Routine Letters

Map out the relationship and action dimensions of your letter-writing situation to visualize quickly the context you're addressing.

List your relationship goals and your action goals.

Consider how these goals interact with each other.

Ask what readers need in order to accomplish both relationship and action goals.

Ask who your readers are:
who should be addressed in your letter?
who should receive copies?
who else might read the letter?

Anticipate readers' questions to achieve your action goals.

Determine what questions readers will ask when they read your letter.

Since letters are short documents and thus can't have long arguments, your arguments need to be efficient.

In general, use the direct pattern in business letters: Begin with the claim, and then present supporting evidence and sometimes underlying values and assumptions.

Consider whether you'll need to use the indirect pattern, which mutes the claim by first laying out the context and evidence justifying the claim.

Using the indirect pattern, you can help readers shift to a perspective sympathetic with your own by using a well-written narrative.

Sometimes when using the indirect strategy, you might leave out the claim altogether, leaving the reader to infer both the claim and the rationale.

Make your business letters brief, straightforward, and positive.

For efficiency, consider using form letters.

Modify form letters effectively by thoughtfully analyzing the special features of your situation--your goals, your readers, and your arguments.

Follow any standard templates and style guides for letters so they represent your company or agency with a consistent style and appearance.

If you have no established formal conventions, use full-block, modified-block, or AMS style.

In general, use the neutral, objective, impersonal voice that's such a strong convention in business writing.

But deliberately base your expression on your relationship and action goals, your insight into your readers, your arguments, and the conventions of the situation.

Monitor your expression carefully when you're writing under strong emotions since writing to express anger or frustration is not, in itself, a good goal.

For questions and suggestions, please e-mail us at kilbornj@stcloudstate.edu or rinkster@stcloudstate.edu.

The print version of the Instructor's Manual for The Writing of Business
was written by Robert P. Inkster and Judith M. Kilborn for Allyn and Bacon.
This web version of the manual was coded by Judith M. Kilborn.