1. SCIENTIFIC & TECHNICAL WRITING Business Letters
Prof. R.L. Boxman
Tel Aviv University
R.L. Boxman, 9/2000, 2/2016

2. Business Letters Form used to communicate concisely
Short, and to the point!
ט"ז/תשרי/תשע"ח

3. Structure of Business Letter
Letter Head
Date
Reference Numbers (optional)
Inside Address
Subject
Salutation
Body
Signature
6 Nov USYD

4. Letter Head Contains: Organization Name, Logo Your name?
All relevant communications data:
1. mailing address
2. fax
3. telephone 4.
5. home page?
Some of this information can be in footer
6 Nov USYD

5. Structure of Business Letter continued
Date
Reference Numbers (yours, their) (optional)
Inside Address
Mr. N.C. Person
Full Mailing Address
Include postal code if known
Include country, if sent abroad
Subject
6 Nov USYD

6. Salutation
Dear (Title – Prof., Dr., Mr., Ms, etc.) (Family Name). Example:
Dear Prof. Boxman,
no initials or first name with family name! e.g., not:
Dear Prof. R. Boxman, or
Dear Prof. Raymond Boxman
Dear Sirs,
Dear (First Name) (only if you are on first name basis)
6 Nov USYD

7. Body Short (usually 1 page), and to the point! Typical Letters:
Request for information
state what information you need, and briefly, why you need it (i.e. application)
Job (or fellowship) application – 1-2 pages.
make the best case you can why you would be most suitable candidate for the position which is open
Cover letter to journal submission
one sentence for initial submission (Enclosed please find....),
detailed list of revisions for a revised m/s
6 Nov USYD

8. Signature Sincerely yours, (sign here) First Name, M.I., Last Name
Job Title
Sincerely yours,
Raymond L. Boxman
Professor of Electrical Engineering
6 Nov USYD

10. Fax Almost same ‘rules’ as business letter Inside address
“sent by fax to ”, either
following the full “snail” mail address,
or instead of it.
6 Nov USYD

11. E-mail Conventions still evolving
For business (in contrast to personal), suggest following same principles as business letter, except
No inside address (“to” field sufficient)
Subject line built-in (don’t duplicate)
Date built-in (don’t duplicate)
6 Nov USYD

12. E-mail continued Body: short and to the point
If the contents are long:
Put details in an attached document
Use the body of the message as a cover letter
Summarize the content of the attached file
Include the “Bottom Line”, i.e. conclusions and “action items”
6 Nov USYD

13. E-mail continued Signature
Conventional to use “Regards” (instead of sincerely yours)
No need for handwritten signature
Prepare automated signature file (instead of letterhead)
additional communications details (phone, fax, URL, physical address, etc.)
Logo?
6 Nov USYD

14. continued
Consideration for the recipient: be careful hitting: “reply” and “reply to all”
Ensure subject is correct
Delete string of past messages if not relevant
Ensure all recipients are relevant
6 Nov USYD

15. CV’s and Resumes Basic document in job hunting and personnel actions
Industry –resume
Academia – CV
Very similar – present education and experience at a glance
4 Feb INP

16. CV’s & Resumes – common elements
Full name
Date
Communications details:
telephone numbers
address
Immigration status
if applying for position where you are not native born citizen
4 Feb INP

17. CV’s & Resumes – common elements continued
Education
start with the most recent,
end at college/university level for researchers
dates, institution, major, degree
Military experience (if relevant)
dates, military branch, final rank, significant assignments
Work experience
start with the most recent
dates, employer, job title, significant assignments
4 Feb INP

18. CV’s & Resumes – common elements continued
Honors, awards, and distinctions (if any):
dates, granting organization, name of honor, short explanation (a few words)
Professional certifications, licenses (if any)
e.g. teaching certification, profession engineer’s license
Professional activities (if any)
e.g. leadership or organizational roles in professional societies, editorial position on a journal, or other volunteer activities which advance the profession or public awareness thereof
dates, activity, and brief explanation if not obvious (a few words)
4 Feb INP

19. CV’s & Resumes – common elements continued
Languages:
language, degree of proficiency
Personal Data
Put after communications data
NOT in U.S.A.
to comply with anti-discrimination policies
4 Feb INP

20. Résumés – additional items
Objective
Immediately after name
1-2 lines statement of job sought.
immediate objective, i.e. for the specific job being sought
eventual career objective
tailor to the job sought
Communal activities, hobbies, interests
4 Feb INP

21. CV’s– additional items
List of Publications
Journal Papers
Conference Presentations
Book Chapters
Books
Patents
Theses
4 Feb INP