LESSON 7: PRACTICING WRITTEN It is for day-to-day use, generally short ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF

COMMUNICATION and direct and requires action from the reader. WRITTEN COMMUNICATION
Examples of this include emails, instant
Communication is essential in messages, invoices, short memos, forms, and Any communication, be it written or oral, has its
maintaining a good social relationship with letters. benefits and limitations. Whichever it is, the aim
people around you, thus, James Thurber is to have a successful and meaningful exchange
emphasized that “precision of communication is 2. Communication for Persuasion of messages from one person to another. To
important, more important than ever, in our era of further your understanding about written
hair trigger balances, when a false or It aims to provide the readers with a unique value communication, study its advantages and
misunderstood word may create as much proposition about your business and encourage disadvantages in the table below (Sharma, n.d.):
disaster as a sudden thoughtless act” (2020). them to respond–make a sale or further a
relationship. Examples of this include marketing ADVANTAGES DISADVANTAGES
WRITTEN COMMUNICATION AND ITS and promotional content such as ads, brochures,  The distance between the  It is time-
PURPOSES press releases, emails, newsletters, cover letters, sender and receiver is not consuming from
resumes, and direct mail campaigns. a hindrance to composing the
Communication is defined as the communication. message to
successful management of messages with the 3. Communication for Instruction receiving feedback,
objective of creating meaning (Griffin, 2005, as  The repetitive standing  It offers a limited
cited in Samovar et al., 2012). As a form of It provides step-by-step details on how to orders can be easily scope for
complete a specific task. Similar to transactional transmitted to as many immediate
communication, written communication aims to
and persuasive content, instructional content people at a time. clarification if not
transmit messages through different media, such understood
as letters, manuals, reports, memos, and the like usually requires the reader to take some kind of
properly.
(Sharma, n.d.). action either now or in the future. Examples of  A permanent record of  It cannot maintain
this include user manuals, job description evidence, A legal strict secrecy.
To achieve an effective written handbooks, technical specifications, and document, statistical data,
communication, it is worth noting that the instructional memos. chart, diagram, pictures,
communication must be clear, complete, concise, and the like can be shared
correct, and courteous. 4. Communication for Information easily and can be made
available for future
Thus, understanding the reasons why It intends to provide a reference or a record of reference.
there is a need for written communication is specific areas of the business. It does not  A sufficient amount of time  It is less flexible,
deemed important. Discussed on the next page necessarily require an action from the reader, to think, act and react can thus changes
are the purposes of written communication, such unlike transactional, persuasive, and instructional be given to both the cannot be done in
as communication for transaction, persuasion, written communication. Examples of this include sender and receiver. an instant.
instruction, and information (Ahmed, 2019): quarterly financial reports, minutes of the
meeting, employee handbooks, annual  Reduction of ambiguity  In case of
1. Communication for Transactions departmental overviews, and an FAQ page on a with regard to order, emergency,
allocation of work, job transmitting
website.
 distribution, and the like messages can be a 3. Reports  Body- the full message of your email
can be experienced, thus great challenge.  Closing- the last line of your email before
fixation of responsibility Reports are more formal than other forms of your signature and should wrap up your
can be achieved. written business communication. A report is a message; and
 Consistency in work  It is costly-be it a formal communication written for a specific  Signature- which is where you identify
procedure can be printed or an purpose and presents an order of facts about a yourself by your signature (optional),
maintained properly, and electronic copy. specific activity (Agrawal, n.d.).
can create goodwill and name, title and any other information
promote business better. relevant to your communication.
MAKING AN EMAIL, RESUME, AND
TYPES OF WRITTEN BUSINESS APPLICATION LETTER
COMMUNICATION
To construct a well-written email, you should
The pandemic has drastically changed carefully consider the following details:
Written communication can be everyone’s lives. It has compelled us to observe
differentiated depending upon its purpose; social distancing and health protocols and to be
therefore, the forms of written communication more mindful of our actions. This is also true for
must be aligned with the four (4) purposes— communication. Many things have changed. In
transactional, persuasive, instructional, and communicating with people worldwide, emailing
informative. A few core types of written business has become a much better option. In fact, most
communication include correspondence, jobs today require sending emails on a near-daily
proposals, and reports which Salter (n.d.) basis, thus it is important to know the proper and
explained as follows: effective way of emailing.
1. Correspondence Email (electronic mail) is a system of sending
written messages electronically from one
Correspondence conveys a message that
computer to another (Collins, 2021). “It is an
is intended to be transmitted to co-workers, not
important method of business communication
customers. Examples of this include business
that is fast, cheap, accessible and easily
letters, emails and memoranda.
replicated” (Almazan et al., 2021). The figure Identify your purpose and make sure that it is
2. Proposals below shows the parts of an email. concisely written in the subject line (Indeed
Editorial Team, 2021).
A proposal is a plan or an idea, often a formal or An email is composed of five parts (Indeed
written one, which is suggested for people to Editorial Team, 2021): Doyle (2020) also offered these suggestions:
think about and decide upon (Collins, 2021). It is
 Subject line - short phrase that create a pleasant start to message the
considered to be a unique type of formal
summarizes the reason for your message addressee, whether greeting him using his
business communication since it greatly depends
or the goal of your communication. title or his first name;
on form. Therefore, templates and other details
 Salutation- first line of your email and
are deemed important in making proposals.
generally acts as the greeting
 make sure that the message is concise but
complete
check the grammar, spelling, etc., and the
style of writing (formal or informal);
Highlight the information such as dates,
names, position applied for, and other
important details
Sign off with a brief "Thank you," "Best," or
another simple send-off, and then put your
name and signature
make a back-up copy and send it to
yourself/personal email first to check if
everything is successfully made, then send it
to your intended recipient
Avoid using decorative, playful, or colored
fonts. overusing bold and italics; and writing
in all capital letters as they might distract the
readers and create a different impression;
and
Do not include emoticons in a professional
email; you may save these for personal
correspondence.
A resume is a formal document that serves to
present an individual’s career background and
skills (Mucha, 2021). It also refers to the “short
written description of one’s education,
qualifications, previous careers, and sometimes
also personal interests when applying for a job”
(Cambridge Dictionary, 2021).
The parts of a résumé include the following
(Career Center, n.d.):
 Contact information – name,
address, phone number, and
email address
 Education – degrees attained in
reverse chronological order
 Experience – most recent
experiences
 Leadership and activities –
leadership positions in university
or community organizations;
 Academic projects – projects that
you have accomplished that
qualify you for the position
applied for;
 Additional Information – other
skills, community activities,
interests.
PARTS  Other Headings – information
OF A such as interest and professional
RÉSUMÉ associations
An Application letter , also known as a cover
letter, is a one-page letter sent to a potential
employer to indicate interest in a job opening
(Indeed Editorial Team, 2021).
In order to properly and effectively create an
application letter, certain guidelines have to be
met with respect to the parts of such letter. Driz
(2015) presented them as follows:
1. HEADING contains the address of the sender
and the date when the letter is written
2. INSIDE ADDRESS contains the name of the
employer, his/her position, the company’s name
and the address of the company or organization;
3. SALUTATION contains the greeting
addressed to the employer
4. BODY OF THE LETTER contains all the
messages you want your reader to understand
5. COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE serves to end the
message just as goodbye serves to end a
conversation; and
6. SIGNATURE contains the name and
signature of the writer.
As discussed in Communication skill (n.d.), when
writing an application letter, the body of the letter
must include the following:
 First Paragraph: Begin with explaining the
reason for writing. This part is intended to
mention the job applied for and where the
listing was found.
 Middle Paragraph(s): Continue with listing
your assets to the company. These parts
explain the gains an employee can have if
they will hire you.
 Last Paragraph: End with a thank you. This
part is made to say one’s gratitude to the
hiring manager for considering him/her and
note how the applicant will follow up.