Too long or too short?

The letter should be neither too long nor too short. It is better to include too much information than too little. The reader cannot read your mind. If you leave out vital information, he won't know what he wants to know, unless he writes back again and he may not bother to do that. If you include extra information, at least he'll have what he wants, even though he may be irritated by having to read the unnecessary parts. Provided, of course, that you include the vital information as well as the extras: the worst letter of all is the one that gives every piece of information about a product - except the price.

Order and sequence

As well as containing the right amount of information, the letter should also make all the necessary points in a logical sequence, with each idea or piece of information linking up with the previous one in a pattern that can be followed. Do not jump around making a statement, switching to other subjects, then referring back to the point you made a few sentences or paragraphs before.

Planning your letter

The way to get the right amount of information in your letter, and to get it in the right order, is by planning your letter in advance. Ask yourself: what do you want your letter to achieve and what response do you want? Note down everything you want to include in it before you start writing; then read your notes again to see (a) that you have included all the necessary information, (b) that you haven't included any unnecessary information, and (c) that you have put the information in the right order.

First paragraph

The first sentence or paragraph of a letter is an important one since it sets the tone of the letter and gives your reader his first impression of you and your company. Generally speaking, in the first paragraph you will thank your correspondent for his letter (if replying to an inquiry), introduce yourself and your company if necessary, state the subject of the letter, and set out the purpose of the letter.

Middle paragraphs

This is the main part of your letter and will concern the points that need to be made, answers you wish to give, or questions you want to ask. As this can vary widely with the type of letter that you are writing, it will be dealt with in the relevant units. It is in the middle paragraphs of a letter that planning is most important, to make sure that your most important, to make sure that your points are made clearly, fully and in a logical sequence.

Final paragraph

When closing the letter, you should thank the person for writing, if your letter is a reply and if you have not done so at the beginning. Encourage further enquiries or correspondence, and mention that you look forward to hearing from your correspondent soon. You may also wish to restate, very briefly, one or two of the most important of the points you have made in the main part of your letter.

Style and language

Simplicity

Commercial correspondence often suffers from an old-fashioned, pompous style of English, which complicates the message and gives the reader the feeling that he is reading a language he does not understand.

Dear Sir,

I beg to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 15th inst. in connection with our not clearing our account which was outstanding as at the end of June.

Please accept our profuse apologies. We were unable to settle this matter due to the sudden demise of Mr. Noel, our accountant, and as a result were unaware of those accounts which were to be cleared. We now, however, have managed to trace all our commitments and take pleasure in enclosing our remittance for £620 which we trust will settle our indebtedness.

We hope that this unforeseen incident did not in any way inconvenience you, nor lead you to believe that our not clearing our balance on the due date was an intention on our part to delay payment

We remain, yours, etc....

In the letter, mentioned above all the writer is trying to do is explain why he delayed paying his account, but, because of the style, the letter is too long, and is difficult to write and read.