Read the passage given below:
1. A good business letter is one that gets results. The best way to get results is to develop a letter
that, in its appearance, style and content, conveys information efficiently. To perform this
function, a business letter should be concise, clear and courteous.
2. The business letter must be concise: don’t waste words. Little introduction or preliminary chat is
necessary. Get to the point, make the point, and leave it. It is safe to assume that your letter is
being read by a very busy person with all kinds of papers to deal with. Re-read and revise your
message until the words and sentences you have used are precise. This takes time, but is a
necessary part of a good business letter. A short business letter that makes its point quickly has
much more impact on a reader than a long-winded, rambling exercise in creative writing. This
does not mean that there is no place for style and even, on occasion, humour in the business
letter. While it conveys a message in its contents, the letter also provides the reader with an
impression of you, its author: the medium is part of the message.
3. The business letter must be clear. You should have a very firm idea of what you want to say, and
you should let the reader know it. Use the structure of the letter—the paragraphs, topic
sentences, introduction and conclusion—to guide the reader point by point from your thesis,
through your reasoning, to your conclusion. Paragraph often, to break up the page and to lend
an air of organisation to the letter. Use an accepted business-letter format. Re-read what you
have written from the point of view of someone who is seeing it for the first time, and be sure
that all explanations are adequate, all information provided (including reference numbers,
dates, and other identification). A clear message, clearly delivered, is the essence of business
communication.
4. The business letter must be courteous. Sarcasm and insults are ineffective and can often work
against you. If you are sure you are right, point that out as politely as possible, explain why you
are right, and outline what the reader is expected to do about it. Another form of courtesy is
taking care in your writing and typing of the business letter. Grammatical and spelling errors
(even if you call them typing errors) tell a reader that you don’t think enough of him or can
lower the reader’s opinion of your personality faster than anything you say, no matter how
idiotic. There are excuses for ignorance; there are no excuses for sloppiness.
5. The business letter is your custom-made representative. It speaks for you and is a permanent
record of your message. It can pay big dividends on the time you invest in giving it a concise
message, a clear structure, and a courteous tone.
2.1 Make notes on the passage using abbreviations in any suitable format. Give a title to the passage.
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2.2 Make a summary of the passage. 3