Business & Official Letter Writing

  LETTER  WRITING

 The most common form of written communication is the letter. Letters should have a

format that goes with the latest conventions. Letter types include

 Informal Letters-These are letters written to close associates.

 Formal Letters include-

(a) business or official letters (for making enquiries, registering complaints, asking for

and giving information, placing orders and sending replies;

(b) Letters to the editor (giving suggestions on an issue);

(c) Application for a job.

MARKING SCHEME OF LETTER WRITING

Format- 2 marks:
Proper Layout – Sender’s address, Date, Receiver’s address, Subject, Salutation, complimentary close.
Content- 4 marks:
 Relevant ideas to be presented in a coherent way. Use connectors appropriately, Divide into paragraphs. There should be minimum three paragraphs.

 Expression-                                                                     (4 marks)

a) Grammatical accuracy, spellings                                 2 Marks.

b) Coherence, relevance of ideas and style                      2 Marks.

Note:  No mark is awarded if only the format is given. Credit is given for the candidate’s originality and creativity in presenting his/her ideas. Mixing up of the traditional and modern layout is not acceptable.

Important points to remember while drafting letters:

• Write the letter in the full block format (i.e. to the left)

• State your reason for writing in the first paragraph and stay on track.

• Always include specifics that will help ease the recipient’s task. For instance, if you are

   writing to a bank, mention your account number.

• If you refer to other correspondence, quote date of the letter/s reference numbers,

• file numbers, order numbers, cheque number with date. Include copies whenever possible.

 Gently and respectfully direct the recipient’s course of action.

 It may be strongly worded but always be courteous and use polite language and pleasant tone.

 Self introduction should be avoided.

 Informal expressions, greetings or contracted forms of words should not be used.

 The language should be simple, straight forward and to the point.

 Leave a line/ additional space between paragraphs since no indentation is followed.

  Open punctuation to be followed. ( No punctuation marks to be used)

 Do not mix up the old format and new format.

 In letters to the editor – Do not ask the editor to solve the problems.

 In job application letters Curriculum-vitae (CV) /Bio-data/ Resume/ should be written. It should not be included in the body of the letter but after the complimentary close as enclosure.

  In the Letter to the Editor use ‘yours truly’ as the complimentary close.

 Sample Letter 1

You are Sidhi/ Sanjay of U-03 G Block Kasturi Nagar Mysore-37.Write a letter to the Director NGO Bird Links Society, Bangalore expressing your concern about the decrease in the number of the birds in Delhi.

House No- U/03

G Block Kasturi Nagar
Mysore -37

30 June 2011

The Director

NGO Bird Links Society
Bangalore
Karnataka

 Sir

 Sub: Diminishing number of birds: Need for Immediate Concern

 I wish to bring to your kind notice my growing concern about rapid decrease in the population of birds in Mysore. Mysore is known to have more than 500 species of birds but many of them are on the verge of extinction.

According to the reports from the recent seminar held on Conservation of Birds, there was a time, when a number of birds would flock to the banks of river Kaveri, Bandipur wild life sanctuary and forested canopy in Mysore. These numbers have come crashing down in the recent years.

 The main reasons are rampant construction of buildings, bridges and flyovers, filling of swamps, mangroves water bodies , cutting of forests and of course, other  ways of environmental pollution.

Many species have become endangered and the thousands of migratory birds flocking in seasons , which was a feast to our eyes, have left this place to more healthy places. It is time the people of Mysore were made aware of this grave situation by conducting seminars and workshops and the policy makers and administrator thought over the engulfing problem and found solutions.

The locals should be given incentives for preserving the habitats of birds. Sanction for the onstruction of buildings, malls, bridges and  so on should be given only after proper evaluation of the environmental impact of those constructions over the life of species there.

Let’s not forget that birds are an important link in the food chain.

I request the government, environmentalists and the society to show their concern before it is too late.

 Yours faithfully

(Sidhi Sharma)

 

Sample Letter No-2

You are Suresh/Sarika Jain of No-20 Jawahar Nagar,Jaipur. Two months ago you bought a desert cooler from M/s Cool Home Coolers Jaipur. Now you discover that it is not working properly. Write a letter to the Manager Customer Care complaining about the malfunctioning of the unit and asking them to repair and if needed to replace it against warranty.

20 Jawahar Nagar
Jaipur

24 June 2011

M/s Cool Home Cooler
20 Nehru Marg
Jaipur

Sir

 
Sub : Complaint about the malfunctioning desert cooler

Reference : Cash Memo No DC-98765 dated 17.4.2011

 I wish to bring it to your notice that I purchased a ‘Cooler Home’ desert cooler from you on 17 April, 2011 (Vide Cash Memo No DC-98765, dated 17.04.2011). The cooler did function well in the beginning for one and a half months and then it has started giving problems. The problems are - water leakage, heavy noise while working and high consumption of power.

Kindly take immediate step to either repair the cooler or replace it as the cooler is still under warranty period.

Yours faithfully

Suresh

(SURESH SINGH)

 

Sample Letter No- 3

You are Isha/Ishan, the secretary of the Students’ Forum of Sahrudaya Vidyalaya, Indranagar.You have planned an excursion to Jog falls during the summer vacation. Write a letter to the General Manager, Southern Railway, for reservation of a bogie for 60 students from Bangalore to Shimoga and back, supplying all necessary information.

 

Secretary

Sahrudaya Vidyalaya
Indranagar.

01 Mar 2012

The General Manager

Southern Railways
Bangalore

Sub: Request for the reservation of a Bogie for 60 students

 Sir

A group of 60 students of class XI of this school has planned to visit Jog Falls during the summer vacation. They will be accompanied by three teachers and two attendants. They plan to leave Bangalore on 15th May by Jeevan Express and return by the same train from Shimoga on 25^th May.

Kindly confirm whether a bogie can be reserved for the above mentioned dates. We would also like to know the estimated fare so that we can make necessary arrangements at our end.

The List of the members of the tour party is enclosed in the prescribed proforma.  Kindly provide the eligible students’ concession.We request you to send the detail at the earliest @

sahrudayavidyalayaind@gmail.com/ @2852456 to enable us to plan in advance.

Yours faithfully
Isha
Secretary

 

Sample letter No. 4

You are Satish/Sonali, the student prefect in charge of the school library. You have been asked by your Principal to write a letter to place an order for children’s story books (10 – 13 years). Write a letter to M.S.Book Depot Ramnagar, Bikaner placing an order for the books. Invent the necessary details.

St. Mary’s Convent
Jabalpur

15th July, 20…

M/s M.S. Book Depot

Ramnagar

Bikaner

 Sir

Sub: Placing Order for Children’s Story Books

 The school has decided to purchase story books for children between the age group of 10 and 13 years. The books mentioned below may please be sent by V.P.P. within 10 days from the date of receipt of this letter.

 

S.No           Name of the book                                 Author                        Quan

1            Stories from the Panchatantra                 A.S. Rawal                        5

2           Tales from the Arabian Nights            S.E. Paces                          10

3           The adventures of Tom Sawyer           S.E. Paces                         10

4           Tales from Shakespeare               Charles & Mary Lamb             10

 We request you to give 20 % discount on the printed prices. We assure you to pay the VPP charges at the time of delivery of books.

 Yours faithfully

Ram Kumar

(RAM KUMAR)

PRINCIPAL

 QUESTIONS FOR PRACTICE

 1. You are Manas/ Manasi at the Press Apartments of Sunder Nagar, Bihar. The main road leading to thiscolony has three man holes causing frequent accidents at night. There are no street lights on the mainroad. Write a letter to the Editor of the Times of India drawing attention of the government to thisproblem of the residents.

2. Write a letter to the Editor of a national daily inviting the attention of the authorities towards the increasing Environmental pollution in your city.

3. You are Vishal / Veena, a student of class XII of 10, Green Park, New Delhi is interested in learning languages. You come across an advertisement in The Times of India issued by The Institute of Foreign languages, New Delhi about the certificate course in Japanese offered by them. You decide to write a letter to the Director of the Institute seeking more information about the course duration, working hours, fee structure, etc. Write the letter.

4. As Mr. R. Singh, Head of the Department of Chemistry, Cambridge High School, Pune, you had placed an order with Messrs. Scientific Equipments, Dadar, Mumbai for test tubes and jar for the lab. When the parcel was received you observed that markings on the test tubes were not clear and some of the jars were damaged. Write a letter of complaint seeking immediate replacement.

5. You are the Manager of Fitness Club of Gandhi Road, Ernakulam. Write a letter to Messrs. Pioneer Sports Co, Kochi, placing an order for a minimum of 4 fitness equipments with details.

 6. You are Rama/Raman, a member of Parent-Teacher Association of Little Valley Senior Secondary School, Shillong. Write a letter to the Principal of the school asking him to introduce vocational stream in the school providing facility of teaching such subjects as computers, insurance etc. so that the students may not needlessly continue academic studies .

7. Write a letter to the Corporation authorities of South Chennai to complain about the general unsustainable growth of building activities in South Chennai with poor parking and other civic amenities to support it. Urge them to plan with a long-term view.

8. The photocopier of your office which was purchased recently has a problem with the toner settings. It is still in the guarantee period. As Purchase Manager of Talent Search, 15th Cross, J.P. Nagar, Mysore, write to the manufacturer seeking replacement of the defective part.

 9.  Write a letter to the librarian of the District Library in your town asking for details regarding membership. Also ask about the timings and rules and regulations of the library.

10.  You are Apoorva/Asha, Industrial colony, Ambattur, Chennai. You came across an advertisement forthe post of Senior Executive, Accounts in Solace Medical Equipments, Chennai unit. Write a letter to the advertiser applying for the job. Also give your detailed resume.

 

11.  You are Jolly of Class XII . You are interested in pursuing a course in visual communication. You have seen an advertisement issued by National Institute of Communication, Pune, offering courses in Media and Communication .Write a letter to the Director seeking information about their courses, free structure, placement opportunities etc.

 

 

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