Composing

Professional Correspondence
Overview
• Introduction
• Composing a
Resume
• Writing
Application
letters
• Writing Various
Forms of Office
Correspondence
 Introduction
In this century of literacy and technology, you are expected to
prepare yourselves to become significant people in the academic or
professional world. As you begin your journey as incoming college
students, you are expected to have the knowledge and skills to
communicate within and across the disciplines. This lesson is
divided into variety of activities which you will answer at your own
pace and will enable you to compose a resume.
 Introduction
Resumes, application letters, and other professional correspondence
are some of your weapons to start up and sustain your career. Most
of the time, your resume is the first written document that your
employers will be looking at while reviewing your application.
Having a well-written resume is very important in helping you
secure an interview which could open your doors to job vacancies
and opportunities.
 Lesson:
Composing a Resume
 Resume
originated from the French word résumé which means,
“summary”.
 It is a concise document that highlights your
education, work experiences, and other qualifications
such as your skills and strengths. These are
information or qualifications that your future
employer might look for in the job that you are
applying for.
A resume is usually an enclosure to an application or
cover letter so it is recommended that you prepare the
resume first since the information that you include
there will be the basis of your letter.
Below is the structure and organization of a sample resume:
 Lesson:
Writing Application
Letters
 You might be aspiring to be admitted in a school or
university of your choice or be hired in a company or
institution that you desire. This could not be fulfilled
unless you express your intent through some forms of
written communication such as application letters.
 College Admission Letter
is also known as the "letter of intent".
It is a brief discussion of your intention to be admitted
in a specific course in college.
 Employment Application Letter
is widely known as a "cover letter".
It is used to introduce yourself to a prospective employer.
You write this to demonstrate your interest in the
company, sell your services and qualifications in written
form, and show that you are fit for a job position. It is
usually submitted with a resume.
• Using any of the three letter formats (Block, Modified Block, and Semi-
Block) depends on your preference as an applicant, but the most common
layout for business letter is the block format which means that all parts of
the letter are aligned to the left.
• In a modified block format, the heading, date, complimentary close, and
signature are placed slightly to the right of the center of the paper.
• The least used format is the semi-block which is similar with modified block
except that the paragraphs of the body are indented.
Below are the parts of an application letter:
 Lesson:
Various Forms of Office
Correspondence
 Office Correspondence,
or business correspondence
is a written interchange of internal (communication
between company departments) and external
communication (communication between a company to
another firm) to assist the flow of business processes.
Business letter is the traditional way of communicating
information from one company to another or used in
external correspondence. The format can either be full
block, modified block, and semi-block.
 Various types of letters are sales letter, order letter
complaint letter, inquiry letter, adjustment letter,
acknowledgement letter, follow-up letter, cover letter,
letter of recommendation, and letter of resignation.
Here is an example where you can identify the different parts of a letter.
Additionally, Business memorandum or memo is a written
communication strictly between the company’s offices to
another or used in internal correspondence. A memo has its
title line and series number. Employees tend to read the
memorandum if the title line is related to their job
description. Memos are also used to implement internal
guidelines or procedures that the employees must follow.
Here is an example where you can identify the different parts of a letter.
Lastly, Business e-mail is an office correspondence that can
either be internal or external. There is no required format in
writing e-mail correspondence, but it is expected that the
writer maintains a professional tone. Note that the header of
the letter is written on the blank fields including the ‘from’
and ‘to’ fields. ‘From’ contains e-mail from the sender while
the field ‘to’ contains the email of the recipient.
Here is an example where you can identify the different parts of a letter.
Thank you!