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LETTERSLetters is one of the most important modes of communication in the our society and it is known fact that the use of letters has subsided to a tremendous level in both personal and professional context due to the use emails in modern days but it has its own advantage as a mode of communication even today.Steps of letter writing- the 8 C’sThe 8 C’s of letter writing are clear, correct, comprehensive, concise, credible, considerate, courteous and conscientious. The different approaches may be taken when writing letters, depending on purpose a letter can be written in a direct or indirect manner to deliver the information. In the direct approach the main message is stated right away while the indirect approach the reader gradually towards the primary message.The professional letter must contain the following elements with a left indent/align format and in the order from 1 to 7.Sender’s Address: the complete proper address of the sender including street name and number, post office box, suburb and postcode. If it is to be sent overseas, state and national details should be included.Date: To be written in words (month) as writing of the dates in figures sometimes give false information to the reader as it is written and followed in different styles and format in different countries. Therefore, it is best to write the dates in full form with day in numbers, Month in words and Year in full. (e.g. 17 July 1978)Recipient’s name and address: the recipient name and address are placed below the date, normally on left side and the proper honorific or courtesy titles should be used. The accuracy of names and titles are also important in the address to reach letter to its correct destinations.Salutation: all letters should open with the salutations as ‘Dear [name]’. Use recipient’s family or surname if the relation is formal or if it is a first time communication and if affiliated use personal or given names. Always use the greeting ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ if unsure of the reader gender. Body of the letter: it should contain the substance of your communication, styles and types are largely determined by the kind of letter you are sending.Close: the letter should terminate with courtesy for both formal and informal letter. Depending on your salutation, the closing notes, Yours truly, Respectfully yours Sincerely, Yours faithfully, Yours sincerely and Most respectfully and I remain are the formal closings where as for the informal letter the closing words like Best regards, Regards, Cheers, Cordially yours, Cordially, Yours, Kindest regards and as ever are used widely.Signature block: should contain the writer’s signature and in business letters, signature block is placed above the typed name of the sender.Based on the need other following variable elements can be used.Subject lineAttention lineSecurity headingReference detailsDocument initialsSenders contact detailsEnclosure detailsCopy detailsHeader/footersCategories of business lettersLetters: the messageThere are different categories of business letters like routine which conveys organizations routine message to customer and client through postcards, acknowledgement slips or business cards. The nonroutine letters which are sent in situations where replies are not expected.Good and Bad news lettersThrough a good letter the writer conveys news that the reader will probably be happy to read and when the writer conveys news that the reader will probably not be happy to read is called a bad news letter.EMAILS and MEMOSUnlike letters which are sent to recipients outside the writer’s organization, the emails and memos are usually transmitted within the organization, although it is quite routine to send emails externally to other organizations because of the speed and convenience.What are emails for?The emails should not be sent when face-to-face or telephone interaction will solve your communication problem more quickly and directly. The general principle of letters, emails and memos remains same. Also, both email and letter recipients have basic needs for information and respect. The most commonly used email in an organization out of many types of email available is:Request emails: This is the common form which goes beyond information only document and the writer expect the reader to take action either in person, by telephone or confirmation via another email system as email contains strong element of accountability.Announcement emails: it is a one way communication which has large audiences due to email being sent to all persons in the organization using the mailing list which are predefined by the organization, also announcement emails generally does not call for reply as it is a information-only documents. It is very important to have better layout for this email when compared to other form of email as people may not scan an announcement email with the care that they would give to one addressed personally. Instruction emails: a document, sent within the organization which sets out information about procedures or operating routines. Like announcement emails it tends to give wider distribution and reply from recipient is not normally accepted. The instruction emails should be specific to the topic and concise so that instructions information is communicated to the users. Warning memos: a document sent when there is a perception that someone is not doing the right thing. The paper based message has distinct advantages over electronic message when we need to send a warning to someone. The warning memo may form part of a formal discipline procedures, perhaps leading to dismissal or termination and care has to be taken in wording a warning memo, primarily due not just to the feelings of the target person, but also because if the content is not factually inconvertible, then there will be legal repercussions. An accusation should not be made if you cannot backup your statement with substantial factual information. REPORTS The ability to write report is one of the most useful writing skills we need to acquire, which describes and analyzes situations and people. There are many types of reports in use and in a business environment; the analytical or research report writing technique is the most essential report writing skills as this kind of report gives detailed analysis of the situations to be used by decision makers to make decision. Generally the format and structure of the report is designed by the writer, usually in accordance with conventions and the reports can be long as it involves considerable research and also involves analysis and parison of Reports and EssaysGenre/ attributesReportsEssayApproachTends to be focused more on the problem and is action orientedTends to be focused more on analysis of situation without necessarily providing solutionsTopic/FocusUsually set by other with a specific expected end result/findingsUsually set by others as a topic to be answeredTable of contentsCommon in longer documentsNot often includedSummaryNormally given, sometimes with key recommendations and conclusionsNot included oftenIntroductionMust be included, it sets the scenes to appear in the reportIncluded sometimes to brief the contentContextThis is submitted for aiding the decision making, problem solving and term of reference, but will attract criticisms and compliments.This is for academic world submitted for markingsAudience readingReports are likely to be skimmed through looking at the key informationLikely to be read thoroughly to understand the contentDiscussion/ analysisIncludedIncludedConclusionYes included as it give sums up the informationYes included as it sums up the informationRecommendationsThis is must in a report as comparison has to be made and writer’s opinion had to be mentioned after thorough research Usually not made as the topic is generic which do not require a recommendationLayout techniquesParagraph tends to be shorter, informativeSections and subsections are numbered drawing attention of the readerBullet points sometimes usedParagraphs are usually longSections and subsections are not numberedBullet points not often used Tables/ GraphicsWidely used to represent the dataNot usedExpression of opinionThey are expressed at the conclusion or recommendations as the general content should be facts and findingsThey are expressed throughout the contentStyleTends to be impersonal and objectiveSentences and words tends to be shorterMaybe sometimes it gains high readability scores due to use of professional jargons Can be personal and subjective or impersonal and objectiveThe sentences and words tends to be lengthyMostly gain high readability because of academic jargonsReferencing quotationUsually referencing is light as primary data can be used as much as the secondary dataEssays are written fully referring on the secondary data and fact in place, so referencing is mustAuthoringUsually collective authorMostly individual authorRelationship to spoken PresentationReports mostly lead to spoken presentationsNot likely to involve spoken presentationsStructure of the report and inclusions in a ReportSectionsEssentialsPurposeTitleTitle pageClearly describes to the reader what the report is aboutSummary/synopsisBriefly sums up the content of the document; sometimes the only part of the report which is properly readTable of contentsContains list of each element in the front matter, body of the report and the end elementBodyIntroductionInforms the reader about background, purpose, scope, research methods, definition of terms, limitations and assumptions.DiscussionReal part and the largest section of the reportConclusionsSection of the report in which writers set out their opinions about the fact presented in the report.RecommendationsFinal section of the report consisting of suggestions for action based on the conclusion reached.End partReferences/bibliography Section list all the materials referred for research and in the report.PROPOSAL & SUBMISSIONIs a document quite similar to report which are written to obtain funding or resources to achieve certain goal.ReferenceEunson, B (2012) Communicating in the 21st century. Queensland: John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd. ................
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