Writing Skills

INTRODUCTION

This section focuses on meaning and tools of written communication through writing letters, applications and reports. Much of the formal communication in any organization is written communication. Advantage of written communication is creating records for future reference. Organizations use some type of documents to communicate with the outside world and other type of documents to communicate within the organization itself. It includes writing letters, letters for official correspondence, Business events, Social Events, Interpersonal idea exchanges and Commercial Correspondence.

Human beings need to keep communicating with each other, as humans are social animals. In the olden days when people were not so literate so news passed from one person to another through mouth (oral communication). Later we developed different forms of communication. Now the world is flooded with different modes from basic letters to faxes and e-mails. But the basic method remains the same. We need to convey messages to each other, and these should be as clean and accurate as possible.

Everyone needs to write letter of some type, and may have to face the problem of writing an important letter that will greatly affect his interest in life. The art of letter writing is, therefore no more ornamental accomplishment, but something that every educated must acquire for routine.

1. FORMAL LETTERS

Structure of a formal letter

Letters are messages, and certain structures of a formal letter have been developed by experience and custom. These structures act as principles or guidelines to be followed, for neglect of them may reflect ignorance and carelessness. Letters may be of different types such as Friendly letters, business, official letters etc. But each of them has its own particular basic structure. There are few main parts of a letter which apply to all types of letter. 

1.  Heading

2.  Salutation

3.  Message

4.  Conclusion

5.  Signature

6.  Superscription

1.            Heading :

After setting the layout of the letter, a reasonable amount of margins on all sides i.e., top, bottom, left and right. Once the margins are set as per the type of the letter, put the heading. The heading contains the name and address of the party being written to and the date. This way heading works as when of a letter. Next to it come name and address. But if one is writing on a firm’s is not necessary.

2.            Salutation

The letter of the person he is writing to may be abbreviated as, Dr. or as Prof. Dr. . In the case of a lady it is always Ms.. The form of salutation and subscription depends a lot on the relation in which you stand to the person to whom the letter is written to.

4.            Message :

First part – Here first one identifies himself if you are not known to the reader of the letter or greet him/her if known to you

Middle part – This is the main part of the letter. Here you must explicitly express the main reason for the letter and if it a reply of an earlier letter one must follow up the matter discussed previously. Here are some important tips to be taken care of:

*            Divide your letter into paragraphs (unless it is very short).

*            Use simple and direct language and short sentences

*            Try to be complete

*            Mind your punctuation

Concluding part – here you sum up the letter, ending with final greetings or personal messages. Finish the letter and do not leave anything midway.

5.            Conclusion :

This part deals with actual ending. To give it a proper conclusion some points are to be taken care of:

With very kind regards With best wishes Thanking you

The signature or name of the writer

2. BUSINESS LETTERS

With remarkable improvements in the opening of new markets, the progress of human knowledge, there has been a relative increase in the importance of commercial correspondence. Many formal phrases and clauses have been discarded without losing any weight and value of the argument put for advertising or convincing a customer to buy a certain commodity.

Direct and simple approach to the customer’s desire and its fulfillment saves time and expense both to the seller and the buyer. Although personal solicit action may be preferred to that by letter, still the time factor has its own importance and that is why orders are frequently given or cancelled by emails or telegram.

To conform to the requirements of commercial usage, transitions should always be embodied in writing, so that possible disputes in the future may be avoided and business can assume a fixed or permanent form. The terms and conditions mutually agreed upon, and obligations entered into give the business letter the appearance of formal declaration, which may serve as evidence in a court of law. As the business correspondence entails great responsibility, utmost care is needed in its execution and preservation, for a period of several years. The preliminary requirements for a good commercial correspondent are general knowledge and experience of business, a thorough conception of subject matter in hand, a high degree of care, knowledge of style and a proper acquaintance with the rules of language.

3. ESSENTIALS OF EFFECTIVE LETTER WRITING

The qualities which are essential for a good letter are correctness, clarity, conciseness and courtesy and other related qualities are completeness, coherence, compactness, confidence, consideration, friendliness, directness and vigour.

Correctness

A letter must be correct in every respect:

Firstly, in spelling, grammar and use of language. Incorrect language spoils the message, distracts the reader’s attention and creates a poor impression of the sender, it may also convey a wrong meaning.

Secondly, in appearance and form of layout. Poor and untidy appearance, with correctness made in link or carelessness in the layout, creates a poor impression of the company.

Thirdly, wrong and incomplete information is the most harmful thing in a letter, it leads to waste of time in making corrections and can lead to loss of goodwill and loss of business. Correctness depends on completeness.

Fourthly, in tone, formality and style. The tone of every letter must be appropriate to the occasion, the content and the relationship between the writer and the reader.

Clarity

The message of the letter must be clear at the first reading, people appreciate a letter that takes very little time to read and understand, clearly written messages avoid misunderstanding and save time. Clarity depends on these factors:

1.            Simple, common everyday words which everyone can understand there should be no technical terms unless absolutely necessary and it is better to use concrete words with a definite meaning or to give concrete examples and description.

2.            Short and simple sentences with an average length of 15 to 20 words keep the writing clear.

3.            Proper punctuation helps to provide pauses and stops and to break up groups of words into sensible units. A sentence can often be made easy to follow by using a punctuation mark.

4.            Giving definite and concrete details with figures and names.

5.            Following a logical sequence of ideas. Making a clear plan for the letter ensures that the ideas are in logical order; coherence that is logical connection of ideas makes any composition easy to read.

6.            Consistency in the use of numbers, dates, units of measure, technical terms, abbreviations, hyphens, grammar, spelling, punctuation and capitalization and style of writing the date vary. So whatever is decided should be maintained consistently throughout the document.

 

Conciseness

It means expressing much in a few words; in business writing it means keeping to the point, using as few words as possible without sacrificing clarity or courtesy. It does not necessarily mean being brief, but making every word count. Conciseness can be achieved by:

1.  Leaving out unnecessary modifiers

2.  Reducing less important ideas to phrases or single words

3.  Making sure that only the necessary and relevant details are included

 Courtesy

Courtesy is consideration for other people’s feelings, it is seen in an individual’s behavior with others. A well-mannered and courteous person shows consideration and thought for others. In a letter, the style, the manner and the choice of words reflect the courtesy of the writer. Some simple rules for courtesy are:

—   Use the courtesy words please, thank you and sorry as the situation requires

—   Express appropriate feeling according to the situation Make the other person feel comfortable

—   Be attentive and prompt in responding

—   The tone, choice of words and the style of the message reflect consideration for the feelings and needs of the reader.

Language of Business Writing :

Modern business language is simple, easy to understand, friendly and courteous. Personal relations with customers can be cultivated by writing friendly letters in a natural and informal style. Old fashioned business language is not suitable for modern business methods and practice.

Letters convey messages, they must also build goodwill and create positive and pleasant feelings. It should convey a favorable emotional response from the reader. The brief contact with the reader which a letter makes, must be pleasant and memorable.

Avoiding Business Jargon

Jargon means the vocabulary and phrases peculiar to a particular trade or profession. Business jargon or commercialize refers to the words and phrases which businessmen used in the old days of writing. Letters, memos and notes and reports are written in modern, simple style which is easy to understand.

Dealing with Technical Terms

The use of technical terms is not a problem if the letter is being written to a person who is in a related profession. If the technical terms are absolutely unavoidable in describing a product, the meaning should be given in plain terms. As far as possible the language should be adapted to lay persons; it should not have any technical terms which the non-professional or non-technical person would not understand.

Meanings and Associations of Words

Words do not have just dictionary meaning; but most words acquire associations and implications. Some words get additional meaning or power of suggestion because of being associated with certain ideas or activities. One must develop the skill of using the language so that the letter would never be offensive to the reader.

Taking the Reader’s Point of View

Looking at a situation from the reader’s point of view helps one to frame the message in a pleasant and acceptable way. Presenting ideas, suggestions, proposals in such a way that the reader sees how it is advantageous to himself, is called as the ‘You’ attitude.

One must show understanding of the reader’s needs and desires, what the reader expects from the letter. Usually a letter proposes that the reader should take an action, and the reader’s action will ultimately benefit the writer in some way, but the writer’s benefit should not be the main point of the letter. The main point and emphasis should be on the advantage of the reader.

In business transactions many difficult situations arise which need the cooperation of both, the supplier and the buyer, the debtor and the creditor, the employer and the employee. Cooperation is crucial, messages must be an effort to exchange views and share understanding in order to cooperate. In every communication, there are two points of view and therefore, two sets of ideas; one that interests the recipient and one that interests the sender; messages can be conveyed with the recipient’s interest in mind.

It is important that the emotional response of one’s reader should be favourable to him. A sales letter may convince an executive of the value of computerizing the office work, but he may feel emotionally inclined to go to a competing firm. The test of the effectiveness of a company’s letters is the number of customers it retains even after collecting dues and refusing credit terms.

Planning the Letter

Careful planning is the basis of success in most tasks. Thinking, reasoning and planning before writing a letter has many advantages. It enables one to compose the letter in a logical order and in the style most suited to the needs of the reader. It is a good method to separate the two elements of communication: planning the content and choosing the language/style for presentation. This involves thinking about why one wants to communicate (the purpose), to whom the message is to be sent (the receiver), and what is to be achieved by the communication (the desired receiver-response). One should make sure that all the information is included, and number the points in the logical order in which one wants to use. A letter is a short composition and it is easy to arrange the collected notes in the structure of a letter.

Composing the Letter

The first and the concluding paragraphs are important places, which are to be used both to the maximum effect. It should not begin by repeating what is said in the subject line or end by making a flat or useless statement, each of them has a definite function. Showing interest in the reader’s needs and paying attention to his feelings and desires creates goodwill at the beginning of the letter.

If there is no subject line, the opening sentence has to indicate the subject of the letter; and it may have to refer to any previous communication on the subject, like telephone talk or letter or visit. But if there is a subject line, the opening sentence should not repeat it.

Congratulation, appreciation, etc, are good ideas for either the opening or the closing but not for both in the same letter. If it has been expressed in the opening it should not be repeated in the closing sentence. Clarity, goodwill, courtesy, self-respect are most important in the last paragraph.

The last sentence has two functions: firstly to tell what is the next action to be taken and who is to take it, the writer or the reader, secondly, to win a favorable response for whatever has been said in the letter, thirdly if the matter has been finally settled, and no further action or communication is to follow, a goodwill message is a suitable ending.

In letters which try to persuade the reader, the last sentence can add to or take away from the effect of the arguments stated. A firm, persuasive and convincing argument can be spoilt by a weak ending line and a confident and lively ending has a better chance of getting action. The last sentence leaves the final impression on the reader’s mind, and can be used to remind him about the last date for taking action or impressing upon him the advantage offered or for leaving a pleasant memory.

4. SUMMARY

Being a social animal, human being has always required the need to communicate. Of the different modes of communication, written communication has its own significance.

In this mode, letter writing, commercial correspondence, emails are of the various types. Like any other mode, writing too requires certain skills to be effective.

Formal & Business Letter :

Letters have a basic structure or framework that needs to be followed, One has to be specific about each aspect of the structure as it is significant in business.

Essentials of effective writing :

This is a very broad topic. However in a nustshell, completeness, coherence, compactness, confidence, consideration, friendliness and vigoute could be summarised as the skills of effective writing.

5. QUESTION FOR SELF - STUDY

I.           Write short paragraphs (Paragraph writing)

1)  A Rainy Day, 2) A walk. 3) The Cow,

4) Anger, 5) Boating, 6) A fire

II.          Write short letters -

1)                 To your cousin, requesting the loan of a Camera during your holidays.

2)                 From a student staying in a hostel to his mother who is keeping poor health.

3)                 To your younger brother, scolding him for having neglected his studies.

4)                 Reply to the above.

5)                 To a friend, who has failed to take his defeat well.

6)                 To a friend, giving a brief description of a holiday tour you intend to make.

7)                 To a friend, describing a pleasant dream.

Business Letters

1)                 Write the house agent’s reply.

2)                 Write a letter to the Manager of a factory, asking permission for a party to visit the factory.

Official letters :

1)                 To the Commissioner of Police, about the grant of license to Stating reasons.

2)                 To The Inspector-General of Police, applying for the post of Sub-Inspector.

3)                 To the Editor of a newspaper, on reckless driving. 4) To a newspaper protesting against street noises.

6. SUGGESTED READINGS

1.            Organised Writing Book by Saraswati V.

2.            Letter writing, Precis Writing & Comprehension Minerva by Dean M.