CHARACTERISTICS AND ELEMENTS
OF A BUSINESS LETTER
LESSON 3
“The art of art,
the glory of
expression and
the sunshine of
light of letters, is
simplicity.”
- Walt
Whitman
Characteristics of a Business Letter
Business letter is
one of the vital
components in the
success of a business.
To ensure that we are
writing an effective
business letter, there
are “Ten (10) Cs” we
should consider.
1. Completeness refers to the inclusion of
complete information. The business letter
should answer the question WHO, WHAT, WHEN,
WHERE, and HOW to produce a good and
complete business letter.
2. Correctness refers to the correct grammar,
punctuation, spacing, information, and the
structure. It also refer to the correct format of a
business letter. To attain correctness, double
check the spelling of the names, address letters
properly, verify numbers and amounts, always
check the dictionary.
3. Conciseness refers to being direct and brief
without compromising the complete idea. In
writing a business letter, we should not include
unnecessary information which might confuse the
reader. Instead of Saying: Say:
Example:
At the present time Now
Prior to Before
Pitch in Join to
Start from scratch Make new from nothing
Meet the deadline Complete the job
4. Coherence refers to the smooth flow of ideas in
a business letter. The content of a business letter
should be in order and easy to follow.
Some of the devices that you may use to
achieve coherence are use of synonyms, use of
transitional words, use of pointers, use of repetition
5. Clarityand
of words, refers
useto
of readability of information which
sentence patterns.
is easy to understand. We should bear in our minds
that simple words are more preferred than complex
ones.
6. Concreteness refers to the use of
specific words not general words.
Example:
Instead of saying: Say:
Return of investment Profit
Market penetration Successful selling
7. Courteousness Negative Positive
refers to the politeness Bad Good
of the tone of the Sad Glad
business letter. Being Old New
friendly by showing Hard Easy
positive approach is Slow Fast
the key for a successful Disagree Agree
communication in Delay Early
Demand Request
business. Below are
some examples of the
negative and positive
word. But then again,
8. Consideration refers to the use of
professional tone to show respect to the reader
of the letter. Also, we need to anticipate the
“YOU” attitude in writing our letter.
Example:
Instead of saying: Say:
We are glad to offer you the You will be pleased to find
best services. must-try services in our
branch near you.
9. Consistency refers to the uniformity of the
time and style of the writer of a business letter.
10. Credibility refers to the personality of the
writer as himself which might reflect on his
writings.
Elements of a Business Letter
Because business letter is part of
communication, it also follows the
communication process. There are three
elements in the communication process that
are also present in business writing. There
should be a sender, message, and receiver.
The sender of the letter is the one who is
writing it. It is one of the protocols in business
writing that the receiver of the letter should be
known by the sender. The complete name,
position, as well as the address of the receiver
should be included in the letter. The sender or
writer must be also knowledgeable in basic
grammar, punctuation, spelling, and
mechanics skills so that he might build a good
impression to the receiver of the letter.
The message is very important in the
communication process because it is the
reason that moves the sender to start the
communication process. The message of the
letter should be well-written, simple, and
understandable. The message should be direct
and persuasive and should avoid including
unnecessary information. It should be concise
and complete so that everything you want to
Sender Message Receiver
say is included.
Lastly, the receiver of the letter completes
the elements of communication process. The
main role of the receiver is to carefully decode
the message of a business letter and provide a
feedback that will complete the entire
communication process.
