BUSINESS LETTERS

AND MEMOS

COURSE CODE : BUS 313

MD. HASAN TAWHID
SR. LECTURER, KHWAJA YUNUS ALI UNIVERSITY
INDEX

 Letters

 Standard Parts of a Letter (Addresses & Delivery Notations)

 Supplementary Parts of a Letter

 Letter Formats

 Personal Business Letters

 Envelopes
LETTERS

• Letters are used for written messages to individuals outside an organization. Letters are also used to
communicate formal written messages to employees within an organization.
STANDARD PARTS OF A LETTER

• The number and location of letter parts depend on

the format you select. As shown in Figure 6.1, most
letters contain seven standard parts:
 heading
 inside address
 salutation
 body
 complimentary close
 signature block and
 reference initials.
STANDARD PARTS OF A LETTER

• 1. HEADING : The first standard part of a letter is the heading, which consists of the letterhead or return
address and the date. Business organizations should use letterhead stationery for the first page of a
letter. The stationery can be designed and prepared by a professional printer or created using a personal
computer. Individuals preparing personal business messages may prefer to use a return address and
dateline rather than create their own letterhead. A letterhead contains the name of the organization
and its complete mailing address and other mailing address. Dates may be in one of the following two
styles: June 9,2020, 9 June 2020
• 2. INSIDE ADDRESS : The inside address includes some or all of the following: the receiver’s courtesy
title (Ms., Miss, Mrs., Mr., Dr., or other title), receiver’s name, receiver’s professional title, department
name, company name, receiver’s street address (or some other specific mailing designation, such as
post office box number), city, state, and ZIP code. Abbreviate street addresses (e.g. (exempli gratia), Ave.
instead of Avenue; Rd. instead of Road) only when necessary to achieve a balanced display.
STANDARD PARTS OF A LETTER

Correct Incorrect
Dear Ms.Shelton Dear Ms.Rita
Shelton
• SALUTATION: The salutation is the greeting that begins
the message. The content of the salutation depends on Dear Rita Dear Ms.Rita
the first line of the inside address. When a letter is
addressed to a company and contains an attention line, Dear Mr.& Dear McCoys
the salutation is directed to the company and not to Mrs.McCoy
the person named in the attention line. The formality of
the salutation depends on the relationship between the Dear Jack and Dear Adlers
Tanya
sender and the receiver. If you do not know the gender
of the addressee, use the receiver’s full name without a Dear Customers Dear Gentlemen
courtesy title (Dear M. L. Benson). Examples of correct Ladies and Dear Ladies and
and incorrect salutations include the following: Gentlemen Gentlemen
STANDARD PARTS OF A LETTER

• BODY: The body is the message section of the letter. It begins a double space below the salutation. The
body is single spaced within paragraphs and double spaced between paragraphs. The paragraphs may
be indented or blocked, depending on the letter format selected.
• COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE : The complimentary close ends the message. The word(s) used in the close
should match the formality of the message, as shown in the following:

Formal Business General Business Informal Business

Correspondence Correspondence Correspondence

Respectfully Sincerely Sincerely

Very truly yours Sincerely Yours Sincerely yours
Sincerely yours Cordially yours
STANDARD PARTS OF A LETTER

• SIGNATURE BLOCK : The signature block contains the writer’s signed name, keyed name, and title. The
name is keyed four spaces (lines) below the complimentary close. A courtesy title is optional in the
signature block. It may be included, with or without parentheses, when the gender of the writer is
unclear (e.g., Pat, Kim, or Lynn). The name and position title may appear on the same line or on
separate lines, whichever creates the more balanced display.
STANDARD PARTS OF A LETTER

• REFERENCE INITIALS : Reference initials show who keyed the letter. When the letter is keyed by
someone other than the person who wrote it, the keyboarder includes his or her initials in the
document. The initials of the writer may also be included, but they are not required. If the writer is
someone other than the person who signs the letter, display the writer’s initials with those of the
keyboarder. The writer’s initials should be uppercase letters; the keyboarder’s, lowercase. The sets of
initials may be separated by either a colon or a diagonal. Place the reference initials flush with the left
margin a double space below the sender’s title. Examples of reference initials are the following:
• ev (keyboarder’s initials) NRE:pd (writer’s initials:keyboarder’s initials) JHT/ras (writer’s
initials/keyboarder’s initials)
SUPPLEMENTARY PARTS OF A LETTER

• In addition to the seven standard parts, letters may contain one or more supplementary parts. These
parts include the
• attention line,
• subject line,
• company name in signature block,
• enclosure notation,
• copy notation, and
• postscript.
SUPPLEMENTARY PARTS OF A LETTER

• Attention line : When a company name is used as the first line of the inside address, the attention line
can be used to direct the letter to a person, position title, or department within the company. Using a
person’s name in the first line of the inside address is preferred over using an attention line. Placing the
attention line a double space below the last line of the inside address is more traditional. In either case,
the attention line may be keyed with all capital letters or a combination of initial capital and lowercase
letters. The word Attention should not be abbreviated. Placing a colon after the word Attention is
optional. The salutation agrees with the first line of the address and not the attention line.

College Station Medical Center College Station Medical Center

ATTENTION:RADIOLOGY 1604 Rock Prairie Road
1604 Rock Prairie Road College Station,TX 77842-1437
College Station,TX 77842-1437 Attention:Beth Ek,Nurse Manager
Ladies and Gentlemen: Ladies and Gentlemen
SUPPLEMENTARY PARTS OF A LETTER

• SUBJECT LINE The subject line identifies the topic of the letter. It is considered part of the body of the
letter. The subject line should be short—less than one line—and should not be a complete sentence.
The key words contained in a subject line help office personnel sort and route incoming mail and code
documents for storage and retrieval.
SUPPLEMENTARY PARTS OF A LETTER
• COMPANY NAME IN SIGNATURE BLOCK The name of the company may be keyed in uppercase letters a
double space below the complimentary close. The company name is placed in the signature block when
the letter is contractual in nature or when the letter is printed on plain paper rather than on letterhead
stationery. The first character of the company name is aligned with the first character of the
complimentary close. An example of a company name in the signature block follows:
• Sincerely,
• FALCON ACCOUNTING
• Jamie Falcon
• (Ms.) Jamie Falcon,President
• This addition is not commonly used with letterhead stationery, nor is it used in the simplified letter
format.
SUPPLEMENTARY PARTS OF A LETTER

• ENCLOSURE OR ATTACHMENT NOTATION Any item sent with the letter, such as a check, invoice, or
photograph, is considered an enclosure. When something is included with a letter, an enclosure notation
should be keyed a single or double space below the reference initials. The writer may list the items enclosed
or merely indicate the number as part of the notation. When items are attached to the letter, use in place of
the enclosure notation. Examples of enclosure and attachment notations are as follows:

Enclosure or Enc. Attachment or Att.

Check enclosed Attachment: Reimbursement form
Enclosures 3 Attachments (2)
3 Enc. Att.3
SUPPLEMENTARY PARTS OF A LETTER

• COPY NOTATION A copy notation is used when a copy of a letter is being sent to someone other than
the addressee. The copy notation may appear as cc for courtesy copy or c for copy. The copy notation is
keyed flush with the left margin and a double space below the reference initials (or enclosure notation,
if used). The names of the individuals or groups to receive the copies should be keyed after the
notation. Examples of copy notations include the following:

cc:Tim Miller c:Ms.Chin Deng

cc:Tim Miller,Sue Manos 112 West Elm Street
c:Accounting Skokie,IL 60676-2726

• A blind copy notation is used when it is unnecessary or inappropriate for an addressee to know that a
copy of the letter is being sent to other individuals.
SUPPLEMENTARY PARTS OF A LETTER

• POSTSCRIPT A postscript may be used to add a personal comment or to emphasize an important point
discussed in the body of the letter. It should not be used to add information omitted from the body of
the letter. The postscript, whether keyed or handwritten, should follow the last notation and be
formatted in the same style as the paragraphs of the message. The notation “P.S.” usually is omitted
A sample letter with different parts
PERSONAL BUSINESS LETTERS

• Personal Business Letters

• A personal business letter is written by an individual when conducting business of a personal nature. An
application for employment, a request for information, and a comment about services received are
examples of personal business letters. A good grade of paper should be used for this type of letter. A full
block style or modified block style with mixed or open punctuation is suitable. The return address of the
sender should be placed two inches from the top edge of the paper. The date should be keyed on the
line below the return address; however, the date is not considered a part of the return address.
ENVELOPE NOTATIONS

• Envelopes may have addressee and/or delivery notations. Instructions to individuals handling the
addressee’s mail are keyed in uppercase letters a double space below the return address. These
notations include CONFIDENTIAL, HOLD FOR ARRIVAL, PERSONAL, and PLEASE FORWARD. When an
attention line appears below the inside address in a letter, it is treated as an addressee notation.
Delivery instructions should be keyed in all capital letters a double space below the postage stamp or
meter mark. This placement facilitates electronic scanning and sorting of mail. Mailing instructions
include SPECIAL DELIVERY, SPECIAL HANDLING, REGISTERED, and CERTIFIED.
ENVELOPE NOTATIONS
LETTER FORMATS
• Some organizations designate the format for their letters; others permit the originator to select the
format. The most frequently used formats are full block, modified block, and simplified.
• FULL BLOCK : In full block format all parts of the letter begin at the left margin. This feature makes the
document quick and easy to key.
• MODIFIED BLOCK : The date (or the return address and date), complimentary close, and signature block
begin at the horizontal center of the page in the modified block format. When using the modified block
format, writers choose whether to block or indent the first line of each paragraph in the letter body.
• SIMPLIFIED : The simplified format is often used when a letter is addressed to a company rather than an
individual, when the gender of the receiver is unknown, or when marital status of a female receiver is
unknown. In this style, the salutation and complimentary close are eliminated.
MEMOS AND E-MAIL

• A memo, short for memorandum, is used for internal business communication. Memos are normally
less formal and shorter than letters. E-mail, the electronic version of a memo, is gradually replacing print
memos as the primary method for communicating within an organization.
USES OF MEMOS AND E-MAIL

• Memos and e-mail may be used to communicate upward to superiors, downward to subordinates,
laterally to peers, and diagonally to other members of a network. Information of all kinds can be
conveyed from one department to another through memos and e-mail. In addition, e-mail may be
used as a cost-effective alternative to long-distance telephone calls when requesting information and
responding to inquiries; it may also be used as a cover document for attached files. Because e-mail is
neither protected nor private, it should not be used to discuss confidential information or significant
issues. Also, writers should refrain from using e-mail for long messages or documents requiring a paper
copy.
MEMO FORMAT

• An organization may use more than one format for its memos, or it may specify one format to be used
throughout the organization. Some organizations use printed memo stationery; others ask writers to
use customized word processing templates. Both formats typically contain the guide words To, From,
and Subject (in that order); they may also include the word Date. These guide words replace the date,
inside address, and salutation included in a letter.
PARTS OF A MEMO

• Here you will get Different structure or parts of a memo. There are usually three main parts to a memo:
• 1. The heading 2. Body/ message 3. Typist initials
• 1. The Heading: The heading of a memorandum is usually printed. It contains the name of the organization and
‘To’ ,‘From’ ,’subject’ and ‘Date’ sections. Make sure you address the reader by this or her correct name and job
title. If you want to send the same memo to specific employees, you can list all the names and place a check
mark after a different name on each copy. Or, you can list all the names and request that the memo be routed
from the first-named person through the last-named person. Entire groups can be addressed in a memo and
individual copies can be given to each member of the group. The culture of the organization will determine
whether courtesy or professional titles are included with the names in the To and From sections of the memo.
The subject line is not a complete sentence but rather a concise phrase which indicates some specific
information.
PARTS OF A MEMO
• 2. Body/The message: Message is the main body of a memo. The body of the memo is keyed flush with the
left margin a triple space beneath the Subject. As with letters, text is single spaced within and double
spaced between paragraphs.
• The message contains the following matters:
• (a) Context / Introduction: The context you describe is the event, situation, or background of the problem
or issue you are addressing. Whether it takes a sentence or a paragraph will depend on the complexity of
the situation. For example, the context may begin with: The cleaning company has complained that it takes
too long to clean our floors… .
• (b) Details: In the second paragraph you should write details about information to support the introduction.
It should be logical and separate into the paragraph.
• (c) Response: It is called the action statement. In this paragraph, you should state the action you want to
reader to take, Action you will take, Action that you are requested to take, Deadline etc.
PARTS OF A MEMO

• 3. Typist initials : A memo has no complimentary close or signature block; the writer simply signs or
initials near his or her typed name in the From section of the document. Reference initials, notations,
and continuation page headings are placed and keyed as they would be in a letter.
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STATIONARY
• The appearance and weight of the stationery used when preparing business correspondence will influence the impression
made by those messages. Businesses usually select stationery that matches the purpose of the message. For example, the
stationery used for closing a major business transaction should be of a higher quality than the stationery used for
announcing an upcoming sale to credit card customers.
• Memos and most business letters are prepared on standard-size paper, which measures (US letter size) 8 1/2 by 11 inches
(whereas A4 size is about 8 1/4 x 11 3/4 inches) . Letters from business executives are sometimes placed on 7 1/4- by 10-
inch high-quality stationery called executive stationery. White is the most popular color and is acceptable for all
correspondence, but another color may be chosen because of its link to a company or industry
• The quality of stationery is determined by the amount of rag content in the paper. The rag content is the amount and type of
fiber (usually cotton) used in the composition of the paper. High-quality stationery usually has 25 percent or more rag
content. High-quality stationery also has a watermark showing the name of the company that manufactures the paper or
the emblem of the organization that uses the stationery.
• Written messages convey a positive or negative image of an organization. Select stationery that reflects the importance of
the message.