Business Letter Writing
Chhavi JainBusiness Letter Writing1
Correspondence means communication by letters.Writing of ideas,
opinions, views.
Business Correspondence
Types of Correspondence
Purpose of CorrespondenceR c bhatia pg 2374Features of business
lettersFeatures of business letters
Right size and quality of paperFolding of letterhead in proper
manner to put it inside the envelope of proper size.Sizes of
letterheads-Quarto 5X 8Octavo 8 X 10Foolscap 10 X 13
Cleanliness and neatnessDateS. No.Address of ReceiverFile No.Sub
MatterStamps usedRemarksProforma of Dispatch RegisterDateS.
No.Address of ReceiverFile No.Sub MatterStamps
usedRemarks1-9-201313/123Aastha, C/o Sh ABC Sharma, H.No. 22, XYZ
Nagar, Jaipur MBA/HR/01Absentee-ismHeadPrincipalNilProforma of
Dispatch RegisterDateS. No.Address of ReceiverFile No.Sub
MatterStamps usedRemarks12-08-201212/368M/s Shanti Textiles, VKIA,
JaipurSales/12/02Purchase orderSales ManagerNilProforma of Dispatch
Register
Name and address of sender with business detailsReference
number- sendersDateInside addressSubject and receivers reference
number
SalutationBody of the letterComplimentary closeSignature and
designationEnclosuresCopy marking if anyInitials of dictator /
typistP.S. or Postscript
Parts of a Business Letter
Every business letter is to be typed in a particular manner
arranging each part in a particular place on the letterhead.There
are three types of layouts by which a letter can be typed-Full
Block Method Indent Method (Hanging Style)Semi-Block or Mixed
MethodFormat/ Layout of a business letter
Thank YouAlso called headingHeads all other partsWritten or
printed at the top of the letter head.Includes names and details of
business sender and also their postal address.Telephone no, fax no,
post box no. are also mentioned hereName, address and details of
sender
Number given to a letter identifying it, whenever the need
arises in future.With the help of this number, the copy of a letter
sent earlier may be traced to the file.Only one number is given to
one letter at a time.
Reference Number
ABCL/ HR/ Appt/ 2005YBI/ PD/
PF/120/2009T/9/BPVP/2842/2008HMS/AD/08/252ICSEic/RG/08/X/17
Examples Reference number
A reference number helps to find out following details:Name of
sender who sent out this letterDepartment of office, which has
mailed the letterNumber with which the letter is dispatchedThe year
in which the letter is sentFile number in which a copy of this
letter is filed
20The date of the letter means the date on which the letter has
been written and is dispatched.3 contents-Day of monthMonthYear
Date
20 th September 200520th Sep., 2005September 20, 2005Sep. 20,
2005Date Formats
22
Ante-Dating writing a date prior to actual date.Post-Dating
writing a date falling after the actual date.
These practices are wrong and should be avoided.Done to identify
the receiver to whom the letter belongs.Typed after leaving 3 line
space from the reference number line.Inside address
The prefix added before the name of the receiver depends upon
the gender of the person, number of the persons addressed, marital
status of the lady addressed, respect and social positions of the
individual addressed.Salutation
Person addressedPrefix usedRemarksGentlemanMr. Suffix Esq. for
EsquireLady Married/ UnmarriedMs.Group of GentlmenMessrs
(Messeurs)If firms name is associated with a persons name. Group of
LadiesMmes (Mesdames)A firm consisting of LadiesChief Justice,
Judge, PM, Minister, etc.The Honble Mr.(Honourable)AmbassadorHis
Excellency Mr..Her Excellency Ms.Person addressedPrefix
usedRemarksKingHis highness King Mr.QueenHer highness Queen
Ms.Priest in a churchThe Rev. Fr.The Reverend FatherPriest in a
Hindu templeHis holiness ShriBody of the letter should begin with
the salutation for the person(s) addressed.A colon or a comma
should always be used after the salutation.Dear Sir is used in
personal / semi official letters in business
correspondence.Salutation
Sir/Madam
For official and formal correspondenceDear Sir/MadamFor
addressing an individual
Dear Sirs/Dear MadamFor addressing a firm or company.
Enables the reader to understand the subject matter of the
letter without reading the body.It saves time of the reader because
he need not read the lengthy body to understand the subject
matter.Along with the subject, the receivers reference is also
mentioned.This enables the receiver to easily take out a copy of
his own letter from his files and understand the matter in the
reply.Subject and Receivers Reference number Bhatia 24730Subject:
Your order No. C317/8 dated 12th March 2003.Subject: Enquiry about
Samsung televisionSubject: Fire Insurance policySubject: Regarding
placement of damaged cartridgesSUBJECT: TRANSFER OF MY SAVINGS
ACCOUNT
SUBJECT
It contains the message to be conveyed to the receiver.Consists
of 3 paragraphs- Introductory paragraphMain bodyClosing paragraph-
contains a statement the of senders intentions, hopes or
expectations concerning the next step to be taken. The sender
should always look forward to getting a positive response. At the
end, terms like Thanking you, With regards, With warm regards may
be used.Body of the letterUltimo and proximo are both Latin,
shortened forms of ultimo mense, in the previous month, and proximo
mense, in the next month. Many reference works say inst is from
Latin instante mense, in the current month. Ult., prox., and
inst.
The formal way of closing the body of the letter by using some
respectful phrases is known as complimentary close.It is merely a
polite way of ending a letter. It must be in accordance with the
salutation.Complimentary Close
ExampleSalutationComplimentary closeDear Sir/Dear Madam Yours
faithfully
Dear Mr. RajYours sincerely
My Dear AkbarYours very sincerely (express very
informalrelations.)
Yours faithfully, yours trulyBusiness LetterYours sincerely,
yours affectionatelyFriendly/ personal/ informal letters
Signature consists of the name of the writer written in a unique
style.A letter without signature is invalid and loses its
importance because no person has taken the responsibility for the
matter mentioned in the letter. The signature of a particular
person should be always in the same style.Signature and
designation
The name of the person signing is typed below the signature in
BLOCK Letters within bracket. This is done in order to enable the
reader to name the person signing.Signature and
designationSignature should be followed by the designation of the
signatory.If he is signing on behalf of the firm, the name of the
firm should be given with word for below the designation
line.Signature and designation
Pre Pocurationem (P. pro./ p.p.)Means the person signing the
letter for and on behalf of the company. It is added in order to
convey the reader that the signatory is signing not in his personal
capacity but for and on behalf of the firm, he is representing.The
firm is legally bound and is responsible for any matter raised in
the letter by the signatory.Signature and designation
p.p. Secretary's Signature President's Name
Yours faithfully,
Sd/-(A B Verma)Asst Managerfor the National Paper Mills Ltd.
If any document like a copy of a bill, invoice, draft or cheque
is enclosed with a letter , it should be mentioned under the
heading Encl in the letter. Enclosures
This is done in order that the receiver will come to know that
there were certain documents attached to the letter, so that the
receiver will come to know that there certain documents attached to
the letter and locate them and take care of them.EnclosuresEven if
no enclosure is sent, this fact should be mentioned by writing the
heading and NIL under the heading.Enclosures
Encl: a.a (as above)Encl: TwoEncl: Cheque No.2345 dated 23 Mar
2013 amounting to 5000A cheque for 5000/- (Rupees Five Thousand
only) drawn on BOBA copy of the order letter4. Encls: (3)Purchase
ReceiptCopy of the orderPhotocopy of the chequeEnclosures Three
styles
Sometimes it is necessary to send additional copies to the
receivers other than the original receiver because some other
parties may be connected/ concerned with the matter of the letter
and the sender is also willing to inform all the adressees.Thus the
required number of copies are mailed and sent to the desired
parties in DIFFERENT envelopes.Copy Marking(if any)
If the sender wants to inform the original receiver, he makes a
mention about this on all the copies by giving the heading Copy to
or c.c. meaning carbon copy.The details of the name, designation
and the office address, etc. of the receivers are given under the
heading NOO (not on original)Copy Marking(if any)
Initials of the dictator/ typistIt is in practice, to type
initials of the persons who have dictated the letters and who have
typed them.The responsibility of the mistake, if any, detected
later on can be fixed after coming to know from the initials.
Initials of the dictator/ typistIt is in practice, to type
initials of the persons who have dictated the letters and who have
typed them.The responsibility of the mistake, if any, detected
later on can be fixed after coming to know from the initials.
Not used nowP.S. or Postscript and Nota Bener (N.B)
After finishing the letter, the writer recollects some other
information, the inclusion of which is necessary in this letter.
The message can be written in the lower portion of the letter after
writing P.S. on the left side.But the signature of the original
writer is essential after that, otherwise it will be
meaningless.P.S: This book is also available in Hindi Edition.
But is not used now-a-days.P.S. or Postscript and Nota Bener
(N.B)
Full Block Method
Indent Method
Semi Block/ Mixed Method
