This article throws light upon the three main procedures to be followed while drafting a letter. The procedures are: 1. Planning 2. Drafting and Correcting 3. Principles to be Observed.
Drafting a Letter: Procedure # 1. Planning:
A letter must be well-planned. Planning means pre-thinking. All the points have to be thought out first. In case of answering a letter, the original letter has to be read out carefully and the main points may be preferably underlined. A letter has a purpose, it carries a sense and it has a tone. All these three characteristics of a letter have to be kept in mind.
Drafting a Letter: Procedure # 2. Drafting and Correcting:
A letter is drafted first, given a reading for correction and improvement and then finally it is typed out.
Drafting a Letter: Procedure # 3. Principles to be Observed:
The following principles have to be observed while preparing the different parts of a letter:
(a) Re: The Heading:
The heading portion of a letter is generally printed on a letterhead paper excepting the date and the reference number. (The word ‘Messrs’ shall not be written before the name of the sender, while writing a letter in an examination hall because the printed letterhead does not have it.) There are different ways of writing the date.
The best method is—mention the month first, then the date (with a comma) and lastly the year. For example April 13, 1988. It may be written as 13th April, 1988. But it should not be written as 13/4/88 and preferably not as 13.4.88. The reference number comes out of the file number.
(b) Re: The Inside Address:
It is always good to address an individual by his official designation, e.g. The Director, The Managing Director, The Secretary, The Marketing Manager, etc.
While putting the name of the person’s the following points have to be kept in mind:
(i) The word ‘Messrs’ shall not be used before the name of a company because a company is a person in the eye of law but Messers is plural of Mister. ‘Messrs’ can be used only before the name of a partnership firm.
(ii) While writing Mr or Mrs there is no justification of putting a ‘full-stop’ after it like Mr. or Mrs., because the first letter ‘M’ and the last letter ‘r’ or ‘s’ are there. Same is true for Dr (Doctor). But there shall be a ‘full-stop’ while writing Prof, because the latter part of the word ‘essor’ is deleted. Full stop is necessary after ‘Co.’ but not after ‘Ltd’. Nowadays Ms is written in place of Miss. Inside address is not necessary while writing a circular letter.
(c) Re: Opening Salutation or Greeting:
When a single individual (male) is addressed, ‘Dear Sir’, shall be used. When a partnership firm is addressed (with Messrs before its name), ‘Dear Sirs’, shall be the correct form. When a single individual (female) is addressed, it shall be ‘Madam’, and, not ‘Dear Madam’. While addressing a company ‘Dear Sirs’, cannot be used because a company is a person. And as it is an artificial person, it cannot be directly addressed.
The correct step shall be to address an officer of the company. In case of a circular letter, the salutation shall be ‘Dear Sirs’, or ‘Gentlemen’. Using the word ‘Sir’, is not desirable unless the letter is addressed to a highly respectable person, e.g. the President of India, a judge, an editor, etc. A subordinate can safely use ‘Dear Sir’, for his boss.
(d) Re: The Body of the Letter:
The most difficult task is to write the first sentence particularly when the letter is an initial letter and not a reply. Generally a short introduction is necessary. For example—We are writing to you in respect of……………, We are dealing in……. (name the commodity) for some time and would like to ………………….. Let us introduce ourselves as dealers in/manufacturers of……………. Kindly (Please) refer to our Circular Letter No………………. of……….. (put the date) ……. , Kindly (Please) refer to the discussion you had with our representative who called on you on etc. When writing a reply letter a reference has to be made to the initial letter. The best style of making the reference is……….. Kindly (Please) refer to your letter No………………… of ……. (put the date). Or, Your letter No…………….. of………. (put the date). It is better to write ‘of……….. ‘ instead of ‘dated………..’.
There is common habit of ending a letter with ‘Thanking you’, or ‘Thanking you in anticipation’, or ‘Assuring you best of our services’, etc. These are all bad expressions and wrong. These should not be written. The correct expressions are: ‘Thank you’. With thanks’. ‘With regards’. ‘With best regards’. ‘With kindest regards’. If ‘Thanking you’, or ‘Thanking you in anticipation’, or ‘Assuring you best of our services’, is written then ‘I am’, or ‘I remain’, or ‘We are’, or ‘We remain’, has to be written before ‘Yours faithfully’, or ‘Yours truly’, or ‘Yours very truly’.
(e) Re: The Complimentary close:
‘Yours faithfully’ or ‘Yours truly’, shall be the best form. ‘Yours sincerely’, shall be good when a subordinate is writing to his superior. Writing—’Yours obediently’, is a bad form.
(f) Re: Punctuation:
All unnecessary punctuations while writing the name or the address shall be avoided. For example, instead of writing 18, Chowringhee Road, Calcutta-700 013. it is better to write 18 Chowringhee Road, Calcutta 700 013. The comma after 18 is superfluous but the comma after Road, is necessary. Hyphen is useless.
Date and Signature—A business letter without a date or without a proper signature (signature with designation) is meaningless.