Personal and Professional Correspondence

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Correspondence defined

A piece of conversation by post.

PERSONAL LETTERSInformal letters

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Personal letters

Notes:Private letters written to friends, relatives, colleagues, acquaintances etc.Express the views, ideas and feelings of the writer in personal manner.

Objectives: To establish personal contacts ORTo maintain personal relationship.

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Subject matter

Subject matter for personal letter:

Requesting, apologizing, congratulating, inquiring, sympathizing, thanking, informing etc.

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Format of personal letterI. Sender’s address with date II. SalutationIII. main body IV. Complimentary close V. Signature (Name)

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Guidelines for writing personal letterI. Personal letter should reveal your personality;

write about other people and things of mutual interest and not only matters related to you.

II. Letter should reader-oriented.III. Use conversational tone.IV. Sentences should be short and simple and not

formal and long.V. The letter must evoke in the reader a

sensation of actual meeting; therefore the manner of writing must be frank & intimate, lively & interesting. Contd…

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Guidelines for writing personal letter

VI. Expressions like ‘good wishes’, ‘hoping to hear from you soon’, ‘looking forward to seeing you’ etc. be used before complementary close.

VII. No fixed rule for format/length etc. VIII.Your letter must radiate

.warmth

OFFICIAL/BUSINESS LETTERS

Formal letters

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Official/Business letters

As a professional we write letters to customers, suppliers, associate organizations, credit agencies, government offices, employees etc.

These letters are called as business letters.

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Purpose of business letters This type of letters are written to achieve

a specific purpose:I. Selling a product,II. Making a complaint or an enquiry,III. Thanking somebody,IV. Seeking information or advice,V. Mollifying the injured feelings of a

customer etc.

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Remember

The letter you write bears the stamp of your personality and character.

Hence, try to create good impression on the reader.

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Structure of business letterI. Sender’s address and date,II. Name, designation and address of

recipient,III. The salutation,IV. Subject line,V. Reference (if applicable),VI. BodyVII. Complimentary close,VIII.The signature/nameIX. Information regarding copies (cc) and

enclosures (encl.)

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American & British formats (diffn.)

American style British style1. format Everything appears at

the left hand sideSender’s address and complimentary close appears at right hand side

2. Date MM/DD/YYYY DD/MM/YYYY3. Address

Do not use punctuation except for abbreviations

Commas are used after every line & full stop at the end

4. Greeting

Greeting is followed by colon in business letters & comma in non-business letters

Greeting is followed by comma

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American & British formats (diffn.)

American style British style5. Complimentary close

Common usages- ‘sincerely’, ‘sincerely yours’, ‘yours truly’ etc.

Common usages- ‘yours sincerely’, ‘yours faithfully’ etc.

6. writer’s name

Writer’s name is not enclosed in the bracket & job title is given below the name

Writer’s name is sometimes enclosed in the bracket & job title is given below the name

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Letter of apology

This type of letter is written in the circumstances/cases when we make mistakes and fail to render our duties properely.

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Letter of apology

Matter I. Description of the issue,II. An apology for an action, mistake or

omission,III. An explanation for an action, mistake or

omission, andIV. An assurance to rectify the situation.

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Guidelines for writing a letter of apology

i. Use magical word ‘sorry’ in the opening sentence.

ii. Accept your/company’s mistake gracefully.

iii. Offer to compensate if the party has suffered a financial loss.

iv. Be courteous to an angry correspondent. Tackle the situation carefully to determine the customer’s association with your firm/institution.

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Letter written for placing an order Process: I. Quotation calling method,II. Some firms have purchase forms,III. Need to write a letter.

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Guidelines for placing an orderI. Refer to the quotation sent to you by the firm

just to remind them of the terms and condition offered by them.

II. Give a detailed, accurate and complete description of the items you wish to buy.

Mention Size, quantity, colour, quality etc. clearly.

III. Clarify details regarding discount, servicing etc.IV. Give (indicate)

a. Mode and terms of payment, andb. Mode of transport.

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Guidelines for placing an orderV. State the full address where the delivery

is to be made and the date of delivery.VI. Packing charges are generally borne by

the seller (included in the quotation). If you want a special kind of packing, specify in your order.

VII. Give specific instructions to the supplier if you want the goods to be insured.

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THANKS