TECHNICAL WRITING

MODULE NO.5
I.
LEARNING OBJECTIVE TOPIC
I. Communication in Business and
Construct basic and optional parts of a organization
business letter A. Good Business Letter
B. Ten Commandments of a good
Distinguish different business letter correspondent
punctuations and styles C. Parts of a letter
D. Optional parts
Analyze the effectiveness of various letter E. Punctuation styles
lay-outs in writing business letters F. Trite expression to avoid in Business
Correspondence
Write a letter emphasizing the basic and G. Letter layout
optional parts of business letter

II. DISCUSSION

Business letters are formal paper communications between, to or from businesses and usually sent
through the Post Office or sometimes by courier. Business letters are sometimes jokingly
called snailmail (in contrast to email which is faster)
Who writes Business Letters?

Most people who have an occupation have to write business letters. Some write many letters each
day and others only write a few letters over the course of a career. Business people also read letters
on a daily basis. Letters are written from a person/group, known as the sender to a person/group,
known in business as the recipient.

Examples of senders and recipients:

• business ⇔ business
• business ⇔ consumer
• job applicant ⇔ company
• citizen ⇔ government official
• employer ⇔ employee
• staff member ⇔ staff member

There are many reasons why you may need to write business letters or other correspondence:

• to persuade
• to inform

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 • to request
• to express thanks
• to remind
• to recommend
• to apologize
• to congratulate
• to reject a proposal or offer
• to introduce a person or policy
• to invite or welcome
• to follow up
• to formalize decisions

A. A Good Business Letter

Writing correct business letters and memoranda is a skill or a potential that must be possessed and
developed by a person regardless of his work, profession or specialization.

Qualities of a good business letter

1. Creates favorable impression
2. Appeals to the reader’s point of view
3. Correct in every detail
4. Courteous, friendly and sincere
5. Promotes goodwill
6. Coherent and well-paragraphed
7. Employs highly business jargons

B. Ten commandments of a Good Correspondent

1. Be always dignified, respectful and gracious
2. Never become so imbued with your own position or company’s name that letters sound
pompous and dictatorial.
3. Keep your letter as short as possible without appearing curt and refrain from using terms that
your reader may not understand.
4. Admit mistakes willingly.
5. Always endeavor to realize that a person’s ideas, feelings, and problems, no matter how trivial,
inconsiderate or unfair they may be, are important to him and should be considered.
6. Never lose your temper, become impatient or irritable, or get into arguments.
7. Resist the temptation to flaunt your company’s rules and policies at your reader.
8. Never write hasty, ill-advised note until you have the time to cool off, or carefully study the
situation.
9. Never resort to name-calling even by interference.
10. Try your best to create goodwill for your company.

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 C. PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER
1. Basic Parts
a. Letterhead
This includes the company name, company mailing address, and company contact numbers.
It may also contain the company logo or symbol of the organization. However, today, most of
the companies have their own personalized letterhead exclusive for their employees’ use.
In case you will write a business letter no on behalf of any company, you may use a heading
or a return address. A heading/return address is composed of your complete, correct and
specific address. In writing the heading of your letter, the lot and block number, street,
barangay, municipality or city, province, region, and even the zip code must be included
properly.

b. Dateline
This contains the month, day, and year when the business was written. Be mindful of certain
rules, such as:
• You should not use abbreviations. For example, 09-08-20 or 09-08-2020 or Sept. 8,
2020
• You should not include st, nd, or the th after the day of the month. For example
September 8th, September 1st, September 2nd
• You may use the conventional style, September 9, 2020 or the military style 09
September 2020.
c. Inside Address
This part consists of three, four or five lines which include the complete name as well as the
job title/s of the receiver on the first line, the complete position of the receiver on the second
line, the complete division or department of the receiver on the fourth line, and the complete
name of the company or organization followed by the complete address of the company or
organization.

Rules to consider:
• The inside address is like the address written on the envelope
• You may use Miss when addressing a single woman; Mrs. Of married woman. If the
status is not known, use Ms. If the firm comprised of women; use Mesdames or its
abbreviation Mmes.
• Use Mr. in addressing a man. You may also use it plural form Messieurs (French) or
its abbreviation Messrs.
• You may abbreviate the title Doctor to Dr. Example: Dr. Lana V. Evangelista
• The title Reverend should not be abbreviated and it should be preceded by The.
Example: The Reverend Marius Roque
• You may or may not abbreviate the title Professor. For example:
Professor Danielle A. Lauren
Or
Prof. Danielle A. Lauren

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 But if only the surname is available, the title should not be abbreviated. For example:
Professor Lauren
• Company or organization positions such as Supervisor, Manager, Secretary,
Superintendent, Proprietor, or even President may either precede or follow the name
of the receiver of the letter. For example:
Ms. Aimie Loie A. Rivas
Proprietress
Elysian Events Specialist
Or
Ms. Aimie Loie A. Rivas, Proprietress
Elysian Events Specialist
• The title Honorable is used by Judges of the court, Members of the cabinet,
Congressmen, Senators, or other government officials who hold an important
position and office in the city, province, or country. You may or may not abbreviate
the title Honorable. For example:
Honorable Rodrigo R. Duterte
Or
Hon. Rodrigo R. Duterte
d. Salutation
Composed of the word “Dear” followed by the last name of the receiver of the letter. Use
colon (American English) at the end of the salutation or comma (British English).

For example:
Dear Mr. Lee:
or
Dear Mr. Ji,

Sir and My dear Sir, Madam and My dear Madam

are the most for formal and impersonal salutation. These should be
used only in addressing high government officials, officers of the
army and in letters that are highly formal or impersonal.

Dear Sir and Dear Madam are the least of formal and
impersonal salutation. These are used in business letters when the
names of the persons are not in the address or only
the initial appearance in the address.

Dear Mr. Cruz is less formal and personal and is

used in writing to an individual with whom the
writer is not acquainted.

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 Gentlemen is used to address
§ a firm,
§ a professional partnership of men or of men and women,
§ a committee or board composed of men, or
§ of men and women, an organization of men, or
§ a post office box, or
§ letters used as names of companies, or
§ newspaper advertising boxes.

e. Body of the letter

Consists the message of the writer. Some claim that the first and the last sentences are the
most important parts of the body of the letter. The first sentence should make the reader fell
at ease and the last sentence should make the reader pleased and contented.

f. Complimentary Close
Sometimes called closing, the part where the sender says goodbye to the receiver of the letter
in a formal was. You may use the standard Sincerely yours or Respectfully or Very respectfully
yours. We should take note that the first letter of the first word is the only capitalized letter on
the complimentary close.

Most Formal and Impersonal Salutations and Complimentary Close

Salutation Complimentary Close

Sir: Very respectfully,
Madam: Yours,
My dear Sir: Yours,
My dear Madam: Respectfully yours,
Dear Sir: Respectfully your,
Dear Madam: Yours respectfully, s

Personal

Formal Formal
My dear Mr. Cruz, Very sincerely yours,
My dear Miss Cruz, Yours very truly,
Very cordially yours,
Yours very earnestly,
Very affectionately yours,
Yours very faithfully

Less formal Less Formal

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 Dear Mr. Pascual, Yours truly,
Dear Sarah, Sincerely yours,
Cordially yours,
Yours devotedly,
Faithfully yours,
Yours earnestly,

g. Signature Line
Composed of the complete typewritten name of the writer and his/her official designation or
the name of the company.

Very formal or legal: Lana Orabelle Vasquez Evangelista

Less formal or business: Lana Orabelle Evangelista
Lana Orabelle V. Evangelista

For Married Signature: Truly yours,

(Mrs,) Daisy A. Dellosa

President

Or
For unmarried Signature: Very respectfully yours,

(Miss) Nora T. Alvarez

Supervisor

For Company Responsibility: Sincerely yours,

Elysian Events Specialist

Note: The space in between the complementary close and name is intended for the written
signature of the sender.

h. Written signature
Refers to the sender learly scribing or affixing his specimen signature on the space between
the complimentary close and printed name. Allot enough space (3-4 spaces) for this.

D. OPTIONAL PARTS
1. Attention Line
This is used when the letter urgently needs to be received by the best person who can handle it.
Commonly, the attention line is at the center.

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 For example: Elysian Events Specialist
San Mateo, Rizal
Attention: Miss Aimie Joie A. Rivas

2. Subject Line
This is used in short reports to let the reader know the content of the letter immediately. It may
be placed above or below the onside address; may be flushed to the left, indented or centered.

For example: Elysian Events Specialist

San Mateo, Rizal

Subject: Inquiry on Wedding Package

3. Identification Initials or Reference Initials

This includes the initials of the secretary or typist who took the dictation in lower case and
initials of the one who dictated or dictator in the upper case at the lower left-hand corner of the
letter two spaces below the last line of the signature part.

For example: EPE/jpe

EPE/go

4. Enclosed or enclosed reference or enclosure notation

This is composed of the attached materials on the letter. This is usually abbreviated Incl. and
placed below the reference initials.

For example: Incl. 1. Grade Sheets

2. Class records

5. Copy Notation
Consists the names or department of other people who also received the
letter.
a. Carbon copy notation (cc) – this notation is indicated the original copy and all the duplicate
copies.

For example: cc: Mr. Donnie Sayre

Cc: Human Resource Department

b. Blind copy notation (bcc) – this is not indicated on the original copy but indicated on all
duplicate copies.
For example: bcc: Miss Sarah M. Amaya

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 c. Mailing Notation – this refers to the special postal services such as air mail, special delivery
or registered mail.

E. TITLES USED IN BUSINESS LETTERS

Mr. – is used in addressing a man who has no other title, or whose title is
unknown to the writer.
Miss – is used in addressing four (4) classes of women:

a. unmarried women
b. women celebrities
c. women whose status are not known
d. female divorcees

Mrs. – is the abbreviation of the word mistress. It is used in addressing a

married woman, a widow or divorcee.

Dr. – is used in addressing a man who holds a doctor’s degree in any branch of
studies.

Professor – is used in addressing a member of a college or university, either

male or female who holds the rank of a professor, associate professor and
assistant professor.

Honorable – is used in addressing high government officials and ex-

government officials. The title is spelled in full preceded by the article “the”
followed by the name, initials and surname of the person.
- when the abbreviated “Hon.” is used, the article “the” is omitted.
- when only the surname of the person is used, the title “Honorable” is
always written in full preceded by the article “the”.

Reverend – is used in addressing a member of the clergy.

- is written in full preceded by the name, initials, and surname of the person.
- the abbreviated “Rev.” should not be preceded by the article “the”.
- When only the surname of the person is used, the title “Reverend” is spelled out in full
followed by the article “the”.

F. PUNCTUATION USED IN BUSINESS LETTER WRITING

There are three ways on how to punctuate a business letter, namely:
1. Open punctuation
In writing a business letter, open punctuation does not include any punctuation after any part of
the letter except the body of the letter or message.

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 2. Standard punctuation
This is the most common style of punctuating a business letter which includes punctuation on
salutation and complimentary close only. The punctuation on salutation is colon (:) while on the
complimentary close, it is comma (,).

3. Mixed punctuation
This format uses comma (British style) or colon (American style) after the salutation and uses
comma after the complimentary close.

G. TRITE EXPRESSIONS TO AVOID IN BUSINESS LETTER WRITING

The following are trite expressions to avoid in writing business letters to lessen misunderstanding
and to achieve clarity of ideas.

Trite Suggested Corrections

1. I beg to remain Please
2. We acknowledge of your letter Thank you for your letter
3. Please be advised We should like to inform you
4. As per your instruction According to your instruction
5. We are at a loss We cannot understand
6. Please keep us posted Please keep us informed
7. Trust Hope, think, believe is preferable
8. Your letter received and duly noted Thank you for your letter
9. We hand you We enclose, we send you
10. Hoping to hear from you We hope to hear from you
11. Thanking you for your We thank you
12. In our conversation Regarding our conversation
13. Our check in the amount of Our check for
14. Your kind favor Your letter
15. Attached you will find We are enclosing
16. At the present time Now
17. At an early date Soon
18. In as much as Because
19. We wish to thank you Thank you
20. We are desirous We wish
21. Enclosed please find I enclosed
22. It is hope of the undersigned Hope
23. Kindly let me know Please let us know
24. According to our verbal agreement According to our oral agreement
25. Assuring you of our best Your request for replacement

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 G. LETTER STYLES/LAY-OUTS
There are several business styles that are accepted and being used in the corporate world.

1. Full Block Style

When using this full block style, it is important to keep the following points in mind:
a. Content is aligned to the left margin of the page.
b. In appearance, it is quite simple. It means that the reader would find it easy to read.
c. There is a single space in the paragraphs.

_________________
_________________
_________________

_________________
_________________
_________________

_________________:
___________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________.
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
_.

__________________,

__________________

2. Modified Block
It is quite similar to the full block style i. e. simple in appearance and neat. Except that the address
of the sender is roughly set at the center of the sheet. Also, the dateline and signature have also
similar a similar alignment

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 _______________________
________________________
________________________

_____________________
_____________________
_____________________

_____________________:

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
____
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

__________________________

__________________________

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 3. Semi-Block Style
This style is similar to the block style except that it follows the rule of indention to its paragraph. This
style also makes use of standard punctuation.

_____________________
_____________________
_____________________

____________________
____________________
____________________

____________________:

___________________________________________________________-
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________.
___________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
_.

_______________________

_______________________

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 4. Simplified Style
This is similar to the full block style, beginning all the parts of the letter at the left margin. However,
the heading is place at the center upper part of the letter. This style follows the open punctuation
and omits the complimentary close.

_____________________________
_____________________________

_________________________
_________________________
_________________________

_________________________:

________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________.
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
_.

___________________________

___________________________

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 5. Indented Style
This style makes use of indentions which has uneven number of spaces in various elements of the
letter. Today, this is rarely use because of its complexity of arranging the different elements of the
letter.

________________________
______________________
___________________

_____________________

_____________________
__________________
________________

_____________________:

___________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
_______________.

_____________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________.

___________________________

___________________________

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 6. Hanging Indented Style
This is another unique style of writing a business letter. The first line of each paragraph is aligned
with the inside address and salutation is flushed at the left. It usually uses standard punctuation.

________________________
_____________________
_____________________

______________________
____________________
____________________

_______________________:

____________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
____________________.

__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_____________________.

_________________________

_________________________

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 REFERENCES

Book References:
1. Technical Writing for Success – Darlene Smith Worthington
2. Writing in the Discipline – Chenita P. Dapito et al
3. Technical Writing in the Modern World – Rebecca M. Minas et al
4. Technical Writing – Ma. Junisthesmer Rosales et al

Digital References:
1. https://www.englishclub.com/business-english/business-letters-what.htm

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 TECHNICAL WRITING
Module 5

NAME:________________________________ Year/Section:_________________ Score: __

EVALUATION

Task 1.
1. Write the heading, Address, Salutation, Complimentary Close and signature of each letter. Use the box
provided.

a. From your home address, write to Ms. Irene Pineda, Registrar of the City College of San Fernando,
Pampanga

b. Danielle Ocampo (wife of Daniel Ocampo), 382 Real Street, Vigan, Ilocos Norte, writes to E.H. Black,
Esguire, Chicago Theological Seminary, 45 Warren Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

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 Task 2.
For the following stereo-typed or old-fashioned expressions, substitute fresh, terse, conversational
ones. (2pts each)

a. Kindly deliver the same at an early date.

b. Enclosed please find as per your request an itemized bill.

c. Trusting this will prove satisfactory, we beg to remain.

d. Kindly send the check by return mail, I oblige.

e. Thanking you in advance for the suggestions along this line and awaiting your further favors, we
remain.

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 Task 3.
Answer the following briefly. (Not to exceed three (3) sentences)

a. Which among the different letter styles is the easiest to use? Why?

b. If you are going to implement one general format or style in your company, what will it be and why?

c. What is the importance of knowing how to construct the different parts of a business letter?

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