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 (3Sep, 2003)

2.   A cheque of Rs 400000 No. 346877 SBI Jabalpur

Or

Enclosures - 1. A copy of agreement (3Sep, 2003)

                    2. A cheque of Rs 400000 No. 346877 SBI Jabalpur

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. 


Answer:- 


Placing the Order

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. 


Answer:- 



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:- 




Exercise in Questions:- Answer the following questions:-
1. Describe the Layout of a Business Letter.
2. Assume that you are Ravi Sharma, the Purchase Manager in Sarita Cement Ltd Maihar Road Katni (MP). You need 100 ceiling fans for your new offices. Write a letter to Comfy Electricals Ltd. SB Road Bandra Mumbai, inviting quotation for 100 fans.
3. Assume that you are The Sales Manager in Comfy Electricals Ltd. SB Road Bandra Mumbai. You receive a letter inviting quotation for 100 fans from Sarita Cement Ltd Maihar Road Katni (MP). Write a letter sending quotation.
4. Write a letter placing the order of 100 ceiling fans to Comfy Electricals Ltd. SB Road Bandra Mumbai. 
5. Write a letter of complaint to Comfy Electricals Ltd. SB Road Bandra Mumbai because three ceiling fans sent by them have manufacturing defect. They have poor RPM.
***


Click below to read other topics

Tender Notice

Email, How to write it.


Click here to check books by Rama Shankar Shukla which will help you in Business Correspondence

B Tech First Year English - Unit Five - Letter Writing Business Correspondence

 


Location: Satna, Madhya Pradesh, India

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