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Business Letter
1. Business Letters
• The term “business letters” refers to any written
communication that begins with a salutation, ends with a
signature and whose contents are professional in nature.
• Business letters should be terse, clear, and to the point.
• Business letters are formal in style than friendly letters.
• Certain phrases of business jargons should be avoided.
• Avoid using abbreviations like adv. For advertisement,
exam for examination, etc.
• Avoid the omission of words –say ‘we have received’
instead of saying ‘have received’.
• Give clear and exact description of the article wanted.
2. • Directions for forwarding should be given
(by rail, post, etc.).
• the manner in which payment will be made
should be indicated ( by money order, cheque
etc.)
• Business letters have a sender and a recipient
(person who receives the letter). The sender can
be a person or a group (like a company) and the
recipient can be another person or group.
• Your language needs to be accurate so that there
is no room for mistakes. It is better to use simple
and clear language. Long sentences can be
ambiguous (uncertain) and difficult to follow
3. Types of Business Letters
There are many standard types of business letters,
and each of them has a specific focus.
1. Acknowledgment Letter: If you want to inform
the other party of your absence from work, they’ll
likely send an acknowledgment letter as proof
that they received your message.
Acknowledgment letters provide assurance to the
recipient and keep them from spamming you with
follow-ups
4. 2.Apology Letter:
Letters of apology express your regret for a fault that occurred
in the past. The writer may also provide the measures to be
taken to correct these mistakes as a positive response to the
situation.
3. Appreciation Letter:
When someone from the upper management wishes to express
his or her gratitude toward a lower-level employee,
appreciation letters work their magic. An appreciation
recognizes the efforts that employees put into their work for
continuous motivation.
3 Cover Letter: Personal résumés comes with a cover letter to
help summarize your objective concisely for a recipient to
grasp. It’s important to keep these letters short so as not to
divert one’s attention from the main material.
5. 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.
4. Follow-Up Letter:
Follow-up letters are 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.
Anyone looking to inquire about the status of a project,
application, or delivery of an item can send a follow-up
letter to remind the person they are writing the letter to
about their request.
6. 5. Order Letter:
Order letters are sent by consumers or businesses to a
manufacturer 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.
You may start by using one of the followings statements:
• We would like to place an order for…
• We look forward to receiving your offer for…
7. 6. Recommendation Letter:
The person writing the letter must describe his or
her relationship with the subject as well as the
subject’s competence for the desired role
7. Resignation Letter:
If you’re planning to leave your current job, it’s
important to let your employer know about your
proposed departure from the company in your
resignation letter. It’s a written notice that
employees must submit to their immediate
supervisor. Writers manage to remain polite and
respectful throughout the correspondence.
8. 9. Sales Letter:
The purpose of this letter is to drive readers to act
according to what you want them to do. It also details
the benefits that readers may acquire if they choose to
respond to your sales call.
10. Complaint Letters
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.
I am writing to complain about…
I am writing to draw your attention to…
9. 11. Adjustment Letters
An adjustment letter is sent in response to a claim
or complaint. If the adjustment is in the customer’s
favor, begin the letter with that news. If not, let the
customer know that you understand the complaint.
• Please accept our apologies for…
• We sincerely apologize for…
10. 12 Inquiry Letters
Inquiry letters ask a question or elicit
information from the recipient. When
composing this type of letter, keep it clear
and list what information you need. Be
sure to include your contact information
so that it is easy for the reader to respond.
I am writing to inquire about…
Would you be kind enough to provide me
with some information about…
11. Structure of a Business Letter
A basic professional letter will include the following:
• Subject line:
If you are sending an email, include a clear subject line that
concisely explains the purpose of your email. For example,
Subject: Congratulations on Your Promotion.
• Contact information:
It include all your contact information — full name, address,
phone number, and email address. In a letter, you will include
this information at the top of the page
• Greeting:
Includes a salutation at the start of your letter
• A brief introduction: After your salutation, include a brief
introduction. This might include a brief, “I hope you are
well,”
Then, dive right into explaining why you are writing.
12. • The primary purpose of your letter:
The main part of your letter will focus on your
reason for writing. When writing the letter, be
concise. Two or three paragraphs are plenty.
Your letter shouldn't be longer than one page. If it is
an email, it should be even shorter.
• Closing: End your letter with a professional
closing that conveys your thanks and respect.
Closings like “Sincerely,”, “Regards” etc
• Signature: If you are mailing a hard copy of the
letter, include your handwritten signature above
your typed name. If you are emailing the letter,
just include your typed name
13. 8 Steps to Business Letter Writing
1. Decide what type of letter you need to write
Letter of complaint
Letter of inquiry
Cover letters
Adjustment letters:.
Order letters:
14. 2. Write a short outline
It is important to write an outline before you start
typing.
For example, if you are writing a cover letter, your
main ideas could look like this:
• What job you are applying for.
• Why you think you would be good for the
job/why the company should hire you.
15. 3 Use the right layout and salutation
Business letters have certain type of format and order.
• Start with the sender’s address. You can write it in the top
right .
• Leave an empty line and write the date just below the
sender’s address.
• Leave another empty line and write the recipient’s title,
name, position and address. Pay attention to titles. We
use Mr. for men, Miss for women Here is an example:
14 Bridge Street
Baviera, California 92908
March 11, 2016
The Manager
Multan Book Centre
Gulgasht Multan
16. 4. Start the letter with the right salutation
• In British English, we use a comma after salutation. Here
are some examples:
Dear Ma’am,
Dear Sir,
• Close the letter appropriately, depending on the
salutation you used at the beginning:
(Dear Ms. Smith) Yours sincerely
(Dear Jane) Best / Best regards / Kind regards
(Dear Sir or Madam) Yours faithfully / faithfully
• Sign your name
[Signature]
Ms. Rebecca Smith
Director of Acquisitions
18. 5. Check your spelling
When writing a business letter, perfect spelling is
essential. If possible, use spell check to make sure your
spelling is correct.
6. Check your grammar
Finally, here is a list of common grammar mistakes people
make in English. Make sure you understand why they are
mistakes, so that you don’t make them yourself!
Your vs. you’re
Mistake: Your a valued customer and we’d like to
apologize for the inconvenience we’ve caused you.
Correct: You’re a valued customer and we’d like to
apologize for the inconvenience we’ve caused you.
7. Check your punctuation
19. • Format your letter
Most business letters use a block format, and
are left-justified and single-spaced. You should
use double spacing between paragraphs to
make it clear where a paragraph ends and
where another one begins. The most common
font is Times New Roman 12.
