Author: Shaheed Ullah
1 . Business letters:
A business letter is a letter from one company to another, or between organizations and their customers, clients, or other external parties. The overall style of letter depends on the relationship between the parties concerned. The following are some commonly used business letters.
• Cover letter
• Letter of recommendation
• Interview Follow-Up letter
• Letter of resignation
• Acknowledgment letter
• Inquiry letter
• Complaint letter
• Adjustment letter
• Sale letter, Order letter, Offer letter
KINDS OF BUSINESS LETTER:
There are various kinds of business letter but among them, the 4 most important letters are explained as under.
A. Cover letters:
Cover letters accompany your application when applying for a new position. You can use cover letters to introduce yourself, describe your interest in a company and outline your qualifying skills. A cover letter will include the following:
Contact information
Include your name, phone number and email address on the cover letter to ensure the reader knows how to contact you after reviewing your application.
Salutation
Begin the letter by addressing the person to which you are writing the letter. This person may be the hiring manager, department head or other company representative identified in the job listing.
Purpose of the letter
In your introduction, discuss why you are writing by mentioning the job title, the company name and where you found the job listing.
Qualifying skills
In the body of your letter, highlight the specific skills that make you a strong candidate for the open position. Your cover letter should complement your resume, so build off of the information in your resume to provide more specific details of your professional experience.
Conclusion
End the cover letter with a memorable statement about why you are a good fit for the open position. Include a call-to-action to encourage the reader to follow up on your application should they want to interview you and learn more about how you could fit into their company.
……………………………..
B. Letters of recommendation
A letter of recommendation is written by another person who can confirm a professional’s qualifications and work ethic. A letter of recommendation can strengthen an application for employment, higher education or another professional opportunity. This letter often includes the following information:
Relationship of the recommendation
The letter should state the relationship of the person making the recommendation to ensure the reader knows what qualifies the writer to speak on the applicant’s behalf. Those who write these letters might include a professor, supervisor or coworker.
Evaluation of the candidate’s qualifications
The recommendation is often the body of the letter and speaks directly to the candidate’s skills, positive character traits, professional goals and their potential in the program or position.
Examples
The writer can include specific examples of how the candidate demonstrated their skills during their time working, studying or otherwise interacting with each other. This information can help prospective employers understand how the candidate positively impacts their peers and supervisors.
Closing statement
It should conclude with a final confirmation of the candidate’s qualifications and include the writer’s contact information should the reader want to know more.
……………………..
C. Interview follow-up letters
You can send a follow-up letter after interviewing for an open position to thank the interviewer for their time and to demonstrate your interest in the job further. A follow-up letter will include the following:
Overview of the interview
Include key topics discussed during the interview, such as specific job tasks or a talking point that interested you. Be sure to mention the title of the position. These details demonstrate active listening while expressing your continued interest in the open position.
Skills related to the position
The follow-up letter is a good time to reiterate the skills you offer as they relate to the open position.
Gratitude
You can also use the follow-up letter to thank the hiring manager for taking the time to meet with you. This step shows professional courtesy that can leave a good impression on your prospective employer.
………………………………..
D. Letters of resignation
A letter of resignation informs your employer of your intent to resign. While you may verbally notify your coworkers and employer of your plans to leave, many organizations prefer to have an official letter for documentation purposes.
A letter of resignation often includes the following:
Statement of resignation
Begin this letter with the official statement declaring that you are resigning from the company.
Reason for leaving
Depending on your situation, you may consider mentioning why you are leaving so your employer understands your decision. This may include accepting an opportunity elsewhere, pursuing higher education or relocating.
Dates
Include the date on which you are delivering the letter and the date of your official last day of employment. This step can ensure your employer can best prepare for your leaving and fill your position.
Thank you
Consider thanking your employer for the opportunity and the skills you gained while working for them. This step is a professional courtesy that can strengthen your professional relationship with your employer should you need their recommendation in the future. (Business Letters, 2020)
…………………………………………………..
2. Abstract:
An abstract is a brief summary of a research article, thesis, review, conference proceeding, or any in-depth analysis of a particular subject and is often used to help the reader quickly ascertain the paper's purpose. Every proposal should have an abstract. The abstract forms the reader’s initial impression of the work, and therefore plays a big role on whether the application is funded. The abstract speaks for the proposal when it is separated from it, provides the reader with his or her first impression of the request, and, by acting as a summary, frequently provides the reader their last impression. Some reviewers read only the abstract, e.g., a foundation board of directors’ member who votes on final funding decisions. Thus it is the most important single element in the proposal.
To present the essential meaning of the proposal, the abstract should summarize the significance (need) of the work, the hypothesis and major objectives of the project, the procedures to be followed to accomplish the objectives, and the potential impact of the work. Though it appears first, the abstract should be edited last, as a concise summary of the proposal. Length depends on sponsor’s guidelines (from ½ to 2 pages).
(Abstract (summary), 2021), (Research Proposals - Abstract or Summary | ORSP, 2014)
…………………………………………………………
3. Bibliographies:
Bibliography, as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology. Carter and Barker describe bibliography as a twofold scholarly discipline—the organized listing of books and the systematic description of books as objects.
In other words, a bibliography is a list of all of the sources you have used (whether referenced or not) in the process of researching your work. In general, a bibliography should include:
• The authors' names
• The titles of the works
• The names and locations of the companies that published your copies of the sources
• The dates your copies were published
• The page numbers of your sources (if they are part of multi-source volumes).
(What's a Bibliography? - Plagiarism.org, 2017)
……………………………………………………
4. Thesis statement:
A thesis statement usually appears at the conclusion of the introductory paragraph of a paper. It offers a concise summary of the main point or claim of the essay, research paper, etc. It is usually expressed in one sentence, and the statement may be reiterated elsewhere.
A thesis statement:
• Tells the reader how you will interpret the significance of the subject matter under discussion.
• Is a road map for the paper; in other words, it tells the reader what to expect from the rest of the paper.
• Directly answers the question asked of you. A thesis is an interpretation of a question or subject, not the subject itself. The subject, or topic, of an essay might be World War II or Moby Dick; a thesis must then offer a way to understand the war or the novel.
• Makes a claim that others might dispute.
• Is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the reader. The rest of the paper, the body of the essay, gathers and organizes evidence that will persuade the reader of the logic of your interpretation.
If your assignment asks you to take a position or develop a claim about a subject, you may need to convey that position or claim in a thesis statement near the beginning of your draft. The assignment may not explicitly state that you need a thesis statement because your instructor may assume you will include one. When in doubt, ask your instructor if the assignment requires a thesis statement. When an assignment asks you to analyze, to interpret, to compare and contrast, to demonstrate cause and effect, or to take a stand on an issue, it is likely that you are being asked to develop a thesis and to support it persuasively.
(Thesis Statements – The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2018)
………………………………………..
5. References:
Academic writing relies on more than just the ideas and experience of one author. It also uses the ideas and research of other sources: books, journal articles, websites, and so forth. These other sources may be used to support the author's ideas, or the author may be discussing, analyzing, or critiquing other sources.
Referencing is used to tell the reader where ideas from other sources have been used in an assignment. There are many reasons why it is important to reference sources correctly:
• It shows the reader that you can find and use sources to create a solid argument
• It properly credits the originators of ideas, theories, and research findings
• It shows the reader how your argument relates to the big picture
What needs to be referenced?
Whenever an assignment uses words, facts, ideas, theories, or interpretations from other sources, those sources must be referenced. Referencing is needed when:
• You have copied words from a book, article, or other source exactly (quotation)
• You have used an idea or fact from an outside source, even if you haven't used their exact wording (paraphrasing and summarizing)
The only exception to this is when the information is common knowledge, which is something that anyone is likely to know. If you are uncertain whether to reference something or not, it is better to reference it.
Citations and references
There are two elements used in referencing:
• A citation in the text of the assignment (also known as in-text citations)
• An entry in a reference list at the end of the assignment
The citation contains only enough information for the reader to find the source in the reference list. Usually, this is the name of the source's author and the year the source was published. For example:
When testing the usability of a website, it is necessary to gather demographic information about the users (Lazar, 2006).
In this example, (Lazar, 2006) tells the reader that this information has come from a source written by Lazar, which was published in 2006. This is a signpost, pointing the reader to the reference list. The reference will be as follow. (What is referencing? - OWLL - Massey University, 2020)
Note: The reference list of the sources used in this English assignment is given below, these links can be followed to check proof.
References:
1. Lazar, J. (2006). Web usability: A user-centered design approach. Pearson Addison Wesley.
2. Indeed.com. 2020. Business Letters. [online] Available at: <https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/types-of-business-letters> [Accessed 19 January 2021].
3. En.wikipedia.org. 2021. Abstract (Summary). [online] Available at: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abstract_(summary)#> [Accessed 19 January 2021].
4. Orsp.umich.edu. 2014. Research Proposals - Abstract Or Summary | ORSP. [online] Available at: <https://orsp.umich.edu/research-proposals-abstract-or-summary#:~:text=To%20present%20the%20essential%20meaning,potential%20impact%20of%20the%20work.> [Accessed 19 January 2021].
5. Plagiarism.org. 2017. What's A Bibliography? - Plagiarism.Org. [online] Available at: <https://www.plagiarism.org/article/whats-a-bibliography> [Accessed 19 January 2021].
6. The Writing Center • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 2018. Thesis Statements – The Writing Center • University Of North Carolina At Chapel Hill. [online] Available at: <https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/thesis-statements/> [Accessed 19 January 2021].
7. Plagiarism.org. 2017. What's A Bibliography? - Plagiarism.Org. [online] Available at: <https://www.plagiarism.org/article/whats-a-bibliography> [Accessed 19 January 2021].
No comments:
Post a Comment