In my career so far I have had to write many letters to people. Being a trainer for Walgreens means that I have to communicate with people that I have only met a few times. This makes learning the parts of a letter extremely important. At first I did not follow the correct process and that made me letters far less effective. The different parts of a letter include the heading, date, recipient’s address, greeting, introduction, body, conclusion, a closing phrase, and a signature.
The heading is important because that allows the reader to see who the letter is from. For me having the Walgreens name and address at the top of the letter made sure that people knew that it was an important document. Even if it is just a simple letter to any business or employee, you need to be sure to add the address so they know who sent the letter to them.
The date should be included so that the person knows when the letter was written. This is very beneficial because it allows the person to understand how long the letter has been sitting there. In my experience the date being included allows my bosses the ability to see when I wrote the letter and to also have a timeline for communication. This works really well for ongoing projects.
The recipient’s address is vital because it allows you to address the letter to a specific person or place. By making sure that there is a destination on the letter it allows the person to see who is supposed to receive the information. In a large corporation, like Walgreens, this can be important because letters are being sent in between departments all the time. If you do not address the letter properly the person may not receive the letter in time, or it will be delayed.
The greeting is important because it addresses the specific person that the letter is addressed to. I have made mistakes with my greeting before. If you do not write to the correct person the letter will be misplaced and the information will go unnoticed.
The introduction is where you will put what the letter is about. This is important because it is very common that the reader will only read the first few sentences of the letter before they decide if they should keep reading. I have learned that in my profession you need to lead with your big guns. If you try to just give a taste of the letter it will not be as effective. You need to go ahead and put your most persuasive information out front.
The body is where you will put the bulk of your information. This is where you can include the information that you are trying to present as well as include your background information. For me this is where I put people’s progress reports.
The closing paragraph is where you will conclude your thoughts in the letter. This is where you reiterate the information that you have presented in both the introduction and body of the letter. For me, this is where I would give them their grade or tell them how they could improve their quality of work.
The closing phrase is where you would put sincerely, or respectfully. This is something that you put before your signature to close out your letter. I usually put sincerely yours. I have found that this works best for me, but it may be different depending on the work that you are doing.
The last thing that a letter should include is your signature. This is the final piece to the letter. You will normally type out your name under your signature so that they know who sent the letter. You can also put your title under your name. This is what I do.
These are the basics for a professional letter. I hope that my tips help you in the future and that you have learned something about writing a letter. Keep in mind that these are the basics to a letter and you can always add more information to the letter.
Dobrin, Sidney I, Christopher J. Keller, and Christian R. Weisser. "Organizing and Drafting Documents" Technical Communication in the Twenty-First Century (2nd Edition) (MyTechCommLab Series). Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall, 2009. 366-389. Print.
It seems to me that you already have experience writing letters all of the time, so this was a good topic for you. I like how you included what you put in each part of the letter. Letters are important in every profession for addressing issues and sending information in a formal or informal way. My only suggestion would be that you should have included a letter in the format you use to give us an idea of how you format them. Good Job!
ReplyDeleteI like this blog, and I liked the way you incorporated Walmart into it. There were a couple of problems. In the first paragraph there's a grammatical error. In the third paragraph you talk about dates, and some of the information is incorrect. The date placed on a letter should not be of when you wrote it, but of when you mailed it out to someone, or if you're giving it to someone in person, the date should be the day you've given the letter. The only other thing would have been make it a little shorter and to include an example of a written letter with the given format. The professor said she wanted these to be short and sweet! Overall though great post, keep up the good work, only one post to go!
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting blog, good job Brian! I like how you incorporated your example of being a trainer for walgreens and how you have to write people letters after only meeting them a few times. Having to write letters to people you hardly know can definitely be tough, that was smart of you to include that in the blog. Only suggestion I have would be to make it a little bit shorter. If its too long you tend to lose people. But overall, another very effective blog. One more to go, looking forward to reading your last one!!
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