Lesson 5:

Writing
Correspondence
 Business Letters
➢ formal letters used for business-to-business,
business-to-client, or client-to-business
correspondence
➢ formal paper communications between, to or
from businesses and usually sent through the
Post Office or sometimes by courier
➢ sometimes jokingly called snail mail (in
contrast to email which is faster)
 Business Letters
➢ Some examples of senders and recipients:
❖business ⇔ business
❖business ⇔ consumer
❖job applicant ⇔ company
❖citizen ⇔ government official
❖employer ⇔ employee
❖staff member ⇔ staff member
 Business Letters
➢ Elements (Gamble, 2017):
❖ Date
❖ Sender’s Address
❖ Recipient's Address
❖ Body of the letter
❖ Closing Paragraph
 Business Letters
➢ Purposes:
❖ request direct information or action from another
party
❖ order supplies from a supplier
❖ identify a mistake that was committed
❖ reply directly to a request
❖ apologize for a wrong or simply to convey
goodwill
 Business Letters
➢ Purposes: ❖ to congratulate
❖ to persuade ❖ to reject a proposal or
❖ to inform offer
❖ to request ❖ to introduce a person
❖ to express thanks or policy
❖ to remind ❖ to invite or welcome
❖ to recommend ❖ to follow up
❖ to apologize ❖ to formalize decisions
 Business Letters
➢ Types of Business Letters ❖ Letters of
❖ Sales Letters Recommendation
❖ Order Letters ❖ Acknowledgement
❖ Complaint Letters Letters
❖ Adjustment Letters ❖ Cover Letters
❖ Inquiry Letters ❖ Letter of
❖ Follow Up Letters Resignation
 Business Letters
➢ Remember
❖ Be accurate
❖ Be clear and concise
❖ Consider your reader
❖ Be specific
❖ Observe formality and sincerity
❖ Be organized
 Business Letters
➢ Uychoco and Santos (2018) of Communication for Society
Purposive Communication
❖ Introductory paragraph – brief in establishing the
content and purpose
❖ Middle section – details of the message in logical order
❖ Concluding paragraph – short, politely requesting
action, thanking the reader, or providing additional
important information
 1. Sender’s Information
2. Date
3. Recipient’s Address
How to Write a 4. The Salutation
5. The Body
Business Letter? 6. Closing
7. Complimentary
Closing
8. Signature
 If you need a response, you must
know how to address a business letter
correctly. In this part, you have to put down
your address, phone number, and email
address.
Step 1: Many people also put their
Sender’s complete names at the top of their resumes.
On the other hand, others believe it’s
Information unnecessary because you will have to sign
the letter with your name after all.

If your business has a letterhead,

you can use it instead of typing everything
out.
 Use the American date
format—putting the month before the
day when writing to American
companies. Instead of using
Step 2: numerals to abbreviate the date,
Date write it out in full—for example,
October 20, 2016.
If you’re writing a letter to the
United Kingdom or Australia, place
the date before the month.
 Include the recipient’s name,
title (Ms./Mrs./Dr.), and address.
Furthermore, ensure you’re as
descriptive as possible to ensure it
Step 3: gets to the correct place.
Recipient’s
If you’re unfamiliar with the
Address individual’s name, do some
research! To find out the name, call
the company or speak with the
workers.
 A salutation is more than just a greeting;
it’s a sign of respect. The salutation you choose
depends on how well you know the individual and
the letter’s context. It’s fine to use the recipient’s
first name in the salutation if you know them and
address them by their first name most of the time.
(For instance, Dear Mike.)
Step 4:
There are, however, certain exceptions.
The
For example, always use the personal title
Salutation and last name if you don’t know who you’re talking
to. You can use a person’s full name if you’re not
sure of their gender.

Additionally, use “to whom it may

concern” if you don’t know who you’re writing to.
End your salutation with a colon and not a comma,
regardless of the situation.
 This is the most crucial element of
your correspondence. The body should be
made up of a few short paragraphs—usually
three, each having a distinct function.

Step 5: Keep your message as clear as

possible if you want to make the best
The Body potential impression on your reader.

Introduce yourself and the purpose

of your letter in the first paragraph. If the
recipient doesn’t know who you are, you
can also highlight shared ties.
 In this section, you’ll note
that they can contact you or
your staff if the recipient has
Step 6: any problems or queries. You
Closing might also express gratitude
for them reading the letter.
Make sure the conclusion isn’t
more than two sentences.
 This is a brief concluding note
at the end. You have many choices here
but go with the one that best represents
the formality of your relationship.
Step 7:
“Yours Truly,” “Respectfully,” or
Complimentary “Sincerely” are all appropriate formal
Closing closings. If your message is less formal,
you can write “Best wishes,” “Thank
you,” “Regards,” or “All the best.” Finally,
add a comma at the end of it,
regardless of what you choose.
 Sign the letter just
beneath the complimentary
closing. To leave adequate
Step 8: space for your signature, skip
at least four lines. Then, type
Signature the name that needs to be
signed. You can also put down
your work title after your full
name.
 Business Letter
Activity
❑ Choose and create one from the types of business letters presented EXCEPT
application/ cover letter.

❑ You may use the information in your application/ cover letter especially the
recipient of the letter.

❑ On middle top part of your letter, indicate the type of business letter that you
created. Use Arial 14 bold for the title.

❑ For the content, follow the formatting and guidelines discussed about
business letter and during the discussion about application/ cover letter.

❑ Print it in a long bond paper and compile it in your folder.

 Business Letter
Activity
❑ Submission is on our next face-to-face class.

❑ Rubric for grading:

❑ Courteousness – 3 pts

❑ Correctness – 3 pts

❑ Completeness – 3 pts

❑ Conciseness – 3 pts

❑ Clearness – 3 pts

❑ TOTAL – 15 pts
 Lesson 5:

Endorsement and
Follow-up Letters
 ENDORSEMENT
LETTER
❑ A letter of endorsement is a formal communication document that
professionals use to show their support for a friend, colleague, student or
other acquaintance.

❑ Endorsement letters often help to persuade hiring managers and

committees about decisions regarding the subject of the letter.

❑ They can show testaments to the subject's character, skills or experience.

❑ People often write endorsement letters for entrance into programs, awards
and accolades and to convince hiring managers to choose the subject for an
open position.
 REQUEST AN
ENDORSEMENT
1. State who you are, the name of your company or organization, and your
position or role. Remind the reader of your relationship to him/her, if necessary.

2. Use clear, specific language to request the endorsement (clearly describe

what it is that you would like endorsed).

3. Explain why you are requesting the endorsement, what it will be used for,
why you feel that the endorsement is necessary or why you merit receiving the
endorsement, and so forth.
 REQUEST AN
ENDORSEMENT
4. Include guidelines for the format, length, or content of the endorsement letter. Also,
indicate anything else that the reader needs to do to provide the endorsement, such as
filling out attached forms and the like.

5. Indicate by when you need the letter of endorsement.

6. Consider providing a preaddressed, stamped envelope with your request letter if the
endorsement letter is to be mailed.

7. If you plan to make a follow-up call to the reader, indicate in your letter when you
intend to do so.

8. Thank the reader for considering the endorsement.

 GIVE AN
ENDORSEMENT
1. Indicate what or who it is that you are endorsing.

2. Substantiate (or give reasons for) your endorsement.

3. If you are endorsing a person for a particular position, role, job, etc.,
include how long you have known the person, in what capacity, the
positive qualities of the person that make him/her a suitable candidate
for endorsement (including accomplishments and abilities), etc. Be as
specific as possible.
 GIVE AN
ENDORSEMENT
4. If necessary, indicate the next step that should be taken or what will
happen next. Include a time frame, if appropriate.

5. You may want to include your contact information and offer to give
further information upon request.
6. Conclude your letter by summarizing the reasons for the
endorsement and by restating your endorsement of the person or
project, etc.
 FOLLOW- UP
LETTER
❑ A follow-up letter is a letter sent after initial contact with a
person, company, or organization.
❑ The purpose is to address any request or complaint or to
thank the recipient for previous correspondence.
❑ Follow-up letters can take different forms, even
handwritten notes, but email is the simplest way.
 FOLLOW- UP
LETTER
❑ A follow-up letter is best written after a business meeting,
or a job interview, or after making a great business
contract.
❑ It provides an avenue for continued communication and
connects the points discussed and agreed during the
previous meeting
 WRITING FOLLOW-
UP LETTER
Here are what you need to include:
❑ Start with your name, address, city and zip code,
telephone number. Include next the recipient’s details.
Note that in a follow-up letter you are going to write to
the same person you had originally written to or
contacted with.
❑ Add the salutation.
 WRITING FOLLOW-
UP LETTER
❑ In the first line, mention that you had written earlier and
haven’t received a response yet. You can mention here if
you had called. Actually, you’ll let him know that you’re re-
writing in this line.
❑ State your request or interest. If you are writing inquiring
about a job vacancy for which you had sent a job
application, reiterate your key skills experiences and
state why you think you are a great potential.
 WRITING FOLLOW-
UP LETTER
❑ Invite for contact and thank for
their attention.
❑ Close with signature.
 WRITING FOLLOW-
UP LETTER
Here are more things that you’ll need to remember than the
actual steps to write the letter:
❑ Add fresh insights to your old appeal. Don’t write a
photocopy of your old letter.
❑ Take at best 2 days after a meeting or a job interview to
write a follow-up letter. Work while the memories are still
fresh in the recipient’s mind.
 WRITING FOLLOW-
UP LETTER
❑ If you’ve sent a CV, wait 7 days before sending the follow-up
letter. The employer is likely very busy, hence the late
response, so keep your letter short.
❑ Do not bring up your whole CV in the letter.
❑ Hold the interest and attention with nice wording, not boring.
❑ Do not convey negative sentiments in your letter, even if you
are frustrated by their speed and sincerity.
 WRITING FOLLOW-
UP LETTER
❑ Indicate how you want to proceed next in your letter if you think it is needed.

❑ Be extremely polite even if you feel like they’ve been ignoring you by
ignoring your past letters.

❑ To look polished and professional, edit and proofread a couple of times

before sending the actual letter.

❑ If you want, you can attach copies to document proof that you had sent
letters earlier.

❑ Follow up again if required.

 Reference
• https://www.managementstudyhq.com/business-letter.html
• https://www.englishclub.com/business-english/business-letters-what.html
• https://templatearchive.com/business-letter/
• https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-write-
letter-of-endorsement
• https://skillhub.com/blog/what-is-a-follow-up-
letter#:~:text=A%20follow%2Dup%20letter%20is,email%20is%20the%20simple
st%20way.