Letter & Memo

Memo or Memorandum

Memo 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 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

In-class Assignment (individual): Suppose you are member of student union, write the memo to all KKUIC students Student union wants to know whether what should we(KKUIC students) do during the semester break (in November 24-December 13). You as the student union wants to hear ideas from other students.

Business Letter

Business Letter 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 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: Who – the name of the company. American firms usually use “Inc.” (Incorporated) while British firms use “Ltd.” (Limited) Where – a complete address of the firm including telephone, fax numbers, and e-mail address 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 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: September 4, 2008 Military style: 4 September 2008 British style: 4th September, 2008

Attention Line* (Optional) If used, the notation “Personal” or “Confidential” is placed two or three lines below the dateline.

Inside address 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.

Inside address A person’s title of position in an organization (business or executive title) may be used after his/her name Example: Mrs. Karen Maxwell, Director Consumer Services Division ABC Company 000 West 12th Street Toronto, Ont. 000 000

Subject or reference line* (Optional) 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 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): Sir: Dear Sir: Dear Mr. Brown: (last name) Dear Bobby, Woman Madam: Dear Madam: Dear Mrs. Brown: Dear Kathy, Most formal Least formal 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 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 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: 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) 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 name Business title Department Company name

Signature line (signature bloc) Examples: Sincerely, (Signature) Joseph L. Cotton Director, Marketing Services Yours truly, Marion Nicholson, Manager Customer Services Department Procter & Gamble Manufacturing (Thailand)  Complimentary closing  Type-written name  Business title, Department  Complimentary closing  Type-written name, Business title  Department  Company name

Reference initials* (optional) 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) 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) 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 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 dateline and complimentary closing are typed slightly to the right page center Other line type against left hand margin except dateline and complimentary closing

III. Semiblock-style format The dateline and complimentary closing are slightly to the right of the page center Paragraphs are indented five spaces from the left of the margin

In-class Assignment: Memo Write the memorandum as directed below: You are the marketing manager of Thai Ceramics Ltd. located in Chiangmai province. You have seen an announcement (and a descriptive brochure) of the “International Home Show 2009” to be held at the Queen Sirikit Convention Center. To show, which features exhibitions of home decoration, furniture and supplies, will run for 7 days beginning Friday, February 20. You would like to attend the exhibition for 1 day and take your assistant with you, Ms. Patty Min. You plan to fly from Chiangmai, attend the exhibition and then return. You estimate the cost for trip to be 8,000 Baht. Write a memo to the general manager.