Business Correspondence

Business correspondence is a collective notion. It represents a variety

of writings and business letters are one of its types. Business letter is a type
of correspondence between companies or between companies and
individuals, such as customers, clients, contractors, or other outside parties.
It is considered to be the oldest representative of the business
correspondence. Also, it is still written on paper and sent in an envelope.
This type of letter has very well established rules and regulations, which
usually cannot be ignored.
There are two most common letter formats namely block which can
sometimes be called full block, and modified block. The two letter formats
differ in date and signature block, paragraph indentation, and subject line. In
block letter format, its date and signature block can be lined up at left
margin while it can be lined up 1/2 or 2/3 over to the right in modified block
letter format. As for paragraph indentation, there is none for block letter
format and optional for modified block. Lastly, subject lines are optional for
block or full block and rare for modified block.
Salutation is an expression of greeting, goodwill, or courtesy by word,
gesture, or ceremony. It should be written using the same level of formality
as someone would use in talking to another on the phone. Also courtesy
titles should be used in writing salutations except when the sender of the
letter is on a first-name basis with the recipient. Generally, courtesy titles
such as Ms. for a woman unless she has a professional title or prefers
traditional title, and Mr. for a man unless he has a professional title can be
used. However, there are circumstances wherein the sender knows the name
of the reader but not the gender, or when the sender knows neither of the
readers name nor gender and he or she doesnt know how to address the
recipient properly. In such cases wherein the sender knows the name of the
reader but not the gender, he or she should either call the company and ask
the receptionist or use the readers full name in the salutation. While in cases
wherein the sender knows neither the readers name nor gender, he or she
may use the readers position or job title, or use a general group to which the
reader belongs, or omit the salutation and use a subject line in its place.
Complimentary close the part of a letter that immediately precedes the
writer's signature, consisting of words such as Sincerely, Cordially, Very truly
yours, etc. One may use a less formal close when he or she is writing to

people in special groups or to someone who is a friend as well as a business

acquaintance.

Punctuation is the use of spacing, conventional signs, and certain

typographical devices as aids to the understanding and the correct reading,
both silently and aloud, of handwritten and printed texts. It can be mixed or
open in writing business letters. In mixed punctuation, a colon and a comma
follow the salutation and the close respectively. While in open punctuation,
all punctuations are omitted after the salutation and the close.
Business letters may also include subject and reference lines. A subject
line of a business letter is the portion of the letter where the sender tells the
reader about his or her subject. Although a subject line is not always
necessary in a business letter, especially if the letter is brief, it can be helpful
as it immediately conveys to the reader the subject of the letter. It should be
very short and to the point. The reference line on a business letter is a
statement describing the main focus of the letter, a number for an account,
invoice and others, or a reference to previous correspondence.
In business correspondence a number of abbreviations are used, some
of which are only suitable for informal communication, some even for
electronic communication only. In formal business letters, a clear, formal
writing style should be used, however, there exist some instances in which
the use of abbreviations is appropriate to save both space and time.
A business memo or memorandum is also one type of business
correspondence. It is not much different from business letters. It is a
document used for internal communication within an organization. Memos
omit both the salutation and the close and never indent paragraphs. Subject
line are required in memos while headings are optional. However, each
heading must cover all the information until the next heading and one should
never use separate heading for the first paragraph. Also, it should be noted
that memos are usually initialed by the To/From block as initialing tells the
reader that the sender has proofread the memo and prevents someone from
sending a memo with the senders name on it when the sender did not really
write it. Rather than simply initialing, organizations may just ask their
employees to sign memos just like what other organizations do. The
signature goes below the last line of the memo, starting halfway over on the
page, and prevents anyone adding unauthorized information.