4 Claims and responses

Responses to Claims
Claim for correction

Claim Letter for corrections

Replies

Reply claims and responses 4 letters

Recommendation Letters

Claim Ineffective Reply

Claim Effective Reply
2 Request for Recommendation

Dear ,

This message is to notify you that Ms. is applying to the graduate program in Environmental
Science and Management with the objective(s) of Doctor of Philosophy (PHD) in Environmental
Science & Management (ESM) at the University of California, Santa Barbara and has selected you as
a recommender. We would appreciate knowing your personal impressions of this applicant's
intellectual ability and aptitude in past and future research. Additionally, please mention any
noteworthy professional or academic traits, including the applicant's character, quality of previous
work, and promise for productive future scholarship.

Your letter of recommendation will be included in this applicant's file as one of the items evaluated to
determine overall promise for success in our graduate program. Please include your name and title in
your letter and submit it on institution letterhead (if possible).

Use the following link to rate the student and upload a Letter of Recommendation. You may either
click the link or copy & paste it into your browser's navigation
bar. https://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/eapp/lor/Recommender.

This system only permits PDF or MS Word file formats.

*Student Waiver to access Letter of Recommendation:

On did waive her right to view your letter and ratings.

Application Deadline for Environmental Science and Management: MESM - Fall Only - January 6,
2019 (by 11:59 PM PST); PhD - Fall Only - December 15, 2018 (by 11:59 PM PST)

Thank you for taking the time to write on behalf of this applicant.

Best regards,

Graduate Admissions Staff

University of California, Santa Barbara
http://www.graddiv.ucsb.edu/
You have been listed as a reference by who has applied to the
Business Administration - M.S., Ph.D. program for the PHD degree at Penn State.
The graduate program in Business Administration - M.S., Ph.D. would very much
appreciate it if you would provide a letter of recommendation for this applicant
through our online Reference Submission Portal.

To access and complete a recommendation, please go to the Reference Submission

Portal and log in with the assigned credentials.

User ID (email address):

Password:

First Initial of Applicant:

Last Name of Applicant:

PLEASE SAVE THIS INFORMATION FOR FUTURE REFERENCE

When you log in to the Reference Submission Portal, you will be able to compose,
review and submit your recommendation online at your leisure. You will also be able
to print a copy for your files.

Completing your recommendation online is easy, reliable, and completely secure.

Penn State prefers online submission of recommendations as it streamlines the
entire admissions process.

Remember to log in to the Reference Submission Portal with the credentials

provided above.

Thank you from Ms. and Penn State.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~

This email was sent by an automated process. Please do not reply to this message.
Letter of Recommendation

LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION FOR ……..

It is my immense pleasure to recommend one of my enterprising student Mr. , for a post-

graduate program in your university in Germany. ABC was our student in department of marketing in
XYZ University. I am pleased ABC made it to the list.

I met ABC five years ago when he joined the Post Graduate Program in Management in our institute.
He came across as a very personable and enthusiastic student. I was impressed by the importance
he placed into his education while running his apparels manufacturing business in parallel. When
most of the students are adjusting themselves into the new environment and mainly focusing on the
curriculum. Kashish was already thinking about the opportunities for the future and applying his
newly learned skills to his business.

He always brought a unique perspective in the classroom during discussions by bringing in relevant
examples from his entrepreneurial experience that his fellow students very much able to relate to.
He also placed importance on overall development and actively pursued extracurricular activities. He
was an integral part of marketing campaign of our annual festival that invites students from other
institutes in the region.

ABC has consistently shown his skills, ingenuity, and willingness to learn. I distinctly recall his work
on supply chain during his internship phase. The scope of his internship included observing inventory
management to dispatch the goods and responding to customer queries in the garments
manufacturing export house. He received good feedback from his mentors at the export house and
made a nice presentation to his class about his learnings.

I am sure that ABC will continue to excel and flourish with his entrepreneurial and people skills. I
strongly recommend him for the post-graduate program in Germany, which will provide him with
strong foundation before he starts his career in any industry. I am convinced that ABC will prove
himself to be a valuable contributor for any institute. I strongly recommend his candidature.

Dr. PQR

Faculty member and research coordinator

XYZ University
Five formats for letters and memos

Five formats of letters and Memos

Direct Request (When you have to ask the client/ service provider for specific information)

Paragraph 1 Request the information or the service you need

Paragraph 2 Show why you need the information and how you will use it

Paragraph 3 Specify what you want the reader to do

Paragraph 4 List the benefits for the reader and use a goodwill ending

Informative (to provide information about meetings, policies or projects)

Paragraph 1 Capture attention

Paragraph 2 Provide the necessary information

Paragraph 3 Present any negative factors; show reasons for these factors

Paragraph 4 List the benefits for the readers and close with goodwill ending

Persuasive (sometimes we must not only inform but persuade, especially in case of B2B client)

Paragraph 1 Catch the reader’s interest; establish mutual interest or common ground

Paragraph 2 Define the problem that will be solved if the reader approves your request

Paragraph 3 Explain the solution and show how the advantages outweigh any negatives

Paragraph 4 List the benefits for the readers

Paragraph 5 Specify what you want the reader to do

Good news (everybody likes good news)

Paragraph 1 Deliver the good news

Paragraph 2 Provide any details

Paragraph 3 Discuss any negative elements

Paragraph 4 List the benefits for the reader and close with a goodwill ending

Bad news ( perhaps the most difficult)

Paragraph 1 Establish goodwill

Paragraph 2 Present the negative message. Give reason for the message

Paragraph 3 Explain the positive aspects and reestablish goodwill

Note

Steps to effective writing: Know your reader, focus on your purpose, put more power into your
words, put different idaes in different paragraphs and choose format according to the purpose of
writing

Pick up memos, letters and proposals ( internal and external) and try rewriting them by using the
steps as suggested

Check the sample ‘This looks good’ and do a critical analysis to grade them and also redraft the
‘What’s wrong’ samples keeping in mind the suggestions given
Sample III: Persuasive Memo

Date: August 2, 2010

To: VPC Board of Directors

From: Milly Vincent, Public Relations Director MCV

Subject: Proposal to change Facility-use policy

VPC could enhance its public image and strengthen relationships with it employees by permitting
outside groups to use the company’s meeting rooms.

Background

During a typical three month period, VPC receives one or two requests to use its meeting rooms.
These requests come from employees, customers and representatives of the general public. In
accordance with Policy Number 102 which was enacted for financial and liability reasons, we refuse
these requests.

Problem

In the three month period May 1 to July 31, we received 27 requests to use our facilities. Thirteen of
these requests came from our employees or from representatives of organizations that VPC
supports through financial or in kind donations.

The increased request activity can be attributed at least in part, to the fact that two popular meeting
sites are no longer available; Fire destroyed The Mountain Community Centre in April, and Central
Library began a major remodeling project in mid-June.

Recommendation

I recommend that we make our three main floor meeting rooms available to local groups between 6
& 10 pm weekdays on a cost recovery basis and other facilities are again available (approximately
nine months). By doing so we will provide a valuable public service and build on our already strong
reputation in the community.

Information gathered from our insurance carrier, out maintenance manager, and our security chief
suggests that a $ 35.- per hour fee will cover our costs.

If you approve this recommendation, I will issue a news release, notify those whose requests have
been processed that our policy has changed and draft internal procedures for your review.