LETTERS, MEMOS, AND E-MAILS

Lesson 13
 ESSENTIALS OF BUSINESS WRITING

Writing correspondences is an essential activity of

any business, academic, or industrial organization.

It aims to inform and persuade their intended

readers.

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 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.

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 BUSINESS LETTER

An effective business letter elicits the expected

response from the reader.

It serves several purposes: for sales efforts, for

complaints, for information dissemination, for
relationship building, and for problem-solving.

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 PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

• Letterhead – It identifies the writer, his/her address, and contact

number.
• 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 placed 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.
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 LEVEL OF FORMALITY

1. Highly Formal 3. Less Formal

Respectfully yours, Sincerely yours,
Respectfully, Yours,
Very respectfully, Cordially yours,

2. Polite and Formal 4. Informal and Friendly

Very truly yours, As ever,
Yours very truly, Best regards
Yours truly, Kindest regards,

Regards, BACK
 PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

 Complimentary Close – It is an expression used to end a letter. (Click

here to know the Level of Formality of the complimentary close.)
 Signature Block – It includes the signature and the typed name of
the sender.
 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.
 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.

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 FORMATS OF A BUSINESS LETTER

1. Full Block

2. Modified Block

3. Semi block Format

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 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.

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 MEMORANDUM

 It is a business correspondence which aims to inform and

persuade target readers who are within the organization.

 It follows and inverted pyramid structure. This means

that the most important information comes first, second
is the supporting data and examples, and lastly, the
least important information.

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 TYPES OF MEMO

1. Instruction memo provides information that the readers need

to perform accurately.

2. Request memo asks readers to provide certain information or

to take certain actions.

3. Announcement memo provides information about an event,

person, or thing.

4. Transmittal memo serves as a cover note for a more formal or

lengthy document. NEXT

5. Authorization memo gives permission.

 ADVANTAGES OF A MEMO

 It reaches a large number 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.

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 DISADVANTAGES OF A MEMO

 It is not ideal to convey complex topics since memos are

generally used for short texts.

 It takes time to reach distant branches and offices,

 It is more expensive than e-mail.

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 PARTS OF A MEMO

• Letterhead – It identifies the writer, his/her address, and

contact number.
• Date – It is placed between the letterhead and the inside
address.
• “To” Line – It indicates the name and title of the receiver.
• 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.
• “From” Line – It indicates the name of the sender.

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 PARTS OF A MEMO

• Subject Line – It announces the main content or topic of the

memo.
• Body – It contains the message of the memo. Paragraphs in
memo are not indented.
 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.
 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.

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 TIPS FOR WRITING A MEMO

1. Use bullets, numbers, and letters to list information.

2. Use a positive tone, active verbs, and concise wording.
3. Use heading to improve readability.
4. Eliminate grammatical and typographical errors.
5. Use correct format and structure.
6. Put your initials in a signature form beside your printed name as a
sender.
7. Flush the memo heading to the left.
8. Say thank you or state a directive action at the end of the memo.

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 ELECTRONIC MAIL (E-MAIL)

 E-mail is the new form of business communication.

 It is a written message that is sent and received over the

Internet.

 Similar to letters and memos, e-mails serve many purposes. It

can be used to give directions, to transmit documents, to
record important data and information, to confirm requests, to
explain procedures, to make recommendations, to inquire, and
to submit feasibility and status reports. NEXT
 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,

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 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.

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 TIPS FOR WRITING AN E-MAIL OR A
MEMO

 Make the subject line informative or descriptive of the memo content.

Avoid vague subject lines such as follow-up, additional information, and
request.

 Keep the subject line simple and short.

 Do not change the subject line when you are replying to an e-mail.

 The “to” line should contain the names of the primary readers. Secondary
readers must be placed in the cc line.

 Ensure the correctness of the e-mail address of the recipients.

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 TIPS FOR WRITING AN E-MAIL OR A
MEMO

 Make the file name of the attached document meaningful.

 Never use “all caps” in the main text. This is unacceptable.

 State your purpose on the first sentence of the memo.

 If the message is sensitive, compose it first using the word

processor.

 Avoid emoticons and informal jargons like LOL, and BRB in

formal memos.
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THANK YOU! 