Business and Technical Correspondence, Harty p. 115-167

-traditionally letters were to people outside the company and memos were to people within the company

-the ease with which an email is sent can cause some to become sloppy with their email etiquette

-letters can determine how the public views a company, should highlight the reader’s interests, not the writers

highlight the benefits of the reader

use of personal pronouns is good

avoid a negative tone, say ‘no’ nicely and encouragingly

best way to deliver bad news is actually in person

indirect and direct methods to saying ‘no’, both are courteous

memos are used to :
inform people of a problem or situation
assess responsibility and action for it
establish a file record of decisions and policies

memos can skip background info, formalities

memos should be clear, concise, direct, and easy to read

memo format- to and from line, subject, distribution, text, paragraphs, line spacing, underlines and capitals, numbers of pages, figures and table

Email- use active, concise, specific language plain language to communicate clearly and accurately

write with correct grammar, use gender neutral language, and use correct punctuation
active language is good

avoid colloquialisms and inflated language

Use short, simple, focused sentences

it is never wrong to use a comma after an introductory clause

dashes tend to highlight information, while parentheses tend to minimize it or play it down

Two hyphens can be used to make a dash