ESSENTIALS OF

BUSINESS
WRITINGS
Writing correspondences is an
essential activity of any business,
academic, or industrial
organization.
ADVANTAGES:
They allow the writer to have time to
think about the message he/she wants to
convey thoroughly.
They are more accessible and can be
retrieved by the reader at any time
convenient to him/her.
They present the message in details.
They can be documented and filed.
BUSINESS LETTER
An effective business letter elicit the
expected response from the reader.
A business letter serves several purposes:
 for sales efforts,
 for complaints,
 for information dissemination,
 for relationship building, and
 for problem-solving
PARTS OF A BUSINESS
LETTER
 LETTER HEAD
 It identifies the writer, his/her
address, and contact numbers.

DATE
 It is placed between the letterhead
and the inside address.
 INSIDE ADDRESS
 It identifies the reader’s name,
position, and company, and address. It
should be place immediately below the
date.
 ATTENTION LINE
It is used when the writer wishes to
address the whole company but wants to
bring it to the attention of a particular
person in the company.
SALUTATION
 It refers to the writer’s greeting to the
reader.
 BODY
 It contains the message of the letter.
Paragraph are singled-space internally
but doubled-space to separate
paragraphs.

COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
 It is an expression used to end a letter.
HIGHLY FORMAL Respectfully yours,
Respectfully,
Very respectfully,

POLITE AND FORMAL Very truly yours,

Yours very truly,
Yours truly,

LESS FORMAL Sincerely yours,

Yours,
Cordially yours,

INFORMAL AND FRIENDLY As ever,

Best regards,
Kindly regards,
Regards,
 SIGNATURE BLOCK
 Includes the signature and the typed
name of the sender.
The typed named can be in all caps
(PETER BURKIN) or CLC format
(Peter Burkin).
 IDENTIFICATION INITIALS
 It indicates the typist’s initials if the
sender is not the one who personally
typed the document.
 ENCLOSURE NOTATION
 It indicates the attachments to the
letter. It can be written in the following
formats:

 Enclosures (2)
 Enclosure
 enc. / encl.
 COPY NOTATION
 It indicates the name of the
secondary recipients of the letter. It is
indicated by cc: which means carbon
copy or courtesy copies.
FULL BLOCK
MODIFIED BLOCK
SEMI BLOCK
TIPS FOR WRITING A LETTER
1) Use a language that is appropriate to
the target readers.
2) Arrange your ideas logically.
3) Use a direct but tactful tone.
4) Use the active voice in most of your
sentences.
5) When writing, put yourselves in the
shoes of the target readers
6) Use correct format, punctuation,
spelling, and grammar.
7) Specify the receiver’s name. However,
if it is impossible to get the name of
the receiver, use a generic title such as
The Human Resource Director.
MEMORANDUM
 a business correspondence
which aims to inform and
persuade target readers who
are within the organizations.
Five Types of Memo
1. Instruction Memo
2. Request Memo
3. Announcement Memo
4. Transmittal Memo
5. Authorization Memo
ADVANTAGES:
 It reaches a large numbers of
readers at the same time.
 It provides a written record that
can be accessed any time.
 It allows a detailed and accurate
delivery of message.
DISADVANTAGES:
 It is not an ideal to convey
complex topics since memos are
generally used for short tests.
 It takes time to reach distant
branches and offices.
 It is more expensive than E-mail.
PARTS OF A MEMO
 Letterhead
 "To" Line
 Attention Line
 "From" Line
 Subject Line
 Body
 Identification initials
 Enclosure notation
 Copy Notation
ELECTRONIC
MAIL
(E-MAIL)
A new form of business
communication
Essential not only in the work place
but also in personal communication
Revolutionized the way people
communicate
Similar to memos and letters
USES OF E-MAIL
 To give directions
 To transmit documents
 To record important data or
information
 To confirm requests
 To explain procedures
 To make recommendations
 To inquire
 To submit feasibility and status
reports
ADVANTAGES OF E-MAIL
It reaches the target reader fast.
It confirms an acceptance or rejections
easily.
It is less costly than letters and memos.
It can easily reach the farthest parts of the
globe.
It is environment-friendly.
It is easier to document.
DISADVANTAGES OF E-MAIL
 It is prone to hacking and technical
glitches.
 It can cause information overload.
 It can be used to transmit computer
virus.
TIPS FOR WRITING AN E-MAIL
OR A MEMO
1. Make the subject line informative or
descriptive of the memo content.
2. Keep the subject line simple and
short.
3. Do not change the subject line when
you are replying to an e-mail.
4. The “to” line should contain the names
of the primary readers. Secondary
readers must be place in the cc line.
5. Ensure the correctness of the e-mail
address of the recipients.
6. Make the file name of the attached
document meaningful.
7. Never use ”all caps” in the main text.
8. State you purpose in the first sentence
of the memo.
9. If the message is sensitive, compose it
first using the word processor.
10. Avoid emoticons and informal jargons
in formal memos.