Letters

1. Letters Lesson 6

2. PRINCIPLES OF LETTER WRITING • Correct, complete information • Written with readers in mind • Use active voice • Are coherent, clear, concise • Printed and formatted neatly

3. Planning a Letter 1. Analyze the purpose before you begin writing 2. Address issues to which you are responding 3. Think about your reader’s background 4. Do not exceed one page

4. Organization • Introduction: creates rapport with the reader, and states the reason for the letter. • Conclusion: tells the correspondent what you need him or her to do to follow up on subjects in the letter. • May summarize the main ideas and recommendations. • Will be conventional and courteous • Body: contains logically divided sections that discuss each topic. • Arrange topics in decreasing levels of importance from the reader’s point of view.  

5. Conciseness and Clarity Conciseness and clarity, two good qualities of all writing, are particularly important in letters because you do not want to waste your readers’ timeor want them to miss important ideas. You can achieve this by keeping your writing unified, with each paragraph containing an idea that is readily apparent.

6. Tone Tone is a key factor in a well-written business letter because the way the letter makes the reader feel can be the difference between effective, open lines of communication and alienating or offending a client, superior, or co-worker. Courtesy and respect are crucial aspects of business letters, just as in all forms of communication. Usually effective letters exhibit a personal, conversational tone, but the best tone to take depends on the relationship you have with the recipient and the purpose of the letter.

7. Form and Appearance • For business documents, appearances matter. Good stationary is important: 8½ x 11-inch, unlined paper of a high-quality bond, about 24-pound weight. Envelopes, 4x 10 inches, should match the stationary. White or cream are usually the best choices, and if you do design your own stationary, make sure that your letterhead uses conservative font styles and sizes. Flashy and fancy are distracting, not professional. • Make sure your business letters are printed on a good-quality printer, and that the letter and envelope are free of errors. Neatness is crucial! • A letter should be single-spaced throughout, with double spacing between paragraphs. Margins should be 1-inch on all sides, and as even as possible without justifying the right margin, though a shorter letter may allow you to set wider margins. One-page letters should be placed so the body of the letter, excluding the heading, is centered on the page or slightly above center.

8. Parts of a Letter

9. Heading The heading contains the address, (not your name) and the date of the letter. If your stationary does not have a letterhead, place the heading on the left margin (for block style) or the right margin (for modified block style). If you use letterhead stationary, omit the heading except for the date. Center the date below the letterhead or place it next to the left margin for block style.

10. Inside Address • The inside address is a reproduction of the address on the envelope. Place the title of the person to whom you are writing on the same line as his or her name. • It is generally better to address a letter to a specific person rather than to an office or title. Hank Aaron, President Homerun Consulting Services 755 Leaders Way Atlanta, GA 30312

11. Salutation If possible, address your correspondent by name: Dear Mr. Aaron: OR Dear Ms. Davis: For a female correspondent, it is best to use Ms. unless she prefers another title. If you know someone well, you may use his or her first name in the salutation: Dear Hank: Be especially careful with the use of first names; a title and last name are especially appropriate for an older person, or someone with greater authority than you have. Most situations require a respectful, courteous tone, which means a title and last name. If you do not know the name of the person to whom you are writing, a use a salutation such as: Dear Human Resource Division: OR Dear Registrar: OR To Whom It May Concern: A colon always follows the salutation in a business letter.

12. Closing The letter’s formal closing is placed at the left margin for a block-style letter and the right for modified block. Capitalize the first word and put a comma at the end. Sincerely, Sincerely yours,

13. Signature Sincerely, Cate Lycurgus Cate Lycurgus Program Director Sincerely, Cate Lycurgus Cate Lycurgus, MFA Program Director

14. Optional Parts of a Letter Sometimes you’ll need more notations which are placed below the signature at the left margin. If the letter includes an enclosure, make a notation: Enclosure(s) And if you distribute the letter to additional people, note the people who receive a copy: cc: Larry Jones

15. Second Page Most business letters are only one page long. If you need additional pages, each should have a heading identifying the addressee, the date, and the page number. This is printed at the left margin: Mr. Frank Wren April 8, 2014 Page 3 Three lines of text (not including the header) is the minimum to warrant continuing a letter on an additional page.

16. Responding to Correspondence

17. 1. Be prompt, by return mail if possible. 2. Read the letter carefully, and note any questions that need answering or ideas that need comments. 3. For the opening paragraph, make sure you respond to the original correspondence and state the date of the letter you received. If it is good (or at least neutral) news, state that clearly and positively as the letter’s main idea. 4. If the letter contains bad news, state the subject of the letter in the opening paragraph, but save the explicit refusal for later in the letter, after you have prepared the reader to receive the news. 5. Answer all your correspondent’s questions and cover all relevant topics in appropriate detail, remembering that a letter should be complete, but also as concise as possible. 6. End courteously.

18. Typical Accounting Letters

19. Engagement Letters Engagement letters: • Place in writing arrangements made between an accounting firm and its clients. • Confirm a variety of services, including audit, review, compilation, management advisory, or tax. • Clarify and make explicit the mutual responsibilities of the accountant and client; they are a safeguard against misunderstandings. Most will include: 1. A description of objectives and nature of the service 2. A description of responsibilities of the client and auditor 3. A description of limitations, restrictions, or deadlines 4. A description of assistance provided by the client 5. A statement that an audit will possibly not uncover all acts of fraud

20. Management Advisory Letters Internal control Budgeting Operating Procedures Tax issues Resource Management Credit policies Inventory control The accounting and information system(s)

21. Why is the change needed? How can it be accomplished? What benefits will the clients receive?

22. Tax Research Letters A basic outline includes: • The facts on which the research was based • Caution that the advice is only valid for the facts previously outlined • Tax questions implicit in these facts • The conclusions, with authoritative support for the conclusions • Areas of controversy that the IRS might dispute

23. STANDARDIZING LETTERS: A CAUTION As mentioned, many corporations use or require standardized letters. They not only save time, but also convey information precisely and reliably. If your employer expects you to use these letters, be sure they are responsive to the readers’ needs and concerns, despite their formulaic origins. If you know your client personally, a friendly reference to a topic of mutual interest can add warmth; make sure this is not contrived, however.

24. Letters Sent via E-mail Today many organizations and individuals send their letters electronically, at least part of the time. An advantage is that they are much quicker, and the response time is often shorter. E-mail letters carry many risks, however. They are not necessarily secure, and also suggest a more informal style of writing, which may be inappropriate for business letters. Also, e-mail writers may not give the necessary attention to detail that an effective business letter requires. Grammatical and mechanical conventions, like correct spelling and punctuation, are as important for e-mail letters as they are for paper letters. In our next lesson we will discuss how to write effective e-mails as well.