The Appearance and Design of Business Messages

Chapter Seven

Business Letters

Stationary and Envelopes

Standard Parts of the Letter

Optional Parts of the Letter

Later Layout

Memorandums Stationery Parts of Memorandum Lay out of Memorandum Body/

Envelopes

Introduction of the Chapter Receiving dozens of messages Interviewing Downloading files for analysis Writing report to manager The envelope of a letter will keep its impression

before reading Electronic revolution is changing the way we

communicate: Formats and conventions of written communication

Letters:

Business Letters: Orders Applications Complaints Circulations Memos Termination Letters Appraisal Letters Confirmation

Letters

Social Letters: Love Letter Apology Letter Thank-You Note Appraisals Congratulation Condolence

Elements of Appearance:

1. Stationery

2. Correct Letter Parts & Layouts

Stationery and Envelopes

Quality, Size, Color:

Stationery is one of the first things that the reader of a business letter notices.

Care three things: size, quality, and color.

Stationery Size:

Standard Paper size is 8.5-by-11 inches that fits the office file drawers

Sometimes a special size paper is used for executive prestige, or for special mailings. Its size is 7.5-by-10.5 or 6-by-9 inches.

Disadvantage: Small size paper might be lost because the drawer is made for standard size papers.

Stationery Quality: Quality paper weight is 16 to 20 pound

(weight which is used on most computer printers).

Lighter weight paper printing is underneath.

Heavier paper resists wear (damage). Heavier paper gives the reader the

impression of quality. Paper that has 25% rag content (Rag

contents refers to the percentage of cotton in a paper) might be used for more important communications.

Stationery Quality:

Some papers might have 50 to 100% rag content.

To check the quality of paper, hold the paper upto the light and you will see water mark showing the percentage of cotton used.

Such papers are durable, resist yellowing.

Colors: Black print on white paper gives great glare and is, therefore, hard on the eyes.

We have to choose the color that doesn’t put any strain on the eyes.

Distinctive colors are used easy to find the points.

Color is chosen in order to build the image for one organization.( Psychological Effect)

Colors Purple:

Royalty, Mysterious

Red:

Excitement, danger, increases blood pressure and eye blinking

Yellow:

Cheerfulness, vigor, attention getting, happiness

Buff:

Conservatism, dignity

Brown:

Color of earth, communicates stability and security.

Black:

Communicates mourning and bad lack.

Pink

Daintiness and feminity

Green

Nature, Balance

Multiple Page Letters: All pages of a letter should follow letter head

paper in quality, size, color. Otherwise, it may appear that you are putting on a false front by having only the first page of top quality.

Letterhead:Modern Letterheads occupy no more than two inches at the top of the page.

The firms’ name, address,

ZIP (Zone Improvement Plan) Code,

Telephone no. , fax no. ,internet address, nature of the business, name of the branch, department sending the message

Optional Details are:

Slogan, Trademark, Firms starting date

Letterhead:

PUBLICATIONS ON CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF CHILDRENFamily Research LaboratoryUniversity of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USAPh: (603) 862-2594; Fax: (603) 862-1122 E-mail: murray.straus@unh.eduWebsite: www.unh.edu/frl  and  http://pubpages.unh.edu/~mas2

Presented by:Sean D. McCown, Business Solutions Consultant

Authorized Representative

16 Kingston Road, Unit #8, Exeter, New Hampshire 03833Tel: 603-778-8083  - Fax: 775-924-7964Web Site: www.sean-d-mccown.comEmail: info@sean-d-mccown.comBusiness Hours: 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. ET, Monday - Friday

Letterhead:Many firms today join the growing tendency to place much of this

letterhead at the bottom of the page, where we might call it a letterfoot.

But the firm name is always at the top

Letterhead:

Standard Parts of the Letter

1.Heading 2.Inside Address 3.Salutation 4.Body 5.Complimentary Close 6.Signature Area

Inside Address The inside address includes the name and address of the individual,or

organization to whom you are writing order of the items is:

Ms. Zakira, President Chancellor, National University Of Modern Languages, Kabul

Afghanistan Courtesy Title or a Political Title Mr., Ms., Miss,

Name:Complete name, Initials, Initials and Surname

Executive or Profession Title, if any Dr., President, Human Resources Officer, Computer Operator All parts are typed single-spaced

Inside Address: Courtesy Title and Name

If the addressee has no professional title, such as doctor, or professor, the traditional courtesy titles are Mr., Mrs., Ms. or Miss.

When in doubt about woman’s preference, use Ms. plus her own first and last name.

Inside Address:

Ms. can be used for all business and professional women regardless of their marital status unless they have a title that takes precedence

After courtesy title, add your addressees full name or two initials.

If you don’t know whether the initials are for males or females, use Mr. or Ms. Or delete them altogether.

Inside Address: Executive or Professional Title: The executive or professional title may be typed on: a. The same line as the addressee’s name

1.Mr.Abdullah Farhad, President b. The second line preceding the company’s name, or

2. Mr. Abdullah Farhad President, XYZ Corporation c. A line or two by itself.

3. Dr. Abdullah Farhad Human Resources Officer XYZ Corporation

Salutation (Greeting): The salutation is typed two lines above the body.

– Dear Mr. or [Ms., Mrs. or Miss] Abdullah

– Dear Abdullah [or Sameer, or Surname]

– In general, when addressing a business or another organization, instead of using Gentlemen, we are instructed to use Ladies and Gentlemen.

– After all, the letter may be answered by a woman. Better still may by the use of appropriate titles:

– Dear Supervisors, Dear Board Members, Dear Department Heads, and so forth.

Salutation

– When addressing a person whose name is not known to us, instead of Dear Sir, we can use the title of the known person, such as Dear Credit Manager, Dear Customer, Dear Subscriber, and so forth.

– When a person’s name is known, we can use the acceptable title with the surname or use the full name. In salutations, capitalize all the titles, names, and nouns. Examples:

Salutation:

Dear Ms. Bracken, My dear Mr. Brown Dear Joseph Brewerton If punctuation is used after the salutation, it

should be a colon in a business letter or a comma in a friendly letter.

Dear Dr. Wright: Dear Carol,

Date:

A space of at least three lines shall be kept between the date and the inside address. As stated this can be varied to balance placement, according to the length of the letter, leaving more blank lines for short letter, fewer blank lines for longer letters.

Body I beg to say that….. , Never use.

Complimentary ClosingThe most popular complimentary closes in American letters are the following:

Notice that the first word is capitalized. Sincerely, [most popular] Sincerely yours, Yours sincerely, Very truly yours, Yours very truly, Cordially, Cordially yours, Faithfully and Faithfully yours, Traditionally used

in Asian countries.

Complimentary Closing

Obediently yours, never use. When the letter is informal, additional

complimentary closes are often used, such as Warm regards, Best regards, Best wishes, The term “By direction” in the second line means

that a superior is authorizing the signer.

Signature Area (Lines) Three or more spaces for Signature. But sometimes

more space is needed. It should be in ink. You can include in the signature area several

identifications: name of your company, your signature, your typed written name, and your business title.

If (company name) printed on the letterhead, your company name need not be typed after the complimentary close.

However, if you wish to include COMPANY NAME, type COMPANY NAME in capital letters a double space under the complimentary close.

Signature Area (Signature Line)

Females have to sign with their own names not with their husbands’.

If they want to be addressed by their husbands’ name, then they have to write that in parenthesis or type it below the signature.

Jane M. Steven Jane M. Steven

Ms. Charles F. Steven (Ms. Charles F. Steven)

Signature Area (Lines) Very truly yours,

SignatureJennifer WentheMarketing Manger

Sincerely,WESTWOOD FILMS,INC.SignatureStuart StantonHuman Resources Director

Cordially,SignatureSteven GrantPresident

Optional Parts of the Letter:

1.Reference Line 2.Attention Line 3.Subject Line

4.Enclosure(s)5. Reference Initials6. File or Account No.7.P.S. 8.C.c. (Carbon Copy)

9. B. c. (Blind Copy)

Reference Line

If the recipient specifically requests information, such as a job reference or invoice number, type it on one or two lines, immediately below the date.

You can write the subject line above or below salutation too.

If you are replying to a letter, refer to it here. For example,

Re: Job # 625-01 Re: Your letter dated May 1, 2007 Re: Your Invoice #12310

Attention Line Type the name of the person to whom you are

sending the letter. If you the person’s name in the inside address, skip this. Do the same on the envelope.

If you type an attention line, skip the person’s name in the inside address.

Attention: Ms. Zakira

Research Development Team

Attention Line Why do we use Attention Line? When the writer doesn’t know an individual’s

name but wants the message to go to a particular title, (Sales Manager)

When the writer knows only the person’s surname and therefore doesn’t want to use that name in the salutation.

When the writer expects the addressee travels often and wants the letter to be attended to promptly by whoever takes care of the addressee’s business.

Subject Line

The subject line helps tell your reader at a glance what your letter is about.

The subject line may include or omit the word subject.

It should be a double line above or below the salutation. This may start at the left margin, or centered. The typing may be capitals and lowercase and underlined or all capitals.

If you type a reference line, consider if you really need this line.

Reference Section (Identification Initials)

MLO/mb MLO:mb ML:MB

File or Account No.

To aid in filing and quick retrieval for both the sender’s and reader’s company, some firms require that file, loan, or account numbers be typed above the body of the letter.

It may be typed a double space below the date line and at least a double space before the inside address.

Enclosure Notation Enclosure Notation If an enclosure is being sent with the letter, an enclosure notation

is place at the bottom of the letter at the left margin, a double space below the reference initials.

This notation also alerts the addressee to check for enclosures. One enclosure is a unit that can consist of one or more pages. For example, a letter cover with a two-page resume enclosed is only one enclosure. When more than one item is enclosed, you should indicate the number after the word Enclosures or the abbreviation Enc.

Enclosure or Enc. Enclosures (3) or Enc. (3)

Copy Distribution

Copy notation should be shown at the left margin, a double space below all other information.

(One “c” stands for “copy” or “copies”; “cc” stands for courtesy copies (formerly “carbon copy” or “carbon copies.”) Today few carbon copies are made.)

c: Abdullah Farhad If you are sending copies to two or more people, list

their names alphabetically, unless an executive is listed first.

P.S

It should start double space beneath all other information and can be preceded by initials such as: PS, P.S., PS:

Current trend is to delete these initials. It can be for afterthoughts or to emphasize a

point or sometimes for personal messages. A busy person reading mail will often read the

postscript while noticing very little else, knowing that here may be found the most interesting tidbit of the letter.

Letter Layout

Punctuation Styles Two forms:

– Open Punctuation– Mixed Punctuation

In open punctuation, no line of any letter part (except the body) has any punctuation at the end unless the abbreviation requires a period.

In mixed punctuation, a colon follows the salutation; a comma follows the complimentary close.

Foreign writers, especially those in Asia and Great Britain, use a comma in place of a colon after the salutation. They argue that colons are too formal.

Letter Style

Full-block:

Every line begins at the left margin. This is in common format because it is quick and easy to set up.

[Your Name][Street • City • State • Zip Code][Phone # • Fax phone # • Messages phone # • Email] [Date today]Re: [To what this letter refers]

[CERTIFIED MAIL][PERSONAL][Recipient’s Name][Company Name][Address][Address]Attention [Recipient’s Name]Dear [Recipient's name]:[SUBJECT]The main characteristic of full block business letters is that everything (except maybe a preprinted letterhead) is flush with the left margin.  Full block letters are a little more formal than modified block letters.If your letter is only one page, type the complimentary close and optional components as shown below.  Otherwise, type them on the last page of your letter.  (See page 2 after you download this letter, or click on the appropriate link in the menu below.)Sincerely,[Sign here]

[Your name, title]

[Identification Initials]Enclosures: [Number]

cc: [Name for Copy]     [Name for Copy]

Modified Block: The date, complimentary close, and signature sections begin at the horizontal center of the page or are placed so that they end near the right-hand margin. Attention and subject lines may be indented, centered, or begin at the left margin, where all other parts begin.

Example next

Letter Style [Your Name]

[Street • City • State • Zip Code][Phone # • Fax phone # • Messages phone # • Email] [Date today]Re: [To what this letter refers]

 [CERTIFIED MAIL][PERSONAL][Recipient’s Name][Company Name][Address][Address]Attention [Recipient’s Name]Dear [Recipient's name]:[SUBJECT]The main characteristic of modified block business letters is that everything is flush with the left margin, except as shown.  Modified block letters are a little less formal than full block letters.If your letter is only one page, type the complimentary close and optional components as shown below. Otherwise, type them on the last page of your letter.  (See page 2 after you download this letter, or click on the appropriate link in the menu below.)Sincerely,[Sign here]

                                                                     [Your name, title][Identification Initials]Enclosures: [Number]

cc: [Name for Copy]     [Name for Copy]

Letter Style

Semi block (Modified block with paragraphs indented)

Letter Style [Your Name]

[Street • City • State • Zip Code][Phone # • Fax phone # • Messages phone # • Email] [Date today]Re: [To what this letter refers]

 [CERTIFIED MAIL][PERSONAL][Recipient’s Name][Company Name][Address][Address]Attention [Recipient’s Name]Dear [Recipient's name]:[SUBJECT]     Modified semi-block business letters are the same as modified block letters, except the paragraphs are indented.  Modified semi-block letters are a little less formal than full block letters.     If your letter is only one page, type the complimentary close and optional components as shown below.  Otherwise, type them on the last page of your letter.  (See page 2 after you download this letter, or click on the appropriate link in the menu below.)Sincerely,[Sign here]

[Your name, title][Identification Initials]Enclosures: [Number]

cc: [Name for Copy]      [Name for Copy]

See You Next Week!

Quiz