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Session 6 Letter Writing and Technical Report

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45 views25 pages

Session 6 Letter Writing and Technical Report

Uploaded by

aiinocent7719
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Session 6

Writing formal letter and technical


report
Writing Formal Letters and Technical
Reports
Learning Tasks

By the end of this session students are expected to be


able to:
• Define formal letter and technical report
• List common types of formal letters and technical
reports
• Explain essential components of formal letters and
technical reports
• Write formal letters and technical reports
Formal Letter
Definition
• This is a letter exchanged between or among
people/organisations for certain purposes.
Common Types of Formal Letters
• Letter of inquiry - written to ask some one for a
specific information
• Letter of offer –written to notify someone that has
been selected for employment
• Letter of acknowledgement- written for recognition of
the importance or quality of something
• Letter of acceptance – written to show that you agree
with or belief in an idea or explanation
• Letter of complaint- written to address any type of
wrong doing or offense
Types of formal letter cont’d
• Letter of application – written to ask for employment.
• Letter of resignation- written to notify that you want to
leave a position currently held.
• Recommendation letter- written to explain/emphasise
on someone's ability to perform certain activity
• Cover letter-written to give introduction of a certain
document
• Order letter- written to confirm the details of purchase
of goods or services.
• Follow-up letter-written to address the progress of an
activity agreed on.
Essential components of a Formal Letter

Writer’s address
• This can be:
• Personal address to include street/location and
postal office box number/city
• Company address to include company’s name,
street location or postal address and city
Date
• Full calendar date of when the letter was
written, for example 06 September 2015.
Reference number
• A number useful for reference by a recipient
for relevant matters.
Receiver’s/Reader’s address
• Address of the reader to include reader’s
name/title, Company Street or postal address
and city
Salutation
• It set the speed for the tone of the letter. For
example, Dear Sir, with first names or
Surname name
• The use of salutation is determined by the
relationship between the sender and the
receiver.
Subject or Reference statement
• This is the theme of the letter
• It should be short, clear, and written in the
capital letter
Body of the letter
• This includes introductory, discussion,
concluding paragraphs
 Complementary close
• It is determined by the salutation, such as;
• “Dear Sir” takes a “Yours faithfully”,
complementary close,
• With a “Dear Mr/Mrs”, salutation, takes a
“Yours sincerely” complementary close.
Signature (writer’s signature)
Sender’s name
• Type the name of the sender
• Mention your title/position (optional)
Copy to (if any)
For copy of letter write
• cc (complimentary copy)
• pc (photocopy)
Formal Letter Writing
Ways a Formal Letter should be written:
• The address of the writer (sender’s) should
appear in the top right hand corner
• The date should go under the address
• Always write the name and the address of the
addressee on the left, above the salutation
• Always leave a wide margin on the left, so that
when filed the letter is still legible
• If writing to someone who is not personally known
to the writer, begin with Dear Sir or Dear Madam
• A writer should be as brief as s/he can; but s/he
should include as much relevant information as
possible
• Whenever possible the subject of the letter may be
placed as a heading beneath the salutation
• Formal letters almost always end with: yours
faithfully, though: yours truly is also possible if the
writer wants to be less formal
Technical Report
Definition
• A technical report is a specific form of writing
that is organized to guide management and
organization to make decisions.
Common Types of Technical Reports
 Investigative reports:
• Any organization or Government can commission a report to
investigate a matter, a question or a situation
 Informative reports:
• Require written information about a certain issue/topic
 Business reports:
• It is written administrative reports
 Special reports:
• Reports specific to certain organization
• Contents of reports relate specifically to the work of the
place/area, for example hospital reports, pharmacy reports and
Court reports (deals with matters relating to Court of Law).
Essential Components of Technical Reports

Common report structures


Short report
• Title page
• Introduction
• Discussion
• Recommendations
• References
Science report
• Title page
• Introduction
• Method & materials
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Appendices
• References
Business report
• Title page
• Executive summary
• Table of contents
• Introduction
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Recommendations
• Appendices
• References
Guidelines for report writing
• The purpose of the report should be clearly stated
• Set a schedule on the tasks and time required to
complete the report.
• Arrange the information in a logical order for example
accurate details, logical conclusion and
recommendations (if any)
• Use indirect speech except for personal reports
• Give the report a clear heading
• Plan the lay-out carefully, pay attention to headings
and paragraphs
• Write the date and sign the report
Sample of formal/technical report
• A formal report provides information and presents recommendations
based on that information.
– Examples include weekly/monthly reports, research reports and
problem solving reports.
• Each type of report has its own specific requirements for effective
preparation, but general guidelines can be applied to all formal reports
using the following format;
Components of the Formal Report
• The following components are found in most formal reports. They can be
omitted or included as required:
1. Front Matter
• Letter to introduce the report to the person who requested it and/or to
whom the report is being sent o Brief summary of the entire report
• Title page
• Table of contents o List of figures or List of tables
2. Body
• Introduction: The purpose, problem statement, background
information, research methods, limitations and preview of the
report
• Discussion: Data, findings and results
• Conclusion: Summary of purpose, problem statement, relevant
background, research methods and findings, recommendations to
the reader on the best course of action
3. Back Matter
• Appendix or appendices
• Bibliography or references
• Glossary
Key Points
• Formal letter is the one exchanged between or
among people/organizations for certain purposes
while a technical report is a specific form of writing
that is organized to guide management and
organization to make decisions
• There are various types of formal letters and technical
reports depending on the need and purpose
• In writing formal letters and technical reports it is
important to consider the essential components and
guidelines
Session Evaluation
• What are the formal letters and technical
reports?
• What are the common types of formal letters
and technical reports?
• What are the essential components of formal
letters and technical reports?
• What are guidelines for writing formal letter
and technical reports?
References
• Marquis, B. L. & Huston, C.J. (2009). Leadership Roles and
Management Functions in Medical Theory and Application.
(6th ed).
• New york: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins  MHSW. (2000).
Quality Assurance Training Guidelines for Health workers. Dar
es Salaam, Tanzania: Ministry of Social welfare and Tanzania
• Rosdahl, C.B. (1999). Textbook of Basic Nursing. (7th ed). New
York: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
• Fujishim, R. (2008). Creating Communication _Exploring &
Expanding Your Fundamental Communication Skills. 2nd Edition.
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
tz sign wiki.org

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