IMPORTANT NOTE:
In today's world of electronic mail ALL of the below information is valid for not only PAPER letters, but ELECTRONIC letters (known as e-mail), as well.
As a student you will probably have occasion to write letters— for example, to request information for a research paper, to appeal a decision or policy, to complain about a product or service, or to apply for employment.
(1) Planning, writing, and revising your letter
Before you sit down to write a business letter, you should think carefully about your purpose, audience, and tone. Many large organizations receive hundreds of letters each day, so your letter should be brief and to the point. Important information should appear early in the letter, and you should not digress. Be concise, and try to sound as natural as possible. Stilted or flowery language gets in the way of clear communication, and so do legalistic terminology (in re: your letter) and business jargon (in regards to, herewith enclosed).
The first paragraph of your letter should introduce your subject and mention any relevant previous correspondence. The rest of your letter should present the facts readers will need to understand your points. If the matter is complicated, you may want to present information in a numbered list. Your conclusion should reinforce your message, and the whole letter should communicate your good will.
Type your business letter on good-quality 8 1/2" x 11" paper. Leave wide margins, at least an inch all around, and center your letter on the page. Type your letter single-spaced and use a conventional format.
After you proofread your letter, you may have to retype or reprint it. The appearance of your letter affects your reader's response to it. A neatly typed letter, free of smudges and errors, makes a favorable impression. A sloppy letter or one with misspellings or corrections made by hand presents you and your case badly.
(2) Understanding the conventions of a business letter
The format of a business letter may seem arbitrary and prescriptive, but remember that this format has evolved in response to the special needs of the business audience. Using an inside address, for example, seems pointless until you consider that business letters often circulate to people other than the recipient, and to these readers knowing the original recipient is important. Dates are also necessary. Letters frequently become part of a permanent record, filed for some future use. These letters can have uses weeks, months, and even years later that no one could have originally predicted.
If you conform to the following conventions when writing business letters, your readers will know where to find each piece of information in your letter.
The Heading
The heading of a business letter consists of the sender's return address, but not his or her name, and the date the letter is written. If you use letterhead stationery, supply only the date, typing it two spaces below the letterhead. Each line of the heading falls under the one above it, flush to the left.
Spell out words like Street, Avenue, Road, Place, East, and West in full. You may, however, abbreviate the names of the states using postal abbreviations.
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Be sure to punctuate the heading correctly. Commas separate the name of the city from that of the state and the day from the year, but no punctuation is used before the zip code, at the ends of lines, or in postal abbreviations for states.
The Inside Address
The inside address cites the recipient's name and address. It begins at the left margin four to six lines below the heading, depending on the need to use space for a balanced page. Include an appropriate title (Mr., Ms., Mrs., Miss, Dr.) with the recipient's name and the recipient's full address. Previous correspondence should be your guide to your recipient's correct name and title.
The Salutation
The salutation ("Dear ______") appears two spaces below the inside address, flush with the left margin. In business letters the salutation almost always ends with a colon, not a comma. It includes the person's title followed by the last name as it appears on the inside address.
If you are on a first-name basis with someone, you should still use his or her full name and title in the inside address. You may, however, use the first name, followed by a comma, in the salutation. If you are writing to someone you do not know—the Director of Personnel, for example—you can avoid the awkward phrase To Whom It May Concern by routing your letter to a specific department or by referring to a particular subject.
College Department
Haroourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers
301 Commerce Street
Fort Worth, TX 76102
Attention: Director of Personnelor
Subject: Sales Position
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If you are writing to a woman, refer to previous correspondence and use the title that she uses. If you do not know her preference, usej Ms. If you know someone's initials but do not know whether the person is a man or a woman, you might call the company switchboard and ask. You can also use a neutral form of address—Dear Editor or Dear Supervisor, for example.
Keep in mind that salutations such as Gentlemen and Dear Sirs should be used only when you are certain that your audience is male. To use these salutations as general forms of address may offend some readers and should be avoided.
The Body
The body of your letter contains your message. Begin this section two spaces below the salutation, and single-space the text. In a short letter of two or three sentences, you may double-space throughout. In a block format letter you do not use paragraph indentations; in some other formats you indent paragraphs five spaces from the left-hand margin.
If your letter takes more than one page, place the addressee's name, the date, and the page number in the upper left-hand corner of the second page.
The Complimentary Close
The complimentary close appears two spaces below the body of the letter and flush left.
The most common complimentary closes are Sincerely yours, Yours truly, and Yours very truly. If you are on friendly terms with the recipient, Best wishes or Cordially is appropriate. Note that only the first word of the complimentary close is capitalized.
The Signature
Leave four spaces below the complimentary close, and type your name and title in full. Sign your name, without a title, above the typewritten line.
Additional Data
Indicate additional information below the signature, to the left.
Enclosures (Material enclosed along with letter)
cc : Eric Brody (Copy sent to the person mentioned)
SJL/lew (The initials of the writer/the initials of the typist)
The two most common letters of application you will write are letters requesting employment and letters requesting admission to graduate school.
(1) Letter requesting employment
When you apply for employment, your primary objective is to interest a prospective employer enough so that he or she will schedule an interview with you. Before you write, collect all the information you need for your letter—previous employment, employers, dates, and relevant courses, for example. Then consider why you want the job and what about you might interest a prospective employer. Next, make an informal outline, and then begin your rough draft.
Begin your letter by stating which job you are applying for and where you heard about it—in a newspaper, in a journal, from a professor, or from your school job placement service, for instance. Be sure to include the date of the advertisement and the exact title of the position. End your introduction with your thesis: a statement of your ability to do the job.
The body of your letter provides the information that will convince your reader of your qualifications. Mention any relevant courses you have taken and any pertinent job experience. Take care to address any specific concerns mentioned in the advertisement. Above all, emphasize your strengths.
Conclude by referring to your resume. State that you are available for an interview, noting any dates on which you cannot be available.
(2) Letters to Graduate or Professional Schools
Graduate and professional schools routinely ask applicants for autobiographies or statements explaining why they have applied. These personal statements reveal a great deal about you, including your goals, your level of maturity, and your ability to communicate. They are read carefully, and they help to determine whether or not you will be accepted.
As you plan, write, and revise, concentrate on what distinguishes you from others who are applying to the school. Be specific, offering examples from your experience to illustrate the points you make. Everything in your statement should underscore your thesis: that you are committed to the field and should be admitted to the program.
Write a personal statement in which you tell the admissions officer what led you to choose your field. Be specific in describing your motivation, your experience, and your aspirations.
The letter of application summarizes your qualifications for a specific position; the resume provides an overview of your accomplishments, focusing on your education and your work experience.
Before you compose your resume, list all general information about your education, your job experience, your goals, and your personal interests. Then select the information that is most appropriate for the job you want, emphasizing the accomplishments that differentiate you from other candidates. If you have received academic honors or awards, or if you have financed your own education, include this information as well.
There is no single correct format for a resume. Whatever its arrangement, however, it should be brief—one page is sufficient for an undergraduate—easy to read, and well organized. An employer should be able to see at a glance what your qualifications are.
Sections of a Resume
- The heading includes your name, school address, home address, and phone number.
- The education section, includes the schools you have attended, starting with the most recent one and working back in time. After graduation from college, do not list your high schools unless you have a compelling reason to do so.
- The summary of work experience starts with your most recent job and works back.
- The background section lists special interests and community service. (Just a few examples will suffice.)
- The references section lists the full names and addresses of at least three references. If you already have a full-page resume, a line saying that your references will be sent upon request is sufficient.
- If you can, include an honors section in which you list academic achievements and awards. In addition, you may include at the top of the page a statement of your career objective.
Remember that federal law prohibits employers from discriminating on the basis of age, sex, or race, and you need not include such information in your resume.
Students sometimes have to send letters requesting information from a person or a business. For instance, you might ask an instructor for a recommendation or write to an expert in a field to gather information for a research project.
Before you write such a letter, decide exactly what information you need. Make a list if necessary, and eliminate questions that you can answer yourself. Think about what you need the information for and how much time you have to get it. Usually you can limit your request to a few questions that can be answered quickly and easily.
Write a courteous and concise letter. Introduce yourself, and say clearly what information you want and why you want it. Be specific; your reader will be doing you a favor by responding, and you should not waste his or her time. If you have several requests, number them—and keep them simple.
Sample Letter Requesting Information
Students often have occasion to write letters asking for a clarification of or change in college policy. For example, you may need to request permission to take a two-credit overload, to waive or change a particular requirement for graduation, to request a leave of absence, to appeal a faculty or administrative decision, or to request permission to live off campus. In such situations, the goal of your appeal is to convince the reader or readers of your letter that your point of view is worth considering. In many cases your audience will be inclined to hold a view different from yours, and you will have to convince them to change their minds.
As you write a letter of appeal, keep in mind the principles of writing an argumentative essay. Remember that the purpose of your letter is to convince your readers of the validity of your claims. To achieve this end, be sure that you maintain a rational tone. Support your points with facts and reasonable arguments, and avoid arguing against a policy simply because "it's not fair." Present yourself as a reasonable person who sees both sides of an issue, and remember that anger or sarcasm will only undercut your case. Revise your letter with your reader in mind. If your reader is unfamiliar with your case, begin with an overview, not an involved discussion of your problem. Arrange events in logical order, using transitions to make their sequence apparent. Be sure that your tone is firm but reasonable. Try to end on a positive note—at the very least asserting your belief in the fairness or goodwill of the reader.
The process of composing memos is much the same as the process of composing business letters. Unlike letters, however, memos communicate information within a business organization. They can communicate brief messages of a paragraph or two, or short reports or proposals. Their function is generally to convey information or to persuade. Regardless of their function, most memos have the following general structure.
The Opening Component
The opening component—To, From, Subject, and Date—replaces the heading and inside address of a letter . This section establishes at a glance the audience and the subject of your communication. Because a memo often circulates beyond its original audience, all names and titles should be stated in full. The subject line, which exists to give your reader a clear idea what your memo is about, should include more than one word. "Housing" means very little to readers unfamiliar with your subject; "Changes in Student Housing Policy" states the subject more precisely.
The Body
The body of your memo should begin with a purpose statement containing key words that immediately convey your message. Some people like to present the purpose statement as a separate component with its own heading. In any case, the purpose statement should include a word that clearly defines your intention—for example, evaluates, proposes, questions, reports, describes, or presents.
The first paragraph of the body summarizes your conclusions; the rest of your memo tells readers how you arrived at your conclusions, backing them up with facts and figures. Often each paragraph of a memo has a heading that identifies its subject. These headings guide readers through the body of your memo.
The Conclusion
The conclusion of your memo should contain a detailed restatement of your points. If its purpose is to persuade your readers of something, you should include a list of recommendations. Because readers remember best what comes last, you should end your memo with a summary of the action that should be taken or the conclusions that should be drawn.
In the following memo from a student in a tutoring program, the writer uses headings to identify the major divisions of her discussion and emphasizes her recommendations by presenting them in list form. Her purpose is to persuade her audience; therefore, she addresses her reader's major concerns—cost, ease of construction, and projected benefits—and she ends with a list of recommendations.
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This information provided by The Holt Handbook, Third Edition.
Laurie Kirszner & Stephen Mandell. © 1992. Harcourt Brace
College Publishers, Fort Worth, TX