Qualities of

Effective
Business Letters

9 Cs
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Correctness
Coherence
clearness
conciseness
consistency
concreteness
completeness
courtesy
consideration

CORRECTNESS
-GRAMMAR
-APPEARANCE OF THE LETTER
-FACTS AND FIGURES
TO BE CORRECT IS TO BE PERFECT.
1. USE AN ATTRACTIVE PHYSICAL
FORMAT
2. CHECK FOR ERRORS FOR GRAMMAR,
SPELLING AND PUNCTUATION.

 3. VERIFY FACTS AND FIGURES.

4. KNOW YOUR MESSAGE
5. MAKE BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
SELL

2. COHERENCE
COHERE- TO STICK TOGETHER.
How?
1. The proper arrangement and
organization of ideas.
2. The correct order of modifiers.
3. The use of transitional devices or
connectives

 PROPER WORDS IN PROPER PLACES.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

PLAN THE MESSAGE.

ARRANGE IDEAS LOGICALLY.
AVOID DANGLING MODIFIERS.
USE PROPER TRANSITIONAL DEVICES.
WRITE NATURALLY AND WITH EASE.

3. CLEARNESS
Clear writing comes from clear
thinking.
To enhance clarity in writing, avoid the
use of:
1) Deadwood ex. True facts
facts
2) Horse-and-buggy (not writing with
times)
has come to hand has arrived
I deem
I think

3. Jargon - specialized language of a

profession or trade, which an ordinary
person may find meaningless.
For example for a lawyer:
Double jeopardy
For a publisher:
Bulldog edition yellow journalism

4. Vague words
Word order indicates emphasis, even
difference in meaning. For example:
Only I bought this book yesterday.
Only, I bought this book yesterday.
I only bought this book yesterday.
I bought this book only yesterday.
I bought this only book yesterday.

Think clearly
1. Use simple, familiar words.
2. Indicate word order properly.
3. Relate ideas through parallel
construction.
4. Make punctuation marks work for
you.

4. Consistency
-in structure and in purpose
Means that its parts are similar and in
agreement.
Shifts in tense, subject, voice, number,
person or class of pronouns, and
figures of speech (to literal speech
must be avoided.

Inconsistent

Consistent

After the textbook has

After he had
masbeen mastered, he had
tered the
textbook,
no trouble with
he had no trouble
accounting.(shift from
with
accounting.
Active to passive)

 Be consistent
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Follow the normal S-V-C pattern.

Use active verbs.
Be consistent with tense and number.
Have a central idea.
Do not shift structures within a
sentence.

5. Conciseness
Means that much is said in a few words.
It is brief and to the point. It is knowing
when to stop writing or speaking when
the job is done.

How? Remove non-essential words by:

1) Using direct and simple words
2) Economizing on modifiers
3) Using words in their exact shades in
meaning.

Precise

Verbose

1. After a very serious

selfanalysis, I decided
to
from the company.
2. Of course, I shall
continue
to help training the
person
you will choose to
replace
me.

It was too difficult to

arrive at this
conclusion, but I am
resigning from this
company.
If you wish, I can train
whoever you choose to
take my position.

Wordy
Am in receipt of
Am in a position to
Am of the opinion
By means of
In the event that
With reference to
Herewith enclosed
Letter with regard
to

concise
Have received
Can, am able to
Believe
By
If
about
Enclosed
Letter about

 Be exact
1. develop the habit of clear thinking.
2. Use words in their exact shades of
meaning.
3. Get to the point, and do not deviate
from it.
4. Use the simpler word, the shorter
phrase.
5. eliminate redundancy.

6. Concreteness
A concrete word appeals to one or more of
the sense.
Expresses something tangible, such as
music, chocolate, picture or calculator.
General Concrete
House palace, chalet, nipa hut, villa, castle
Walk stroll, totter, strut, mince, stagger,
prance, saunter
Flower daisy, rose, violet, sampaguita, rosal

 Concreteness does not also mean to be

euphemistic.
EUPHEMISM means using the softer,
the bland, more pleasant expressions
to avoid referring directly to something
unpleasant or improper.

 Filipino euphemism:
Metro Manila aide - street cleaners
a gift of love
-memorial plan
to meet his maker
-die
hospitality girls - hostess
sales counselor
-agent
love child
-illegitimate

 Figures of speech may be used in

writing certain types of letters
particularly sales letters. They can add
power to business writing but should
be used sparingly unless the writer is
ready to prove his statement.
Ex. shoes that will last a lifetime
skin like porcelain

 Make work pictures

1) Use concrete words
2) Prefer the specific to the general
word.
3) Avoid exaggerations.
4) Use figures of speech sparingly.

8. COURTESY
MAKING THE PERSON FEEL IMPORTANT
BEING HONEST BUT TACTFUL
Remember:
The customer is king in business.

positive

We appreciate
You will be
pleased
Thank you for
Please let me know
if
May I ask you to
It was nice of you
success
Separated,released

Negative
(The phrases are not in
the direct equivalent of
the positive phrases)
We are forced
You claim that
You forget to
You must
I am obliged to
We suspect that
Failure/unsuccessful
Fired(form a job)

Positive
Negative
(reference on the (reference on the
writer)
reader)
We are sorry for the
delay

Please accept the

apology
Our failure to deliver

Because of the delay of

your response, you
have no one but
yourself to be blamed.
You owe us an
apology
Your failure to send

 SAY IT POSITIVELY
1. Be optimistic.
2. Stress the positive.
3. Be honest and tactful.
4. Always project goodwill.
5. Remember the Golden Rule: Treat the
person as you wish to be treated.

8. CONSIDERATION
-TREATING THE OTHER PERSON AS A
UNIQUE HUMAN BEING WHOSE
INTERESTS AND PROBLEMS ARE THE
GENUINE CONCERN OF BUSINESS.
-Being personal
Use the YOU-viewpoint

impersonal
Im always glad
whenever somebody
asks me to explain the
RPL insurance
Mutualization System

You attitude

Thank you for your

interests..
or
I am happy to answer
your questions on the

I am happy to explain
to you..
The interest can be left You can leave the
to the credit of your
interst to be credited to
account or withdrawn. your accounts or you
can withdraw it.
It has been a pleasure I have enjoyed working
to work together in this with you
report.
It has been a pleasure

 BE PERSONAL
1. Treat the reader as a person.
2. Adopt the YOU attitude.
3. Think of the readers interests first.
4. Prefer We to I.
5. Be sensitive to the readers point of
view.

9. COMPLETENESS
-saves the company unnecessary
expenses.
Avoid omitting important facts through
carelessness by:
1) Planning before writing
2) Knowing the purpose or writing
3) Checking for details.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

DELIVER THE GOODS

Prepare all needed information.
Know the purpose of writing the letter
well.
Plan the letter to answer all questions
of the reader.
Check the letter for important details.
Aim for desired feedback.

Any questions?

Group Activity
Group 1
Classify the following phrases and clauses
according to the 9Cs by identifying the quality
best described.
1. Avoiding negative phrases or suggestions.
2. The result of a well-organized plan.
3. Compact writing.
4. Putting yourself in your readers shoes.
5. The observance of rules that govern the
mechanical details of expression.
6. Ideas do not dangle
7. The result of familiar words and short
sentences.

Group 2
Analyze using the 9 Cs. Make the necessary
corrections.
My Dear Mrs. Cruz:
I want to inform you that the prices mentioned in your
recent letter will be effective on August 13. This ought
to answer your question.
I cant understand what you are getting at when you say
I wish to order some goods. In fact, your statement
really has me puzzled. You did not include any order.
Mr. Carlos Wing is our new sales representative to your
district.
Very truly yours,

Group 3 correct the content and word choice errors

To: Staff
From: Manager
Date: July 18, 2014
Subject: BUSINESS COMMUNICATION
Yesterday, I attended a seminar on business communication.
The speaker introduced me to some principals and
techniques, and I want to pass some of his advise on to you.
Specifically, pay attention to the items below:
Always analyze the situation. Youll get farther if you focus
on yourself- use the You-Viewpoint!
Use lots of technical words; readers are impressed by
them.
Long messages are better than brief ones because you
may
include more details.

 *Dont waste time proofreading e-mail; its meant

to be quick and dirty, and you can always send
another one if you make a mistake.
You may already have known these things, but a
reminder never hurts. Discuss these items between
yourselves, and let me know if you have any
questions.

Group 4
A.Explain why each of the following expression are
redundant. Rewrite each and remove the
unnecessary word/words.
1.Basic fundamentals
2. Five in number
3. Tall in height
4. New innovations
5. Consensus of opinion
B. Choose which one is better. Give your reason/s
why.
a. Company reorganization, phase out the
department.
b. Lack of business expansion;hence, operation
died.

 A. Thank you for your letter of June 10, 2014,

telling us that you are cancelling your order of
500 bags of flour.
B. Your letter of June 10, 2014, telling us of your
cancelling your order of 500 bags of flour is herby
accepted. Thank you for informing us.

 Group 5
Rewrite the following, putting the message in
positive terms.
1. If you dont pay by August 20, you will not
receive the 5% discount.
2. Kindly advise if the foregoing explanation is not
clear and you feel that you need further
clarification.
3. You failed to enclose a sample.
4. Please tell us more why you are displeased with
our services.
5. Because of high printing costs, these brochures
will no longer be available free of charge, but
will be charged P20.00 a copy.