The
AMA
Handbook of
Business
Letters
Fourth Edition
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The
AMA
Handbook of
Business
Letters
Fourth Edition
Jeffrey L. Seglin and Edward Coleman
American Management Association
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Seglin, Jeffrey L., 1956The AMA handbook of business letters / Jeffrey L. Seglin and Edward Coleman. — 4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN 978-0-8144-2012-6 (hbk.)
1. Commercial correspondence—Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Letter writing—Handbooks,
manuals, etc. I. Coleman, Edward, 1968- II. Amacom. III. Title. IV. Title: Handbook of business
letters. V. Title: American Management Association handbook of business letters.
HF5726.S42 2012
651.7'5—dc23
2012005590
© 2012 Jeffrey L. Seglin
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in whole or in part, in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written
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About AMA
American Management Association (www.amanet.org) is a world leader in talent development, advancing the
skills of individuals to drive business success. Our mission is to support the goals of individuals and organizations through a complete range of products and services, including classroom and virtual seminars, webcasts,
webinars, podcasts, conferences, corporate and government solutions, business books, and research. AMA’s
approach to improving performance combines experiential learning—learning through doing—with opportunities for ongoing professional growth at every step of one’s career journey.
Printing number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Contents
Preface to the Fourth Edition .............................................................................xiii
PART I. The Basics .............................................................................................. 1
Approaching This Book ................................................................................... 1
Approach of This Book .................................................................................... 2
Chapter 1. Planning the Letter .......................................................................... 3
Researching the Facts ....................................................................................... 3
Analyzing the Subject and Reader ................................................................. 5
Knowing Your Objectives and How to Accomplish Them ......................... 6
Chapter 2. Components of an Effective Letter ................................................ 9
Language—Clarity Versus Ambiguity ........................................................... 9
Tone—Personality .......................................................................................... 12
Focus of Attention—The “You Attitude” ..................................................... 13
Length .............................................................................................................. 15
Chapter 3. Structure: The Parts of a Letter .................................................... 17
Dateline ............................................................................................................ 17
Reference Line ................................................................................................ 18
Personal or Confidential Note ...................................................................... 18
Inside Address ................................................................................................ 19
Attention Note ................................................................................................ 21
Salutation ......................................................................................................... 21
Subject Line ..................................................................................................... 22
Paragraphs ....................................................................................................... 22
Continuation Sheets ....................................................................................... 23
Complimentary Close .................................................................................... 23
Signature Block ............................................................................................... 24
Identification Line .......................................................................................... 26
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vi n CONTENTS
Enclosure and Attachment Notations ......................................................... 26
Distribution Notation .................................................................................... 27
Postscript ......................................................................................................... 28
Chapter 4. Appearance of the Letter .............................................................. 29
Stationery ........................................................................................................ 30
Formats ............................................................................................................ 31
Full Block .................................................................................................. 31
Block .......................................................................................................... 32
Semiblock ................................................................................................. 34
Simplified Letter ....................................................................................... 35
Official Style .............................................................................................. 36
Hanging Indented .................................................................................... 37
Envelopes ......................................................................................................... 38
Memorandums ............................................................................................... 39
Email ................................................................................................................ 40
Chapter 5. Grammar ........................................................................................ 43
Grammar ......................................................................................................... 44
Wrong Pronouns ...................................................................................... 44
Pronouns and Antecedents .................................................................... 46
Subject and Verb Agreement ................................................................. 46
Dangling Modifiers ................................................................................. 48
Split Infinitives ......................................................................................... 48
Parallel Structure ..................................................................................... 49
Punctuation ..................................................................................................... 49
Capitalization .................................................................................................. 50
Spelling ............................................................................................................ 50
Jargon ............................................................................................................... 50
Clichés ............................................................................................................. 51
Wordiness ........................................................................................................ 51
PART II. The Letters ......................................................................................... 53
Chapter 6. Sales, Marketing, and Public Relations Letters .......................... 55
Letters of Introduction .................................................................................. 55
Sales Letters ..................................................................................................... 63
Letter Accompanying Renewal Notice ........................................................ 80
Letter Announcing a Special Presentation .................................................. 81
Letter Expressing Appreciation to Customers ............................................ 82
Catalog Letters ................................................................................................ 83
Sales Inquiry Response .................................................................................. 86
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CONTENTS n vii
Appointment Requests .................................................................................. 87
Letters of Interest ........................................................................................... 90
Letter to Difficult-to-See Prospect ............................................................... 93
Letter to Find Decision Maker ..................................................................... 94
Letters Confirming Proposals ....................................................................... 95
Follow-Up Sales Call Letters ......................................................................... 99
Letter to Renew Contact ............................................................................. 106
Letter Welcoming New Client .................................................................... 107
Letter Asking for Referral ........................................................................... 108
Letter Promoting Special Sale ..................................................................... 109
Letter to Wish Existing Customer Holiday Greetings ............................. 110
Letter to Acknowledge Anniversary of a Sales Relationship .................. 111
Public Relations Letters ............................................................................... 112
Chapter 7. Customer Service Letters ........................................................... 123
Complaint Resolution Letters ..................................................................... 123
Apology Letters ............................................................................................ 135
Letter Acknowledging Order ...................................................................... 145
Letters Correcting Wrong Shipment ......................................................... 146
Product or Service Information Letters .................................................... 148
Thank-You Letters to Customers ................................................................ 152
Letter to Lapsed Customer .......................................................................... 157
Pricing Letters ............................................................................................... 158
Change-in-Location Letters ........................................................................ 161
Project Status Letters .................................................................................... 163
Product-Handling Letter ............................................................................. 167
Letters Announcing Personnel Changes ................................................... 168
Subscription Response Letters .................................................................... 170
Letters to Stockholders ................................................................................ 175
Letter Dealing with Unreasonable Customer ........................................... 188
Chapter 8. Credit and Collection Letters .................................................... 189
Letter Requesting Commercial Credit ...................................................... 189
Credit Information Letters .......................................................................... 191
Letters Announcing Credit Policy Change ............................................... 192
Returned-Check Letters .............................................................................. 195
Credit Reference Letters .............................................................................. 198
Letter Denying Credit .................................................................................. 201
Letters Granting Credit ............................................................................... 202
Letter Raising Credit Limit ......................................................................... 205
Letter Clearing Disputed Items .................................................................. 206
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viii n CONTENTS
Stop-Payment Letter .................................................................................... 207
Collection Letters ......................................................................................... 208
Credit-Suspension Letter ............................................................................ 219
Letter Reinstating Credit ............................................................................. 220
Letters Accepting Partial Payment ............................................................. 221
Letter Acknowledging Payment ................................................................. 223
Letter About Deposit Due ........................................................................... 223
Letter to Lender to Renegotiate Payment Terms ...................................... 224
Letter from Customer About Billing Error ............................................... 226
Chapter 9. Letters to Vendors and Suppliers ............................................... 227
Letter Dealing with a Request for Proposal .............................................. 227
Letters Involved with Presentations ........................................................... 229
Letters Dealing with Vendor Bids .............................................................. 231
Letter Placing Order .................................................................................... 233
Letter Requesting Distributor’s Name ....................................................... 234
Letter Seeking Information About Product .............................................. 235
Letter Asking About Quantity Discounts ................................................. 236
Letters Complimenting Vendors ................................................................ 237
Letters Clearing Up Billing Errors ............................................................. 239
Letters Complaining to Vendors ................................................................ 241
Letter Cancelling Contract ......................................................................... 244
Letter Firing Vendor Because of Economic Conditions ......................... 245
Chapter 10. Personnel Letters ....................................................................... 247
Job Interview Request Letters ..................................................................... 247
Letters Accompanying Résumés ................................................................ 253
Letter Withdrawing Candidacy for a Position ......................................... 258
Letters Responding to Job Applications .................................................... 259
Letters Thanking People Who Recommended Applicants ..................... 273
Job-Offer Letters ........................................................................................... 275
Letters Accepting or Rejecting Job Offers ................................................. 282
Letter Welcoming New Employee .............................................................. 285
Recommendation Letters ............................................................................ 286
Commendation Letters ................................................................................ 292
Letters About Job Promotions .................................................................... 299
New-Employee Announcement Letter ...................................................... 301
Letters Requesting and Refusing Raises .................................................... 302
No-Longer-With-Us Letters ....................................................................... 305
Letter of Resignation .................................................................................... 307
Letters to Retiring Employees ..................................................................... 308
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CONTENTS n ix
Letters Regarding Leaves of Absence ......................................................... 310
Letter Offering Employee a Lesser Position .............................................. 312
Reprimand .................................................................................................... 313
Termination Letters ...................................................................................... 314
Letter Acknowledging Anniversary Date .................................................. 319
Letter Announcing Staff Changes .............................................................. 320
Letter Requesting Mentorship .................................................................... 321
Farewell Letter to Employee ....................................................................... 322
Chapter 11. Transmittal Letters .................................................................... 325
Letters Transmitting Payment .................................................................... 325
Letter Transmitting Contracts .................................................................... 332
Letters Transmitting Requested Materials ................................................ 333
Letter Transmitting Manuscript ................................................................. 335
Letter Transmitting Manuscript to Reviewer ........................................... 336
Letter Transmitting Final Invoice ............................................................... 338
Chapter 12. Confirmation Letters ................................................................ 339
Letter Confirming Supplier’s Oral Instructions ....................................... 339
Letter Confirming Prices and Quantity Discounts .................................. 340
Letter Confirming Arrangements for Speaker ......................................... 342
Letter Confirming Appointment ................................................................ 343
Letter Confirming Travel Plans .................................................................. 344
Letter Confirming Telephone Conversation ............................................ 345
Letters Confirming Receipt of Materials ................................................... 346
Chapter 13. Request Letters .......................................................................... 349
Letter Requesting Information About Accommodations ....................... 349
Letter Requesting Information About Seminars ...................................... 351
Letter Requesting Assistance ...................................................................... 352
Letters Requesting Return of Material ...................................................... 353
Letter Requesting Material from Speaker ................................................. 355
Letter Requesting Correction on Charge Account .................................. 356
Letter Requesting Reprint of Article ......................................................... 357
Letter Requesting Subscription Cancellation ........................................... 358
Letter Requesting Free Products ................................................................ 359
Letter Requesting Information About a New Product ............................ 360
Letter Requesting Pricing Information ..................................................... 361
Chapter 14. Replies ........................................................................................ 363
Letter Acknowledging Order ...................................................................... 363
Letter Acknowledging Registration for Conference ................................ 364
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x n CONTENTS
Remittance Letter ......................................................................................... 365
Response to Request for Clarification ....................................................... 366
Response to Request for Information About
Member of Organization ...................................................................... 367
Letters Responding to Requests for Materials .......................................... 368
Letter Replying to a Sales Letter ................................................................. 370
Letter Responding to a Request for Free Products .................................. 371
Letter Responding to Request for Information
About a New Product ............................................................................ 372
Letters Responding to Requests to Be a Speaker ..................................... 373
Chapter 15. Permissions Letters ................................................................... 375
Letters Seeking Permission to Reprint ...................................................... 375
Letters Indicating More Information Needed for Permission ............... 380
Letters Granting Permission ....................................................................... 382
Letters Denying Permission ........................................................................ 384
Cover Letter for Contract ............................................................................ 386
Letter Requesting Reversion of Rights ...................................................... 387
Chapter 16. Social, Personal, and Miscellaneous Letters .......................... 389
Thank-You Letters ........................................................................................ 389
Invitations ...................................................................................................... 410
Letters Accepting Invitations ...................................................................... 418
Letters Declining Invitations ...................................................................... 423
Letter Expressing Interest in Speaking ...................................................... 428
Letter Reserving Meeting Facility .............................................................. 429
Letter Requesting Membership in a Club ................................................. 430
Follow-Up Letter to Speech Attendees ...................................................... 431
Letter Expressing Compliments on an Article ......................................... 432
Birthday Greetings Letter ............................................................................ 433
Public Service and Fund-Raising Letters .................................................. 434
Letters Declining Requests for Donations ................................................ 442
Letter Urging Political Representative to Action ..................................... 445
Congratulations-on-New-Position Letters ............................................... 446
Letters to Sick Employees, Acquaintances ................................................ 448
Condolence Letter ........................................................................................ 450
Letter Congratulating Someone on Opening a Business ........................ 451
Letter Announcing Retirement .................................................................. 452
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CONTENTS n xi
Part III. Appendixes ....................................................................................... 453
Appendix I. Words to Watch ............................................................................. 455
Appendix II. Punctuation .................................................................................. 461
Index ..................................................................................................................... 465
The letters in this book are available online in easily customizable format at
www.amacombooks.org/go/AMAHbkBizLts4.
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Preface to the fourth edition
It’s remarkable how quickly the years have passed since the publication of the first edition
of The AMA Handbook of Business Letters. While much has changed during that time, the
basic fundamentals of letter writing have remained the same. Still, we felt it was time that we
updated the book with a much wider selection of model letters as well as updates to reflect
today’s work setting.
People in all walks of the business world are in need of a book that can help them hone
their letter-writing skills. The AMA Handbook of Business Letters is designed to answer that
need. It will arm you with both the skills needed to be good letter writers and more than 370
model letters on which to base your own correspondence. The AMA Handbook of Business
Letters will not just show you how to write better letters, it will show you how to write better.
Sections on grammar and usage in the first part of the book complement the sections
on basic letter-writing skills. The second part of The AMA Handbook of Business Letters
is the heart of the book. Here, more than 370 model letters have been collected. The vast
majority of them are based on actual letters that were used in business. They were chosen
to represent the broad spectrum of the type of letters businesspeople will most commonly
have to write. We have fictionalized the names of the people, companies, and products in
the letters. If a name resembles an actual name, it is purely by coincidence.
Many of the sample letters in Part II can easily be used as emails. We include them
in traditional letter format, but the message of each letter can be used as the text for an
email. Obviously, the sample letters can also be used as templates for letters that you can
attach to emails. We give you tips on how to adapt the letters to email in Chapter 4 in the
section titled “Email.” You can find electronic versions of each of the letters in this book
at www.amacombooks.org/go/AMAHbkBizLts4.
Part III features two appendixes that give tips on frequently misused words and
punctuation.
Many people assisted us with this new edition. In particular, our spouses, Nancy Seglin
and Lisa Freiman, were supportive of our efforts. And Bethany and David Whitemyer were
invaluable in ensuring that this new edition came to pass.
For assistance on this and previous editions, we’d like to thank: Peggy R. Broekel,
Michaela Coleman, Tess Coleman, Donna Reiss Friedman, Loren Gary, Beall D. Gary Jr.,
Mary Glenn, Robert Griffin, Dr. Lindsey Harlan, Adrienne Hickey, Martha Jewett, Joan
Kenney, Jim Lewis, Evan Marshall, Christina Parisi, Sam Mickelberg, Howard Palay, Patti
xiii
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xiv n PREFACE TO THE FOURTH EDITION
Palay, Pat Richardson, Robert Roen, Louis J. Roffinoli, Matthew Rovner, Lester Seglin, Mike
Sivilli, Mark Stoeckle, Lisa Tieszen, John Waggoner, Evan Whitemyer, Lucas Whitemyer,
and Tom Williams.
We are particularly grateful to Hank Kennedy, president of AMACOM Books, for
having the wisdom to believe that the time was right for a new edition of our book. Erika
Spelman and Andy Ambraziejus were terrific shepherds of the book as it made its way
through the production process. And Debbie Posner’s substantial work as copyeditor as
well as Jacqueline Laks Gorman’s work as proofreader on this new edition make it a far
better book than it would have been without the benefit of their extraordinary skills. We
also thank our editors Ellen Kadin and William Helms at AMACOM.
We’re also grateful to readers of previous editions who have sent us letters or emails
with questions, suggestions, or ideas for this new edition. In an effort to continue to make
future editions of the book as useful as possible, we’d like to ask your help once again. If you
have ideas for new features or types of letters you’d like to see included in future editions, or
if you have observations or questions, email them to us at:
[email protected].
Jeffrey L. Seglin, Boston, Massachusetts
Edward Coleman, Indianapolis, Indiana
American Management Association
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The
AMA
Handbook of
Business
Letters
Fourth Edition
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PART
I
The basics
All letters methinks, should be as free
and easy as one’s discourse,
not studied as an oration.…
—Dorothy Osborne (Lady Temple), letter to Sir William Temple, October 1653
Successful professionals know the importance of effective letter writing. You can’t have a
good business relationship with customers if they don’t know what you’re trying to tell
them in a letter. The services or products of a company can’t be marketed if a prospective
customer is baffled by the service or product described. How can a salesperson expect to
make a sale when, because of a muddled letter, the prospect can’t even understand what it
is that’s being sold?
Letter writing is crucial to the success of every professional. Without letter-writing
skills, the professional’s effectiveness is stymied.
Approaching This Book
Our objective in The AMA Handbook of Business Letters is to help you write effective letters. Ineffective letters are a waste of time and money. This realization should be enough to
convince every professional of the need to be a good letter writer. Letters may not seem like
the crux of your business, but if you consider that effectively written letters can increase
the quality of working relationships and the quantity of business you can attract, as well as
decrease wasted hours and money, you can begin to see the importance of learning to write
letters well.
You should be prepared to approach this book with one chief goal in mind—to learn
how to write more effective letters. Remember, too, that although letter writing is not a
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2 n THE BASICS
simple skill, with practice you can become a good letter writer. Once you learn the basics
and put them into practice, your letters will get better and begin to flow more easily.
Approach of This Book
Before you begin to write more effective letters, you must learn what makes up a good letter. The first part of this book takes you step-by-step through the basics of letter writing.
You’ll learn the importance of planning a letter and gathering all the information you need.
The plan is put into practice when you decide on the approach your letter will take and
the components necessary to achieve the selected approach. The components of a letter
are effective only if you know the proper mechanics involved in a letter’s structure and appearance. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, and language usage are important if your letter
is to be understood and well accepted by its reader. You needn’t fear an extensive course in
grammar. What you’ll receive here are the fundamental “commonsense” rules of grammar,
which are easily learned and should become natural not only to your letter writing, but to
all of your other writing as well.
The second part of this book consists of more than 370 sample letters, divided into
categories reflecting various aspects of business. Each chapter also contains brief analyses
of the strong points of many of the sample letters. Most of the sample letters are based on
actual letters written and used by professionals. Names of people or corporations have been
changed, but the content remains essentially unaltered. The letters chosen serve as models
for ones you may have to write in your everyday business life. You can adapt them to meet
your needs or use them as a touchstone to aim toward in your letter writing.
The appendixes to this book consist of helpful lists and rules to refer to in your letter
writing.
As with all things, perfection can be reached only with practice. If you apply the basics
learned in the first part of The AMA Handbook of Business Letters, and study the examples
presented in the second, your letter-writing skills will improve greatly. The end result will be
a letter that makes your readers think that what took much thought and planning on your
part flowed as smoothly and effortlessly as discourse.
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CHAPTE R
1
Planning the letter
Planning is a key factor in the accomplishment of any goal. Letter writing is no exception.
To successfully construct a clear, effective letter, you need a good plan.
Some letters do not require as elaborate a plan as others. A letter to a customer detailing
a proposal for a product purchase will obviously need a more elaborate plan than a thankyou note for a business lunch.
Common sense can usually dictate how elaborate your plan needs to be. If the information you need to present in a letter is limited enough for you to outline it in your head, there
is no real need for a detailed outline featuring Roman numeral headings and sub-points
beneath sub-points. The elaborateness of your plan should suit the elaborateness of the letter to be written.
Of course, if you, as a letter writer, are more comfortable constructing a detailed outline
for each of your letters, there’s nothing wrong with following that procedure. With enough
practice, however, the simpler letters should flow more easily, and the time you might have
spent laboring over outline after outline can be directed to other areas of your business.
The following three steps are essential in the planning of any letter:
1. Researching the facts
2. Analyzing the subject and reader
3. Knowing your objectives and how to accomplish them
If you follow these steps as you are planning to write any letter, you should find that
your letters will be clear and well received, and will achieve your desired goal.
Researching the Facts
Before you write a letter, it makes sense to know what you plan to talk about. If you wing it
and write whatever comes into your head, chances are you’ll end up with a confused, ineffective letter.
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