LETTERS, MEMOS,

& EMAILS
LORENZO RUIZ C. COSTO, LPT
INSTRUCTOR
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An effective business letter elicits

the expected response from the
readers.
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This can be achieved through concise,

tactful, and accurate writing style.
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A business letter serves several purposes: for

sales efforts, for complaints, for information
dissemination, for relationship-building, for
problem-solving, etc.
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Letter refers to a message in writing, which may be in any

language or in code, contained in a sealed or unsealed
envelope or not in an envelope at all, of such physical
dimensions and weights allowed by the corporation or
government, and intended for delivery to a person or entity
displayed legibly on one of its faces.
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POINTS TO CONSIDER WHEN WRITING A LETTER

 Business Letters serves one purpose.

 Business Letters are expensive.

 Business Letters serves s a record.

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PARTS OF THE BUSINESS LETTER
1. LETTER HEAD 7. COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE

2. DATE 8. SIGNATURE BLOCK

3. INSIDE ADDRESS 9. IDENTIFICATION INITIALS

4. ATTENTION LINE 10. ENCLOSURE NOTATION

5. SALUTATION 11. COPY NOTATION

6. BODY
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LETTERHEAD identifies the writer, his/her address,

and contact numbers.
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When you are using a heading instead of

letterhead, place the date on the first line and
the address on the subsequent lines
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DATE placed between the letterhead and the

inside address. Never use plain numerals for
dates to avoid confusion.
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The standard dateline in the U.S. is

month/day/year: (March 15, 20XX). In Europe,
however, the most widely used format is
day/month/year: (15 March 20XX).
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INSIDE ADDRESS identifies the reader’s name,

position and company, and address. It should
be placed immediately below the date.
 COMPLETE
TITLE NAME

POSITION
DR. JUAN M. SANTOS
President
ABC COMPANY BUSINESS NAME

101 Central Avenue, BUSINESS ADDRESS

1107 Quezon City ZIP CODE

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ATTENTION LINE is used when the writer wishes to

address the whole company but wants to bring
the subject or topic of the letter to the attention
of a particular person in the company.
 SUPERIOR

MR. MIKE A. MARIANO

Manager
Silangan Enterprises
SUBORDINATE
15 Narra Street, Commonwealth
1108 Quezon City

Attention: MISS SUSAN C. PEREZ

ChiefMarketing Division
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SALUTATION is the writer’s greeting to the

reader. It can be appear in different formats.
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GUIDELINES FOR NAMES & TITLES

(FOR SALUTATIONS)
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The salutation should typically use the person's

last name, along with a "Mr." or "Ms." In general,
avoid using "Mrs." or "Miss" unless you are certain
of how the woman wants to be addressed.
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When in doubt, default to using "Ms."

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If you are writing to someone who has a

doctorate or medical degree, use the
abbreviated form: "Dr." However, for other titles,
such as professor, judge, rabbi, etc., write out
the full title and capitalize it.
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Sometimes a person's gender is unclear from a

name, simply write out the person's full name,
dropping the title.
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If you don't have a contact person at the

organization, you can either leave off the
salutation and start with the first paragraph of
your letter or use a general salutation.
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General Salutations for Business Letters

Dear Hiring Manager

To Whom It May Concern

Dear Human Resources Manager

Dear Sir or Madam

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BODY contains the message of the letter.

Paragraphs are single-spaced internally but
double spaced to separate paragraphs.
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COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE is an expression used to

end a letter.
 Respectfully yours,

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HIGHLY FORMAL Respectfully,

Very Respectfully,

Very truly yours,

POLITE & FORMAL Yours very truly,

Yours truly,
As ever,

INFORMAL & Best regards,

FRIENDLY Kindest regards,

Regards,
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SIGNATURE BLOCK includes the signature and

the typed name of the sender. The typed name
can be in upper case. The space for the
signature should be three to five lines.
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IDENTIFICATION INITIALS indicates the typist’s

initials if the sender is not the who personally
typed/ encoded the document.
 WRITER’S INITIAL
Very truly yours,
ENCODER’S INITIAL
HON. JOEY A. MARCOS
City Mayor

Lor’16/Cc’16 REFERENCE INITIAL

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ENCLOSURE NOTATION are the attachments to the
letter. It can be written in the following formats:

Enclosures (2)
Enclosure
enc. / encl.
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COPY NOTATION indicates the name of the

secondary recipients of the letter. It is indicated
by “cc:” which means carbon copy or courtesy
copies.
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GUIDELINES IN WRITING A BUSINESS LETTER

1. Present your ideas clearly by using language

appropriate to your reader.

2. Arrange your ideas logically.

3. Use direct and tactful tone.

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GUIDELINES IN WRITING A BUSINESS LETTER

4. Use active voice as much as possible.

5. Use correct format, punctuation, spelling,

and grammar.
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FORMATS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

1. BLOCK 4. SIMPLIFIED

2. MODIFIED BLOCK 5. HANGING INDENTED

3. MODIFIED SEMI- 6. MEMO

BLOCK
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The BLOCK FORMAT is by far the simplest. Every

part of the letter starts at the left margin, with
spaces between each part. It has a

professional look to it.

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Modified Block has the advantage of

separating paragraphs so that each one stands
out. The spacing between sections remains the
same as in the Block.
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The date, signature and closing are placed to

the right, thus allowing them to stand out. The
complimentary close and the signature are
aligned and placed near the center of the
letter, two spaces below the last paragraph.
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Modified Semi-Block is the format most

commonly taught as “the business letter.” It is
the same as the Modified Block except that the
paragraphs are indented five spaces. All
spacing remains the same.
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The SIMPLIFIED FORMAT is useful when you do

not know the title of the person you are writing
to or when you are writing to a company,
government agency or organization.
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It eliminates the courtesy titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms.,

Dr.), the salutations and the complimentary

close. The focus of the letter is on the body and

what is to be said. The spacing is the same as
the block format.
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HANGING INDENTED is seldom used. Its main

advantage is that it calls attention to the body
and each of the paragraphs. Spacing between

the lines and sections is the same as in previous

examples.
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The sixth form of letter is the MEMO. Though used

primarily as an interoffice communication, it is
occasionally used as a business letter format.
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The word memorandum comes from the

Latin word memorare which means to
remember. Hence, a memo is meant to
inform as well as to persuade people within
the company.
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It follows an inverted pyramid structure; that is,

the most important information comes first.
MOST IMPORTANT INFORMATION

SUPPORTING DATA
&
EXAMPLES

LEAST
IMPORTANT
INFORMATION
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TYPES OF MEMOS
1. INSTRUCTION MEMO
2. REQUEST MEMO
3. ANNOUNCEMENT MEMO
4. TRANSMITTAL MEMO
5. AUTHORIZATION MEMO
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INSTRUCTION MEMO – provides information that

the readers need to accurately perform
directions.
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REQUEST MEMO – ask readers to provide certain

information or take particular actions.
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TRANSMITTAL MEMO – serves as a cover note for

a more formal or lengthy document.
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AUTHORIZATION MEMO – gives permission or

approval.
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ADVATANGES OF A MEMO:
1. IT REACHES A LARGE NUMBER OF READERS AT THE
SAME TIME
2. IT PROVIDES A WRITTEN RECORD THAT CAN BE
ACCESSED ANYTIME
3. IT ENSURES A DETAILED AND ACCURATE DELIVERY OF
THE MESSAGE.
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PARTS OF A MEMO

1. LETTER HEAD 6. SUBJECT LINE

2. DATE LINE 7. BODY

3. “TO” LINE 8. IDENTIFICATION INITIALS

4. ATTENTION LINE 9. ENCLOSURE NOTATION

5. “FROM” LINE 10. COPY NOTATION

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Electronic mail, or e-mail, is a relatively new

form of written communication in the
business world. The use of e-mail meets the
needs of the fast pace of business and
society.
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Email, short for Electronic Mail, consists of messages
which are sent and received using the Internet.
There are many different email services available
that allow you to create an email account and send
and receive email and attachments, many of which
are free.
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ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
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