Principles

of
Business Correspondence

- Prof. Firdous Parveen Imran

Never write a letter while you
are angry.
~Chinese Proverb
Dear friend,
You have undertaken to
cheat me. I won’t sue you, for the law is
too slow. I’ll ruin you.

Yours truly,
Cornelius
Vanderbilt
 7 Cs of Communication
• Complete
• Concise
• Correct
• Concrete
• Clear
• Courteous
• Considerate
 Completeness
• Provide all necessary information
• Answer all questions (stated, implied)
• Answer: What, where, why, when, which, how

Sample: Please submit your registration form.

Improved:_________Please ensure that your registration

form is complete by providing all the necessary
information._____________________
 Concreteness
• Be specific and definite
• Avoid vague and general statement

Sample: We need a big auditorium in a week.

Improved:_We require an auditorium with a seating

capacity of at least 500 people, equipped with audio-
visual facilities, by the end of next
week.______________________________
•
 Correctness
• Use right level of language
• Bring accuracy of facts and figures

Sample: Please submit your reports bimonthly.

Improved:_______________________________
 Conciseness
• Eliminate wordy expressions and repetition
• Include only relevant content
• Avoid needless repetition:
Future plans
return back
assemble together
basic fundamentals
at the present time
+

Sample: The following summary is intended

only to highlight certain information contained
elsewhere in the prospectus.

Improved:_The summary highlights key

information found elsewhere in the
prospectus.____________________________
_
 Clarity
• Choose precise
• Use concrete and familiar words
• Keep it coherent
Sample:
Separate material that can be recycled from your
regular trash. Give away old clothes, toys and
appliances to someone who can use them. When
you purchase products, choose those with
minimal packaging. If you have a garden, put your
garden waste and kitchen scraps in a compost
pile. You can reduce the amount of solid waste
your household produces in four ways.

Improved:______________________________
 Courteous
• Be tactful
• Be thoughtful
• Be appreciative
• Be respectful
• Avoid discrimination
 Biased Neutral

Lady Doctor Female Doctor Busine

business professional
• Each worker had his picture taken Each worker had their pic

• Handicapped Person with a disability

• Low Caste Person from a marginalized community

• We demand We request
• You are absolutely wrong in saying You may have a differ
perspective, but..
• We regret our inability We regret to inform you
 Consideration: “ you –attitude”

Use second person pronoun such as ‘You’ rather than first person
pronoun for e.g. ‘I’ and ‘We’.

Sample 1: We are pleased to announce that we have selected

you to join our trainee program.

Improved:___________You have been selected to join our trainee program, and we

are pleased to announce this opportunity._______________________________

Sample 2: You failed to sign your cheque.

Improved: __You forgot to sign your

cheque._______________________________________
In order to be an effective writer, one needs to
use effective sentences……