The Basic Business Letter

Five steps to composing a letter:

Step 1: Know what you want to achieve from it. Make a plan or brief outline, which lists the major points you want to cover or reply to. Keep checking your letter against your purpose and plan.

Step 2: Consider your reader at all times. It’s helpful to remember the following questions—

• Who will be reading my letter?
• What will be that person’s attitude toward my request?
• What do I want the person to do for me?
• How can I phrase my request so the recipient will be motivated to help me?

Step 3: Open with the name of the person you are writing to.  Do everything realistically possible to obtain that name.  “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Credit Department” are acceptable alternatives.

Step 4: Get to the main point immediately (in the first paragraph). Then follow with details and explanation.

Step 5: Use a conventional closing for people you don’t know.  This would include, “Sincerely” or “Sincerely yours” followed by a comma.  For acquaintances, you may use “With best wishes” or “Warm regards” etc.

Here are a few helpful hints to follow:

• Wordiness. Use direct, concise language. Avoid stock phrases such as “the fact that,” or “in the order of” etc.
• Naturalness. Read your letter out loud. It should sound natural and easy to understand, not stiff and overly-rhetorical.
• Courtesy. Be positive, courteous and professional.
• Active voice.  Avoid too many “is” verbs; use the active, not passive voice:

Active: Ellen wrote the report.

Passive: The report was written by Ellen.

• Punctuation/ Spelling. If you’re not sure about a word or comma, LOOK IT UP.
• Humor. Avoid humor; it can be risky unless you are completely sure of your audience’s reaction.