Other Important Elements to be Considered in Writing Correspondence

Abbreviations – abbreviation is never allowed except for particular words which are generally spelled in
abbreviated form. However, if one uses the term, “Philippines” as an adjective, as in the case of
Philippine ships, service ranks, technical papers, legal works, tabular work, footnotes, and citations of
authority, one may use “R.P.” Dates, titles of any kind and organizations should not be abbreviated in
formal writing.

Punctuation – this is an important device in giving clarity to communication. Grammatical and

typographic rules on punctuation are to be followed.

Underscoring – the same purpose as italic type in printing which is to denote emphasis but use
underscoring sparingly.

The following items are to be quoted, not underscored: names of vessels and aircrafts; the titles of
publications including newspapers and periodicals and the titles of articles; the titles of speeches; and
chapter headings.

Division of Words

Avoid the divisions of words at the end of lines, especially in headings. Resort to division of words only
when it is necessary to prevent a very irregular margin. The division should be made between syllabus
and according to pronunciation rather than derivation. If you must divide, use proper syllabication. E.G.,
“restrict-ion”, not “restric-tion”, “inform-ation”, not “infor-mation”.

A. Never divide
- the last word of a page
- a single letter from the rest of the word.
- A two-letter ending syllable. Words of three or four letters should not be divided, and words
of five or six letters are seldom divided.
- A date between the month and the day, but the year may be carried ever to the next line.
- Abbreviations and constructions such as M.D., Ll.D., B.C., etc.
- Abbreviations such as mr., Mrs., Sr., and Jr., from the names they accompany.

B. Avoid Dividing
- Degrees or orders from surnames, but if there are several such abbreviations, all except the
first may be carried over.
- A figures, letters, or symbol from its accompanying word in such cases as street address etc.
- Numbers and amount. The entire number or amount should be carried over to the next line.
- Compound words, except at the point of compounding. Also avoid dividing in the middle of
a prefix or suffix.
- Proper names (do not separate Christian initials or names from another; but if necessary,
they may be separated from the surname).
 - At the end of more than two consecutive lines.

General Rules/Instructions in Drafting Internal Correspondence

The general rules and instructions governing the drafting of external correspondence and
internal correspondence are the same. Thus, when drafting internal correspondence such as
letters, indorsements, despatches, and reports, see to it that the basic rules mentioned in the
previous discussions.

1. Reports – a report is one of the most important forms of communication which a diplomatic
or consular official sends to the Department. It is written document designed to inform
and/or to serve as basis for decision or action. Thus, it is essential that a report be well-
written, well-presented, and well-documented.

The following guidelines in writing reports

a. Organize the material – in writing political, economic, cultural reports, it is important to make a
topical outline which can be useful in choosing relevant data.
b. Follow a simple, suitable writing style – recommendation or important points contained in a
report should be stated in the first paragraph

The following rule, the writer and the reader save time and effort.
a. The Narrative – this is informal in style and involves the enumeration of facts, comments,
and recommendations in paragraph form. It makes use of sub-headings, underscored
capital letters, or short “impact paragraphs.”
b. The Outline – this provides the reader a ready checklist, especially if the report makes many
important points. This is suitable for writing reports on policies, procedures, and lengthy
recommendations.
c. The question-answer – when the report is a response to inquiries from the Department, this
style may be most appropriate. This can insure logical organization, easy writing and quick
reading since the reader can readily refer to those questions which concern him most.
d. The Newsletter – this style entails the listing of the subjects and underlining of all key words
and phrases. This enables the reader to skim over the report and quickly extract its main
points or messages.
e. The Log – this is the most useful and timesaving when the writer is on a diplomatic tour or
official inspection. Entries of location, nature of business, topic of discussions are made with
brief explanatory sentences.
c. Edit the Report – to edit the report before having it typed but do not fail to re-edit after it is re-
typed. Check whether the report is understandable and complete.
d. Document your information. Source of information, quotation, or statement of fact or opinion,
include in official correspondence, which are not based on the observation or conclusion of the
person signing or drafting the correspondence, shall be and precisely cited in the following
manner:
1. Citation of published material – a published material is quoted or otherwise included in
official correspondence and reports, the title, number, date, place of issue, and appropriate
page number of the publication from which the information has been obtained, shall be
cited precisely.
 2. Citation of unpublished material – in citing information derived from an unpublished
source, give the name of the organization, agency, or individual from whom the information
was obtained. If the information was obtained from an individual, the citation shall include
his full name, title, position, or occupation, organization connection, and any other
particulars regarding him which bear on the credibility or reliability of the information
derived from him.
3. Method of citing source material – source materials included in despatches, reports and
letters may be cited in three ways: in the body of correspondence or reports; in the
footnotes; or in an enclosure, appendix, or annex.
4. Method of citing confidential sources of information – if the source of information included
in the communication or report is confidential, the source should be cited in an enclosure or
annex to the communication or report and preferably enclosed in an enveloped.
5. Copying of papers and extracts
a. Copies of papers are to be carefully compared with the original text. The words COPY
and COMPARED (are to be written in capital letters), with the appropriate initials and
office symbols, are to be placed in brackets in the upper left-hand corner.
b. Copies of papers for certification are to follow literally the original text. Copies
containing typographic and grammatical errors that are clearly accidental and render
the sense ambiguous may be corrected with the approval of the responsible officer. If
correction of a misleading error is done, it is to be inserted in brackets and underscored.
An uncorrected misleading error may be indicated by the word sic (in brackets and
underscored). A supplied omission in the text is indicated in brackets, without
underscoring. Unless a correction or a supplied omission is known to be exact, it is to be
followed by a question mark in parentheses.
c. In copying papers or making quotations, text that is omitted in the copying is always to
be indicated by an ellipsis (a full line of periods, indented five spaces from each margin
and separated from one another by five spaces).
d. In copying a document bearing a signature, the signature is included as part of the text.
It is unnecessary to insert the word signed in front or after the signature. In copying a
document bearing no signature (third person notes excepted), the bracketed words “No
Signature, or File Copy, not signed”, are appropriate and are inserted in the place of
signature.

e.Security Classification – Despatches, reports and other official communications which should be
secured from unauthorized persons shall be graded as classified material in accordance with the
security measures.

1. TOP SECRET – certain secret material and information, the security aspect of which is paramount
and/or the unauthorized disclosure of which would cause exceptionally grave damage to the nation’s
security or extreme embarrassment to the Government.

1. TOP SECRET information are:

a. Information regarding details of discussions or negotiation with foreign government on

important and delicate questions such as those embodied in memoranda of conversation and
 draft agreements, the premature disclosure of which might prejudice the successful outcome of
negotiation.
b. Information, the disclosure of which might endanger nationals’ security or other important
national interests.
c. Information of a political character, the disclosure of which could gravely embarrass in the
Philippine government; and
d. Very important plans especially of political and military character, individually made or in
cooperation with foreign governments.

2.SECRET – like “TOP SECRET” information but a little less serious in character.

3. CONFIDENTIAL – this including material or information which does not have the same degree of effect
as that of TOP SECRET information but the disclosure of which would still be prejudicial to the interest or
prestige of the nation, any governmental activity and individual, or would cause administrative
embarrassment or difficulty.

Confidential Information are:

a. Information on political development not divulged to the public.

b. Communications on important economic and industrial matters connected with national interest
obtained from private or confidential sources.
c. Investigations, documents, and communications of a personal and disciplinary nature, the
confidential character of which is safeguarded for administrative reasons.

4.RESTRICTED – these are materials and information, which should not be published or communicated
to anyone except for official purpose.

Restricted information are:

a. Economic, industrial, or political information which should not be released or communicated to

the press or otherwise published and made available to the public.
b. Certain administrative or instructional communications and documents intended strictly for
official use.
c. Reports on internal affairs of the Philippines and of foreign countries which should not be of
public knowledge, and
d. Interpretation based on official or public reactions to general international or economic
questions.

f.Modifying Phrases. Phrases to indicate a limited dissemination may be used in addition to security
classification. The examples are:

1. “For the Secretary only”

2. “For the Undersecretary only”

3. “For the Department only”

4. “For limited Distribution”

5. “Not to be published as official information”

DESPATCHES

The rules in drafting despatches are the same as those followed in making reports. The materials should
be well organized and written in simple and suitable style. Paragraphs should have one subject matter at
a time and discussion should be brief. Despatches should be well-documented.

LETTER AND MEMORANDA

When drafting letters and memoranda, the following should be taken into consideration:

a. The addressee. It includes the name, position, title or function of the intended recipient.
b. The style. It should be direct without being too informal. Suavity and accuracy should be
considered which writing letters and memoranda.

The basic differences between letters and memoranda are:

a. Length – memoranda are shorter and generally contain recommendations. Letters are usually
longer.
b. Formality – memoranda are less formal with certain exemptions such as the Memorandum for
the President or the Secretary. Letters are more formal with polite introduction and
complimentary close.