Business
letters – practical writing skills, not academic, not school writing
school
writing – writing an essay, writing about a short story, poem
living
in Canada, everyday useful writing - practical writing for work, writing for
business, writing for government issues, writing for immigration, writing for
tax, writing for job applications (cover letters), writing for complaints
online
job-finding site – Indeed, Jobbank, LinkedIn - key words
I can’t help with this. However, there are experts who can give
excellent advice on how to configure and construct your online profile. Youtube
is a good place to start.
Education/training is the golden ticket.
Communication skills were key for me.
- writing skills-
- speaking skills- I practiced soooo much. – singing, drama, plays,
listening and watching good speakers- copying them
-official
writing, more formal, not casual writing
Reasons
to write Business-style letters:
(Even
emails can benefit from using the more formal style of a business letter –sets
a professional, serious, courteous, respectful, mature tone)
e.g.
Student emails to teachers.-
“What!!!????”
“what
day the class end”
“im
gonna miss class today what u gonna do in class?”
Very
unprofessional looking.
We
can do better.
A
more professional and more formal tone and structure is advised. I tend to err
on the side of formality.
-polite,
not too casual
REASONS
TO WRITE A BUSINESS-TYPE LETTER
1.
interdepartmental letters (within a company)
2.
cover letter for a resume (special style)
3.
application letters to colleges and universities
In
the Fall and Spring, many of our Grade 12 students are frantic about getting
applications in to colleges and universities. The letters that they write are
very important. I remember spending about two hours cowriting a letter with an
E12 student.
4.
letter to a government agency, Canadian government or the government of another
country (e.g. Canada Revenue Agency, Immigration Canada, Canada Pension, City Hall)
NOTE:
Communicating with Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) is really difficult.
5.
employer/manager/boss (e.g. promotion, transfer, raise, personal leave, quit)
6.
business person
7.
court (e.g. jury duty)
8.
lawyer
9.
writing to your child’s teacher
10.
report to a supervisor
11.
incident report (e.g to police or insurance, ICBC)
12.
getting airline tickets refunded
13.
refund from Amazon
Have
you ever written a letter like that?
FORMAL,
not casual like a personal letter
Formal
– organized (clear structure), official-looking, appropriate tone, appropriate
language, unemotional, a little bit of emotion can be effectice (less is more)
·
Distribute
“Business Correspondence” p.c.
WRITE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS
AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE
Mei Zhou
Mei (Sarah) Zhou
Mei “Sarah” Zhou “ABC”
not legal name, the name that you prefer
Allan Haley
GIVEN NAME FAMILY NAME
(LAST NAME)
Zhou, Mei “Sarah”
Haley, Allan
Zhou, Ming
FAMILY NAME, GIVEN NAME – I would not do it this way in a letter
Apt#23, 666 Maple Street
Vancouver, BC
V5P 2B6
SKIP A LINE
January 18, 2022
SKIP A LINE
THE NAME, TITLE AND ADDRESS OF THE PERSON YOU ARE WRITING TO
Mary Williamson
Director, Shaw Communications
123 Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC
V5R 2D2
Re/RE: Client/Reference/Case/Account/Purchase # 4722859
(Re-regarding)
OPEN YOUR LETTER WITH A GREETING, SALUTATION
CHOOSING THE TITLE CAN BE TRICKY: Mr? Mrs? Ms?
Robin Smith
Hui Yu Chen
Singh- man
Kaur- woman
GOOD SUGGESTIONS: Call and ask. Find them on LinkedIn.
Dear Grandma, comma for a personal letter ,
comma-
friendly, casual, not formal
Dear Sarah Chen: colon
for a business letter :
more formal, not friendly, business :
Dear Mr. Chen:
Dear Mrs. Smith:
Dear Ms. Smith:
Dear Miss Smith:
Dear Mme Benoit:
Dear Sir or Madam:
Use a colon for a business letter- professional, formal, not
friendly or personal
GREETING
To Mr. Pacquiao: sounds cold, very formal
To Sarah Chen:
To my dearest Mme Benoit: TOO MUCH, sounds like a love letter
e.g. student emails
To my dear teacher: TOO PERSONAL
Dear Maria, A BIT MORE
RELAXED
Hi John, QUITE INFORMAL
AND RELAXED, FRIENDLY
Hello Jun, SLIGHTLY
MORE FORMAL, BUT STILL FRIENDLY
Dear Sarah: colon is
formal, first name is casual
Dear Sarah, SEEMS LIKE A
BETTER CHOICE
Hi Justin,
You’re doing a good job as Prime Minister of Canada.
WAY TOO INFORMAL
To the Right Honourable Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau:
To Her Excellency, President Janice Alloud:
To His Excellency, AAA BBB:
To Her Excellency, Governor General of Canada, Mary Simon:
Adrienne Clarkson-
Research what title the person might have.
If you do not know the name of the recipient of your letter-
Health Insurance BC
PO Box 9035 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, B.C. V8W 9E3
Dear MSP,
To whom it may concern,
To who it concerns,
To someone who can concern,
Dear Sir or Madam, : Choose one ,
OR :
NOT AS GOOD- impersonal, sometimes necesasary, for example when
you are writing to the government
Dear Sir or Madam,
To whom it may concern, (reference letter)
ADVICE: It is always better to get the name of the person who you
are writing to. Call and find out. Ask, “Who can I address me letter to?”
Hi there, VERY CASUAL
Hi all, VERY CASUAL
Hi everybody, VERY CASUAL
Dear Sir:
Dear Madam,
Dear Sir Chan,
Dear Madam Smith,
Dear Teacher Jones,
Dear Teacher,
My Dear Teacher,
Dear Sir Teacher Jones,
too submissive
honorifics, titles – Mr., Mrs., Ms., Miss, Professor, teacher,
Doctor, President, Principal, Dean, Prime Minister, Vice-President, Chancellor,
Father, Captain, Lieutenant, Sergeant, Corporal, Officer, manager,
Sheriff, Mayor, MP, MLA, Senator, Queen, King, Prince, Princess, Emporer
Dear Professor Mahed,
Dear Teacher Jones,
XXX
Teacher Haley
polite translation, not English
To Mayor Kennedy Stewart:
Dear Principal Williams,
In class – Sir, Madam – very polite
BUSINESS WRITING – DON’T INDENT THE PARAGRAPHS
-
SINGLE-SPACE YOUR WRITING
e.g. SCHOOL WRITING
Thank you for meeting with me yesterday to
discuss the job opportunity. I am very eager to speak further with you about
this. Please let me know what day and time you will be available to meet.
BUSINESS WRITING
Thank you for meeting with me yesterday to discuss the job
opportunity. I am very eager to speak further with you about this. Please let
me know what day and time you will be available to meet.
I would like to setup an interview with you in the next few weeks.
I can be available any workday betwee 10 and 3.
SKIP A LINE BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS
*Business writing uses a different format than school writing.*
** ENDINGS FOR BUSINESS LETTERS
Yours truly,
Sincerely,
Yours,
Yours sincerely,
Warm regards,
Kind regards,
Best regards,
Regards, (more formal sounding)
Respectfully, (talking to someone higher in the business than you)
Kind regards,
Warm regards, (sounds very friendly, very nice)
Thank you,
MY FAVOURITE:
Best,
PERSONAL
Sincerely yours,
Yours sincerely,
Faithfully,
Cheers, VERY CASUAL, Also a
friendly way to end a conversation
TALKING
Australian speech: Thanks. No worries.
American speech: Thanks. Uh huh.
Casual speech: Thanks. Sure. No problem.
More polite: Thank you. You’re welcome. Certainly. My pleasure.
Happy to.
CASUAL-FUN
See you later. Not if I see you first.
Keep your stick on the ice.
Check you later.
See you soon, I hope. Take care.
Keep in touch.
Don’t be a stranger.
OLD-FASHIONED, BUT SOUNDS NICE, PERSONAL LETTERS, NOT FOR BUSINESS
I remain,
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