Drafting Letters & Mail

Humble request for help from those who are experts and are good at drafting letters and emails. Following are the difficulties faced by me while drafting:

1. How to start the letter, what should be the wording, and which points to mention.
2. Can I elaborate on the subject matter in the very first paragraph? If not, then from where should I start?
3. What are the most common words used especially at the beginning and end of the letter?
4. How should the letter end, and what kind of terminology should be used?

Your advice and guidance in this regard will definitely help me to sustain and move forward in my future career.

Dear Vinay,

You need to take training on Business Writing. Anyway, I am trying to clear a few of your doubts.

1. How to start with the letter, what should be the wording and points to be mentioned.

It depends on the type of the letter. Ask yourself a question - why am I writing this letter? Am I instructing, informing, appreciating, apologizing, warning, reprimanding, condoling, promoting a product, or writing a technical report?

2. Can I elaborate on the subject matter in the very first para, if no then from where on.

No, you should not elaborate on the subject matter in the very first para. Give a reference to some policy, government regulation, rule, law, etc. Otherwise, mention just what has happened in the past tense.

3. Which are the most common words used, especially in the beginning and at the end of the letter.

It depends on whom you are writing to and why you are writing the letter.

4. How should be the end of the letter and what kind of terminology to use.

The phrases or terminology will differ if you are writing to a superior or junior. Additionally, there are cultural differences to consider.

I have provided numerous drafts in this forum; you could have done some research before posting. In the search box of this forum, type "Draft Divekar" (without quotation marks) to find a good number of examples. Two links are given below:

- https://www.citehr.com/298986-how-do...ml#post1349509
- https://www.citehr.com/411361-advise...ng-letter.html

P.S.: I conduct training on E-mail writing, Business writing skills, etc. Guidance through the forum is no substitute for training. The earlier you take the training, the better.

Dinesh V Divekar
"Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance."