Letters:
•Use letters to communicate outside your organization.
•Whereas the memorandum is the primary vehicle for
communication within an organization,letters are often used to communicate
to individuals outside it, especially in formal and
semiformal contexts.
Types of Letters:
•The following are some of the most common types of letters
written by people in technical
fields.
–Job application letters
–Acceptance letters
–Transmittal letters
–Inquiry letters
–Technical-information letters
–Letters of recommendation
Format of a Letter:
•If your organization has a specific style for business
letters, follow that format. Otherwise,
follow the guidelines provided here.
•Business letters are commonly either full-block formatted,
with every line starting at the left
margin and usually a business letterhead at the top of the
page, or modified-block formatted,
with the heading and the closing aligned at the center of
the page.
Elements of a Letter:
•Business letters have the following elements:
•–Heading
–Date
–Recipient's address
–Salutation
–Body
–Closing
–End notations
Heading:
•If you are using letterhead stationery, include only the
date two lines below the bottom of
the letterhead.
•Spell out the name of month.
Recipient's Address:
•Two to four lines below the date, place the following
items:
•The recipient's title (such as
Mr.,
Ms.,
or Dr.)
and full name (address a woman who does
not have a professional title as
Ms.
unless you know she prefers
Miss
or
Mrs.;
if the recipient
does not have a title and you are unsure of his or her
gender, omit the title).
Recipient's Address:
•The recipient's job title, if appropriate.
•The name of the company or institution, if appropriate.
•The full address, following the same format as for the
address in the heading.
•The recipient's address is always aligned on the left
margin.
Salutation:
•Place the salutation two lines below the recipient's
address.
•The salutation begins with the word
Dear,
continues with the recipient's title and last name,
and ends with a colon.
Body:
•Start the letter two lines after the salutation. Body
paragraphs should be single spaced with
a double space between paragraphs.
•Indenting the first line of each paragraph is acceptable
but is more informal than the
unindented style.
Closing Phrase:
•Write a complimentary closing phrase two lines below the
final body paragraph.
• Yours
truly, Sincerely, or
Sincerely yours
are common endings for professional letters.
•Capitalize the first letter of the first word of your
complimentary closing, and end the
complimentary closing with a comma.
End Notations:
•At the bottom of the last page of a business letter, end
notations may show who typed the
letter, whether any materials are enclosed with the letter,
and who is receiving a copy of the
letter.
Example:
Enclosure: Article by Ali Bashir
Encl. (2)
Enc. (2)
Example:
cc: Dr. Maria Aalam
Mr. Waleed Usman
Job Application Letters:
•Write job application letters that identify a specific area
of employment, summarize your
qualifications for the job, refer to an enclosed résumé, and
request the next step of the
application process, usually an interview.
Application letters:
•Application letters are usually just one page and consist
of three sections:
•–Front Matter
–Body
–End Matter
Front Matter:
•State that you are applying for a specific job title or
field.
•Also mention the person who referred you or told you about
the job.
•If you learned of the job from an advertisement, mention
that.
Body:
•Explain specifically why you are qualified for the job.
•Describe education and work experience and any other
activities that display relevant
talents, such as foreign-language proficiencies and
leadership or supervisory experience.
End Matter:
•Refer to your enclosed résumé and express your desire for
an interview, stating when and
where you will be available for one.
•In addition, invite further inquiries, and state how you
can be contacted.
Acceptance Letters:
•Letters accepting a job not only convey information, but
also establish a contractual
relationship between you and the organization or person
offering you the position.
•Consequently, acceptance letters should accurately restate
the key terms of employment.
Format:
•Begin the first paragraph by enthusiastically accepting the
job.
•Be sure to state the exact title of the job and the salary.
•The second paragraph usually discusses details about the
position, especially the date that
you will begin work.
Transmittal Letters:
•A transmittal or cover letter accompanies a larger item,
usually a document.
•The transmittal letter provides the recipient with a
specific context in which to place the
larger document and simultaneously gives the sender a
permanent record of having sent the
material.
Revision:
•Letters
– Job Application Letters
– Acceptance Letters
– Transmittal Letters
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