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Technical Letters

Technical Letters. The Importance of Letters. Represent your company’s public image and your competence More personal than a report, yet more formal than memos or e-mail More permanent than e-mail Constitute an official legal record of an agreement. Writing Effective Letters.

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Technical Letters

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  1. Technical Letters

  2. The Importance of Letters • Represent your company’s public image and your competence • More personal than a report, yet more formal than memos or e-mail • More permanent than e-mail • Constitute an official legal record of an agreement

  3. Writing Effective Letters • Analyze Your Audience: • Who is my audience? • Will my audience be favorably or unfavorably disposed to what I am going to say? • What kinds of information will my audience expect me to supply? • How will my audience use the information I am sending? • What impression do I want my letter to make on readers? • Have a clear sense of your purpose and theirs • Select the best communication strategy • Draft, revise, and edit your letter

  4. Letter Components • Essential Components • Writer’s Address • Date • Inside Address • Salutation • Letter Body • Complimentary Close • Signed Name • Typed Name • Optional Components • Subject Line • New Page Notations • Writer’s and Typist’s Initials • Enclosure Notation • Copy Notation

  5. Essential Components of a Letter

  6. Writer’s Address • Personal Address • Street address • City • State • Zip Code • Company Address • Company’s name • Street address • City • State • Zip Code

  7. Date • Full Calendar Date • May 31,2009 • 31May 2009 • 2-4 spaces

  8. Reader's Address • Address of the reader • Reader’s Name • Reader’s Title • Company Name • Company Street Address • Company City • Company State • Company Zip Code • 2-4 spaces

  9. Salutation • IF you know the reader’s name, salutation will be • First / Last Name • Followed by Colon • For example • Dear Mr. Smith: • Dear Ms. Jones: • Dear Miss / Mrs. Jones: • Dear Chris Evans: • OTHERWISE • Use title • Dear Vice President: • Use department’s name • Accounting Department: • 2 spaces

  10. Includes Introductory Paragraph Discussion Paragraph Concluding Paragraph 2 spaces below salutation 2 spaces b/w paragraphs Letter Body

  11. Place a comma after complimentary close Preferred close is Sincerely, 2 spaces below body Complimentary Close

  12. Sign your name legibly Signed Name

  13. Type your name Mention your title (Optional) 4 spaces below complimentary close Typed Name

  14. Optional Components of a Letter

  15. Must have a topic & focus Can be used instead of salutation All CAPS 2 spaces below inside address Subject Line

  16. If writer and typist are two different persons Writer’s initials- ALL CAPS Typist’s initials-LOWERCASE Separate both initials with a colon 2 spaces below typed signature Writer's and Typist's Initials

  17. Enclose information as Enc.; OR Enclosure; OR Enclosures(2); OR Enclosure: August Report 2 spaces below writer’s and typist’s initials Enclosure Notation

  18. For a copy of letter, write cc (complimentary copy) pc (photocopy) For copies sent to other readers, write pc: Reader Ma,e 2 spaces below enclosure notation Copy Notation

  19. Letter Formats • Full-block format • All text typed on left margin • Spaces between paragraphs • Simplified format • Same as full block format except • No Salutations • Subject Line introduced • No Complimentary Close

  20. Full Block Format

  21. Simplified Format

  22. Classifications of business letters • Positive • Customer relations letters responding favorably to a writer’s request or complaint • Sales letters promoting a product • Neutral • Letters requesting information about a product or service, placing an order, or responding to some action or question • Negative • Customer relations letters refusing a request, saying no to an adjustment, etc.

  23. Types of Letters • Letters of Inquiry • Sales Letters • Good-News Letters • Bad-News Letters • Complaint Letters • Adjustment Letters • Cover Letters

  24. Letters of Inquiry

  25. Inquiry Letter • You require information about any matter of interest to you • It must • Contain an effective technical writing style • Involve audience through pronoun usage • Avoid grammatical errors • Must contain the essential letter components

  26. Components of Inquiry Letter Body • Introduction • Tell your reader why are you writing • Inform reader about subject matter • What are you writing about? OR • What info do you want?

  27. Components of Inquiry Letter Body • Discussion • Specify your needs • Ask precise questions • List specific topic of inquiry • Quantify your questions

  28. Components of Inquiry Letter Body • Conclusion • Must be precise • Mention when do you want a response • Provide a specific date for response • Explain why do you want response by the given date

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