Introduction to

Business Correspondence

➢ Business Communication
➢ Business Letter
➢ Parts of a Business Letter
➢ Formatting a Business Letter
 Business Communication

• Includes all communication that occurs in a

business context
• Promotes a product or service
• Informs people inside or outside the organization
• Deals with legal and other issues

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 Business Communication

• Business is conducted through various channels of

communication
• Phone, word of mouth (verbal)
• Internet, email (online)
• Print (publications)
• Presentations
(audio-visual)
• Radio, TV ads
(broadcast)
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 Business Communication

Related areas of study:

• Managerial communication
• Organizational communication
• Human relations, team building
• Sales communication
• Communication technology,
electronic communication
• International communication
• Report writing, technical writing http://www.growingcoaches.com/
 Business Communication

BUSINESS WRITING
• Covers any form of written communication within the
context of business
• Persuasive which seeks to convince the reader
• Conclusions are drawn from the appearance and content
of any business writing you do
 Business Letter

• Formal paper communication or correspondence sent

between, to or from businesses
• Usually sent through the post office or by courier

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 Business Letter

• Most people who have a job have to write business

letters
• Some write many letters each day while others write only
a few over their entire career
• Business people read
letters on a daily basis

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 Business Letter

Example of senders and receivers:

• Citizen to government official
• Job applicant to company
• Company to consumer
• Company to company
• Supervisor to staff

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 Business Letter

• To persuade
• To inform
• To request
• To express thanks
• To remind
• To recommend
• To apologize

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 Business Letter

• To congratulate
• To reject a proposal or offer
• To introduce a person
or policy
• To invite or welcome
• To follow up
• To formalize decisions

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 Parts of a Business Letter

RETURN ADDRESS
• Complete address of the sender where the receiver can
send a reply
• Companies usually use paper with a letterhead on top of
the page
 Parts of a Business Letter

LETTERHEAD
• Bears all the information about the company’s identity
 Parts of a Business Letter

DATE
• The day of writing, the month spelled out, and the year
written in four digits; aligned with the return address
• April 30, 2013 (US)
• 30 April 2013 (UK)
 Parts of a Business Letter

INSIDE ADDRESS
• In a formal letter, write the address of the receiver after
your own address and include
• Recipient’s name January 30, 2020

• Job title or position Mr. Christopher Armand L. Caguia, MAEd

School Director
• Company name CALC Academy
231 JP Rizal Street
• Complete address San Roque, Marikina City

and postal code Dear Mr. Caguia:

 Parts of a Business Letter

SALUTATION
• Depends on your relationship with the recipient, also
called the greeting
• Ends in a colon (US), but may also end in a comma (UK)
Mr. Christopher Armand L. Caguia, MAEd
• Dear Sir/Madam: School Director
CALC Academy
• Dear Mr./Ms. Caguia, 231 JP Rizal Street
San Roque, Marikina City, 1800

Dear Mr. Caguia:

Re: Purchase of Books

 Parts of a Business Letter

SUBJECT LINE
• Quickly informs the receiver what the letter is about
• May be emphasized by underlining, using bold font, or typing
in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
• Subject: Purchase of Books
• Re: Purchase of Books Dear Mr. Caguia:

Re: Purchase of Books

Good day!

Books play very essential part in the

student’s learning.
 Parts of a Business Letter

BODY PARAGRAPHS
• Main part of the letter where you write the content
• Should be single spaced with a skipped line between each
• May be indented depending on letter style

Re: Purchase of Books

Good day!

Books play very essential part in the

student’s learning.
 Parts of a Business Letter

BODY PARAGRAPHS
Thank you for your order of Business Letters for Beginners. I sent
the book by FedEx on April 28. It should be arriving within a few
days if it is not there already. Please let me know if there are any
problems with the shipment.
As requested, I am enclosing our latest brochure, which provides
information about our other products. You may also check out
our web site at http://www.abcbooks.com.ph.
If you have further questions, please don’t hesitate to contact
me at (044)796-2789 or email me at info@abcbooks.com.ph.
 Parts of a Business Letter

COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
• Lets the receiver know that you are finished
• Always ends with a comma
• In traditional etiquette (UK), a letter starting with
• “Dear Sir/Madam” ends with “Yours faithfully”
• “Dear Ms. Cruz” ends with “Yours sincerely”
 Parts of a Business Letter

SIGNATURE
• Sign with your first and last names, use black or blue ink
• Your printed name may appear below it
• May also include your title
or job position
• Valdemor Zamora
Sales Manager
 Formatting a Business Letter

ENCLOSURES
• If the letter contains other documents include
“Enclosure” or “Enc.”
• If there is more than one, “Enclosures (#)” or “Encs. (#)”
• Encl.: Brochure
• Enclosures (2)
 Formatting a Business Letter

INITIALS, COPIES
• If someone typed the letter for you, include the typist’s
initials: “VZ/km” or “VZ:km”
• “cc” means a copy is sent to someone else
• cc: Mr. Rene Guevara, CEO
 Formatting a Business Letter

MARGINS
• Side, top and bottom margins should be 1 to 1-1/4 inches
• One-page letters and memos should be vertically
centered
FONT
• No special character or font formatting is used, except for
the subject line
 Formatting a Business Letter

PUNCTUATION
• The salutation is followed by a comma in British style,
whereas a colon is used in American style
• The complimentary close is followed by a comma
INDENTATION
• Standard—uses a colon after the salutation and a comma
after the closing
 Formatting a Business Letter

INDENTATION
• Open—no punctuation after the salutation and closing
• Full block—all text aligned to the left margin, paragraphs
are not indented
• Modified block—aligned to the left margin, except for the
return address, date and closing which all begin at the
center, paragraphs are not indented
 Formatting a Business Letter

INDENTATION
• Semi-block—all text aligned to the left margin, except for
the return address, date and closing which all begin at the
center, paragraphs are indented

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