1. LETTERS, MEMOS, & EMAILS WHAT MAKES THEM DIFFERENT? THREE MESSAGES ENG 371 LUKOWSKI

2. THIS PRESENTATION WILL ADDRESS Description, formatting, and tips for writing Letters Memos Emails

3. THREE DIFFERENT GENRES While the content of these three genres may be similar, they have different qualities that you need to master Always remember the audience and purpose! Genre is a way to classify types of art, writing, literature, or music. For example, while a poem and a novel may both be about love, they are written in different ways. Similarly, in business writing, a letter is written differently than an email.

4. REGARDLESS OF GENRE REMEMBER ● Define audience and their values ● Clarify purpose of the message ● What do you want the audience to do after reading your message? ● Be clear and concise

5. Letters

6. ABOUT LETTERS ● Oldest format ● Generally more formal ● Usually addressed to specific individual ● Sent through mail, but today often put in PDF format and emailed Letters Around since antiquity Once primary method for communicating across distances Used to be transmitted via trade routes until modern postal service Important legal documents

7. WHAT’S IN A LETTER? ● Organization logo ● Date ● Sender’s full contact information o Mailing address o Email address o Phone number ● Recipient’s contact information ● Formal greeting ● Formal closing

8. TOP OF THE LETTER 12 July 2015 Thomas A. Anderson Project Programmer Meta Cortex, Inc. 123 W. Madison St. Chicago, IL60611 Dear Mr. Anderson: Note that it should be single spaced. Contain the organization logo. 1” margins. Space between the date, the address, and greeting.

9. BODY OF LETTER ● First couple sentences should relate purpose of letter o Good news - start with it o Bad news - buffer it, but don’t sugar coat it too much ● Paragraphs shorter than traditional essay format, but longer than emails ● Left align everything ● Put space between paragraphs See page 651 for more about letters

10. TIPS FOR LETTERS Formatting matters - be consistent Last full paragraph should contain clear actions for the audience Be sure to thank audience for their time.

11. END OF THE LETTER Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Best Regards, Wilson Smith Wilson B. Smith Agent in Charge The Matrix Corporation 444 N. Broadway Ave New York, NY 11323 Email: wbsmith@matrix.comwbsmith@matrix.com Phone: 212-945-3332 Every letter should have a signature. Sender’s complete contact information should be present.

12. Memos

13. ABOUT MEMOS ● Usually inner-office and only sent to coworkers ● Often about important policies or issues that affect everyone ● Less formal tone than letter Memos Short for Latin phrase - memorandum est, which means “It must be remembered that” Sometimes thought of as not informing the reader, but protecting the sender Way to control the message

14. WHAT’S IN A MEMO? ● Organization logo (optional) ● The word “Memo” ● Contact’s basic information ● Recipients’ basic information ● Date ● Subject line o Some times says “RE” for regarding ● Line to divide body from header ● No greeting or signature

15. TOP OF THE MEMO MEMO To:Programming Department CC:Andy Wachowski, SVP Operations From:Thomas Anderson, Project Lead Date:15 July 2015 RE:Annual Sublimation Meeting Venue Change Logo is optional. Spacing at top should be uniform for each line. CC: means “carbon copy” a holdover from typewriters. It just means that these people also received the memo. Subject should be specific.

16. SUBJECT LINES MATTER ● Must be short but specific ● Try to keep under 10 words ● Indicate purpose ● Capitalize nouns and verbs Vague Training SessionsDates for 2015 Training Sessions Specific Building Temperature Vague Building Temperatures - Weekend Regulation Specific See pages 258-61

17. BODY & END OF MEMO ● Like letters, the first couple sentences should relate purpose o Good news - start with it ● Paragraphs shorter than traditional essay format, but longer than email ● Left align everything ● Put space between paragraphs ● No signature

18. TIPS FOR MEMOS Formatting matters - be consistent Put important information first Use headings for long messages Last full paragraph should contain clear actions for the audience

19. Emails

20. ABOUT EMAILS ● Used for all kinds of audiences, internal/external, formal/informal ● Often used to replace letters and memos ● Formality depends entirely on audience Emails First emails sent in the 1970s Still adheres to similar format of traditional letters Should be professional and error free

21. WHAT’S IN AN EMAIL? ● Subject line very important ● Greeting ● Body paragraphs shorter ● Closing ● Full contact information ● Logo at bottom of message optional ● Attachments clearly named

22. TOP OF THE EMAIL From:tanderson@matrix.com To:awachowski@matrix.com CC: BCC:epoch@matrix.com Subject:Annual Sublimation Meeting Venue Change Emails allow you to BCC people - or “Blind Carbon Copy” this means you can send a message to someone without the others knowing. Be careful because you never know where emails go. Dear Mr. Wachowski,

23. BODY OF EMAIL ● First couple sentences should relate purpose of email ● Paragraphs shorter letters or emails ● Bullets are always okay ● Put space between paragraphs ● Hyperlinks and URLS are okay ● References attachments you’re sending in the body of the email See page 654-5 for more about emails

24. TIPS FOR EMAILS Even if you know the recipient, still more formal than a chat session Remember, you have no control over who may see your email Legally binding document - it’s in writing

25. END OF EMAIL Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Best Regards, Wilson B. Smith Agent in Charge The Matrix Corporation Email: wbsmith@matrix.comwbsmith@matrix.com Phone: 212-945-3332 Like a letter, you should always include your contact information. Logo is optional, but should be small and at the bottom.

26. CONCLUSIONS ● Should be obvious which genre you’re writing ● Regardless, level of formality is pretty consistent ● Always clearly state your purpose and desired actions