Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

Unit III Business Correspondence Letter; Paragraph by comparison and contrast; Transition Words
Course Intended Learning Write technical discourses that demonstrate appropriate technical writing style: i.e., a clear, precise, and
Outcomes concise language and sentences.
Essential Questions What are the different kinds of business letters?
What are the different formats of business letters?
Overview This lesson is designed to equip learners with the needed knowledge and skills in writing effective business
correspondence. It aims to impart the holistic concept of being productive in generating objective results when
sending business messages.
Learning Targets At the end of this lesson, students should be able to:
a. Write business correspondence.
b. Identify parts and formats of business letters and their technicalities.
c. Analyze the audience, purpose, and occasion in writing a letter.
d. Identify transition words and use them in writing compositions.

In business, written communication is important medium for passing information. This form of written
communication used for business purposes is termed as Business correspondence. The correspondence in business
communication can happen within the organization, between different organizations,
Activation of Prior or between client and organization.
Knowledge
The importance of business correspondence lies in the fact that it is the formal way
of exchanging information by which professional relationship is maintained between organizations, employees,
and clients. Since it is in a written form, it can serve as a future reference for the information being communicated.

Business correspondence happens daily in the lives of businessmen in the form of letters to suppliers, letters of
inquiry, complaint letters, job application letters, and few other forms.

Business Correspondence meaning

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Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

Business correspondence is an umbrella term used for any form of written

Presentation and communication which happens in business relationships. It could be with business
development of partners or internal communication within the organization.
Concepts
Business correspondence is mostly in the form of letters. People related to any
business understand the significance of business letters since this correspondence in
business communication can be used by them to express themselves, as a doubt or clarification regarding any
uncertainty.

The Importance of Business Correspondence

Business correspondence is essential in realizing organizational goals. Meeting people personally can be quite a
time-consuming job hence business correspondence helps business with:

 Maintaining Proper Relationships

 Acts As Evidence
 Creating Goodwill
 Costs Very Less
 Removes Ambiguity in Communication
 Helps Businesses Expand and Grow

Types of Business Correspondence

There are six most common kinds of business correspondences in the business community as defined below:

1. Internal Correspondence – The flow of information between employees, departments, branches, and
units of the same company is termed as internal correspondence. They can be formal or informal.

a. Some examples of formal internal correspondence are promotion letter, a formal request for approval,
memorandum, etc. They are mostly printed on paper.

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Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

b. A routine or informal internal correspondence can be a quick instruction between a manager and
subordinate, which are mostly in the form emails.

2. External Correspondence – the communication between 2 different organizations or between an

organization and a client.

3. Sales Correspondence - any communication related to sales. It includes marketing letters, invoices,
discount letters, statements of accounts, etc.

4. Routine Correspondence – such correspondence happens routinely like orders, inquiries, invitations,
replies, etc.

5. Personalized Correspondence – involves personal and emotional factors. Examples are letters of
gratitude, congratulation letters, appreciation notes, letter request for a recommendation, etc.

6. Circular – used when a business has to convey a common matter to a large audience. For examples are
notices of tenders, change in contact information, etc.

Common Components of A Business Letter

 Heading – contains the writer’s address and the date of writing the letter. It does not include the writer’s
name.
 Inside Address – shows the name and address of the recipients. This is a required part as it helps in
avoiding any confusion and also if the recipient has changed addresses, then this can help in determining
what needs to be done with the letter.
 Salutation – a direct address to the letter’s recipient, which is followed by a colon. A comma is used in the
place of the colon if the tone of the letter is friendly or sociable.
 Subject – the subject line conveys the main objective of the business letter.
 Body – this is the actual message.
 Complimentary close – one closes a business letter with complimentary close notations like “sincerely
yours”, “cordially”, “respectfully”, and other formal but non-wordy closing formats.

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Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

 Signature block – this comes 4 lines after the complimentary close which has your name and signature.
Your name can have the designation or position you hold in your business.
 Initials – this is the initials of the writer all in capital letters.
 Enclosures – if you are enclosing anything with the letter then that needs to be mentioned in the following
format: “Encl: Resume” or “Enclosure: Resume.”
 Copies – the end notations must also indicate if copies of the letter are sent to others. You mention this as:
“cc: Mr., attorney.”

Business Correspondence Forms:

 CV or resume
 Letter of application
 Confirmation of reservation
 Email communication
 Invitation card
 Newsletter
 Motivation letter
 Cover letter
 Letter of Claim or complaints
 Demand – demand response like proposal or bid
 Business contract
 Urgency – respond to urgencies
 Reminder
 Direct marketing
 Printed advertising and marketing materials like brochures, leaflets, etc.
 Notice of Termination of employment
 Letter of recommendations

The Ways to Make a the Paragraphs Effective

A paragraph in business letters must consist of the following features:

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Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

 A topic sentence – it should begin with the main idea of the paragraph following by supporting content.
 Unity – the paragraph must focus on only one idea.
 Coherence – sentences in the paragraph must be linked logically and are related to one another.
 Development – give examples, evidence, facts to develop the idea of the paragraph.

Paragraph by Comparison and Contrast

The Comparison paragraph compares two subjects and discusses how they are alike and lists a few examples. In
the contrast paragraph, two subjects are discussed as how they are different, again, listing a few examples. There
are two ways to write a paragraph, first, there is the point by point paragraph and there is the blocked paragraph. In
the point by point, writing back and forth between the two subjects. First, talking about topic A. then talk about
topic B., then right back to topic A. and so on. Finally, the block paragraph only discusses one topic and then
finishes the paragraph with the other subject that is to be compared or contrasted with the first. Then the
conclusion puts what your comparing or contrasting together.
Transitional expressions used in comparison: Transitional expressions used in contrast:
in the same way although
and, also, in addition whereas
as well as but
both, neither however
each of conversely
just as...so on the other hand
similarly in contrast
like while
too yet
the same unlike

Example of a compare-contrast paragraph:

My Hogs

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Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

Although I raised Marcee and Obbie from puppies, they have completely diverse personalities. Obbie is a six year
old, male, toy Pomeranian whereas Marcee is a one year old, female, Boston terrier. Obbie is small and soft, unlike
Marcee who has bristly hair and is much bigger. Marcee insists on sleeping on the bed, under the covers every
night. On the other hand, Obbie will only sleep on the floor, under the bed. Obbie is tremendously loyal and
uptight; however, Marcee is hyper and friendly to anyone she meets or sees. Around other dogs, Marcee cowers to
the larger dog, yet Obbie will always stand his ground, never giving up until he is scolded. Given that they were
both treated the same way all their life, it is hard to believe that they are so different in everything they do.

~© 2005 Kayla Marie Anfinson~

Transitional Words and Phrases

This page only provides a list of transitional words; be certain you understand their meanings before you use them.
Often, there exists a slight, but significant, difference between two apparently similar words. Also remember that
while transitions describe relationships between ideas, they do not automatically create relationships between ideas
for your reader. Use transitions with enough contexts in a sentence or paragraph to make the relationships clear.

Example of unclear transition:

The characters in Book A face a moral dilemma. In the same way, the characters in Book B face a similar problem.

Improved transition:

The characters in Book A face a moral dilemma, a contested inheritance. Although the inheritance in Book B
consists of an old house and not a pile of money, the nature of the problem is quite similar.

Examples of Transitions:

Illustration
Thus, for example, for instance, namely, to illustrate, in other words, in particular, specifically, such as.

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Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

Contrast
On the contrary, contrarily, notwithstanding, but, however, nevertheless, in spite of, in contrast, yet, on one
hand, on the other hand, rather, or, nor, conversely, at the same time, while this may be true.

Addition
And, in addition to, furthermore, moreover, besides, than, too, also, both-and, another, equally important,
first, second, etc., again, further, last, finally, not only-but also, as well as, in the second place, next,
likewise, similarly, in fact, as a result, consequently, in the same way, for example, for instance, however,
thus, therefore, otherwise.

Time
After, afterward, before, then, once, next, last, at last, at length, first, second, etc., at first, formerly, rarely,
usually, another, finally, soon, meanwhile, at the same time, for a minute, hour, day, etc., during the
morning, day, week, etc., most important, later, ordinarily, to begin with, afterwards, generally, in order to,
subsequently, previously, in the meantime, immediately, eventually, concurrently, simultaneously.

Space
At the left, at the right, in the center, on the side, along the edge, on top, below, beneath, under, around,
above, over, straight ahead, at the top, at the bottom, surrounding, opposite, at the rear, at the front, in front
of, beside, behind, next to, nearby, in the distance, beyond, in the forefront, in the foreground, within sight,
out of sight, across, under, nearer, adjacent, in the background.

Concession
Although, at any rate, at least, still, thought, even though, granted that, while it may be true, in spite of, of
course.

Similarity or Comparison
Similarly, likewise, in like fashion, in like manner, analogous to.

Emphasis

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Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

Above all, indeed, truly, of course, certainly, surely, in fact, really, in truth, again, besides, also,
furthermore, in addition.
Details
Specifically, especially, in particular, to explain, to list, to enumerate, in detail, namely, including.

Examples
For example, for instance, to illustrate, thus, in other words, as an illustration, in particular.

Consequence or Result
So that, with the result that, thus, consequently, hence, accordingly, for this reason, therefore, so, because,
since, due to, as a result, in other words, then.

Summary
Therefore, finally, consequently, thus, in short, in conclusion, in brief, as a result, accordingly.

Suggestion
For this purpose, to this end, with this in mind, with this purpose in mind, therefore.

Learning Task 1: Paragraph by Comparison and Contrast

Application the
generalized concepts Peter and Marcus have both written short descriptions of their pets. Read each description. Then make a Venn
diagram below to compare and contrast the two dogs.

PETER MARCUS

My dog Speedy is my very best friend. Speedy is a Boston Terrier.
He’s small, but he’s very, very fast. That’s how he got his name!
Speedy likes to push a big ball around the back yard with his chest. The
ball is bigger than he is! Speedy is very active, and he joins in whatever
I do.
Learning Task 2: Transition Words: Connecting Ideas
Butch is a giant bulldog. He’s lazy, and he doesn’t want to do anything
but sleep. If you accidentally disturb him while he is sleeping, he’ll
growl at you. His favorite toy is a tennis ball, but Butch’s mouth is so
big that you can never tell if he has the tennis ball with him or not.
And he doesn’t play with it, he just carries it around!

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Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

Use the words in the column B to connect to the clauses in the column A. You should only use a transition word or
phrase once.

A B

1. The girls wanted an ice cream cone, ___________ they left the park early. a. in addition

2. Mother didn’t have time to go to the store; ___________ there was no milk in b. otherwise
the refrigerator. c. although
3. There is no homework tonight; ___________ there has been no homework d. therefore
this week.
e. in fact
4. James and his team didn’t finish the project; ___________ they did work
f. furthermore
hard.
g. similarly
5. You can come with us if you are ready; ___________ you will have to ride
the bus. h. consequently

6. It is important to complete your homework; ___________ it should be turned i. actually

in on time. j. so
7. Mrs. Simpson grumpy some times; ___________ we should help her k. however
whenever we can.
l. nevertheless
8. Students should be quiet during the play; ___________ applause at the end is
m. yet
allowed.
n. instead
9. The Johnson children get an allowance every week; ___________ they earn
Assessment money for completing chores. o. moreover
Learning Task 3: Advanced Practical Writing p. particularly
10. The rhino in Africa is threatened with extinction; ___________ many
species of gorilla are also endangered.
In preparation for your upcoming profession, you are assigned to write the following letters integrating everything
you learned from this lesson. These will be equivalent to 100 points. Please see the rubric below.

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Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

a. Application/ Cover letter

b. Resume
c. Request
d. Complaint
e. Explanation

RUBRIC:
Content - 10 points
Organization - 5 points
Language - 5 points
(Spelling, grammar, punctuations, capitalization)
Total - 20 points

Additional References:

Business correspondence – Meaning, types and important FAQs. (2020, September 12). Retrieved from
https://www.vedantu.com/commerce/business-correspondence

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Technical Writing in the Profession (ENG 145) College of Arts and Sciences

English120 / contrast and comparison paragraph. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://english120.pbworks.com/w/page/19006833/contrast%20and

%20comparison%20paragraph

Taraba, J. (n.d.). Writer's web: Transitional words and phrases. Retrieved from https://writing2.richmond.edu/writing/wweb/trans1.html

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