PRINCIPLES OF EFFECTIVE LETTER WRITING

Letter is the first impression of any organisation. Hence, enough care should be taking while drafting the letter. To write a letter effectively following guidelines should be followed.

1)Planning of the Letter- A business letter should be planned properly. The writer should know what to say, how to say, to whom, when and why. Before writing a letter, the writer should collect the required information. He should know the format of letter he needs to use. He should know the exact purpose of the letter.

2)Completeness- The letter should be complete by all means. It should be complete in terms of content and structure. It should contain all the relevant and required details depending on the subject of the letter. Structurally, a letter is said to be complete when all the obligatory parts and optional parts(as per need) of the letter are present.

3)Conciseness- The letter should be concise. Every word should have its own value. Maximum information should be conveyed in minimum words. There should not be anything extra or irrelevant. Long and ambiguous expressions, repetitive words and long phrases should be avoided. One word substitution should be used.

4)Consideration- Consideration involves stepping into the shoes of others. The writer should consider the receiver’s viewpoint, mind-set, etc. For this the writer should adopt ‘you attitude’. You attitude does not mean using the word ‘you’ instead of ‘we’ or ‘I’. It means that the receiver must be made to feel important which can be achieved by using ‘you attitude’. For example- instead of writing- Our bank also gives mobile banking and net banking facility to customers. The writer may write- You will also get mobile banking and net banking facility.

5)Clarity- The content of the letter must be clear and understood by the receiver in the first reading. The ideas expressed must be logically connected. The language should be simple. Long and ambiguous expressions, repetitive words and long phrases should be avoided. Jargon should not be used. Technical terms should be used when absolutely necessary.

6)Concreteness- Concreteness means specific and clear. Writer should use specific facts and figures. There should not be any ambiguity in sentences or words. Ex- ‘The College won many medals’. This sentence is not specific and unclear for the receiver. So writer must be specific, eg.- ‘The College won 3 gold, 5 silver and 8 bronze medals’.

7)Courtesy- Courtesy is a matter of treating the reader with respect. Every letter should be courteously worded. Polite and convincing words bring positive response from the reader or receiver. Certain polite words, such as ‘I request you’, ‘Please consider it’. ‘It would be very nice of you’, ‘Thank you’, ‘Please take a little trouble’, etc. should be used. Though you are writing a letter to collect dues from your debtor, don’t write, ‘It is unfair on your part to delay payment’, but use courteous words ‘Please don’t delay the payment’ or ‘It would be very nice of you to pay the amount due as soon as possible’.

8)Correctness- The letter should be correct in all respects- correct layout, content language, tone and style. Incorrect letter creates a poor impression about the sender. If the content is not correct, the receiver will be confused. The correct language means correct sentence construction, correct spelling and punctuation, correct vocabulary, sincere tone and appropriate style help the receiver to understand the letter properly.

9)Language- The language used in business letter should be formal or professional. Avoid making negative expressions as far as possible. Ex- The shop is not open on Sunday. Instead say- The shop is open on all days except Sunday. Avoid wordiness. Be precise. Remember everybody is as busy as you are and would welcome letters that are direct and to the point. Ex- instead of- ‘Please see that an inquiry is conducted to determine the reason’, write- ‘Please find out the reason’. Avoid passive voice as far as possible as it is rather longer expression. Ex- instead of ‘The goods will be despatched by us’, write- ‘We will despatch the goods’.

10)Drafting and Editing- Make a first draft keeping in mind the principles of writing. Check that every paragraph contains one main idea. The paragraphs are logically connected and the sentences within a paragraph are also having a logical connection. Check language, grammar, spelling and punctuation. Prepare the next draft and check it again and finalise the draft to despatch.