LETTER & MEMO
Memo or Memorandum
Memo
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The plural of Latin word memorandum is
memoranda. Most people use the words “memo” or
“memos”
A memo is a message written for communicating
with others within organization.
Memorandums are used for many purposes; to
convey information from one department to another,
to report on various business transactions, to
communicate between branches or for records and
reference.
Memo format
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The format or layout of a memo might vary a little
from company to company.
There are 2 memo formats which are standard and
simplified.
 Standard
memo is usually keyed on a form with printed
template headings of TO, FROM, DATE, and SUBJECT
 Simplified memo is omitted the headings (TO, FROM,
DATE, and SUBJECT)
I. Standard Memo
TO: Jane Smith, Holly Marshall, Joe DiMaggio, Adrian Monk
FROM: Patrick Starr, Human Resources Director
RE: Company Holidays
DATE: July 12
The Acme Corporation will be closed on the following official holidays. Full time employees who have been with
the company for six months or more will receive a full day's pay on a holiday. Full time employees who have
worked less than six months, part time employees and interns are not eligible for paid holidays. Please make
sure you change your voice mail message to announce that the office is closed and make any arrangements for
emergency projects to be covered while you are enjoying your holiday.
Official Acme Company Holidays
January 1 New Year's Day
February 12 President's Day
May 30 Memorial Day
July 4 Independence Day
September 1 Labor Day
November 24 Thanksgiving Day
December 25 Christmas Day
Business Letter
Business Letter
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Business letter are letters written to people in
business organizations for various purposes;
therefore, there are many types used in business
communication. For example: Inquiry letter, order
letter, complaint letter, etc.
Business Letter Parts
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Letterhead
Date
Attention line*
Inside address
Subject line*
Salutation
Body of the letter
Complimentary closing
Signature
Reference initials
Enclosure notation*
Copy notation*
Letterhead
It should include:
1.
Who – the name of the company.
American firms usually use “Inc.” (Incorporated) while
British firms use “Ltd.” (Limited)
1.
Where – a complete address of the firm including
telephone, fax numbers, and e-mail address
2.
What – words indicating the nature of business (if
it’s not clear from the firm’s name)
It also can contain trademark, slogan, locations of
branch offices, etc.
Letterhead
Example:
Acme Explosives, Inc.
100-B Dry Gulch Alley
Lonesome Coyote AZ 85789
(602) 555-5555
Date
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It is typed three or four lines below the last line of the
letterhead where it balances the letterhead.
Always type out the full name of the month (do not
use numerals to indicate a month) to avoid confusion in
international correspondence
Recommend to use either of these commonly used styles:
American style:
 Military style:
 British style:
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September 4, 2008
4 September 2008
4th September, 2008
Attention Line* (Optional)
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If used, the notation “Personal” or “Confidential” is
placed two or three lines below the dateline.
Inside address
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It identifies the name(s) of the person(s), and the
name and address of the company or organization to
whom the letter is addressed.
But if you don’t know the name of the person, address
your letter title of his/her position rather than to the
company name alone
Place the courtesy title or professional title in front of
the name, if you write to an individual
Courtesy title:
Mr., Mrs., Miss (Use Ms. When you don’t
know the woman’s marital status)
 Professional title: Dr., Professor, etc.
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Inside address
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A person’s title of position in an organization
(business or executive title) may be used after
his/her name
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Example:
Mrs. Karen Maxwell, Director
Consumer Services Division
ABC Company
000 West 12th Street
Toronto, Ont. 000 000
Subject or reference line* (Optional)
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It is often underlined and it is placed below the
inside address.
It is used when you want to include or refer to a
file or reference number (e.g. of an order, the
name of special project or a certain date) in a
letter
 Examples:
Subject: Holiday Schedule for 2009
Ref: Your order No.2338A
Re: Insurance Policy No. 12134AbC
Salutation
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Should use the person’s name (if possible) and
always make sure that spelling is correct.
American style – it usually followed by a colon(:)
while the comma(,) is commonly used for personal
letters of condolence and sympathy.
British style – comma(,) is always used after the
salutation
Lists of salutations
(to a man and a woman):
 Man
Most formal
Sir:
Dear Sir:
Dear Mr. Brown: (last name)
Dear Bobby,
Least formal
 Woman
Madam:
Dear Madam:
Dear Mrs. Brown:
Dear Kathy,
 For more than 1 man, American frequently uses
“Gentlemen:” while British uses “Dear Sirs,”
 For more than 1 woman, American frequently uses
“Ladies:” while British uses “Mesdames,”
Body of the letter
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It is the main part of business letter.
It is usually single-spaced and has double spacing
between paragraphs and before complimentary
closing.
Complimentary Closing
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The complimentary closing ends the letter.
It is typed two lines below the last line of the
body of the letter.
Only the first letter of the first word of the closing
is capitalized.
A comma(,) follows the closing.
List of complimentary closing:
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Formal closing:
Yours truly, Respectfully yours,
Yours faithfully,
Less formal closing:
Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Yours sincerely,
Cordially, Yours cordially, Cordially yours,
Personal closing:
Regards, Personal regards,
Kindest regards,
Signature line (signature bloc)
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The name of the person who signs the letter is
typed 3 or 4 lines below the complimentary
closing.
Normally, you can include your 5 separate
identifications in this part:
 Signature
 Type-written
 Business
name
title
 Department
 Company name
Signature line (signature bloc)
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Examples:
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Sincerely,
(Signature)
Joseph L. Cotton
Director, Marketing Services
 Complimentary closing
 Type-written name
 Business title, Department
Yours truly,
 Complimentary closing
(Signature)
Marion Nicholson, Manager  Type-written name, Business title
 Department
Customer Services Department
Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Thailand)  Company name
Reference initials* (optional)
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Your initials as dictator(writer) of the message (capital letter)
and those of your typist (lowercase letter)
It usually appears at the left margin on the same line as
signature bloc or 2 spaces below that.
However, you don’t need to type this part in the letter if you
type the letter yourself.
Example: PY:sc
Writer’s name = Piyanuch Yindeesook
Typist’s name = Sunny Chawala
Enclosure notation* (optional)
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It is typed directly below the reference initials.
It indicates that something has been enclosed with
the letter (for examples, a resume, a brochure, a
report, or a photograph)
The word “enclosure” or “enclosures” is often
abbreviated as Enc. or Encls.
Examples:
Enc.: 1 resume
Encls.: 3 brochures
Copy (Carbon-Copy) notation*
(Optional)
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It is typed directly below the enclosure notation or
reference initials.
It indicates that a copy (abbreviated as cc:) of the
letter has been sent to the person who has been
named.
Example:
cc: Marry Anderson
cc: Kelly Clarkson
3 Business Letter Formats
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2.
3.
Block-style format: All lines are typed against the left
hand margin
Modified block-style format: The dateline and the
complimentary closing are typed slightly to the right
page center
Semiblock-style format (Indented letter format): The
paragraphs are indented five spaces from the left of
the margin. The dateline and complimentary closing
are slightly to the right of the page center
I. Block-style format
All line type
against left
hand margin
II. Modified block-style format
Other line type
against left hand
margin except
dateline and
complimentary
closing
dateline and
complimentary
closing are
typed slightly to
the right page
center
III. Semiblock-style format
Paragraphs are
indented five
spaces from
the left of the
margin
The dateline and
complimentary
closing are slightly
to the right of the
page center