FORMS OF OFFICE

CORRESPONDENCE
Purposeful Writing in the Disciplines and for Professions, Reading and Writing
Skills
 OFFICE CORRESPONDENCE
Office Correspondence, also known as the ‘business correspondence’, is a
written exchange of internal and external communication to support all
business processes. It has three major forms including the business letter,
business memo and business e-mail that may be used for internal or external
communication. Internal correspondence means that there is a
communication or agreement between departments or branches of the same
company, while external correspondence means that the communication is
between the company and another organization or firm. The purpose of the
correspondence is to communicate the information in a clear and
professional way.
 BUSINESS LETTER
Business letter is the traditional way of communicating information from one
company to another or used in external correspondence.
The format can either be full block, modified block and semi-block. The format
used in writing a business letter depends on the requirements set by the
company. Different types of letters are sales letter, order letter, complaint
letter, inquiry letter, adjustment letter, acknowledgement letter, follow-up
letter, acknowledge
ment letter, cover letter, letter of recommendation and letter of resignation.
2215 Lifehouse St.
Project 2, Quezon City

February 24, 2016

EXAMPLE
Mr. Chito Mirinda
Human Resource Manager
INQUIRY LETTER
Areflor Funeral Homes
Brgy. West Rembo, Makati City

Dear Mr. Mirinda:

I am writing to ask if you have found a person to fill up the position of Operations Manager as posted on your website. We currently have two
qualified applicants that fit the position.
Attached herewith are the resumes of the applicants, for your perusal. We look forward to work with you again and hope to hear feedback
from you.

Thank you and more power!

Sincerely,
(signature)
Ms. Letecia Alvarado
Human Resource Manager
The Good Keeper Manpower Agency
 INQUIRY LETTER
Explanation:
The letter of inquiry as an example includes the heading, date, inside address,
salutation, body, complimentary close, signature and sender’s information. This
letter is an external correspondence between two difference companies.
 BUSINESS MEMO
Business memo is a written communication strictly between the company’s
offices to another, or used in internal correspondence. The difference
between a memo and a letter is that the memo has its title line and series
number. The employees tend to read the if the title line is related to their job
description. It is also used to implement internal guidelines or procedures that
the employees must follow. Some types of memos are operational memo,
financial memo, request for action, directives, trip report, field report and dress
code memo among others.
Little Children Playschool
Forbes Village, Makati City
Series No. 16 – 005
EXAMPLE:
To: All Pre-school Teachers
ANNOUNCEMENT MEMO
From: The School Director

Date: February 24, 2016

Subject: Company Outing

In line with the approved budget for the year 2016 – 2017 is the pursuance of the proposed company outing this
coming March 21 to 21 at the San Gregorio Farms and Leisure. We advise everyone to prepare your sports outfit
and toiletries. We look forward to see you enjoy in our two day company outing.

Thank you for your continuous support.

(signature)
Emelda C. De Marlon
Explanation:
The announcement memo includes information about the company outing of
the employees. The company also uses their own letterhead.
 BUSINESS E-MAIL
Business e-mail is an office correspondence that can either be internal or
external. There is no required format in writing e-mail correspondence but it is
expected that the writer maintain a professional tone. Note that the header of
the letter is written on the blank fields including the ‘from’ and ‘to’ fields.
‘From’ contains e-mail from the sender while the field ‘to’ contains the email
of the recipient.
From: Lance P.
To: Letecia A. letecia@hr.goodkeeper.com
EXAMPLE:
Subject: Re: Vacant Position for Operations Manager

Dear Ma’am Alvarado:

Good day!

In behalf of Areflor Funeral Homes, we extend our deepest gratitude for helping us scout qualified
applicants in the industry. We hope to work again with you.
Cheers!

Best regards,
Lance Polido
Human Resource Personnel
Areflor Funeral Homes
Brgy. West Rembo, Makati City
Tel. No. (02) 811-11-11
Explanation:
In this example, the e-mail correspondence is informal and external. It
expresses gratitude towards the effort made by the manpower agency.
 TIPS
• Make sure the office correspondence is concise and easy to understand. It is
recommended for a correspondence to have brief sentences and
paragraphs for the employees tend to read it quickly.
• Controlling the tone of writing is important in any office correspondence. It
should not sound too formal or too informal.
 KEY POINTS
• Office correspondence is a written exchange of internal and external
communication to support all business processes. It is also known as the
business correspondence.
• A business letter is a traditional way of communicating information from one
company to another or used in external correspondence.
• A business memo is a written communication strictly between the
company’s offices to another.
• A business e-mail is an office correspondence that can either be internal or
external. There is no required format in writing e-mail correspondence but it is
expected that the writer maintain a professional tone.