Lesson 7 Technical Correspondence

LEARNING PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MUNTINLUPA
MODULE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

University Road, Poblacion, Muntinlupa City
QR/CBA/0__ Course Title: Technical Writing / Business Correspondence
Issue No. 0 Revision No. 0 Effectivity Date 7 September 2020 Page No. 1
Lesson 7: Technical Correspondence
Topics:
• Introduction Indirect Organization

• Types of Correspondence Persuasive Organization
• Writing Tips Writing Memos
• Organizing Correspondence Letter Format
• Direct Organization Memo Format
Introduction
Technical correspondence includes letters, memos, and email. Although

these are frequently addressed to one person, they often have multiple readers
because the original reader passes along the correspondence to others, or the
writer sends copies to everyone involved in the topic.
Types of correspondence
1. Letters are written primarily to people outside an organization

and cover requests, claims, and adjustments, orders, sales, credit,
collections, goodwill messages, announcements, records of agreement,
follow-ups to telephone conversations, and transmittal of technical
documents.
2. Memos are written primarily to people inside an organization.

Memos cover the same topics as letters. Many internal reports, such as
trip reports, progress reports, and short proposals, maybe in memo
form.
3. Email allows transmission of letters, memos, and other

documents from one computer to another through a series of computer
networks. Emails are short messages between people and are now
most commonly used due to its convenience and speedy transmission.
Writing Tips
1. Developing an effective tone
• Tone refers to the feelings created by the words in the message.

• Business correspondence should have a natural tone that
conveys cooperation, mutual respect, sincerity, and courtesy to
establish open communication lines.
2. Natural language
• Use clear natural language, and avoid falling into the habit of
using old-fashioned phrases that sound artificial.
• A reader who has to struggle through a letter filled without-f-date
expressions probably will become annoyed with your message,
resulting in poor communication.
3. Positive language
• Keep the emphasis on positive rather than negative images.

• Avoid using words that emphasize the negative aspects of a
situation.
4. You-attitude
• This refers to the point of view a writer takes when looking at a

situation as the reader would.
• In all correspondence, try to convey an appreciation of your

reader‘s position.
• To do this, present information from the standpoint of how will it
affect or interest your reader.
• In the same sentences, the emphasis is shifted from the writer‘s
point of view to the
reader‘s by focusing on the benefits to the reader in the situation.
Guidelines for establishing the you-attitude in your

correspondence
• Put yourself in your

reader‘s place, and look at the
situation from his/ her point of
view.
• Emphasize your reader‘s
actions or benefits in a situation.
• Present information as
pleasantly as possible.
• Offer a helpful suggestion
or appreciative comment when
possible.
• Choose words that are
clear and natural, and avoid old-fashioned or legal-sounding phrases.
Remember these tips for email tone
• Avoid writing in all capital letters called ―screaming‖ in email

• Avoid humor unless you the receiver well
• Proofread carefully
• Never send an email when you are angry
• Double-check word choice to be sure you have a pleasant and

professional tone
Organizing Correspondence
• Most correspondence is best organized in either a direct

pattern or indirect pattern, depending on how the reader is likely to
react emotionally to the message
• If the news is good or if the reader does not have an emotional

stake in the subject, use the direct pattern with the main idea in the
opening
• If the news is bad, the indirect pattern with the main idea after
the explanation is often most effective because the reader may not read
the explanation of the situation if the bad news appears in the opening.
• Another pattern is the persuasive pattern which places the

main idea in the middle portion or even the closing of the message.
• Persuasive patter is commonly used for sales messages and

when the reader needs to be convinced about the importance of a
situation before taking actions
• Memos present a special writing challenge in that very often

they have mixed purposes
• A memo can either be good or bad news and both good and bad
news, depending on each individual's reaction.
• The memo writer should have to judge each situation carefully

to determine the most effective approach and pattern to use
• Avoid presenting bad news through email if possible
• Email messages tend to be too short for well-developed

negative messages.
Direct Organization
• The opening establishes the reason for writing the letter and
presents the main idea
• The middle paragraphs explain all relevant details about the
situation
• The closing reminds the reader of deadlines, calls for action, or
looks to future interaction between the reader and the writer
Indirect Organization
• The next example shows a letter with a negative connotation

• The second letter is about refusal because the guarantee does
not apply
• The emphasis in an indirect pattern for bad news should be to
assure the reader that the negative answer results from careful
consideration of the issue from the fact that cannot be altered by the
writer
• The opening is a buffer paragraph that establishes a friendly

positive tone and introduces the general topic in a way that will later
support the refusal or negative information and help the reader
understand it
• Agree with the reader in some way
• State appreciation for past efforts or business
• Assure the reader the situation has been considered carefully
• The middle section carefully explains the background of the
situation
• The bad news follows immediately after the explanation and in
the same paragraph
• The closing maintains a pleasant tone and, if appropriate, may

suggest alternatives for the reader; avoid sounding arbitrary and
unreasonable
Persuasive Organization
• The third letter introduces a new business newsletter that will

provide tips for communicating with international co-workers
• The opening in a persuasive letter catches the reader's attention
through
o Startling or interesting factor
o A solution to the problem
o Story
• The middle paragraphs of a persuasive letter build the reader‘s

interest by describing the product, service, or situation
• Describe the physical details of the product or service to impress
the reader with its usefulness and quality
• Explain why the reader needs this product or service both from
a practical standpoint and from an enjoyment standpoint
• Explain why the situation is important to the reader
• Describe the benefits to the reader that will result from this
product or service, or from handling the situation of the problem
• After rousing the reader‘s interest or concern, request action
such as purchasing the product, using the service, or responding
favorably to the persuasive request
• The closing reminds the reader of the special benefits to be
gained from responding as requested and urges action immediately or
by a relevant deadline
Writing Memos
A mutually cooperative communication atmosphere is just as important

between managers and employees as it is between employees and people
outside a company. In such:
• Memos from managers – The tone and managerial attitude in

a manager‘s memos often have a major impact on employee morale.
Messages with a harsh, demanding tone that do little more than giving
orders and disregard the reader's emotional response will produce an
atmosphere of distrust and hostility within a company.
• Memos from a subordinate – If you are subordinate writing

memos to upper management, you must be conscious of the corporate
culture and expectations for communications from subordinates.
o Indicate you are aware of the writer-reader relationship

o Emphasize that you are assisting in a project or following an
assignment
o Provide specific information details
o Maintain an objective tone even if the news is negative
o Take credit for your research or efforts without sounding smug
or arrogant
o Indicate deference to the reader‘s position or opinion by offering
your ideas with hedging words, such as ―perhaps‖ or ―possibly‖
o Offer direct recommendations only if asked to
o If you must correct upper management data, avoid negative
language
o Check grammar, punctuation, spelling, and correct word usage
Letter Format and Parts
a. Full block style – every line (date, address, salutation, body

text, closing. Signature block, and notations) begins at the left
b. Semi-block style – the date, closing, and signature block start

just to the right corner of the page; body text is also indented
c. Dateline – Since most company stationery includes an address

or letterhead, the dateline consists only of the date of the letter
o Place the date two lines below the company letterhead
1612 W. Fairway Street

Dayton, OH 45444-2443
August 22, 2020
d. Inside address – Place the reader's full name, title. The

company, and address two to eight lines below the date and flushed
with the left margin
o Spell out the city name and use the postal service zip
code or two-letter abbreviation (U.S.)
o Put one space between the province or state and the zip
code
o The number of lines between the date and the inside
address varies so that the letter can be attractively centered on
the page
e. Salutation – The salutation or greeting appears two lines below

the inside address and flushed with the left margin
o In business letters, the salutation is always followed by

a colon ( : )
o o Address men as ―Mr.‖ and women as ―Ms.‖ Unless
a woman specifically indicates she prefers ―Miss‖ pr ―Mrs.‖
o Professional titles such as ―Dr.‖, ―Judge‖ or
―Colonel‖ may be used as well
o o When writing to a group or a particular company
position, use descriptive titles
―Dear Members of EMAMedia:‖
―Dear Project Director:‖
―Dear Customer:‖
―Dear Contributor:‖
f. Attention line – When writing to a company department, use an

attention line with no salutation; begin the letter two lines below the
attention line
EMA Services
Plaza Tower
Oshkosh, WI 54911-2256
Attention: Marketing Department
According to our records…

o Use an attention line if the receiver has not been identified
as a man or a woman
EMA Services
Plaza Tower
Attention: Engr. Perez

o Omit the attention line or salutation when writing to a
company without directing the letter to a particular person or
position, and begin the letter two lines below the inside
address
EMA Services
Plaza Tower
g. Subject line – Some writers prefer to use subject lines in a letter

to identify the main topic immediately; it may include specific
identification, such as an invoice number, a date of previous
correspondence, a shipping code, etc.
September 22, 2020
Subject: Policy #45637-B7
Ms. Victoria Alindogan

Marketing Analyst
EMA Media Services
h. Body – The body of a letter is typed single-spaced and is

double-spaced between paragraphs
o Although computers can justify the right margins, most

people are used to seeing correspondence with an uneven right
margin
o Justified margins imply mass printing and mailing, while
unjustified margins imply an individual message to a specific
person
i. Closing – The closing appears two lines below the last

sentence of the body and consists of a standard expression of goodwill
o The most common dosing expressions are ―Very truly

yours,‖, ―Sincerely,‖, and
―Respectfully yours,‖ o
The closing is always
followed by a comma
j. Signature block – The signature begins four lines below the

closing and consists of the writer‘s name with any title directly
underneath
The signature appears in the four-line space between the closing and
signature block
k. Notation – The notation begins two lines below the signature

block and flushed with the left margin
l. The second page – If your letter has a second page, place the
name and the addressee, page number, and the top of the page
Ms. Sonia Corpuz 2 September 20, 2020
m. Envelope – Post office scanning equipment can process

envelopes rapidly when the address is typed
With a straight left margin

In all capitals
Without punctuation
With an extra space between all words or number groups
DR.RONALD BROWNING
1234 N SPRINGDALE LANE
AKRON OH 4413-1906A
Memo Format and Parts
o The subject line should be brief but indicate a specific

topic
o Use keywords so readers can recognize the subject and
the memo can be filed easily
o Capitalize the main words
o Memos do not have a closing signature block as letters
do
o Write your initials next to your name in the opening, or
write your name at the bottom of the page
o The writer‘s and typist‘s initials appear two lines below
the last line of the memo, followed by enclosure or copy
notations
o Format the second page of a memo like the second page
of a letter with the receiver's name, page number, and the date
at the top of the page
References:
Learning Activity Sheet - Answer the following:
a. Enumeration
1. How to develop effective tone

2. How to organize letters, memos, and email
3. Parts of a letter, memo, or email
4. Formats of a letter and memo
b. Explain the following:
1. You-attitude
2. Direct organization
3. Indirect organization
4. Persuasive organization
c. Writing and editing a cover letter


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LEARNING PAMANTASAN NG LUNGSOD NG MUNTINLUPA

MODULE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Lesson 7: Technical Correspondence

• Introduction Indirect Organization

Technical correspondence includes letters, memos, and email. Although

1. Letters are written primarily to people outside an organization

2. Memos are written primarily to people inside an organization.

3. Email allows transmission of letters, memos, and other

1. Developing an effective tone

• Tone refers to the feelings created by the words in the message.

• Keep the emphasis on positive rather than negative images.

• This refers to the point of view a writer takes when looking at a

• In all correspondence, try to convey an appreciation of your

Guidelines for establishing the you-attitude in your

• Put yourself in your

Remember these tips for email tone

• Avoid writing in all capital letters called ―screaming‖ in email

• Double-check word choice to be sure you have a pleasant and

• Most correspondence is best organized in either a direct

• If the news is good or if the reader does not have an emotional

• Another pattern is the persuasive pattern which places the

• Persuasive patter is commonly used for sales messages and

• Memos present a special writing challenge in that very often

• The memo writer should have to judge each situation carefully

• Avoid presenting bad news through email if possible

• Email messages tend to be too short for well-developed

• The next example shows a letter with a negative connotation

• The opening is a buffer paragraph that establishes a friendly

• The closing maintains a pleasant tone and, if appropriate, may

• The third letter introduces a new business newsletter that will

• The middle paragraphs of a persuasive letter build the reader‘s

A mutually cooperative communication atmosphere is just as important

• Memos from managers – The tone and managerial attitude in

• Memos from a subordinate – If you are subordinate writing

o Indicate you are aware of the writer-reader relationship

o Check grammar, punctuation, spelling, and correct word usage

Letter Format and Parts

a. Full block style – every line (date, address, salutation, body

b. Semi-block style – the date, closing, and signature block start

c. Dateline – Since most company stationery includes an address

o Place the date two lines below the company letterhead

1612 W. Fairway Street

d. Inside address – Place the reader's full name, title. The

e. Salutation – The salutation or greeting appears two lines below

o In business letters, the salutation is always followed by

f. Attention line – When writing to a company department, use an

Attention: Marketing Department

According to our records…

Attention: Engr. Perez

According to our records…

According to our records…

g. Subject line – Some writers prefer to use subject lines in a letter

September 22, 2020

Subject: Policy #45637-B7

Ms. Victoria Alindogan

h. Body – The body of a letter is typed single-spaced and is

o Although computers can justify the right margins, most

i. Closing – The closing appears two lines below the last

o The most common dosing expressions are ―Very truly

j. Signature block – The signature begins four lines below the

k. Notation – The notation begins two lines below the signature

Ms. Sonia Corpuz 2 September 20, 2020

m. Envelope – Post office scanning equipment can process