Group 3

(Business Letter & Memo)

Irish Jean Badillo
Klein Owens Villamiel
Jean Vie Aira Simania
Jomel Briones
Zcheankan Gutierrez
Oriel Contreras
 Lesson 4: Writing Office
Correspondence
“To write is human, to receive a letter: Divine!”
~Susan Lendroth
1

Enduring Understandings:
 Your purpose for writing and your audience determine whether you will
use a memo or a letter.
 There are different types of letters and memos, depending on the writing
situation.
 You, as a letter or memo writer, may be representing more than yourself
(like your organization) when you send out correspondence.
 The best examples of business correspondence are those that achieve
clarity.
Essential Questions:
 How does business writing differ from academic writing?
 What are some strategies that I can use to improve the clarity of my writing?
 How can I give the reader the best impression while reading my letter?
Objectives:
 To differentiate between a memo and a letter.
 To outline the parts of a memo and a letter for more effective organization.
 To enumerate different situations that would require the use of a letter and
a memo.
 To identify the different types of letters.
 To evaluate a sample letter and a sample memo.

Introduction
The foremost concern on the minds of most school graduates is how they will
build up their future, especially their career. Some of the common questions they
ask include: Where will I get a job, and how? Will I be equipped with all the right
business skills to become good at my job? Will I still be working in the same job
or in the same industry five years down the road? How do I move on up to the top
and stay there?
Many well-established professionals will tell you that hard work and good
decision-making, among other things, are key in building up a successful
entrepreneur career. But you will probably hear them emphasize a lot on building
a professional image as well. There is actually a lot of sense in that. Your
professional image is how you communicate yourself, in all aspects, to the people
around you in your workplace. From the way you dress to your manner of handling
clients, your employer's opinion of how you do your job is critical. A well-formed
professional image is what employers look for, and is one of many factors they
consider in recommending an individual for hiring, regularization or promotion.
Part of developing a professional image is developing your communication
skills in the workplace. Whether you are facing your subordinates, colleagues,
superiors or outside parties, you should be able to talk or write to them in such a
way that work is done efficiently and harmonious work relationships are fostered.
If you are aiming to climb the corporate ladder, you should write or talk to them in
such a way that you earn their respect. If anything, excellent communication skills
are among the most sought-after competencies in the working world, and they are
essential in many fields of work, such as advertising, sales and human resources.
This lesson will teach you the basics of business writing, one of the essentials
of communicating in the workplace. At the end, you will have learned to write
various forms of correspondence in the office, such as memos and business letters.
They say that in today's technological age, the art and practice of writing letters
are no longer fashionable. On the contrary, people still rely heavily on letters and
memos to communicate to one another. Though the medium may have changed to
accommodate technology, the principles behind successful business
correspondence remain the same: They should be audience-oriented (seeing
situations from the reader's point-of-view), purposeful (the reasons for writing is
clear), and short (ideas are concise and clear). In this lesson, you will learn how to
write effective business letters.
Defining Letters
One of the most common forms of business correspondence is a business letter.
This is a formal message that is written, typed, or printed and is typically sent from
one organization to another party outside the organization, such as customers,
clients, or partners.
Letters have many uses. They can be used for compliments, complaints,
questions, recommendations and requests, amongst others. According to Guffey
(2007), they are important for the following reasons:
 Permanent records of something are required;
 Formality is needed; and
 Messages are sensitive and must be organized.
Classifying Letters
Letters can be generally be categorized according to the following:
 Positive and neutral letters. These letters communicate goodwill, neutral
and straightforward requests, and positive messages. They are used for
everyday business, such as direct requests for information and action, and
responses to these.
  Persuasive Letters. These letters try to convince the reader to perform a
course of action. Examples of these letters include sales pitches.
 Negative Letters. These letters contain negative messages such as bad
news, poor service, misunderstandings, complaints and refusals. Special
care should be taken in writing these letters, because bad news may annoy,
infuriate, or disappoint the reader.
Organizing Letters
Writing letters become easier when you stick to a suggested writing plan. The
organization of the message dependent on its content. The following methods or
organization, modified from Guffey (2007), can be used, depending on the letter
you are writing:
1. Direct request (neutral letters)
 Introduction: Begin with the most important question or request
 Body: Explain the request clearly and politely
 Conclusion: End with a request for a concrete actions, with a definite
time if possible and express gratitude.
2. Persuasive messages
 Introduction: Open with a hook to grab your reader's attention, such
as question, benefits, unusual fact or feature, or situation.
 Body: Provide details that increase interest. Use appeal to both logic
and emotion. Anticipate the reader's concerns.
 Conclusion: End with an action that motivates the reader
3. Negative readers
 Introduction: Prepare the readers for the bad news by providing
neutral statements, such as facts, agreement, appreciation, or
apologies.
 Body: Clearly state the reasons for the bad news before mentioning
the news. Afterwards, clearly express the news in an understated
way.
 Conclusion: Provide an alternative, if possible. Otherwise, include a
forward looking statements that build goodwill.
Formatting Letters
Below is the general format of a business letter.
Heading Mark-it Advertising Inc.
789 Aguinaldo St., Quezon City
info@mark-it-ads.ph | (02) 246-8013

Date October 16, 2015

Name of addressee Mr. Patrick Afable

Position Marketing Manager
Inside address XYZ Book Store
Quezon City

Salutation Dear Mr. Afable:

We understand that you are a manufacturer and a

distributor of notebooks and pens for companies. We are
searching for suppliers to provide souvenirs for an
upcoming company event.

Body One of our employees has recommended your products

because of their sleek design and durable quality. Because
of this, we would like to request for a catalogue of your
filler notebooks and ball point pens. a visit by one of your
sales personnel will also be appreciated.

We are willing to spend an amount of Php 30,000 for the

event. We will be happy to provide event specifics and to
answer any questions you might have. We will appreciate
an early reply.

Thank you.

Complimentary close Sincerely,

Signature (signed)
Therese Alejandro

You can follow these other tips, as quoted from Guffey (2007), in formatting
your letters:
 Start the date 2 inches from the top or 1 blank line below the letterhead.
 For block style, begin all lines at the left margin.
 Leave side margins of 1 to 1 ½ inches depending on the length of the letter.
 Single-space the body and double-space between paragraphs.
  Bulleted items may appear flush left or indented.
Take note that this format may be used for when your business letters are
sent via e-mail; there will only be a few differences, such as the lack of a header
(which can be replaced by your organization’s address) or a digital signature.

Defining Memos
The most familiar for of internal communication in the business setting is the
memorandum, normally called a memo have various uses and purposes, such as.
 giving recommendations;
 requesting for information;
 sending orders to Employees;
 providing response to queries;
 sketching out procedures, rules, and regulations;
 reporting about finished actions or new information and;
 finalizing business decision.
In essence, however, memos simply direct attention to problems and help
resolving them. They do this by stating the writer's intention to the reader ("I am
writing because. . ."), informing the reader that needs to know (like facts and
minutes of meeting), and moving him to action (like consulting with management
or writing report). Memos serve their purpose best when they link the intentions of
the writer with the interests and needs of the reader.
Memos can come in two forms: in hand-written form or email form. Due to the
efficiency of technology most work places and offices around the world today use
the email form more than the hand-written form. Whichever form you use, the same
rules in writing memos still apply.
Writing and Organizing Memos
Below is the general list of guidelines you can follow in writing memos:
 Know your reasons and goals for writing the memo. If you are going to
share sensitive information or give out a simple instruction, a memo may
not be the best channel. Some messages are better relayed through a face-
to-face conversation or a phone call.
 Do proper research on all your facts. Talk to people, review files, and
consult your superior to get your information straight and accurate. Most
professionals make the mistake of sending memos with erroneous
information; this wastes time and effort on both the writer and the reader.
 Choose your audience wisely. If you plan to send the memo only to one
person, do not send it out to the whole office. Make sure that your message
only reaches its intended recipients, or you run the risk of leaking out
information to people who have no business knowing it.
  Formally begin the memo by labelling the top of the message with
“Memorandum,” “Memo,” or other similar labels.
 Provide headings for your memo indicating the name of the recipient, the
name of the sender, the date the memo is written, and the subject for the
memo. Format is provided below as follows:
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
SUBJECT:
 The subject line should be up front, clearly worded and specific about the
content of the memo. If its subject line is vague, the reader may well just
skip over it.
 Introduction. Start by stating your purpose for writing, and then follow this
up with a short abstract of the memo's body. Make sure the main points of
your message are already highlighted here, so that your reader knows what
to expect as he reads on. Make your introduction as short and concise as
possible. (One paragraph will do.)
 Body. This part develops the main points highlighted in your opening.
Begin each paragraph or section of the body with a sentence containing the
most important information, so your reader can quickly find the information
he needs. Then further develop the first sentence of each section with
supporting facts and points. Keep all paragraphs within the body of the
memo short; use just a maximum of eight lines per paragraph. Remember,
to arrange your information according to importance (from the most to the
least important). You can also make use of subheadings to organize the
content of the memo more effectively.
 Try to make your memo as readable and easy to understand as possible. You
can use columns, bulleted lists, white space, underlined or bold text and
other techniques that increase ease of reading. These will actually help your
audience retain the information in their minds better.
 Conclusion. This should be briefly highlight again your main points in the
introduction. Then, it should request an action from the reader (Example:
"Please reply on or before..."; "Attend the board meeting next week...") If
action is not requested of the reader, then the segment may end instead with
a courteous, closing thought. (Example: Thank you for your kind
consideration."; "I would like to consult with you next week...") The
conclusion can also mention to whom the reader can address further queries
or comments about your memo.
 When writing memos, do not use salutations at your opening (Example:
"Dear Mr. Alvarez") or a matching close (Example: "Sincerely, Ms.
Santos"). Furthermore, you do not need to close your memo with your
 signature, since you as the sender already mentioned in a heading at the top
of the memo.
 Keep the memo overall as short as one page (for even less); any additional
information can be attached to the memo, or put in a separate summary.
Remember as well to use simple, specific, and concrete language in writing
your memo. If your reader can fully understand your message after reading
your memo, then it was written effectively.
To better illustrate the application of the guidelines listed above, below is a
sample memo. Be sure to observe all visual aspects of the memo, especially the
memo's format.
You can follow these additional tips, as taken from Guffey (2007), in formatting
your memos:
 Set one tab to align entries evenly after Subject.
 Type the subject line in all caps of capitalize the initial letters of principal
words.
 Leave 1 or 2 blank lines after the subject line.
 Single-space all but the shortest memos. Double-space between paragraphs.
 For full-page memos on plain paper, leave a 2-inch top margin.
 For half-page memos, leave a 1-inch top margin.
 Use 1.25 side margins.
 For a two-page memo, use a second-page heading with the addresses name,
page number, and date.
 Handwrite your initials after your typed name.
 Place bulleted or numbered lists flush left or indent them 0.5 inches.
To: Kira Companies, HR Executive, AllSky Restaurant Group of
Companies

From: Gerald Makayap, HR Officer, AllSky Restaurant Group of Companies

GM

Date: April 26, 2014

Subject: Endorsement of Ms. Rhea Balados for Initial Interview with Sales
Head
__________________________________________________________________
I would like to inform you that Ms. Rhea Balados, an applicant for our Sales
Assistant position, has passed all the qualification exams. I have also thoroughly
reviews her CV, and I am endorsing her for an initial interview with Ms. Rita Vivan,
our Sales Head.
We are tentatively scheduling Ms. Balados' interview with Ms. Vivan at 9 AM on
May 2, 2015, at AllSky’s extension office in Mandaluyong City. Please be guided
accordingly.
Attached is the CV of the said applicant, for your perusal. Please contact me if you
have any further queries.
Attachment: CV_RHEA_BALADOS_SALES_ASSISTANT