1 Technical Letters

2 The Importance of Letters Represent your company’s public image and your competenceRepresent your company’s public image and your competence More personal than a report, yet more formal than memos or More personal than a report, yet more formal than memos or More permanent than More permanent than Constitute an official legal record of an agreementConstitute an official legal record of an agreement

3 Writing Effective Letters Analyze Your Audience:Analyze Your Audience: –Who is my audience? –Will my audience be favorably or unfavorably disposed to what I am going to say? –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 theirsHave a clear sense of your purpose and theirs Select the best communication strategySelect the best communication strategy Draft, revise, and edit your letterDraft, revise, and edit your letter

4 Letter Components Essential ComponentsEssential Components –Writer’s Address –Date –Inside Address –Salutation –Letter Body –Complimentary Close –Signed Name –Typed Name Optional ComponentsOptional Components –Subject Line –New Page Notations –Writer’s and Typist’s Initials –Enclosure Notation –Copy Notation

5 Essential Components of a Letter

6 Personal Address –Street address –City –State –Zip Code Company Address –Company’s name –Street address –City –State –Zip Code

7 Full Calendar Date –May 31,2009 –31May spaces

8 Address of the reader –Reader’s Name –Reader’s Title –Company Name –Company Street Address –Company City –Company State –Company Zip Code 2-4 spaces

9 IF you know the reader’s name, salutation will be –First / Last Name –Followed by Colon –For example Dear Mr. Smith: Dear Ms. Jones: Dear Miss / Mrs. Jones: Dear Chris Evans: OTHERWISE –Use title Dear Vice President: –Use department’s name Accounting Department: 2 spaces

10 Includes –I–I–I–Introductory Paragraph –D–D–D–Discussion Paragraph –C–C–C–Concluding Paragraph 2 spaces below salutation 2 spaces b/w paragraphs

11 Place a comma after complimentary close Preferred close is Sincerely, 2 spaces below body

12 Sign your name legibly

13 Type your name Mention your title (Optional) 4 spaces below complimentary close

14 Optional Components of a Letter

15 Must have a topic & focus Can be used instead of salutation All CAPS 2 spaces below inside address

16 If writer and typist are two different persons –W–W–W–Writer’s initials- ALL CAPS –T–T–T–Typist’s initials-LOWERCASE Separate both initials with a colon 2 spaces below typed signature

17 Enclose information as –E–E–E–Enc.; OR –E–E–E–Enclosure; OR –E–E–E–Enclosures(2); OR –E–E–E–Enclosure: August Report 2 spaces below writer’s and typist’s initials

18 For a copy of letter, write –c–c–c–cc (complimentary copy) –p–p–p–pc (photocopy) For copies sent to other readers, write –p–p–p–pc: Reader Ma,e 2 spaces below enclosure notation

19 Letter Formats Full-block formatFull-block format –All text typed on left margin –Spaces between paragraphs Simplified formatSimplified format –Same as full block format except No SalutationsNo Salutations Subject Line introducedSubject Line introduced No Complimentary CloseNo Complimentary Close

20 Full Block Format

21 Simplified Format

22 Classifications of business letters PositivePositive –Customer relations letters responding favorably to a writer’s request or complaint –Sales letters promoting a product NeutralNeutral –Letters requesting information about a product or service, placing an order, or responding to some action or question NegativeNegative –Customer relations letters refusing a request, saying no to an adjustment, etc.

23 Types of Letters Letters of InquiryLetters of Inquiry Sales LettersSales Letters Good-News LettersGood-News Letters Bad-News LettersBad-News Letters Complaint LettersComplaint Letters Adjustment LettersAdjustment Letters Cover LettersCover Letters

24 Letters of Inquiry

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

26 Components of Inquiry Letter Body IntroductionIntroduction –Tell your reader why are you writing –Inform reader about subject matter What are you writing about? ORWhat are you writing about? OR What info do you want?What info do you want?

27 Components of Inquiry Letter Body DiscussionDiscussion –Specify your needs –Ask precise questions –List specific topic of inquiry –Quantify your questions

28 Components of Inquiry Letter Body ConclusionConclusion –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