Technical Writing - GE E1 4 FOR BSED SECOND YEAR

about the writing

1. AS ROMBLON STATE UNIVERSITY
San Agustin Campus
Cabolutan, San Agustin, Romblon
DEPARTMENT OF FISHERIES
Second Semester, S.Y. 2021 – 2022
GE EI 4 – TECHNICAL WRITING
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MODULE 5– TECHNICAL WRITING – BSF II
R O N N A H M. C A W A L I N G
COURSE FACILITATOR
REMINDERS!!
A.Once you received your module, don’t forget to write your
name. Module that has no name will be disqualified.
B.Read, understand carefully, and follow the instruction before

2. Page 2 of 28
MODULE 5– TECHNICAL WRITING – BSF II
REMINDERS!!
A.Once you received your module, don’t forget to write your
name. Module that has no name will be disqualified.
B.Read, understand carefully, and follow the instruction before
NAME OF THE STUDENT:____________________________________________
COURSE/BLOC:__________________________________RATING:__________
MODULE 5
QUESTIONARE AS A TOOL
SURVEY RESEARCH AND THE
BUSINESS LETTER
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
At the end of the lesson, the students are expected to;
Construct ten (10) survey question; and
Write a business letter (full block format, modified format,
and semi-detailed format).

3. THE MEANING OF QUESTIONNAIRE
A questionnaire is a “working document” that presents questions as well
as the place and space for recording the answers (Hague, 2003). Babbie
(2001) calls it a “collection of questions,” and Schutt (2004) considers it a
“centerpiece of survey research.” Hague (2003) further says that as a
written list of questions, it is a preliminary part of an interview where face-
to-face conversation with the respondents.
The use of questionnaire ranks as number one among the social scientists.
Many of the researchers in this field of discipline conduct their studies
through this data-gathering technique.
PURPOSE OF A QUESTIONNAIRE
Hague (2003) says that a questionnaire aims at meeting the following
objectives:
1.to know what the respondent thinks and feels about some issues
related to the research topic;
2.to help an interviewer carry out a successful face-to-face conversation
about the research topic with the interviewee;
3.to give a lay-out or a design for the answering or the recording of
responses; and
4.to have an easier and faster analysis, recording, and coding of data.
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF A
QUESTIONNAIRE
Here are the pluses and minuses of a questionnaire gleaned from some of
the research books listed at the end of this book:
Advantages:
1.It does not require a lot of money and effort on the part of the researcher,
for he does not have to travel to reach hundreds or thousands of
respondents living in distant places.
2.It is easy to distribute to respondents, even to those living in hard-to-
reach areas.
3.It offers the respondents more opportunity to think more of their
responses.
4.It presents standardized questions that are capable of yielding
comparable responses.
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4. 5.It draws out answers that are reflective of the respondent’s spontaneity
and objectiveness.
Disadvantages:
1.It has a low response rate; that is, it suffers from the difficulty of
retrieving all questions distributed.
2.It has no remedy against questions that some respondents find ambiguous
and boring.
3.It finds difficulty in obtaining representative and unbiased samples
because of wide individual differences between the respondents and the
non-respondents.
4.It is open to a vague understanding of the question due to the physical
absence of the researcher who is expected to give some assistance to the
respondent.
ADMINISTRATION OF A SURVEY QUESTIONANNAIRE
A survey questionnaire, according to Babbie (2001), can be administered
to a set of respondents through the following methods:
1.Self-administered questionnaire or mail survey
The questionnaire is sent to the respondent through the postal service.
Attached to the questionnaire are: 1.) a cover letter stating the nature and
purpose of the question, and 2.) a self-addressed stamped envelope for
returning the questionnaire. This is a cheap method of administering a
questionnaire, but it yields a very low response rate because of the poor
mailing system and the unreturned questionnaires.
However, owing to the emergence of various modern electronic means of
communication, a researcher, nowadays is introduced to other means of
reaching respondents, such as the E-mail, the Web-page, or the Internet.
2.Face-to-face interview
The administration is done by the researcher himself. He asks several
questions listed on a paper and records the respondent’s answers in this
same paper. Since this face-to-face interview uses the questionnaire itself as
the answer sheet, it gets this name-PAPI (Paper and Pencil Interview) from
De Vaus (2002). Its name becomes CAPI (Computer-Assisted Personal
Interview) if a computer automatically records the respondent’s answers.
3.Telephone Survey
Sample respondents are contacted and are asked several questions
through the telephone. This is cheaper than a face-to-face interview because
all you have to do is to call up the respondent in his residence. You do not
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5. have to spend a certain amount for traveling and making follow-up calls.
However, Schutt (2004) argues that not every house has a telephone; hence
he considers this as one drawback of this method.
4.Electronic or Internet survey
With the advent of various modern communication technologies, you are
now capable of collecting data instantly. For example, administer a
questionnaire through the Internet in these two ways: E-mail survey and
Web-page survey. De Vaus (2004) explains that for the E-mail survey, just
send the question as a message to the respondent, and for the Web-page
survey, that is good for longer questionnaires, administer the questionnaire
by means of the following techniques:
1.Pop-up questionnaire. This is a questionnaire that immediately pops up
or appears in the page when one visits the web.
2.Questionnaire advertisement in other websites. The questionnaire is
introduced to instant users in other websites.
3.Netsurfing and Chat group. The questionnaire goes to members of a
group who are constantly chatting or conversing through the internet.
Whitney (2002) gives the following advantages and disadvantages of the
Internet survey:
Advantages:
1.Responses are immediately obtained.
2.The scope goes beyond the college level.
3.The validity is guaranteed by the absence of interaction between the
respondent and the researcher.
4.The publicity of the questionnaire is guaranteed by the Internet users’
free access to the questionnaire.
Disadvantages:
1.Subjects are not selected through random sampling.
2.Clues to better data analysis and coding given by the voice, gestures, and
other bodily movements of the respondents are not available.
3.Circumstances surrounding the data collection are not controlled by the
researcher.
4.Respondents are not compelled to complete the questionnaire accurately
and immediately because of the physical absence of the researcher.
5.Hatchers are around to sabotage, damage the website, or change some
aspects of the questionnaire.
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6. STEPS IN CONDUCTING A QUESTIONNAIRE SURVEY
Step 1: Planning
This step requires you to define the goal of your study. You must have a
specific purpose in your mind so that you can formulate questions that will
elicit the information you need. One way of having a well-defined purpose is
to read more about your topic, and to interview people whom you think have
special knowledge or interest about your subject matter.
Since a survey may involve several objectives, it is important that you
identify these objectives at the initial stage of research to help you decide
well on what kinds of questions to make, what samples to select, and what
method and procedure to use in collecting data.
Step 2: Sampling
Sampling means selecting the right person to respond to your questions.
It is the selection of a part to represent the whole of a population, Sampling
Frame is the term given to a list of the population you want to sample.
What kind of samples should you choose? One thing you have to consider
in choosing your samples is the effect of bias in selection. Chapter 9 of this
book gives you several sampling strategies that can turn zero-bias or almost
bias-free samples. This same part of the book likewise discusses the
classification of sampling techniques, the causes of sampling errors, and the
right size of a sample.
Step 3: Constructing Questionnaire Items
Your manner of constructing the questions will determine the attitude of
the respondents towards the questionnaire. Remember that careless
construction may trigger your potential respondent to throw your
questionnaire into the trash can, without giving even a quick glance at it.
Depending on the type of data being collected, the questions that
compose the questionnaire are as follows:
General Classification of Questions:
1.Behavioral questions. These pertain to the nature, activities, or properties
of the respondent.
Examples:
How many brothers do you have?
How long have you been married?
What is your favorite pastime?
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7. 2.Attitudinal questions. Questions on people’s opinions, imagination,
judgment about things, and on their reasons for doing something are
attitudinal questions.
Examples:
Who do you think is the right person to replace the president?
What can you say about the mission-vision of your school?
Why should snap election be held as soon as possible?
3.Classification questions. These types of questions are for grouping
information to find who should belong to a class or group on the basis of
age, sex, social rank, marital status, residence, and so forth.
Examples:
Are you…?
________single
________married
________divorced
________separated
Your business firm has _________________ employees.
________0 - 10
________10 - 25
________25 - 50
________50 - 100
________150 - 200
________200+
Questions falling under Attitudinal, Behavioral, or Classification group of
questions may specifically be called as follows:
Specific Types of Questions:
1.Unstructured or Open-ended Questions
The unstructured or open-ended questions give the respondents freedom
to compose their own responses. Being unrestricted questions, these
questions are clueless and difficult to interpret, tabulate, and summarize.
Moreover, he states that to overcome this difficult, some makers of
questionnaires prefer using both open and closed questions.
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8. Examples of unstructured questions:
Information questions:
Why did you choose to enroll at the University of Santo Tomas?
How do you find college life in contrast to high-school life?
What can you say about your Math professor?
Questions requiring fill-in responses:
What is your father’s occupation?
What word would you use to give the best description of your feelings
about this picture?
How many semesters have you been in the Dean’s list?
2.Structured or Closed Questions
Structured or closed questions require the respondents to choose their
responses from a list of suggested responses.
a.Multiple-choice questions
Example:
Questions: Which of these major newspapers use Developmental
Journalism the most? (Encircle the letter of your choice.)
a.Philippine Daily Inquirer
b.Manila Bulletin
c.Manila Times
d.Daily Mirror
b.Scale Type
c.Verbal Rating Scale
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9. d.Numerical Rating Scale
e.Ranking Scale
Example: Rank-order the following activities basing their importance in the
allocation of our research fund this year. Use 1 – most important; and so
forth until 5 – least important.
________ Annual colloquium
________ Individual research projects
________ Invited speakers
________ Computer software
________ Student assistantships
f.Semantic Differential Scale
Examples:
Science
Like ________________________________________Dislike
Hard_______________________________________ Easy
My English Professor
Boring______________________________________ Not Boring
Unfair ______________________________________ Fair
Enthusiastic _________________________________ Unenthusiastic
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Items Never
Seldo
m
Moderat
ely
Ofte
n
Alway
s
a.Does
she
come to
class on
time?
b.Does
she give
you a
chance
to ask
question
s?
Items Nev
er
Seldo
m
Moderately Often Always
Item a
Item b
Item c
1
1
1
1
2
2
2
2
3
3
3
3
4
4
4
4
5
5
5
5

10. Easy _______________________________________ Hard
Important __________________________________ Unimportant
Pleasant ___________________________________ Unpleasant
g. Thurstone Attitude Scale
Directions: Following, you will find three statements expressing different
attitudes toward the question of children’s rights and liberties. Put a check
mark (/) if you agree with the statement. Put a cross mark (x) if you
disagree with the statement.
Examples:
______1. A young child must be disciplined until he has learned not to touch
those objects in his environment which he cannot handle without damaging
them.
______2. When a child’s wants and those of an adult are in conflict, the
child should receive more consideration.
______3. Parents should feel called upon to give reasons to the young child
for the restrictions imposed only when he is capable of understanding.
h. Likert Attitude Scale
Examples:
Reading is important.
________ ________ __________ ________ ________
Strongly Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly
Agree disagree
Reading is
________ _________ _________ __________ _________
Critical Very Important Somewhat Very
Important Important Important
How often does your professor come late?
________ _________ __________ _________ _________
Always Most of Sometimes Rarely Never
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11. the time
How would you rate your professor’s performance?
_________ ________ ________ _______ ________
Very poor Poor Fair Good Excellent
i.Checklist
Example:
a.The Developmental Reading topic I find most interesting is: (Check
one)
________Comprehensive Improvement
________Vocabulary Improvement
________Study Skills
________Principles of Reading
________Creative Reading
________Library Skills
b.What type of teaching aids does your professor use?
(Check as many as you think are applicable.)
________ Blackboards
________ Films
________ Video Tapes
________ Audio Tapes
________Speakers
________ Books
________ Others (please specify)
Guidelines on Writing Questionnaire Items
1.Use simple, short, and specific language.
2.Eliminate bias by not using words that appeal to the emotions of the
respondent.
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12. 3.Direct the respondent to the main point of the question by making all
parts of the question focus on only one idea.
4.Give questions within the experiences of the respondent.
5.Construct questions that elicit comparable answers among the
respondents.
6.Exhaust all possible options on the issue. For instance, a question on
one’s manner of walking will not only elicit words like strolling or
marching, but also wading, wobbling, zigzagging, mincing, promenading,
strutting, and prancing.
7.Avoid a double—barreled question (one question targeting two different
ideas) and a question eliciting the respondent’s neutral answers.
8.Arrange your questions in such a way that general questions come first
before specific question to give focus to every question item.
9.Elicit from the respondent a positive reaction to the question by not using
unfriendly and offensive language.
10. Make your questions attractive and easy to complete by providing
sufficient space between questions, rather than much space among that
parts of the question.
Step 4: Pretesting
Although you employ much care and attention in constructing the
questionnaire items, it is possible that some readers of your questionnaire
may still spot ambiguities, misinterpretations, and inadequacies in your
paper. Hence, this step called Pretesting in necessary to identify these
errors in the questionnaire before you finally print it. Indeed, it is important
that other people like your classmates, friends, professors, and relatives
read your work because their comments will serve as guide in revising or
improving your questionnaire.
To pretest your questionnaire, choose a small group of people with
characteristics that are almost the same as those whom you will use for
study. The feedback of this “pretesting group” will guide you improving the
questions. Pay attention to comments like, “I don’t know what you mean
here; more than one of the answers apply to me.” However, you have to
ascertain whether these comments come from only one or a majority of the
respondents to determine if these are valid comments.
Step 5: Preparing a Cover Letter or a Transmittal
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13. Some respondents may be surprised or overwhelmed upon receiving a
paper that contains a long list of questions. To prepare the subjects for this
activity, it is good to attach a cover letter to the questionnaire and introduce
the list of questions to the respondents. This short letter must have the
following elements.
1.The purpose of the study.
2.A request for cooperation.
You should make the respondent feel how important their contributions are
to the study.
3.The protection provided the respondent.
You must assure the respondent of the extent of the confidentiality of the
responses, and of the way the respondent’s anonymity will be maintained.
In this case, it is up to devise a technique of identifying your respondents
for an easy follow-up of returns.
4.Sponsorship of the study.
This means that the cover letter should carry the signature of the Dean,
head of a department, or any prominent and respectable person known to
the respondent to influence the returns of questionnaires. A foundation or
an agency sponsoring the study must be mentioned in the letter, and it is
also helpful to use the letterhead of such foundation or agency.
5.Promise of results
The letter of transmittal should express your willingness to share the
results of the study to the respondents, that is, if the letter is interested in
knowing the results.
6.Appreciation
The part expresses your appreciation or gratitude for their willingness to
participate in the study.
7.Recent date of the letter
Write the date nearest the day of mailing to instill the freshness of the
questionnaire in the mind of the respondent.
8.Request for immediate return
Most likely, a questionnaire not returned in a week may no longer be
returned at all.
The letter of transmittal or cover letter must incorporate all these eight
elements. But always remember that a cover letter by nature is brief, with
one page as a maximum length.
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14. For a good return rate, this envelope you will mail to the respondent must
contain these 3 items: the questionnaire; a cover letter; and an addressed,
stamped return envelope for the respondent’s use.
Step 6: Sending Out the Questionnaire and Making Follow-up
After pretesting and revising the questionnaire (in case these are
revisions to be made), mail them to the chosen sample of respondents
representing the group to be studied. Accompanying the questionnaire are
the cover letter and the addressed stamped return envelope. The
questionnaire may be personally delivered to the respondent. In a way, this
kind of delivery is good because you can have the chance to explain orally
some details about the questionnaire. If the delivery is through mail, you
have to be certain that the respondent knows when and how to return the
questionnaire. To have a way of tracing the whereabouts of the late returns,
get the addresses and the telephone numbers of the respondents.
Is it a must that the identity of the respondent be revealed?
Knowing the identity of the respondent is not necessary, but assuring him
of the anonymity of this answers will ensure a higher rate of return.
Moreover, such anonymity must be emphatically conveyed in the cover
letter and in the questionnaire. Of course, once you decide to make things
anonymous, you will lose one sure way of tracing the origin of the
responses, thus, deciding on the anonymity of the responses requires
careful thinking.
Getting maximum returns of the questionnaires mailed is possible if you
adopt the follow-up techniques below that occur in three stages.
First Stage – Remind the respondent of the return of the questionnaire by
mailing him a postcard, if the questionnaire is not back to you in a week or
ten days after the initial mailing. The postcard is a polite way of telling him
of the importance of the study, and of reminding him of the immediate
return of the questionnaire. You may also include a note in the card
expressing your willingness to send another questionnaire to replace the
unreceived or misplaced questionnaire. Those who have already returned
the questionnaire should be sent a thank you note.
Second Stage – If the results do not come within three weeks after the
initial mailing, you may send the respondent these three articles: 1. a letter
telling him of the return of the questionnaire and the importance of the
stud; 2. another copy of the questionnaire (the enclosure of the
questionnaire should be emphasized); and 3. Self-addressed stamped
envelope. You may tell him not to respond the second time, if he has already
mailed the questionnaire.
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15. Third Stage – This final follow-up involves the ending of a letter and
questionnaire through certified mail six to seven weeks after the initial
mailing. If you succeed I gathering 75% to 90% returns, you may end up the
survey and declare those who failed to return the questionnaire non-
respondents. In this stage, you may also send a card on which the subject
can indicate his wish not to participate in the study or not to return the
questionnaire. Doing the last act is your way of knowing the identity of the
non-respondents.
Several books on Research Writing gives the following pointers on how to
get a maximum return of the questionnaire:
1.Make the questionnaire short and simple to give the respondent sufficient
time to accomplish it.
2.Give a clear introduction of your questionnaire to let the respondent know
the objectives of your study and realize the importance of responding to it
properly and immediately.
3.Assure the respondent of the possibility of knowing the results of the
study (if he wishes so).
Step 7: Analysis and Interpretation of Results
De Vaus (2002) says that Coding is the process of classifying responses,
counting them, and using a code or a number to represent the value or
significance of each answer. He gives the following steps in coding:
1.Classifying responses. Think of a classifying system that will put the
data in an organized or orderly manner.
2.Give a code to each category of answers.
3.Assign a column number to each answer to identify its category.
4.Use a codebook to record all your decisions about data coding.
5.Review the coding to check the presence of some errors in assigning
number or code.
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16. THE NATURE OF A BUSINESS LETTER
Time is gold in the business world, businessman need one instrument
that can make them iron out business deals or negotiations at once. This
instrument is none other than the business letter, the backbone of
business.
A business correspondent of a business-letter writer must possess the
following traits to produce effective business letters: wide understanding
of human behavior, keen imagination, good command of the English
language, sense of humor, and good judgment. In other words, he must be
a psychologist- creative, objective and flexible. As a psychologist, he must
know the likes and dislike of the party with whom he is dealing. He takes
the “you attitude” to bring about a meeting of the mind, between him and
the other party. His creativeness or keen imagination is shown by his
ability in presenting a clear and accurate picture of the thing he wants the
other party to accept. This he can easily do with the use of fresh, original,
and specific words, rather than stereotyped or worn-out expressions. If he
has good judgment, he can view things objectively. This means he bases
his decisions on what he thinks about the object, instead of what he feels
about it.
The business world is beset with all kinds of risks or challenges. To
survive unscathed in this dog-eat-dog kind of world, a business
correspondent must have a good sense of humor, or the ability to manage
himself intelligently and confidently in times of difficulties. He must not
allow problems to knock him down or dampen his spirits. Allowing optimism
or positive thinking to prevail over him, he swims through life or meets
challenges confidently. Amidst of all these trials, a man with a good sense of
humor is capable of standing strong and of sporting a cheerful face that
radiates what he truly thinks and feels about life. Indeed, only a person with
wide perceptions about life can behave this way.
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The Business Letter

17. Therefore, if you want to be a good business-letter writer, you have to
know a lot about many things in this world.
A business letter must have the following characteristics of the 8 Cs:
1.Clarity – clearness of the idea.
2.Conciseness – completeness of idea with the use of the fewest number of
words possible.
3.Consideration – taking the “you” point-of-view.
4.Courtesy – the use of polite expressions to show respect.
5.Concreteness – the use of vivid, specific words that appeal to the senses.
6.Cheerfulness – the use of positive expressions that signal lively dispositions
in life.
7.Correctness – accuracy of facts, figures, spelling, grammar, format, and
others.
8.Character – shows the writer’s own style or uniqueness in writing.
THE PARTS OF A BUSINESS LETTER
1.Heading
The Heading is the first part of the letter. It gives two kinds of
information about the writer: the primary information, which refers the
name, address, and telephone number of the company, and the secondary
information, which gives other information about the writer like the nature,
logo, motto, and list of officers of the company. If the heading is placed at
the topmost middle part of the paper, and is presented in a decorative or
extraordinary style, it is considered a modern style of heading. Letterhead
is the term used for this kind of heading. But if the heading is at the upper
side of the paper, it is thought of as a traditional heading, where only the
address and the date are stated. Study these two examples of heading and
take note the date is written in each example:
LETTERHEAD OR MODERN HEADING
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DAN-DAN ENTERPRISES
38 Samson Street, Nova., Quezon City
June 24, 2008
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________

18. TRADITIONAL HEADING
2.Inside Address
This is the second part of letter where you see the name and the
address of the person to whom the letter is addressed. These information
about the addressee must be contained in only 3 to 4 lines, with the first
line occupying the name, plus the position of the addressee in the company,
he is working for, and the second and third lines for his exact address.
The position of the addressee may be placed right after the name in
the first line. A comma is used to separate it from the name. It can also
place in the second line together with the name of the company where the
addressee is employed. Study the examples:
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DAN-DAN ENTERPRISES
38 Samson Street, Nova., Quezon City
June 24, 2008
_______________
_______________
_______________
_______________:
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
______________________________
Letterhead
Date
Dr. Leo Daniel S. Gara, President
Dan-Dan Enterprises
38 Samson Street, Nova., Q.C.
Sir:
Letterhead
Date
Dr. Leo Daniel S. Gara
President, Dan-Dan Enterprises
38 Samson Street, Nova., Q.C.
Sir:

19. See to it that the Inside Address consists of only three to four lines.
As to the use of punctuation marks, it should conform to the style in the
Heading, which means that if the heading has no punctuation after each
line, the Inside Address must follow the same. Here are some titles that
you can use in the first line.
Miss – unmarried woman
Mrs. – married woman or widow
Master – a lad
Mr. – a man without a special title
Messrs. – plural of Mr., but this is used only before the name of a law
firm; for example, Messrs. Perez and Valerio, but not before the name of
any other kind of firm or corporation
Reverend – a clergyman
Dr. – for one who holds a doctorate degree
Professor – for one who has attained the rank of a profession in a college or
university
Honorable – for cabinet officer, a senator, a representative, a governor, a
mayor, an ambassador, or a judge
Abbreviations like Hon., Rev., and Prof. can be used provided these are
followed by complete names. For example:
Prof. Robert B. Manois
Hon. Carlos M. Roxas
Not
Prof. Manois, Hon. Carlos
The article The is often used before Honorable. It is capitalized if it
precedes the title, but if this article is a part of a sentence and it is
preceded by other words, it should be written in a small letter.
Examples: The Honorable Carlos P. Romulo
Many people greeted the Honorable Carlos P. Romulo.
The use of abbreviated forms in business letter writing are allowed, but
do this as little as possible. The best in a formal letter, more so for the most
formal one, is to write the names of persons, places, titles, and months in
full.
3.Salutation or Greeting
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20. Coming two spaces after the Inside Address is the third part of the letter
which is the Salutation. Since its purpose is to cheer up the addressee, it is
also called Greeting.
A colon is used after the Salutation in a formal letter, a common in a
friendly letter. Capitalize the first word and the name mentioned in this
part of the letter. Here are some examples of greeting ranging from the
most formal to the least formal greeting.
Sir, Madam (Mesdames for Plural) – must formal salutation for top-ranking
government
Dear Sir/ Dear Ma’am – more formal salutation
Dr./Mr. Cruz, Dear Mrs. Prado – formal salutation
Dear Jose, Hi, Chit!, Hello Babes – formal (for friendly letter)
4.Body
This forms the longest and most important part of the letter. It is here
where you present your ideas or message to the addressee. All the qualities
of a good business letter correspondent and the 8Cs (correctness,
concreteness, conciseness, character, consideration, cheerfulness,
courtesy, and clarity) should be reflected in the body of the letter.
You should give particular attention to the opening sentence of the
body for this is your way of attracting the attention of the receiver/reader.
Likewise, the last sentence of the body is necessarily important because
this is the means by which you will win him to your side or getting his final
decision on whatever you are offering. Avoid using the present participle
form like hoping, trusting, and believing to end your letter. Instead, use I
hope, I trust, I believe, and others.
5.Complimentary Close
Following the body is the complimentary close that consists of two or
three words. In comparison to the Salutation, this part also uses
expressions that observe certain degrees of formality. Study these
examples:
Very respectfully yours, - most formal
Respectfully yours, - more formal
Very truly yours,
Truly yours, - formal
Sincerely yours,
Friendly yours,
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21. Always, - informal
Lovingly yours,
6.Signature
This consists of the signature of the writer which is of two kinds:
penned signature and printed. To give enough space for the penned
signature that appears over the printed signature, you have to allot four
spaces between the complimentary close and the printed signature. Sign in
your usual way. In the case of a married woman, she must always put Mrs.
before her name, otherwise she will be considered to be single. In business
letter writing, only the males can sign their names without the title
indicating their status in life. Further, if the signature is preceded by
initials, (A.D. Yulo) this means it belongs to a man.
If the letter comes from a friend and the letterhead does not indicate
the position of the writer in the company, such position must be included in
the complimentary close. Refer to the following example:
Respectfully yours,
DAN-DAN ENTERPRISES
L.D. GARA
7. Notations
This last portion of the letter is placed two spaces after the complimentary
close, but it should be aligned with the left margin, not below the
complimentary close. Notation may be one, two, or all of the following:
a.Identification Initials. These are the initials of the letter sender, typist, or
transcriber that may appear this way:
Elena Solis (letter sender) and Ofelia Dizon (typist)
ES/OD ES-OD ESOD ES: OD
es/od es:od
b.Enclosure. Two spaces below the identification initials are the Enclosure.
This explicitly states important documents attached to the letter like
cheques, transcript of record, pictures, and the like, Use Enc. for
attached papers or bcc (blind copy) to show that a copy of the letter was
sent to another person, but the name of the person is not revealed in the
letter. The secret identity of the receiver makes some people call such
copy a blind copy.
Example of Enclosure
ES: OD
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22. Enc.
1.4 pictures
2.Cheque
c.Postscript or P.S. To emphasize something explicitly stated in the body of
the letter, you can use P.S. two spaces below the identification initials.
Example of Notations

LETTER ENVELOPE
The style in the Inside Address should be the style to be adopted in
writing the address on the envelope. For example, if the inside address
uses the intended style, the same should be used in the envelope. Avoid
using to plus colon (To: Mr. Jose Loyola) before the name. To satisfy a
possible postal “Return to Sender” case, it is advisable to write your
address in the upper left-hand corner of your envelope.
Example:
SPACING AND MARGINS
In some cases, the way you dress speaks of the kind of person you are.
Analogously, the appearance of your letter will reveal something about
your personality. Hence, to create a good attention about you through your
letter, give particular attention to the margins and spacing of the letter.
Take note of the standard practice on margin and spacing in business
letters:
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MODULE 5– TECHNICAL WRITING – BSF II
es:od
P.S.
The pictures and the cheque are in the red thin envelope.
Same
Renato Crepa
8 Dama Street, Cubao
Quezon City
Prof. Mario L. Perez
Lyceum of the Philippines
Intramurous, Manila

23. 1.long letters (225 words or more)
right and left margins – 1 inch
top and bottom – 1 inch
2.medium letters (125-225 words)
right and left margins – 1 and inch
½
top and bottom – 1 inch
3.short letters (50-125 words)
right and left margins – 2 inches
top and bottom – 2 inches
THE FORMAT OF A BUSINESS LETTER
A.Full Block Form
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MODULE 5– TECHNICAL WRITING – BSF II
LETTERHEAD
1.Date Line

2.Inside Address


3.Salutation

4. Body of the letter




_______

________________________________________________________________________
__________________

24. B.Modified Block Form
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MODULE 5– TECHNICAL WRITING – BSF II
LETTERHEAD
1.Date Line

2.Inside Address


3.Salutation :


4. Body of the letter




_______

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________
5.Complimentary Close ,

25. C.Semi-block Form
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MODULE 5– TECHNICAL WRITING – BSF II
LETTERHEAD
1.Date Line

2. Inside Address


3.Salutation :
_
__ __ _
__ 4.Body of the letter
_
__ __ __
______________________

_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________

26. D.Indented Form or Traditional Form
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MODULE 5– TECHNICAL WRITING – BSF II
LETTERHEAD
1.Heading ,
___,
,
2.Inside Address ,
_,
,
3.Salutation :

_
_
_ 4.Body of the letter
_
_

5.Complimentary Close,
6.Signature Line
7.Notations

27. E.Hanging Style
F.Memorandum Style
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MODULE 5– TECHNICAL WRITING – BSF II
LETTERHEAD
1.Heading


2.Inside Address


3.Salutation

______________

_________________________________________________________________________
________________
____________________________________________________________________
______________________
4.Body of the letter ______

_________________________________________________________________________
________________
____________________________________________________________________
______________________
LETTERHEAD
1.Date Line
FROM:
TO:
SUBJECT:





_______

28. Page 28 of 28
MODULE 5– TECHNICAL WRITING – BSF II
REFERENCESREFERENCES
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Brays, J. and Wershown , C. (2002). Along the lines: writing
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Brew, A. (2001). The nature of research: inquiry in academic
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Catane, J.A. (2000). Conducting research: a practical
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comprehension tool for expository text in Social Studies.
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De Tienne, K. (2002). Guide to English communication. New
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De Vaus, D. 5
th
ed. (2002). Survey in social research. London:
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Faigley, L. and Selzer, J. (2004). Good reasons with
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nd
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Faust, J.Z. (2002). Steps to academic reading. Australia:
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Flachman, Kim et al. (2003). The briefprose reader;
essaysfor thinking, reading, and writing. New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.
Gee, J.P. (2001). An introduction to discourse analysis:
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Guth, H. P. and Rico, G.L. (2003). Writing in a changing
world: a writer's guide with handbook. New York: Longman.
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LETTERHEAD
1.Date Line
FROM:
TO:
SUBJECT:





_______