Lesson 1: Writing Letters and Emails to help the reader to act, such as including a
telephone number or website link.
LETTERS
What are letters?
Letters are formal paper communications
between, to or from offices/institutions and
usually sent through the Post Office or
sometimes by courier. Letters are sometimes
jokingly called “snail mail” (in contrast to
email which is faster).
Who writes letters?
Most professionals have to write letters.
Some writes many letters each day and others
only write a few over the course of a career.
Others read letters on a daily basis. Letters
are written from a person/group, known as
the sender/writer to a person/group, known
as the recipient of the letter
Here are some examples of senders and
business ⇔ business business consumer
- job applicant ⇔ company
citizen ⇔ government
employ ⇔ officialemployee
staff ⇔ staff
Why write letters?
There are many reasons why you may need
to write letters or other correspondence:
 to persuade to inform to request
 to express thanks to remind
 to recommend to apologize
 to congratulate to reject a proposal
or offer to introduce a person or
policy
 to invite or welcome to
 follow up to formalize decisions
TYPES OF LETTERS
Sales Letters - start with a very strong
statement to capture the interest of the
reader. Since the purpose is to get the reader
to do something, these letters include strong
calls to action, detail the benefit to the reader
of taking the action and include information
Order Letters - are sent by consumers or
businesses to a manufacturer, retailer, 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.
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.
Adjustment Letters - is normally 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, keep your
tone factual and let the customer know that
you understand the complaint.
Inquiry Letters - ask a question or elicit
information from the recipient. When
composing this type of letter, keep it clear
and succinct and list exactly what information
you need. Be sure to include your contact
information so that it is easy for the reader to
respond.
Follow-Up Letters - are usually sent after
some type of initial communication. This
could be a sales department thanking a
customer for an order, a businessperson
reviewing the outcome of a meeting or a job
seeker inquiring about the status of his
application. In many cases, these letters are a
combination thank-you note and sales letter.
Recommendation Letters - Prospective
employers often ask job applicants for letters
of recommendation before they hire them.
This type of letter is usually from a previous
employer or professor, and it describes the
sender’s relationship with and opinion of the
job seeker.
Acknowledgment Letters - act as simple
receipts. Businesses send them to let others
know that they have received a prior
communication, but action may or may not
have taken place.
Cover Letters - usually accompany a package,
report or other merchandise. 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.
These types of letters are generally very short
and succinct.
-Recipient’s information:
Name Position/Designation Company Name
Company Address
e.g. Marilyn S. Arcilla, RN, LPT, MAN Dean,
Institute of Arts and Sciences MABALACAT
CITY COLLEGE
Rizal St., Dolores, Mabalacat City, Pampanga,
Philippines 2010
*** If Recipient’s Name is not known, you
may write:

Resignation Letters - When an employee plans The Dean School of Education

to leave his job, a letter of resignation is
usually sent to his immediate manager giving
him notice and letting him know when the
last day of employment will be. In many cases,
the employee also will detail his reason for
leaving the company.
ESSENTIAL PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER
Return Address/Letterhead (Heading) Date
HOLY ANGEL UNIVERSITY #1 Holy Angel
Avenue, Sto. Rosario, Angeles City, Pampanga,
Philippines 2009
SALULATATION
-All letters begin with a salutation or greeting.
-Written two (2) spaces below the Inside
Address

Inside Address Salutation Body e.g. (conventional)

Complimentary Close Signature AMERICAN

Sir/Madam:
RETURN ADDRESS/LETTERHEAD (HEADING)
Sir:
-Writer’s information: Madam:
BRITISH
INDIVIDUAL
Full Name Sir/Madam,
Address
Contact Information Sir,
ORGANIZATIONAL Madam:
Company Name
Company Address
NAME
Contact Information
Mr. Juan S. Dela Cruz
Engr. Juan S. Dela Cruz
DATE - Written two (2) spaces below the
Return Address/ Letterhead (Heading) Ar. Juan S. Dela Cruz
Atty. Juan S. Dela Cruz
-Complete and standard format e.g. January
04, 2021 Dr. Juan S. Dela Cruz

INSIDE ADDRESS -Written two (2) spaces Juan S. Dela Cruz, Ph.D.
below the Date
 AMERICAN
Mr. Dela Cruz:
Engr. Dela
Cruz:
Ar. Dela Cruz: HIGHLY SUGGESTED: Very truly yours,
Atty. Dela Cruz: SIGNATURE
-Every letter should have a handwritten
Dr. Dela Cruz:
signature
Dr. Dela Cruz:
-Written four (4) spaces below the
BRITISH Complimentary Close
-A woman may include Ms. or Mrs. to the
Mr. Dela Cruz,
right of the typewritten signature
Engr. Dela
Cruz, OPTIONAL PARTS OF A BUSINESS
Ar. Dela Cruz, LETTER
Atty. Dela Addressee Notation
Cruz, Attention Line Attn.:
Dr. Dela Cruz, Subject Line RE:
Reference Initials
Dr. Dela Cruz, Enclosure Notations Encl.:
Copy Notation cc:
BODY OF THE LETTER Post Script PS:
-Written one (1) space below the Salutation Mailing Notation

-It is structured in paragraphs, which may or Addressee Notation

may not be indented, depending on the  Letters that have restricted
layout used readership or that which must
be handled in a special way
-The body of the letter follows the three-part
should includesuch addressee
format: Introduction, Body, and Conclusion
notations as PERSONAL,
COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE COMPLICATED, or PLEASE
FORWARD.
-Written two (2) spaces below the Body of the
 It appears two lines above the
Letter
inside address in capital letters
-It is a conventional expression, indicating the (uppercase).
formal close of the letter
Attention Line
-The first word is capitalized; closing end with This can be used to direct a letter to a
a comma position, title, or department.
• It is useful too if you know only the
AMERICAN
last name of the person you are
Respectfully
writing to.
yours,
• It is typed two spaces below the
Sincerely yours,
inside address.
Truly yours,
• It may be typed against the left
BRITISH
margin, indented as the paragraph in
Yours
the body of
respectfull
• The letter or centered.
y,
• The word attention may be
Yours
sincerely, underlined
Yours truly,
Subject Line

•It is a device to let the recipient know what Mailing Notation

the letter is all about; it helps indicate where
•A mailing notation indicates a special postal
to file the letter for future reference.
service such as “REGISTERED MAIL” or
•It is typed two spaces below the salutation “CERTIFIED CONFIDENTIAL”.
against the left margin, indented as the
•It may be placed two spaces below the
paragraphs in the body of the letter are, or
reference initials or below the enclosures,
centered on the line.
carbon copy, or postscript, if there are any.
Reference Initials
BUSINESS LETTERS FORMATS, SPACING,
•Also known as Stenographic Reference, the MARGIN, AND ALIGNMENT
reference initials refer to the sender of the
Formats
letter and to the typist.
FULL-BLOCK FORMAT -Most common and
•The sender’s initials are typed in capital
formal business letter format, single spaced,
letters followed by a colon or a slash and the
all paragraphs begin at the left margin.
typist’s initials typed in lowercase.
MODIFIED-BLOCK FORMAT -The return
e.g. EP: fr EP/ fr
address, date, complimentary close, and
Enclosure Notations signature start just to the right of the center
of the page or may be flush with the right
•This appears at the bottom, two lines below
margin.
the reference initials. e.g. Enclosure
-All body paragraphs begin at the left margin.
Enclosure: Resumé Photograph
SEMI-BLOCK FORMAT - Similar to the
Copy Notations
modified block business letter style except
•This may follow either the reference initials that the first line of each paragraph is
or enclosure notation. indented.

•It indicates who is receiving (cc) carbon

copies (pc) photocopies or just (c) copy of the
letter.

•Preferably in order of rank or in

alphabetically order.

Post Script

•If we forget to mention any necessary

information in the body of the letter, then we Spacing ( No Spacing)
can add one or two lines through the (PS) Post
Script.

•It may be placed two spaces below the

reference initials or below enclosure or
carbon copy, if there are any.
Margin (1 inch – all sides)
Alignment (Justified)
STATIONERY
The paper for business letter writing
should be unruled and firm-textured
White is the most popular and
conservative color, but off-white
and ivory are being used too,
replacing thestark white
Characteristics (Paper sizes)
Letter (8.5” X 11”) Folio (8.5” X 13”)
Legal (8.5” X 14”)
A4 (8.3” X 11.7”)
ENVELOPE
Mistakes committed in addressing the
envelope jeopardize the message of the
letter.
A properly addressed envelope should contain
the following information to ensure the best
service from the post office and to guarantee
that it reaches the right person
The Envelope Address:
•Name of the recipient
• Department or Division
•Company Name
•Street address with number, suite number,
floor number (if any), apartment name
•city / district / province/ town / and zip code
•Country (if sent to another country) or post
office box number. If there is no address
EMAILS
Formatting E-mail Messages
The E-mail (Electronic Mail) is increasingly
becoming the medium of choice for sending
routine messages despite its disadvantage
and limitations. Much of what people do in
constructing e-mail messages is standardized,
especially the format pertaining to structure.
Although the various e-mail systems differ
somewhat, the following suggestions,
however, can be used as a guide in formatting
most e-mails messages. They include the
following parts:
To: Cc: Subject: Attachments: Body:
To: This is where you place the e-mail address
of the primary recipient such as
geobrooks@yahoo.com

CC: If another person is to receive a carbon
copy, you can type his/her e-mail address
here. Makes sure to send copies only to the
people concerned.
Subject: This line describes to the recipient
what the message is about. Include enough
information to be clear and compelling.
Attachments: In this section, a file can be
included with the message.
-Make sure that the recipient can download
and open the attachments.
-Do not assume that they have the source
application
traditional letters are not usually practiced
but are useful in business relationships.
e.g. Best regards,
Regards, With appreciation, With gratitude,
Thank you,
 Most e-mail programs today contain a
Signature file that allows you to
attach signature in the message and
other vital information about
yourself.
 Most e-mail programs today contain a
Signature file that allows you to
attach signature in the message and
other vital information about
yourself.

Body:

Salutation

Body

Closing Lines

Salutation Since the message is just like a

letter, a salutation is appropriate. This is used
in messages sent to outsiders, but it may be
removed in messages sent to colleagues.

Body

• Use upper/lower case in the body of an e-

mail.

•If there is a need to emphasize something,

use capital letters for short phrases.

•Keep the message brief with one topic only.

•Limit your line length blow 80 characters.

•Avoid using bold fonts, italics, and images

because they may pose a problem on the
recipient’s computer.

Closing Lines

•Most e-mails end with just the writer’s name

especially when the sender and the receiver
are acquaintances. The conventional
complimentary close (Very truly yours,) in