Writing with Style Writing and Style Manual 
Poway Unified School District

BUSINESS WRITING 

Business envelope | Business letter | Memos | E-mail | Résumés

The Business Envelope

• Put the destination address in the center of the envelope
• Put the return address in the upper left corner.
• Use the same addresses on the envelope for the heading and inside address of the business letter. 
• Use the zip + 4 code if you know it.

Sean Kosmo 1234 Melrose Street San Diego, CA 92127 Ms. Helen Moss Poway Unified School District 12626 Twin Peaks Road Poway, CA 92064-3098

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The Business Letter

Audience 

• How well do I know my audience?
• How much does my audience already know about my subject?
• How will she or he feel about my message?
• What vocabulary will set the appropriate tone for the situation?

Purpose 

• What do I want the reader to know or do?  
• What kind of business letter am I writing?  Some types include:  a letter of inquiry, letter of application, informative letter, letter of complaint, letter of regret, and thank-you letter.        

Form 

• Use a print size and font that make your letter easy to read.
• Use 1 to 1.5 inch left and right margins.
• Adjust margins and the spacing between the heading and inside address so that your letter is centered top to bottom on the page, leaving at least 1 to 1.5 inch top and bottom margins.
• Present your information completely, concisely, and professionally
• Use a consistent form:  block or modified block.

The Six Parts of the Business Letter

1. Heading:  Give your (the writer’s) complete address (but NOT your name) and the current date. 
2. Inside address:  Include the receiver’s complete name, title, company and address. 

• Avoid abbreviations except for states and titles (Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Miss).
• Place a single-word title after the name and a comma.  Place a longer title on a separate line.

Example        Ms. Helen Moss
                       Poway Unified School Board Member

3. Salutation:  Begin with Dear and end with a colon, not a comma.

• Use Mr. or Ms. before the receiver’s name, unless you know the receiver well. 
• If you don’t know a person’s name, use Dear or Attention followed by an appropriate title, such as Customer Service Department or Sales Manager.
• If you are sending the letter to a general audience, address Dear Sir or Madame or Ladies and Gentlemen.  Include both genders.

4. Body:  Single-space within the paragraphs but double-space between paragraphs.  Do not indent the paragraphs.

• Try to write at least two paragraphs.
• Avoid long paragraphs because they make your letter uninviting to read.
• Avoid making business letters longer than one page.  However, if the letter does go to a second page, put a heading such as Ms. Moss 2 on the second page

5. Complimentary closing:  Use Sincerely, Sincerely yours, or Yours truly.  Use Best wishes if you know the person well.  Capitalize only the first word; end with a comma.  

6. Signature lines:  Leave four lines for your handwritten signature; type your name and title (if applicable).

• If you plan to enclose item(s) with the letter (a brochure, form, copy, proposal, etc.), type the word Enclosure(s) two lines below the typed signature.
• If you are sending a copy of the letter elsewhere, type the letters cc: plus the person or department’s name.  This line goes beneath the enclosure line.

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Memos

Audience – Only send memos to those who need the given information. 

Purpose – Memos are less formal than business letters and are used to ask and answer questions, give short reports, announce decisions, and remind people about appointments and meetings.  They also serve as a written record of any action you take. 

Form – Use the standard memo heading (see example) and block format.  Memos should get to the point:

1. State the subject
2. Give necessary details
3. Ask for the desired response.

E-mail

Much business correspondence is now sent electronically through e-mail.  When writing these e-mails, follow the same rules for good writing that you would use in other formal business settings.

If you would like to send a copy of an e-mail to individuals other than your primary correspondent, you should type their e-mail addresses in the Cc (“carbon copy”) field.  If you do not want to inform your primary correspondent that you sent a copy of the e-mail, then type the additional recipients’ names in the Bcc (“blind carbon copy”) field.

When writing business e-mails, avoid using

• All capital letters (This makes your reader feel like you’re SHOUTING AT THEM and makes text difficult to read.) 
• All lower-case letters
• Informal abbreviations (LOL)
• Slang spelling (luv, cuz, u, etc.)
• Smiley faces J

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Résumés

Professional résumés are most commonly used to give prospective employers a quick and accurate introduction to your education, skills, and experiences.  Because you have a specific employer as your audience and a specific job position as your objective (or purpose), your résumé should be very specific.  Highlight the skills and experiences that qualify you for that position and exclude extraneous information.  Professional résumés are often accompanied by a cover letter that introduces you to the employer and identifies the position for which you are applying.  See Business Letter section for more on how to write a cover letter.

Personal résumés also provide your audience with information about your academic interests and job experience, but these résumés have a more general purpose.  You might use a personal résumé to apply for a scholarship or for admission to a program, or you might use it to keep a personal record of your education, interests, community involvement, and experiences.  If you keep your personal résumé updated, you can pull appropriate details from it to use for your professional résumé.

For either type of résumé, follow these general guidelines

• Use a print size and font that make your résumé easy to read.
• Use 1 inch margins. 
• Center your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address at the top of the page.
• Organize your résumé into sections with titles, such as Job Objective, Education, Work Experience, Skills Summary, Volunteer Experience, Honors and Awards, and References.
• List your work or educational experience beginning with the most recent accomplishments.  
• Single-space within sections but double-space between sections.  Use white space, bold letters, underlining, and indenting to make the résumé readable, remembering that overkill will be distracting.  
• Present your information concisely and professionally, using short phrases and common abbreviations.
• Do not use I.  Instead, begin your descriptive sentences with action verbs.  Avoid phrases like duties included or was responsible for.  Some action verbs include:  assisted, budgeted, coached, created, directed, developed, encouraged, facilitated, operated, organized, performed, persuaded, planned, supervised, translated, and wrote.  
• Draw attention to your accomplishments and talents, but be realistic and accurate.  
• Limit your résumé to one side of one page.
• Check for correct grammar and consistent formatting.  
• Print your résumé on high-quality paper
• Do not staple the résumé and cover letter together.

Sample Professional Résumé

Trina Teen
56156 Poway Unified Drive
Our Town, CA  92555
(858) 555-5203

OBJECTIVE

Interested in a child-care position. Offering excellent skills in tending to the needs of children and assisting in the management of a child-care program. Very enthusiastic, creative, and dependable.

EDUCATION AND TRAINING

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

ACTIVITIES, ACHIEVEMENTS, AND SKILLS

R.O.P. Child Care Occupations Certificate
Junior Class President
Peer Counselor
CPR Certificate
National Award for Community Services
Certificate of Recognition for volunteer work from St. Michael’s Church

REFERENCES

Available upon request

Sample Personal Résumé

Thomas Teen
56156 Poway Unified Drive
Our Town, CA  92555
(858) 555-5203

Statistics 

Advanced Classes/Noteworthy Classes

Awards/Honors/Recognition

Extracurricular Activities

Work Experience

Community Involvement

Travel   

Future Plans 

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Updated 06/23/03 by D.Hogan
Poway Unified School District
©February 2003