Correspondence consists of memos, letters, and electronic mail.

In engineering and science,

correspondence is an effective way to make requests, submit changes to a job, and deliver specific
information. Unlike telephone conversations, correspondence presents the audience with a legal
contract that is dated and can support a claim in court.

BUSINESS LETTERS:

The medium used most often for written messages to person outside your organization is the business
letter.

STANDARD PARTS of BUSINESS LETTERS

Most business letters have the following standard parts.

1. Heading- Letterhead:

A heading shows where the letter comes from. Companys letterhead is usually printed at the top
center of the letter. It should contain the name, address brief description and telephone number of the
business. When a printed letterhead is not used, the address of the writer is typewritten on the right-
hand corner at the top of the letter.

2. Date:

The date should be placed a few spaces below the letterhead,(2 to 6 lines below the last line of the
letterhead), beginning half way across the page or further to the right of the page.

The following are the styles of writing down dates,

American Style : August 22, 1988

English Style : 22nd August, 1988

Oxford University Style : 22 August, 1988

3. Inside Address:

The inside address consists of the name and address of the addressee (to whom you are writing). It is
placed a few spaces below the date on the left-hand side. The name of an individual is preceded by a
title of respect.

(Mr., Mrs., Dr., Professor etc.)

The second line precedes the company names.

4. Salutation:

The salutation is a friendly greeting placed on the second line below the inside address. It is placed on
the left-hand side. It is generally followed by a colon (:) The following salutations are generally used in
business letters. For individuals: Dear Sir, Dear Madam, Gentlemen, Ladies, etc.
5. Body:

The body of the letter contains the message. It is generally single spaced, with double spacing between
paragraphs. When the body of a letter is two or more pages, each page except the first one should be
headed by addressees name, page number and date as follows:

Mr. Riaz Agha 2 October, 10, 1988.

6. Complimentary Close:

The complimentary close should begin two spaces below the last line of the body of the letter and half
way across the page. It is followed by a comma (,). The most frequently used forms of complimentary
close are Very Truly Yours. Sincerely yours, Cordially, Respectfully is too formal to suit a business
letter.

7. Signature area:

The signature consists of signature, name and / or designation of the writer. The name of the company
should also be written while signing on a sheet without letterhead.

8. Reference section/ Initials:

The initials of the typist / secretary/composer should appear below the signature on the left-hand side
of the sheet.

OPTIONAL PARTS of BUSINESS LETTERS:

In addition to the above-mentioned essential parts of a business letter, the following optional parts may
also be included when appropriate.

9. Enclosure notation: An enclosure notation is a line added to a business letter that lets the reader
know that there is additional information included. It should be put directly below the initials as follows:

Enclosures: 2 or Enclosures: 4 or Enclosures: Blank Form

When the enclosures are especially important it is desirable to list in the enclosure notation exactly
what the enclosures are

10. Subject line,helps tell your reader at a glance what your letter is about. It is usually placed below the
salutation. It may include or omit the word subject.

11. Copy notation, stating the names of the persons to whom a copy of the letter is sent, should be
typed below the initials or the enclosures (if any), arranged in order of importance or alphabetically.

Type cc before the copy notation names if you are sending them a carbon copy.

When other people are to receive a copy of the same letter, their names are noted either by their ranks
or by alphabetically. Written just below the reference initials or the enclosure whichever is last. Type
cc before the names if sending a carbon copy(to) and pc for photocopy (to). CC: Jim Blue, Jennifer
Louis

12. Reference number of file, account, or case should be typed above the body of the letter.

13. Reference initials If someone else has composed/ typed the letter for you, it is common for them
to indicate so with initials. The initials may be all in capital letters, all in small letters, or, most
commonly, as follows:

AB:cd

SWA/KA - (composer/typist) SWA:KA

The information is not always needed but may be useful at a later time.
Letter Punctuation Styles
Open and mixed punctuations are the two forms most used in business letters.

OPEN PUNCTUATION

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

MIXED PUNCTUATION

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

Some writers use comma instead of colon after the salutation.

STANDARD LETTER FORMAT STYLES

1. Block Style
All sections of the letter are flush against the left margin of the page. Each paragraph in
the body of the letter begins flush left margin, with a one space line dividing each paragraph.

2. Semi-block Style
The date, signature, and address heading (if not on preprinted letterhead stationary) are aligned
on the right side of the page. All other sections are flush left margin. Paragraphs in the body of
the letter begin flush left with a one space line dividing each paragraph.

3. Indented Style
The date, complement close , signature, and address heading (if not on preprinted letterhead
stationary) are aligned on the right side of the page. The greeting is flush left. Paragraphs in the
body of the letter are indented with no space line between paragraphs.
Different Types of Business Letters
Business letter is an old form of official correspondence. A business letter is written by an individual to
an organization or an organization to another organization. Business letters are written for various
purposes. One writes a letter to enquire information, apply for a job, acknowledge someone's work, and
appreciate one's job done, etc. As the motive of writing the letter is different, the style of the letter
changes and you get different types of business letters. The various types of business letters are used by
different people to serve their purpose of sending the message across.
Let's take look at the most common types of business letters:

Acknowledgement Letter : This type of letter is written when you want to acknowledge some one for
his help or support when you were in trouble. The letter can be used to just say thanks for something
you have received from some one, which is of great help to you.

Apology Letter : An apology letter is written for a failure in delivering the desired results. If the person
has taken up a task and he fails to meet the target then he apologizes and asks for an opportunity to
improve in this type of letter.

Complaint Letter : A complaint letter is written to show one that an error has occurred and that needs
to be corrected as soon as possible. The letter can be used as a document that was used for warning the
reader.
The words and tone you choose to use in a letter complaining to a business may be the deciding factor
on whether your complaint is satisfied. Be direct but tactful and always use a professional tone if you
want the company to listen to you

Inquiry Letter
Inquiry letters ask a question or elicit information from the recipient. When composing this type of
letter, keep it clear and succinct and list exactly what information you need. If you have ordered a
product and yet not received it then you can write a letter to inquire when you will be receiving it.

Be sure to include your contact information so that it is easy for the reader to respond.

Order Letter : This letter is as the name suggests is used for ordering products. This letter can be used as
a legal document to show the transaction between the customer and vendor.
Order letters are sent by consumers or businesses to a manufacturer, retailer or wholesaler to order
goods or services. These letters must contain specific information such as model number, name of the
product, the quantity desired and expected price. Payment is sometimes included with the letter

Letter of Recommendation : This type of letter is written to recommend a person for a job position. The
letter states the positive aspects of the applicant's personality and how he/she would be an asset for the
organization. Letter of recommendation is even used for promoting a person in the organization

Prospective employers often ask job applicants for letters of recommendation before they hire them.
This type of letter is usually from a previous employer or professor, and it describes the senders
relationship with and opinion of the job seeker.

Follow-Up Letter
Follow-up letters are usually sent after some type of initial communication. This could be a sales
department thanking a customer for an order, a businessman reviewing the outcome of a meeting or a
job seeker inquiring about the status of his application. In many cases, these letters are a combination
thank-you note and sales letter.

Adjustment Letters

An adjustment letter is normally sent in response to a claim or complaint. If the adjustment is in the
customers favor, begin the letter with that news. If not, keep your tone factual and let the customer
know that you understand the complaint.
Acknowledgment Letters

Acknowledgment letters act as simple receipts. Businesses send them to let others know that they have
received a prior communication, but action may or may not have taken place.
Cover Letter

Cover letters usually accompany a package, report or other merchandise. They are used to describe
what is enclosed, why it is being sent and what the recipient should do with it, if there is any action that
needs to be taken. These types of letters are generally very short and succinct.
Letter of Resignation

When an employee plans to leave his job, a letter of resignation is usually sent to his immediate
manager giving him notice and letting him know when the last day of employment will be. In many
cases, the employee also will detail his reason for leaving the company.
Identify the types of the following letters.

Your Name
Your Address
Your City, State, Zip Code
Your Phone Number
Your Email

Date

Name
Title
Organization
Address
City, State, Zip Code

Dear Mr./Ms. Last Name:

I would like to inform you that I am resigning from my position as Account Executive for
the Smith Agency, effective August 1.

Thank you very much for the opportunities for professional and personal development
that you have provided me during the last five years. I have enjoyed working for the
agency and appreciate the support provided me during my tenure with the company.

If I can be of any help during this transition, please let me know.

Sincerely,

Your Signature (hard copy letter)

Your Typed Name

Date

Name of Applicant

Applicant's Address

City, State, Zip Code

Dear (Applicant's Name):

Thank you for your application for the position of shipping coordinator at DLT
Industries. As you can imagine, we received a large number of applications. I am sorry to
inform you that you have not been selected for an interview for this position.

The DLT selection committee thanks you for the time you invested to apply for the
shipping coordinator position.

We encourage you to apply for future openings for which you qualify.

Best wishes for a successful job search. Thank you, again, for your interest in our
company.

Best,

Real Person's Name and Signature

Green Tree Freight Co., Inc.
Columbus, Ohio 45453
(315) 565-6789
March 26, 19XX

Mrs. Phoebe F. Hughes

Complete Table, Inc.
P.O. Box 3132
Austin, TX 78703

Subj.: March 24 letter about damaged freight

Dear Mrs. Hughes:

I have just received your March 24 letter about the damaged shipment you received
through Green Tree Freight and regret the inconvenience that it has caused you.

From your account of the problem, I am quite sure that your request for the $240
adjustment on the damage to the 2 crates of Valjean Cristal stemware will be granted.
A certain amount of breakage of this sort does unavoidably occur in cross-country
shipping; I am sorry that it was your company that had to be the one to suffer the
delay.

I must remind you to keep the damaged crates in the same condition in which you
received them until one of our representatives can inspect them. That inspection
should take place within 2 weeks.

If all is in order, as it sounds to be in your letter, you can expect the full
reimbursement within 2 weeks after our representative's inspection. I hope this
unfortunate accident will not keep you from having merchandise shipped by Green
Tree Freight in the future.

Sincerely,

David F. Morgan, Customer Relations

Green Tree Freight Co., Inc.
Columbus, Ohio 45453
(315) 565-6789
__________ (employees name)
__________ (employees address)
__________
__________

______________ (Your name)

______________ (Your address)
__________________

Date __________ (date of writing letter)

Dear Mr. /Ms_________,

We want to enquire from you whether you can send us your company catalogue which
has details of all the products you manufacture. We can check and let you know if there
is any product which will suit our requirement. We have a huge requirement and hope
you will be able to meet our demands. We are in search of latest, sturdy and durable
products.

We shall place an order if we find the same with you. We also have a need for
replacement of .(mention product) in our office. If you can offer discount on
the products you replace, we would like to go ahead with you.
Your company has reputation in the industry and we are sure you can deliver products
of high standards. We can discuss the pricing in our next meeting.

You can send us a representative with the necessary information so that we can discuss
and finalize the deal.
We look forward to hear from you at the earliest

Yours Sincerely,
______________ (Your name)