Technical Letters

The Importance of Letters

Represent your companys public
image and your competence
More personal than a report, yet
more formal than memos or e-mail
More permanent than e-mail
Constitute an official legal record of
an agreement

Writing Effective Letters

Analyze Your Audience:
Who is my audience?
What kinds of information will my audience expect me to
supply?
How will my audience use the information I am sending?
What impression do I want my letter to make on readers?

Have a clear sense of your purpose and theirs

Select the best communication strategy
Draft, revise, and edit your letter

Letter Components
Essential Components

Writers Address
Date
Inside Address
Salutation
Letter Body
Complimentary Close
Signed Name
Typed Name

Optional Components

Subject Line
New Page Notations
Writers and Typists Initials
Enclosure Notation
Copy Notation

Essential Components of a
Letter

 Personal Address

Street address
City
State
Zip Code

Company Address

Companys name
Street address
City
State
Zip Code

 Full Calendar Date

May 31,2009
31May 2009

2-4 spaces

 Address of the reader

Readers Name
Readers Title
Company Name
Company Street
Address
Company City
Company State
Company Zip Code

2-4 spaces
8

 IF you know the

readers name,
salutation will be
First / Last Name
Followed by Colon
For example

Dear
Dear
Dear
Dear

Mr. Smith:
Ms. Jones:
Miss / Mrs. Jones:
Chris Evans:

OTHERWISE
Use title
Dear Vice President:

Use departments name

Accounting Department:

2 spaces
9

 Includes
Introductory Paragraph
Discussion Paragraph
Concluding Paragraph

2 spaces below
salutation
2 spaces b/w
paragraphs
10

 Place a comma after

complimentary close
Preferred close is
Sincerely,
2 spaces below body

11

 Sign your name legibly

12

 Type your name

Mention your title
(Optional)
4 spaces below
complimentary close

13

Optional Components of a
Letter

14

 Must have a topic & focus

Can be used instead of
salutation
All CAPS
2 spaces below inside
address
15

 If writer and typist are

two different persons
Writers initials- ALL CAPS
Typists initialsLOWERCASE

Separate both initials

with a colon
2 spaces below typed
signature
16

 Enclose information as

Enc.; OR
Enclosure; OR
Enclosures(2); OR
Enclosure: August Report

2 spaces below writers

and typists initials

17

 For a copy of letter, write

cc (complimentary copy)
pc (photocopy)

For copies sent to other

readers, write
pc: Reader Ma,e

2 spaces below
enclosure notation
18

Letter Formats
Full-block format
All text typed on left margin
Spaces between paragraphs

Simplified format
Same as full block format except
No Salutations
Subject Line introduced
No Complimentary Close

19

Full Block Format

20

Simplified Format

21

Classifications of business
letters
Positive
Customer relations letters responding favorably to
a writers request or complaint
Sales letters promoting a product

Neutral
Letters requesting information about a product or
service, placing an order, or responding to some
action or question

Negative
Customer relations letters refusing a request,
saying no to an adjustment, etc.
22

Types of Letters

Letters of Inquiry
Sales Letters
Good-News Letters
Bad-News Letters
Complaint Letters
Adjustment Letters
Cover Letters
23

Letters of Inquiry

24

Inquiry Letter
You require information about any
matter of interest to you
It must
Contain an effective technical writing style
Involve audience through pronoun usage
Avoid grammatical errors
Must contain the essential letter
components

25

Components of Inquiry Letter

Body
Introduction
Tell your reader why are you writing
Inform reader about subject matter
What are you writing about? OR
What info do you want?

26

Components of Inquiry Letter

Body
Discussion
Specify your needs
Ask precise questions
List specific topic of inquiry
Quantify your questions

27

Components of Inquiry Letter

Body
Conclusion
Must be precise
Mention when do you want a response
Provide a specific date for response
Explain why do you want response by
the given date

28

Thank You,
Ashik Sarwar
Lecturer, BIL
BRAC University