Overview of Letters and

Memos
Chapters 6-8
Check Appendix A

Slight Review
REMEMBER!
Letters are usually for external, formal
communication.
Memos are usually for internal, formal
communication.

Letters
Are on letterhead (make one for your
assignment).
They have a date,
An inside address
A salutation (Dear ____,)
A signature closing (Sincerely,)
May include enclosure notice, initials of typist

Memos
May or may not be on a letterhead
Have a formatted Heading which includes:
Date (date of memo)
To (person receiving memo & title)
From (senders & title initial by name in ink)
Subject (purpose of the memo)
NO SALUTATION
NO SIGNATURE CLOSING

Body Format
Both letters and memos may have a block
or modified block format
Block Format every line is left justified
Modified Block Format paragraphs are
indented
This means signature close and dates on
letters appear midpage

Block Example (inside address,

date and salutation)
Month day, year

Business name
Address
City, ST zip

Dear Ms. Soandso

Block Example (body & close)

Yada yada yada and the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy
sleeping dog.
Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country.
She sells seashells by the seashore. My dog has fleas, my dog has
fleas, oh, help me please, my dog has fleas.
Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers, if Peter Piper picked a
peck of pickled peppers, how many pickled peppers did Peter Piper
pick?
Sincerely,

Suzy Nead

Modified Block
Month day, year

Inside Address
Inside Address
Inside Address
Inside Address

Dear Ms. (or Mr.)

Modified Block

This is where the paragraphs are indented. But,

remember to put dates and signatures mid-page.

This particular computer program will not let me tab to

mid-page, but you will get the idea.

The rest of this is just to fill up space for a third

paragraph.
Sincerely,

Suzy Nead

Completing the Document

Evaluating for Content, Organization, Style
and Tone
Reviewing for Readability
Editing for Clarity and Conciseness
Designing for Readability

Evaluating Content, Organization,

Style and Tone
For Content:
Is the information accurate?
Is the information relevant to your audience?
Is there enough information to satisfy your
readers needs?
Is there a good balance between the general
and the specific?

 For Organization:
Are all your points covered in the most logical order?
Do the most important ideas receive the most space,
and are they placed in the most prominent positions?
Would the message be more convincing if it were
arranged in another sequence?
Are any points repeated unnecessarily?
Are details grouped together logically, or are some
still scattered through the document?

 For style and tone:

Is the writing formal enough to meet the
audiences expectations without being too
formal or academic?
Is it too casual for a serious subject?
Does the message emphasize the audiences
needs primarily?
Remember that the beginning and the end
have the greatest impact on the audience.

Reviewing for Readability

Vary Sentence Length

Keep Paragraphs Short (And Varied in Length)
Use Bullets and Lists
Add Headings and Subheadings
Headings show at a glance how the document is
organized
Headings and subheadings help focus attention
Headings and subheadings help connect ideas.

Revising for Clarity and

Conciseness
For Clarity:
Breakup overly long sentences
Rewrite hedging sentences
Reword long noun sentences
Replace camouflaged verbs
Clarify sentence structure
Clarify awkward references
Moderate enthusiasm

 For Conciseness:
Delete unnecessary words and phrases (who,
that, which, the)
Shorten long words and phrases
Eliminate redundancies
Recast It is/There are starters I would like
to add We at and As you know to this
item.

Designing for Readability

Consistency margins, typefaces, type
size, spacing, type styles, and design
elements
Balance Aesthetically pleasing with text,
white space and art.
Restraint Simplicity, without too many
changes in font, type size, etc
Detail Titles at bottom of page

White Space
Any space free of text or artwork (designs,
graphs, etc).
Provide visual contrast and resting points
for reader.
Be generous, but not overwhelming with
white space

Margins and Justification

Flush left margin all lines of text begin at
left margin and have a ragged right margin
Flush right margin all lines of text end at
the right margin but have a ragged left
margin.
Justified all lines are justified both right
and left, there are no jagged ends
Makes a document appear darker and more
formal

Typefaces
Refers to the physical design of the letters
Serif have small crosslines (serifs) at the
end of each letter stroke

Sans serif do not have crosslines

Type Styles
Any modification that lends contrast or
emphasis to the type.

Italic
Bold
Underline
Highlighting
Decoration