ST INSET 1

SY 2011-2012
NASA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NORTH FATIMA DISTRICT

WRITTEN COMMUNICATIONS

MABETH T. TOYOGON TEACHER 1

CHARACTERISTICS OF EFFECTIVE CORRESPONDENCE

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Complete Clear Accurate Prompt Concise Courteous Positive

COMPLETE
Correspondence is complete when it gives the readers all the information he/she needs to accomplish the results the writer intended. To achieve completeness, ask the W questions: 1. Why the correspondence written? 2. What is the goal of the correspondence? What do I hope to accomplish? 3. What information is needed before writing the correspondence? 4. Who needs to receive the correspondence? 5. What information needs to be included in the correspondence?

Ineffective

Effective

1. Your order of November 15 will be mailed on 1.Your recent order will November 21. be mailed soon. (WHEN) 2. The letter-writing seminar will be held in the Green Room at 2p.m., 2.The seminar will be November 3. on November 3. 3. The planning meeting (WHERE & WHAT Kind scheduled for November of conference?) was cancelled due to a conflict with the letterwriting seminar 3.The planning seminar scheduled at the same was cancelled. (WHAT time. The planning planning meeting and meeting has been WHY was it cancelled. rescheduled for November 15 at 2 p.m. in the Executive Conference Room.

CLEAR
The reader should be able to determine (without a doubt) the purpose of the correspondence. Clear messages reflect clear thinking. It requires good organization and simple expression. ( one thought; one purpose) Business correspondence is not the place to impress a person with the vocabulary used. It should express rather than impress.

ACCURATE

Get the facts before starting to write. Check all informations correctly Keep out from biases Write objectively Deal with the facts simply and accurately.

PROMPT

A conscientious business correspondent is prompt. Prompt answers to messages say to the readers that the writer or organization cares about them. Basis promptness rule: a. reply to memorandums within one day. b. reply to letters within one day. c. reply to reports within the timeline established by the cover letter or memorandum.

CONCISE It means expressing the necessary information in as few words as possible. Checklist for conciseness:

Are my sentences short? Are my paragraphs short? Have I used simple, easy- to- understand words? Have I used bullets or numbered lists whenever possible? Have I avoided unnecessary repetition? Have I eliminated excessive information? Have I avoided cliches?

COURTEOUS

Courteousness

in correspondence means using good human relation skills. Treat readers with respect. Being considerate.

POSITIVE

Use a positive tone

POSITIVE NEGATIVE

Glad Immediately Pleasure Satisfactory Please let us know. Please send your check. To help you avoid further problems. Please put your trash in the receptacles.

Sorry Whenever possible Displeasure Unsatisfactory You failed to let us know. You neglected to send your check. The difficulties are Do not throw trash on the grounds.

MEMORANDUM
General Guidelines for writing memorandums: a. Use the first name (or initials) and last name of the individual (s) to whom your are sending the memo. b. Use the job title of the individual if company policy dictates doing so. c. Do not use Ms. Or Mr. d. If sending a memo to more than one individual, list the names in alphabetical order or by hierarchically. e. If addressing to ten or more people, use a generic classification such as Strategic Planning Team. f. List c recipients alphabetically or hierarchically.

Memorandums should contain:

To From Date Subject lines

To: Madelyn Ice Liam Nelson Rico Osbourne From: Ruth Shank Date: June 09, 2011 Subject: Budget Session Please be prepared to discuss your budget actuals past three months and any changes on your proposed budget (with justification) for the next six months. The budget session will be held in my office on June 13, 2011, from 1pm to 3pm. c Darius Hamilton Miguel Quinoes

PARTS
a. b. c. d. e. f.

OF A LETTER:

Date Inside Address Salutation Body of the letter Complimentary close Signature

July 31, 2011 Dr. Arnold Dagangon 5121 Valley View Dallas, Texas Dear Arnold Jumalon Your expertise is needed! Our administrative professionals need your assistance in developing their letter writing skills. Some of them have several years of writing experience , yet they have not perfected their skills to the level needed. Others are relatively new employees and have had little experience writing letters. Your work with our employees in the past helped tremendously. They not only learned from your presentation but also enjoyed the experience. We want to offer the workshop during September. Our preferred dates are September 12-13 or Sept. 20-21. I will call your office next week to talk with you further. I am hopeful that your answer to our request will be an affirmative one. We know you can make a difference in the quality of letters sent out by our company. Sincerely Marichu Tubo Human Resource Manager