#Business_Writing Series - Types of Correspondence /1

Business professionals exchange ideas, communicate sales messages to customers, and report information using various pieces of business correspondence.  

In our Business Writing Series, we explore the following six (6) topics:

1. Types of Correspondence
2. Importance of Correspondence
3. Importance of Tone
4. Writing Emails
5. Writing Reports
6. Writing Memos

Every Friday you will have a thorough understanding of business correspondence, its use, and exactly how to write it correctly by the end of our series.

Let's get started!

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Types of Correspondence

Today is an overview of the four major types of business correspondence. Each serves a particular function in the operation of a business.

Review the four major kinds of business documentation below and then complete the quiz below. 

We discussed the first type of business document in a previous series about business letters.

The second type of business correspondence is email. Do you have a stuffed inbox every monring at the office? While email is very helpful as a means of instant communication, it becomes a burden for those who have thousands of unopened messages or spam ("junk email") sitting in their inbox. Writing powerfully effective emails however is an art you will learn in the series.

Office Memo

A third type of business document is the report. A business report conveys information to assist in business decision-making. The boss needs reports to check on the progress of your department or to inform his or her boss of how operations are functioning in the office. Write great reports and you may well get a promotion!

The fourth type of business correspondence is the memo. The primary purpose of the business memo is to timely communicate to a large number of employees or other members of an organization information such as policy changes, promotions or other personnel changes, a project status update, or increased offering of products and services. Whether you are a manager or vice-president, writing memos can help you gain attention at the office and increase your chances of a promotion. 

Quiz

Letter, Email, Report, or Memo?

Directions: Which of the different kinds of business correspondence - A) letter, B) email, C) report or D) memo - would you choose for the following?
See answers below.

TASK	CORRESPONDENCE TYPE
1. Thanking a customer
2. Apologizing to an upset customer
3. Telling staff about a new vacation policy
4. Answering a customer's question about a product
5. Sending out a meeting agenda
6. Communicating specific information about your company to investors

Created with the HTML Table Generator
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Quiz Answers
1.B 2.A 3.D 4.B 5.B 6.C
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Read Part 2: Importance of Correspondence