Business Correspondence - Letter Writing (Unit five)
Letter Writing
Structure and Layout of a Business Letter
Elements of structure
1. Letterhead
This is the top side of the letter. It is an already
printed parted of the letter popularly known as letterhead or heading. It
contains the name and address of the organization along with phone numbers, fax
numbers, e-mail address, and website.. (Place
no 1 in the figure)
2. Date
The date is printed two
spaces below the last line of the letterhead. You can write the date at place
no 2 as shown in the figure. like
23July, 2008
OR
July23, 2008
3. Reference
It is a unique identity of a letter. Every out going
letter is assigned with a unique number and put in records for future. The
Receipt and Dispatch Department of an organization keeps the record of all the
incoming and outgoing letters. Every entry is maintained on the basis of this
number.
Place no.3 (two spaces below the date / last line of
the letterhead).
4. Personal Notation
(Place no 4 in the figure)
If the letter is a
confidential, and it has to be read only by a particular person, the word
Personal or Confidential is used at this place and on the envelop also.
5. Inside Address
(Place no 5 in the figure)
The inside address is the receiver’s address. It is the
name / designation of the person and / or the address of the organization to
whom the letter is being written.
e.g.
The Chief Accounts Officer
Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd
Lajpat Nagar
New Delhi-110011
The Personal Manager
Prism Cement Ltd
Mankahari Satna (MP)
Or
Sri R K Shukla
Ultratech Cement Ltd.
Sarojini Nagar Jaipur-550045
6. Attention Line
To ensure prompt attention especially in very big
organizations a line of attention is added after the inside address:-
Attention: The Purchase Manager
Or
Attention: for Mr. Sudesh Gautam
Or
For the kind attention of Mr. Sudesh Gautam
(See place no 6
in the figure)
7. Salutation
Salutation is the respectful beginning of the letter.
It is like greeting a person when you meet him.
(See place No 7
in the figure).
Most common salutation for business correspondence is
‘Dear Sir’ or ‘Dear Madam’ or ‘Dear Sirs’ or ‘Dear Madams’
8. Subject
(Place no 8 in the figure)
This line simply indicates what the letter is about
therefore it should not exceed more than one line.
9. Main Body
(Place no 9 in the figure)
It is the main message. It is always better to
disclose your purpose of writing at the very first line. Keep the language
simple. Then You can mention the detail and end with what action you require
from the reader.
10. Complimentary Close
(Place no 10 in the figure)
Complimentary close is a polite way of ending the
letter or taking leave courteously. The most common complimentary closes are
‘Yours faithfully’ and ‘Yours truly’ etc.
11. Signature
(Place no 11 in the figure)
The person who writes/replies the letter has to sign
here. It is placed below the complimentary close.
12. Identification Marks
(Place no 12 in the figure)
It is like a secret code denoting the persons involved
in preparing the letter. If the assistant is Mr. Ravi Varma and The typist is
Kusum Singh the identification may be written as:-
RV-KS
This mark is very necessary because it assigns
responsibility and it is possible to trace who committed the mistake in the
letter.
13. Mailing Notation
(Place no 13 in the figure). This notation states the method of mailing: whether
the letter is sent registered, airmail, special delivery…etc, it is typed
directly below the identification line or enclosure notation. It serves as a
record to indicate that the letter was sent by other than regular mail.
14. Enclosure
(Place no 14 in the figure)
If any document is attached with the letter, it is
mentioned here as follows:-
Encl-2
Or
Enclosures-2
Or
Encls -1. A
copy of agreement (
2. A
cheque of Rs 400000 No. 346877 SBI
Or
Enclosures - 1. A copy of agreement (
2. A cheque of Rs 400000 No. 346877 SBI
15. CC: (Carbon Copy or
Courtesy Copy)
(Place no 15 in the figure)
If you are sending one or more copies of your letter
to other office bearers/Heads of Departments, you need to mention all of them
here as follows:-
Copy to 1. The Chief Minister of MP
2.
The Minister for Railways
3.
The Minister for Industries
16. Postscript
Postscript is used to write forgotten material after
the letter has been finalized or finally printed. It may be hand written also.
But a good letter should not have a postscript because it does not reflect a
good picture of the letter writer.
Inviting Quotation
The letter, which invites prices of proposed purchase from supplying organizations, is called a letter inviting quotation. Firms, organizations, have to carry out different types of purchases time to time. The best practice is to invite quotation (prices/price list of goods / articles / machinery etc) from different manufacturers / firms / suppliers, and compare the price, quality, and then order for goods. This letter informs about a business to the perspective supplier and creates a healthy competition for supplying a quality product at reasonable price, which is greatly helpful to the organizations wishing to purchase items in bulk quantity.
Sample Letter Inviting Quotation
Question:-Assume that you are the Purchase Manager in Swastika Cement Ltd. Maihar Road Katni. Under an expansion plan of your company, you need some items of furniture for your new offices. Write a letter inviting quotation for furniture to Blossom Furniture Ltd MK Road Bandra Mumbai
Answer:-
The letter Sending Quotation
The letter, which
replies a letter of quotation by sending a price list of the required items, is
called a letter sending quotation. This letter is very important because our
good will brings the opportunity knocking at our door and which must be exploited
to the full and that is why it needs to be written very carefully.
Sample Letter
Reply to the letter Inviting Quotation
or
Letter Sending Quotation
Subject Matter for the
letter
Assume that you are the
Sales Manager in Blossom Furniture Ltd MK Road Bandra Mumbai. You receive a
letter inviting quotation from The Purchase Manager Swastika Cement Ltd Maihar
Road Katni for some items of office furniture. Write a letter sending quotation
for furniture of their requirement.
The letter that is written to place the order is called the letter placing the order. The next important activity / letter after inviting quotation is to place the order. When you have received, various quotations from different suppliers you have to take decision in favor of the one, which is supplying best quality for very reasonable prices. This letter is also very important or better to say the most important of the three because any mistake here may lead to a legal dispute. Therefore, once again you should write this letter very carefully.
Sample Letter
The letter placing the Order
Question:-Assume that you are the Purchase Manager in Swastika Cement Ltd Maihar Road Katni.. You receive quotation for some items of office furniture from The Sales Manager Blossom Furniture Ltd MK Road Bandra Mumbai as per your request. You find that the quotation from Blossom Furniture Ltd MK Road Bandra Mumbai is the best and has most reasonable prices. Write a letter placing the order for furniture of your requirement.
The Letter of Claim or complaint
The letter of claim or
complaint is written with a view to complaining about any problem with the
product that you have purchased from a supplier and getting suitable
compensation for the loss if any or getting the product repaired or corrected.
E.g., you have purchased a machine / equipment from a supplier / company but it
started malfunctioning after six month although the machine / equipment is
supported by a one year guarantee. Or you have received a short supply / wrong
supply (a product not required/ordered). Alternatively, the product that you
have received is not functioning properly. Similarly, it may have some
manufacturing defect and so on. All such situations make a subject for the
letter of claim or complaint.
This letter is very
sensitive and needs to be written tactfully so that the supplier may not be
offended and we are able to get a suitable compensation.
Sample Letter
The letter of Claim or Complaint
Question:-Assume that you are the Purchase Manager in Swastika Cement Ltd Maihar Road Katni (MP).. You ordered for some pieces of furniture, to Maswyne Furniture Ltd. MK Road Bandra Mumbai. But you have received the furniture nonconforming to the quality required by you and the quality promised by Maswyne Furniture Ltd. Write a letter of complaint.
Answer:-
B Tech First Year English - Unit Five - Letter Writing Business Correspondence
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