INSTANTLETTER WRITINGKIT

INSTANT LETTER WRITING

KIT - - - - -

How To Write Every Kind Of Letter

Like A Pro

Letter Writing Style Guide With Over 100 Fully-Formatted Real-Life Templates

Shaun Fawcett, M.B.A.

- - - - -

Find out exactly how to write 99.9% of the world’s most widely-requested letters…

eBook Solutions.net Saving You Time and Money

Copyright © 2004 by Shaun R. Fawcett

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, by any means, without written permission from the author, except a reviewer,

who may quote brief passages for a review.

Library and Archives Canada Cataloguing in Publication

Fawcett, Shaun, 1949- Instant letter writing kit [electronic resource] : how to

write every kind of letter like a pro

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 0-9736265-1-8

1. Letter writing--Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Title. PE1483.F378 2004 808.6 C2004-906876-8

Final Draft Publications 1501 Notre-Dame West, Suite No. 5

Montreal QC, Canada H3C 1L2

http://www.writinghelptools.com

Disclaimer This book was written as a guide only, and does not claim to be the final definitive word on any of the subjects covered. The statements made and opinions expressed are the personal observations and assessments of the author based on his

own experiences and were not intended to prejudice any party. There may be errors or omissions in this guide. As such, the author or publisher does not accept any liability or responsibility for any loss or damage that may have been caused, or

alleged to have been caused, through use of the information contained in this manual. Errors or omissions will be corrected in future editions, provided the publisher receives written notification of such.


Instant Letter Writing Kit Table of Contents

Instant Letter Writing Kit November 2004

Copyright © 2004 Shaun R. Fawcett. All rights reserved.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION .................................................................................. 1

Background ......................................................................................................... 1

Why I Wrote This Book...................................................................................... 2

What This Writing Kit Covers ........................................................................... 4

Who This Book Is For......................................................................................... 6

DON’T SKIP THE FIRST 40 PAGES! ............................................................. 6

REAL-LIFE LETTER TEMPLATES .................................................. 7

“Using Real-Life Templates For Writing Success” ............................................. 7

Working With Real-Life Templates..................................................................12

WARNING: Beware of Automatic Letter Generators ....................................13

LETTER WRITING GUIDELINES - GENERAL............................ 14

“Letter Writing Tips and Strategies” ..................................................................14

“Go With The Flow: Use Transition Words and Phrases”.................................18

LETTER WRITING FORMATS........................................................ 22

Is It Business or Personal?.................................................................................22 Use Business Stationery When… ......................................................................22 Use Personal Stationery When… ......................................................................22

Letter Formats/Styles To Use ............................................................................23 Business Letter Template - Full-Block Style......................................................24 Personal Letter Template – Semi-Block (Modified) ..........................................25

Letter Formatting Guidelines............................................................................26 Tricks For Keeping Your Letter On One Page..................................................28 Letter Formats Used In This Guide...................................................................30

THE WORLD’S “TOP 25” MOST WRITTEN LETTERS .............. 31

The “Top 25” List ..............................................................................................31

How To Use the “Template Adaptation Method”............................................33




A Step-by-Step Approach ..................................................................................35 A Real-Life Example .........................................................................................36 Benefits of the “Template Adaptation Method” ................................................40

TOP 25 LETTERS – THE TEMPLATES.......................................... 41

1 – Recommendation Letters.............................................................................42

“Recommendation Letters Demystified”.............................................................42 About the Templates .........................................................................................46 Recommendation 1: Employment - Favorable ..................................................47 Recommendation 2: Employment - Part-Time Student......................................48 Recommendation 3: College-Related - Undergraduate.....................................49 Recommendation 4: College-Related - Ph.D. Candidate ..................................50 Recommendation 5: Teaching Award Nomination ............................................51

2 – Resignation Letters ......................................................................................52

“Resignation Letters: Don’t Let Yours Backfire On You” .................................52 About the Templates .........................................................................................55 Resignation 1: Accept New Position .................................................................56 Resignation 2: Return to School .......................................................................57 Resignation 3: Health & Safety-Related ...........................................................58 Resignation 4: Having a Baby ..........................................................................59 Resignation 5: Job Burn-Out ............................................................................60

3 – Thank You Letters .......................................................................................61

“When and How To Say Thank You In Writing”...............................................61 About the Templates .........................................................................................66 Thank You 1: Employment - Job Interview .......................................................67 Thank You 2: Employment - Informal Meeting/Interview..................................68 Thank You 3: Employment – Job Lead Follow-Up............................................69 Thank You 4: Community Service .....................................................................70 Thank You 5: Customer Survey Participation ...................................................71

4 – Reference Letters .........................................................................................72

“Reference Letters Defined” ...............................................................................72 About the Templates .........................................................................................77 Reference 1: Character – Friend, Acquaintance...............................................78 Reference 2: College - Graduate Studies, Education ........................................79 Reference 3: Employment - MIS Manager ........................................................80 Reference 4: General - Community Service ......................................................81




Reference 5: Career - Student Teacher (neutral) ..............................................82

5 – Business Letters............................................................................................83

“Business Letters Explained” .............................................................................83 About the Templates .........................................................................................86 Business 1: Cover - Annual Report ...................................................................87 Business 2: Introduction - Business Associate ..................................................88 Business 3: Sales - Targeted Business Mail-Out ...............................................89 Business 4: Reference - Former Customer........................................................90 Business 5: Customer Service Error .................................................................91

6 – Complaint Letters ........................................................................................92

“10 Secrets For Writing Killer Complaint Letters” ............................................92 About the Templates .........................................................................................96 Complaint 1: Poor Service................................................................................97 Complaint 2: Defective Product........................................................................98 Complaint 3: Inadequate Facilities...................................................................99 Complaint 4: Credit Card Hidden Charges ....................................................100 Complaint 5: Unacceptable Level of Service ..................................................101

7 – Cover Letters..............................................................................................102

“How To Write Cover Letters That Work” .......................................................102 About the Templates .......................................................................................105 Cover 1: Resume – Sales Manager .................................................................106 Cover 2: Resume - Experienced Writer...........................................................107 Cover 3: Resume - Recent Graduate...............................................................108 Cover 4: Progress Report ...............................................................................109 Cover 5: Franchise Application......................................................................110

8 – Sales Letters................................................................................................111

“10 Insider Secrets For Powerful Sales Letters” ..............................................111 About the Templates .......................................................................................114 Sales 1: Promote New Product - To Consumer...............................................115 Sales 2: Introduce New Product - To Consumer .............................................116 Sales 3: Special Offer - To Regain Former Customer .....................................117 Sales 4: Exclusive Mailer – To Loyal Customers ............................................118 Sales 5: Personalized Sales Follow-Up ..........................................................119

9 – Introduction Letters...................................................................................120 About the Templates .......................................................................................120




Introduction 1: Sales Personnel......................................................................121 Introduction 2: Self-Introduction ....................................................................122 Introduction 3: Former Employee...................................................................123 Introduction 4: New Loans Manager ..............................................................124 Introduction 5: New Service Available............................................................125

10 – Apology Letters ........................................................................................126 About the Templates .......................................................................................126 Apology 1: Serious Professional Error ...........................................................127 Apology 2: Customer Service Breakdown .......................................................128 Apology 3: Service Installation Oversight.......................................................129 Apology 4: Employee Mistake.........................................................................130 Apology 5: Unprofessional Behavior ..............................................................131

11 – Application Letters...................................................................................132 About the Templates .......................................................................................132 Application 1: Employment – Sales Manager Position ...................................133 Application 2: Employment - Customer Service Job .......................................134 Application 3: Employment – Chief Financial Officer ....................................135

12 – Termination Letters .................................................................................136 About the Templates .......................................................................................136 Termination 1: Employment – Downsizing .....................................................137 Termination 2: Employment – Poor Performance...........................................138 Termination 3: Employment – Sudden Closing ...............................................139

13 – Acceptance Letters ...................................................................................140 About the Templates .......................................................................................140 Acceptance 1: Offer of Employment................................................................141 Acceptance 2: Community Service Appointment .............................................142 Acceptance 3: Consulting Services Proposal ..................................................143

14 – Donation Letters.......................................................................................144 About the Templates .......................................................................................144 Donation Letter 1: Community Project ...........................................................145 Donation Letter 2: Self-Supporting Organization ...........................................146 Donation Letter 3: Charity For The Homeless................................................147

15 – Condolence Letters...................................................................................148 About the Templates .......................................................................................148 Condolence 1: Death of Colleague’s Father...................................................149 Condolence 2: Death of Employee..................................................................150




Condolence 3: Death of Long Time Customer ................................................151

16 – Appreciation Letters ................................................................................152 About the Templates .......................................................................................152 Appreciation 1: Professional Assistance........................................................153 Appreciation 2: Use Of Facilities ...................................................................154 Appreciation 3: Guidance and Support...........................................................155

17 - Invitation Letters ......................................................................................156 About the Templates .......................................................................................156 Invitation 1: International Conference............................................................157 Invitation 2: Speaker Invitation ......................................................................158 Invitation 3: Special Customer Invitation .......................................................159

18 – Love Letters..............................................................................................160 About the Templates .......................................................................................160 Love 1: Someone You’ve Known For A While.................................................161 Love 2: After A Special Evening .....................................................................162 Love 3: Separated By Travel...........................................................................163

19 – Letter of Intent .........................................................................................164 About the Templates .......................................................................................164 Intent 1: Research Project Support .................................................................165 Intent 2: Homeschool......................................................................................166 Intent 3: Scholarship Application ...................................................................167

20 – Letters of Interest .....................................................................................168 About the Templates .......................................................................................168 Interest 1: Joint Project Participation ............................................................169 Interest 2: Development Project .....................................................................170 Interest 3: Employment ...................................................................................171

21 – Letters of Credit .......................................................................................172 About the Templates .......................................................................................172 Credit 1: Public Improvement Project ............................................................173 Credit 2: Home Owner’s Association .............................................................174 Credit 3: Offshore Export Transaction ...........................................................175

22 – Marketing Letters ....................................................................................176 About the Templates .......................................................................................176 Marketing 1: Corporate Publicity Release......................................................177 Marketing 2: Post-Conference Follow-Up......................................................178 Marketing 3: Trade Show Industry Promotion................................................179




23 – Rejection Letters ......................................................................................180 About the Templates .......................................................................................180 Rejection 1: Employment – Job Application ..................................................181 Rejection 2: College – Application Rejection.................................................182 Rejection 3: Credit Application .....................................................................183

24 – Invoice Letters ..........................................................................................184 About the Templates .......................................................................................184 Invoice 1: Letter Format - Professional Services ............................................185 Invoice 2: Fax Format - Professional Services ...............................................186 Invoice 3: Standard Format - Professional Services .......................................187

25 – Collection Letters .....................................................................................188 About the Templates .......................................................................................188 Collection 1: Initial Notice .............................................................................189 Collection 2: Second Notice............................................................................190 Collection 3: Third Notice ..............................................................................191

OTHER FREQUENTLY WRITTEN LETTERS ............................ 192

Other Letters 1: Follow-Up ............................................................................193 Other Letters 2: Request for Information ........................................................194 Other Letters 3: Order Request.......................................................................195 Other Letters 4: Compliment .........................................................................196 Other Letters 5: Congratulations....................................................................197 Other Letters 6: Refuse Job Offer ...................................................................198 Other Letters 7: Replacement Request ............................................................199 Other Letters 8: Request Letter of Recommendation.......................................200 Other Letters 9: Refusing An Invitation ..........................................................201 Other Letters 10: Teacher Commendation......................................................202 Other Letters 11: Parent To Teacher Inquiry..................................................203 Other Letters 12: Resignation Retraction .......................................................204

LETTER WRITING RESOURCES ................................................. 205

Top 25 Online Letter Writing Sites.................................................................206

General Writing References ............................................................................208

Other Writing Tools.........................................................................................211

INDEX................................................................................................. 212




Notes For Reading This eBook Online EBook Navigation: This eBook was created in PDF format using a software program called PDF Factory. The PDF file can be read using Adobe Acrobat Reader Version 5.0 and higher. I strongly recommend that you use Acrobat Reader 6.0 or above because that software has been designed specifically for reading eBooks. You can download it for free at the following link: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html The eBook was created to include Acrobat Reader “Bookmarks” to allow you to quickly navigate anywhere in the document with a single click of your mouse. To enable “Bookmarks” in Acrobat 6.0, select “View/Navigation Tabs” using the dropdown menu on the upper left horizontal toolbar of Acrobat. Then select/check “Bookmarks”. Once you have done this, you will see a set of Tabs on the left-hand vertical edge of the Acrobat window. Click on the “Bookmarks” Tab and you will see the bookmarks displayed there like a Table of Contents. Click on an item to go directly to that page. To hide/close the Bookmarks display so your document can be displayed in larger format, just click again on the Bookmarks Tab. It works like an on/off toggle switch. Hyperlinks: In addition, hyperlinks to external Web sites are enabled throughout the document. Just place your mouse over the blue colored link and then click on it when the little hand appears. That link location will open into a new window.

Acknowledgements

Once again, I owe special thanks to:

Deena Mayka for her ongoing support and encouragement, and her editorial help. Leela Purie-Fawcett, my wonderful daughter, for her presence in my life.

http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html

Instant Letter Writing Kit Page 1



INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND In 2001 I set up my first writing help Web site, www.WritingHelp-Central.com. My idea at the time was to create a small portal site that offered free writing help content and provided links to the writing related products of others. Since then, that WritingHelp-Central Web site has grown significantly. As I write this, that site contains more than 100 pages and over 75,000 words of free writing-help-related content covering such topics as: letter writing, resume/c.v. writing, essay writing, book writing, business writing, copy writing, and much more. By mid-2004 that Web site was receiving an average of over 3,500 unique visitors from more than 140 countries, each and every day. In fact, on some peak week days, the total unique visitor count currently exceeds 6,000 people! Now, with well over 1.2 million unique visitors per year, WritingHelp-Central is among the top two or three writing help destinations on the entire Internet. And, its sister site, www.WritingHelpTools.com isn’t far behind. One advantage of owning a popular destination Web site is that it provides one with the perfect research and development “laboratory” in which to find out what people in a particular niche are REALLY looking for. For example, because my WritingHelp-Central Web site has been attracting people with letter writing information needs for over three years, I have been able to study EXACTLY what people are looking for in the way of letter writing help. By extension, I am willing to bet that I am the top authority on the entire Internet when it comes to knowing what kind of letter writing most people need help with.

http://www.WritingHelp-Central.com

http://www.WritingHelpTools.com




WHY I WROTE THIS BOOK Since late 2001 I have written a series of writing help toolkit eBooks that deal with the writing of specific types of letters, as follows: Instant Recommendation Letter Kit http://instantrecommendationletterkit.com Instant Business Letter Kit http://instantbusinessletterkit.com Instant Resignation Letter Kit http://instantresignationletterkit.com These books have been quite popular since they were first released, and they continue to sell very well. As the titles clearly indicate, these toolkits are highly targeted to address very specific letter writing needs. I developed these particular products because my research indicated that help with writing these specific types of letters was much in demand. Now, after more than three years of observing and studying the letter writing help needs of all of my visitors who search for such information, I am in the unique position of being able to state unequivocally which letters are most often searched for, and in what order. What it all boils down to is this… Over 90% of all people searching online for letter writing help are concerned about writing one or more of 20 specific types of letters. Here are those top 20 letters:

http://instantrecommendationletterkit.com

http://instantbusinessletterkit.com

http://instantresignationletterkit.com




1. recommendation letter, letter of recommendation 2. resignation letter, letter of resignation 3. thank you letter, letter of thanks 4. reference letter, letter of reference 5. business letter, business memo 6. complaint letter, letter of complaint 7. cover letter 8. sales letter 9. introduction letter, letter of introduction 10. apology letter, letter of apology 11. application letter, letter of application 12. termination letter, letter of termination 13. acceptance letter, letter of acceptance 14. donation letter, fund-raising letter 15. condolence letter, sympathy letter 16. appreciation letter, letter of appreciation 17. invitation letter, letter of invitation 18. love letter, romantic letter 19. letter of intent 20. letter of interest

Other letters that are often searched for include: marketing letter, rejection letter, follow-up letter, congratulations letter, invoice letter, collection letter, letter of credit, congratulations letter, request for information, and a number of others. With those letters added, the Kit covers 99% of all letters ever requested. So, the main reason I wrote this book is to assemble, for the very first time, a letter writing style and template guide/manual that contains ALL of the letters that the vast majority of people are ACTUALLY seeking help with. No filler here folks!




WHAT THIS WRITING KIT COVERS This letter-writing toolkit is much more than just a bunch of templates quickly thrown together, as is the case with the majority of manuals of this type. The contents of this Kit is the result of over three (3) years of research into the “writing help needs” of the average Web surfer looking for letter-writing help. In fact, the Kit is a complete and comprehensive letter-writing style guide that contains more than 100 fully-formatted real-life templates, and is comprised of two major components. Component number one is a letter-writing “how-to” style guide combined with the fully-formatted real-life sample letters. Component number two is a set of fully-formatted real-life letter templates that can be downloaded straight into a standard word processing program such as MS-Word. Using these downloadable templates, you will never have to start your letters from a blank page again.

The Style Guide The style guide part of the Kit contains over 50 pages of letter-writing “how-to” information including letter-writing tips, strategies and information as well as letter formatting guidelines for both personal and business style letters. Each of the sections on the eight (8) most widely requested/written letters contains a full-length feature article on how-to write that particular type of letter. The eight letter types with an accompanying “how-to” article are: recommendation letter, resignation letter, thank you letter, reference letter, business letter, complaint letter, cover letter, and sales letter.




Over 100 fully-formatted real-life sample letters are included to graphically demonstrate how to write each letter-type covered. These are REAL letters -- NOT your typical fill-in-the-blank, cut-and-paste jobs that proliferate the Internet.

The Templates For each of the 100-plus sample letters, a fully formatted real-life template is provided in a form that can be downloaded straight into your word processor. The templates have been divided into three groups as follows: 1. The Top 10 Letters – Five (5) sample templates for each one (50). 2. Letters Ranked 11 to 25 – Three (3) sample templates for each one (45). 3. Other Requested Letters – One (1) sample template for each one (12).

Important Note: People who purchase this Kit directly from my Web site receive the templates file as a download at the time of purchase. Those who buy the Kit through book retailers such as amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com have the option to request that the templates file be sent to them by e-mail. The information for doing this is available in the Special Preface section at the beginning of all offline versions of this book.

Letter Writing Resources In addition to the above, the Kit also includes other letter-writing resources : 1. Top 25 Writing Web Sites - My own exclusive fully-researched list of the “Top

25 Online Letter Writing Sites”. 2. Top Writing References - My personal list of recommended writing reference

texts. Instant Letter Writing Kit also includes a detailed Table of Contents and a keyword Index for easy reference.




WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR This Kit was written to help ANYONE who needs to write letters for business or personal reasons. As stated on the previous pages of this section, this book contains multiple templates for the top 25 most written/requested letter types. In addition, samples templates of another dozen frequently written/requested letters are also included. Whether you’re a business person, an educator, a private citizen, a student or an employee of a government or corporation, this Kit will answer your letter-writing needs in over 99% of all cases. If you find a case in which you need a letter, and not one of the sample templates in the Kit can be easily adapted to your need, let me know. If I agree that there is no template in the Kit that can be used for your letter, I’ll write the letter for you! Now, how’s that for a guarantee! DON’T SKIP THE FIRST 40 PAGES! I know from experience that the initial inclination of many people buying this Kit to get help with their letter-writing will be to jump straight into the sample templates without even pausing to look at the advice and tips at the beginning of this Kit. If you skip the first 40 pages you will be missing lots of valuable/useful information! The information included in the “style guide” part of the Kit is based on over 30 years of experience writing thousands of business and professional letters. Whatever you do, DON’T MISS the section on “How To Use The Template Adaptation Method”. That technique alone is well worth the price of this Kit.




REAL-LIFE LETTER TEMPLATES

Before getting into the specifics of how to write personal and business letters, it is important to discuss the presentation of the sample letter templates that are included later in this guide. After all, it’s likely that one or more of the letter templates included here will have significant influence on what you send out in the mail to a business, friend or colleague. All of the sample templates for the various types of letters contained in this Kit are presented in a form that I call fully-formatted “real-life templates”. In fact, it is these “real-life downloadable templates” which make all of my writing kits unique. These are also what my customers have told me they love about my writing kits. Real-life templates are ACTUAL letters written for - yes, you guessed it - “real-life” situations. All of the letters in this Kit were written for real-life situations. I am convinced that real-life templates are by far the most useful tools for people when they need to draft any kind of document. These templates are a quantum leap beyond the traditional one or two line “fill-in-the-blank” cut-and-paste templates. The remainder of this section is an expanded and updated version of an article I first drafted in 2002 entitled “Use Real-Life Templates For Writing Success”. The original version of that article has been published in various eZines and is posted on numerous Web sites across the Internet. “USING REAL-LIFE TEMPLATES FOR WRITING SUCCESS” At some point along the way, most of us have used what are commonly called "fill-in-the-blank" writing templates. We might have used them to write a letter, format an essay, or set-up a resume or c.v.




You know what I'm talking about here. It's those form letter templates that you see in many writing texts and workbooks, that contain blank lines and spaces where you’re supposed to fill in the appropriate words.

Fill-In-The-Blank Template - Sample For example, in the case of a letter, a typical "fill-in-the-blank" resignation letter template would look something like this:

Dear [NAME OF RECIPIENT]: This is to advise you that I will be leaving [NAME OF ORGANIZATION] to occupy a position with [NAME OF ORGANIZATION], as a [NAME OF POSITION], effective [DATE OF DEPARTURE]. As you know, I have been looking for an opportunity in the [NAME OF FIELD] for quite some time now. When I saw that [NEW ORGANIZATION] had a position available I immediately applied and was fortunate to be offered the job. It will not be easy for me to leave [CURRENT ORGANIZATION]. The company and its people have been an important part of my life for the past [X YRS/MOS.]. At the same time, I cannot pass up a career opportunity like this one that offers a future in the field for which I was trained. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for all of your help and support during the years with [CURRENT ORGANIZATION]. I have no doubt that it was the knowledge and experience I gained working for you that helped me obtain the new position. Please pass on to [BOSS OF RECIPIENT] and the rest of the senior management team both my regrets about leaving and my gratitude, for what [CURRENT ORGANIZATION] has done for me. I want to assure them that I am leaving with the highest regard for this innovative company. I wish you and all of my friends and colleagues at [CURRENT ORGANIZATION] the very best in the future. Sincerely, [NAME/TITLE OF ORIGINATOR]

Although this "fill-in-the-blank" approach can work, it has a number of drawbacks:

Disadvantages of Fill-In-The-Blank Templates § Because of their generic nature, they tend to generalize so much that they

resemble a computer-generated form letter.




§ They don't provide specific information on how a professional would properly fill in the required information [i.e. BLANK FIELDS].

§ The content is typically watered-down, using generic terms in order to try and

cover every possible situation. § They don't provide mental stimulation or show how a professional might word

the letter in a specific real-life context. § They are difficult to work with and virtually useless for 98% of real-life

situations, since they lack real-life content.

Real-Life Template - Sample On the other hand, here's what a "real-life template” of that resignation letter would look like for the same situation covered above:

Dear Sharon: This is to advise you that I will be leaving Allied Industries Inc. to occupy a position with Telecom Systems International (TSI), as a Customer Service Agent, effective June 30, 2004. As you know, I have been looking for an opportunity in the customer services field for quite some time now. When I saw that TSI had a position available I immediately applied and was fortunate to be offered the job. It will not be easy for me to leave Allied Industries. The company and its people have been an important part of my life over the past four years. At the same time, I cannot pass up a career opportunity like this one that offers a future in the field for which I was trained. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you sincerely for all of your help and support during the years with Allied. I have no doubt that it was the knowledge and experience I gained working for you that helped me obtain the new position. Please pass on to Jim Dunning and the rest of the senior management team, both my regrets about leaving and my sincere gratitude, for what Allied has done for me. I want to assure them that I am leaving with the highest regard for this innovative company. I wish you and all of my friends and colleagues at Allied Industries, the very best in the future Sincerely, Jessica Amherst Corporate Support Group




Actually, I was overly generous with the fill-in-the-blanks template example I gave on the previous page. My version gave much more information than is normally included in a typical fill-in-the-blank template. They typically consist of two or three generic statements with a bunch of blanks to fill in. Not much help, in my opinion.

Advantages of Real-Life Templates Clearly, there can be no doubt that the "model" that most of us would rather work with if we had to write a similar letter is definitely the "real-life" template. That’s because you can relate to it. It talks about real-life people in a real-life situation that you can identify with. And, you get to see exactly how a professional writer worded it in a particular context. Here are the main advantages of "real-life" templates.

Content With Value Working with "real-life" templates, it is much easier to adapt them to YOUR actual situations because they give you visual and intellectual cues to which you can relate. Naturally, when you see how a copywriter or consultant has dealt with a "real-life" scenario, in terms of word choice, context, and punctuation, it is much easier to adapt effectively to the real-life situation for which you are writing. In that way, the actual content has value.

Easy To Work With "Real-life" templates are just as easy to work with as the other templates. You simply load them into your word processing program, and edit and adjust them to fit your own specific situation. Voila! In a matter of minutes you have a fully formatted real-life document ready to be printed and sent out in the mail.




You also have the comfort of knowing that what you are submitting has already been used in other "real-life" situations, and is grammatically correct.

Real-Life Content With real-life templates, it is much easier to find an adaptable "fit" for the situation for which you are writing. Not only do they give you the final format of a document, their content provides an excellent real-life sample and gives food-for-thought to assist you in the writing process.

Fully-Formatted Final Versions "Real-life" templates are fully-formatted as final documents so that you can see exactly what they looked like when they were sent out in "real-life" situations. They don't look like some kind of "draft" computer-generated form letter. Go ahead. Browse through the sample letter templates found later in this Guide. --------------- Are you back yet? Okay. Now I ask you, would you rather work from a "fill-in-the-blanks" generic template or from a fully-formatted "real-life" template? I have no doubt that the vast majority of readers would choose the latter for all of the reasons given earlier.

Reality Check As already stated, all of the sample templates presented in this Kit are based on real-life situations using real-life content, for all of the reasons described above. However, names, addresses, phone numbers, etc. that could be used to identify a specific individual have been altered to protect privacy.




WORKING WITH REAL-LIFE TEMPLATES Let me take just a minute here to make sure you understand EXACTLY what you are getting with the "real-life templates" in this Kit. Here's the story... When you purchased this eBook Instant Letter Writing Kit online, you also received a set of downloadable real-life word processing templates. This is a virtual "writing toolkit" packed with over 100 fully-formatted real-life letter templates that you can download straight into your word processing program! That’s right. If you purchased the Kit online at my Web site, you have already downloaded the templates in a form that you can work with (MS-Word compatible). Here’s how you use those templates in a typical situation … 1. You have to write a letter in a hurry. 2. You check the eBook and find the template that most closely fits your situation. 3. You open that specific template right into your word processing program! 4. You copy, cut and paste revisions to transform the template to fit your own

specific situation. PRESTO! You've got your fully-formatted, professional-quality final letter all ready-to-go in finished form, just like a real professional would write it. Just think of the writing power this gives you! No more laborious retyping/recopying from scratch. It's like an instant document creator. That’s the power and the beauty of "real-life downloadable templates."




Using real-life templates, it shouldn’t take you more than a few minutes to draft professional quality letters that cover your specific situation. The section of this report titled “Try the Template Adaptation Method” (page 33) explains, in step-by-step detail, how you can quickly and easily adapt any real-life letter template in this Kit to help you draft a letter to fit your own specific situation. WARNING: BEWARE OF AUTOMATIC LETTER GENERATORS If you spend some time online looking for letter writing help you will no doubt come across software programs that “automatically generate” various types of letters. All I can say about these products is “buyer beware”! Although it might have seemed like a good idea at the time, these “software letter generators” are only slightly better than the typical fill-in-the-bank templates. Why, you ask? Here are the problems with the typical letter-writing software: § For each letter type, you get to choose from only a half-dozen or so “standard”

pre-written one-liner phrases to plug into your letter as sentences. § You do not get in-context mental stimulation and visual cues to help you

visualize the finished product, the way that a real-life template does. § The final software-generated-letter is a disjointed collection of weakly-linked

sentences and paragraphs that actually needs a professional editing job just to make it presentable before sending it out.

As I said, software letter generators might seem like a good idea, but they just don’t do the job of a real-life template.




LETTER WRITING GUIDELINES - GENERAL

Even though each type of letter will be somewhat different in content and approach, there are certain basic principles of letter writing that apply and should be observed when writing all types of letters. Based on the feedback that I get from visitors to my writinghelp-central.com Web site, general letter writing is definitely the area where most people are looking for help or guidance. In fact, over 60% of the visitors to my site are seeking some sort of letter writing information or assistance. The majority of those are looking for sample templates that they can use as models in drafting their own letters. This section provides a brief review of the most important guidelines to follow when writing business letters of any type. Thus, they are generally applicable to writing resignation letters as well. A later section of this guide includes additional guidelines and tips specific to the writing of resignation letters. The following is a revised and expanded version of an article I wrote in 2002 entitled “7 Essential Letter-Writing Strategies”. That article has been widely published in eZines and posted on numerous Web sites across the Internet. “LETTER WRITING TIPS AND STRATEGIES” Writing Letters – Tips and Pointers Following are a few practical letter writing tips adapted from the writinghelp-central.com Web site to help you when writing that next letter:




Keep It Short and To The Point As a general rule, letters (both personal and business) should be concise, factual, and focused. Try to never exceed one page or you will be at risk of losing your reader. A typical letter page holds 350 to 400 words. If you can’t get your point across with that many words you probably haven’t done enough preparatory work. If necessary, call the recipient on the phone to clarify any fuzzy points and then use the letter just to summarize the overall situation.

Focus On the Recipient’s Needs While writing the letter, focus on the information requirements of your audience, the intended addressee. If you can, in your “mind’s eye”, imagine the intended recipient seated across a desk or boardroom table from you while you are explaining the subject of the letter to them. What essential information does that person need to know through this communication? What will be their expectations when they open the letter? Have these all been addressed?

Use Simple and Appropriate Language For clarity and precision, your letter should use simple straightforward language. Use short sentences and don’t let paragraphs exceed three or four sentences. As much as possible, use language and terminology familiar to the intended recipient. Don’t use technical terms and acronyms without explaining them, unless you’re certain the addressee is familiar with them.

Reread and Revise It Do a first draft, and then carefully review and revise it. Put yourself in the place of the addressee. Imagine yourself receiving the letter. How would you react to it? Would it answer all of your questions? Does it deal with all of the key issues? Are the language and tone appropriate?




Sometimes reading the letter “out loud” to one’s self can be a big help. When you actually “hear” the words, it is easy to know if it “sounds” right, or not. I do this all the time and it really works.

Use Transition Words and Phrases One method that I always use to help with the flow and sequencing of my text in letters is to employ “transition words”. These are great for allowing you to connect thoughts and create logical sequences between sentences and paragraphs. These words and phrases are usually inserted at the beginning of a sentence and they refer directly back to the previous sentence and/or paragraph without repeating the specific subject. They allow you to maintain a logical flow and make smooth transitions from one thought to the next. Some typical transition words/phrases are: then, as a result, unlike, different, in spite of, next, in addition, like, the same, similar, for example, one such, for instance, accordingly, etc. When using transition words/phrases, remember that they almost always refer back to the previous sentence or paragraph. The following section of this book contains a feature article explaining in detail how to use transition words/phrases.

Eliminate Redundant Words and Phrases There are certain words and phrases that one often sees in business correspondence that tend to make the language more complicated and cumbersome than necessary. For example, some typical “redundant words/phrases” would include: “absolutely essential” instead of “essential”, “actual experience” instead of “experience”,




“attached hereto” instead of “attached”, “as a result of” instead of “because”, “few in number” instead of “few”, etc. These are just a few examples. I’m sure you can think of others. Always look for redundant words/phrases when reviewing your final draft letter. If a word or phrase doesn’t add value and/or meaning, omit it.

Check Spelling and Grammar A letter is a direct reflection of the person sending it, and by extension, the organization that person works for. When the final content of the letter is settled, make sure that you run it through a spelling and grammar checker. To send a letter with obvious spelling and grammatical errors is sloppy and unprofessional. In such cases, the recipient can’t really be blamed for seeing this as an indication as to how you (and/or your organization) might do most other things. Spell-checkers are great, but they don’t catch everything. For example, I often reverse the letters in certain words when typing quickly. i.e. “form” instead of “from.” A typical spell-checker would say these are both valid. Some grammar checkers will flag it as “out of context”, but you can’t always count on that. The only way to be sure in the end that everything is fine, is to have someone with good spelling and grammar skills do a final check. The above basic letter writing tips are mostly common sense. Nevertheless, you would be amazed at how often these very basic “rules of thumb” are not employed when people are writing letters. The following is a slightly revised version of an article I wrote in 2004 titled “Go With the Flow – Use Transition Words and Phrases”. That article is widely published in eZines and posted on numerous Web sites across the Internet.




“GO WITH THE FLOW: USE TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES” One of the most common weaknesses I see in day-to-day writing is poor logical flow from one idea or point to the next. This usually takes the form of a bunch of seemingly unrelated phrases thrown together with little or no sense of sequence, continuity, or relativity. Although the overall subject may be obvious, the words to describe it seem to be scattered on the page like an almost random set of unconnected thoughts. On a regular basis, I see letters and reports in which each phrase seems to be independent of the one before and the one after, when in reality there is an actual sequential and/or logical flow. Consider the following three sentence example: 1. The entire building had to be searched. 2. They started the search on the third floor. 3. It took three hours to complete the search. Notice that the three separate statements are all valid sentences. They convey the bare essential facts of the situation, but nothing more. In fact, they raise almost more questions than they answer. For example: - Was it a serious incident? - Had it ever happened before? - Why did they start on the third floor? - What about the first two floors? - How big/high was the building? - Is three hours a long time for that? - How long does it usually take?




These are all logical (and obvious) questions that the average person might easily wonder about when reading a paragraph made up of the three sentences above. Let's transform these now, using transition words/phrases:

“UNLIKE the previous minor incident, this time the entire building had to be searched.

BECAUSE the fire was still smoking on the first two floors, they had to start on the third,

working upwards to the tenth, covering the first two floors last. CONSEQUENTLY, it took

them a full three hours before they finally completed the typical two-hour job.”

Notice the use of the transition words: UNLIKE, BECAUSE, and CONSEQUENTLY. Using these three words has allowed us to easily connect the three independent sentences and give them a sense of chronological order and logical flow. They also allow us to answer ALL of the obvious questions, either with the transition word itself, or by adding a couple more words. In short, transition words/phrases have turned three dry independent phrases into a little story that makes sense to the reader. These types of words/phrases are ideal for allowing one to easily connect thoughts, and create logical sequences between sentences and paragraphs. They are usually inserted at the beginning of a sentence and normally refer directly back to the previous sentence and/or paragraph without repeating the specific subject. The following paragraphs list some of the more common transition words and phrases that will help make your text more understandable and interesting to the reader. For each one, I have included a typical example of how the word/phrase might be used in a typical sentence. Note that I have capitalized the transition words/phrases for emphasis and easy identification.




Cause and Effect... THEN, he moved on to the next work station. AS A RESULT, the team lost the game. FOR THIS REASON, she always went home for the weekend. WHAT FOLLOWED was as painful as it was inevitable. IN RESPONSE, he quickly upped the ante. THEREFORE, the aircraft overshot the runway. THUS, it was just a matter of time. BECAUSE OF THIS, the results were always the same. CONSEQUENTLY, he was no longer friends with Frank. THE REACTION to this event was swift and decisive.

In Contrast To... UNLIKE last year, this one was highly profitable. DIFFERENT from this, was our approach to manufacturing. IN SPITE OF the dot com bust, the company prospered. ON THE OTHER HAND, earnings per share have increased. ON THE CONTRARY, the impact was less than expected. OPPOSING that idea was the move to new technologies. HOWEVER, that approach may actually prove better. CONTRARY to his findings, the revenue picture is good. NEVERTHELESS, something still appears to be missing.

Sequence and Relativity... THEN, each one followed in numerical sequence. IN ADDITION, a fourth material was added to the mix. TO ENUMERATE, first there was the car, second the boat,... NEXT in the series was the “outrigger” brand line. BESIDES THAT, there were two other possible sources. SUBSEQUENTLY, they went to the next stop in the series. FOLLOWING, there was a reception in the main hall.




Similarity and Comparison... LIKE always, he took the company on a dangerous course. SAME as before, he managed to meet all of the requirements. SIMILAR things were known to happen at certain times. CLOSE to that was the result of the second round of voting. LIKEWISE, they made similar changes in the factory. ALSO, there were the worker’s families to consider. NEAR that one, was where we found the faulty component.

Explanation and Example... FOR EXAMPLE, last year’s model was underpowered. ONE SUCH occurrence was last week’s power outage. FOR INSTANCE, earnings this year are higher than last. TO ILLUSTRATE, he went to Chicago just to make his point. ALSO, there is a new approach to sheet-metal moulding. THAT TOO, just goes to make my point even stronger. TO DEMONSTRATE, I will use the new model throughout. The above are just examples, and there many other such transition words and phrases that are used in everyday conversation or writing. In my opinion, appropriate use of these words/phrases is the number one technique for making any type of writing flow logically and clearly.

Bottom line: Smooth, orderly and logical transitions from one thought to the other, one sentence to the next, and one paragraph to another, are key to creating clear meaning and flow in any document. Appropriate use of transition words and phrases will achieve this for you.




LETTER WRITING FORMATS

IS IT BUSINESS OR PERSONAL? First of all I want to point out that many people are confused as to exactly what “business letters” are. This is covered in more detail in the section later in this book titled “Business Letter Explained”. There are different formats for business and personal letters. Depending on the situation, a letter can be typed on either personal or business stationery.

Use Business Stationery When… § You are using the letter to formalize business discussions that you have already

had with the intended recipient and the main purpose of your letter is to confirm the substance of those discussions.

§ You are writing on behalf of your organization in your official capacity as a

representative or officer of that enterprise. § You feel more comfortable using business, rather than personal, stationery to

deal with the particular situation at hand.

Use Personal Stationery When… § The letter you are writing is directly related to your personal business, and is not

connected in any way to your company or organization. § You are writing to a colleague in a work situation, but your letter is related to

your personal relationship with that person as opposed to your professional relationship. (e.g. condolence letter).

§ You feel more comfortable using personal, rather than business, stationery to

deal with the particular situation at hand.




LETTER FORMATS/STYLES TO USE For letters on Business Stationery, I recommend using Full-Block Style. For letters on Personal Stationery, I recommend using Semi-Block Style (modified). The guidelines above are just that. There are no hard and fast rules on this. Refer to the guidelines and then use the format that you feel most comfortable with in your particular situation. Layouts for the two main letter styles are included on the following pages.




Business Letter Template - Full-Block Style

CORPORATE LETTERHEAD INC. 4300 Davidson Blvd., Suite 1200

Princeton, NJ, 08550

Tel. (201) 345-1986 Fax. (201) 345-1998

[email protected] www.corpletterhead.com

[Letter Date] [Recipient Address] [Address Line 2] [Address Line 3] [Address Line 4] Attention: [Optional Name] Dear [Recipient’s Name]: [Subject Line - Optional: Usually Bold, Sometimes Underlined] The main attribute of the Full-Block style is that everything is justified flush left. This is considered to be the most formal style. Even so, it is my personal favorite since I think it has a clean, uncluttered, and efficient, business-like look. This is paragraph 2 of the actual content of the letter. As stated elsewhere, ideally this should be three for four paragraphs long, and kept short enough that the letter can fit onto one page. This is paragraph 3 of the actual content of the letter. As stated elsewhere, ideally this should be three for four paragraphs long, and kept short enough that the letter can fit onto one page. Closing paragraph. Usually one or two sentences thanking the addressee for their time and attention and providing your contact information (See the templates later). Sincerely, [Name of Signatory] [Title of Signatory] [Reference Initials] Enclosures: [number] cc: [Name 1 receiving copy] [Name 2 receiving copy]

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.corpletterhead.com




Personal Letter Template – Semi-Block (Modified)

[Originator Address] Address Line 2 Address Line 3 Address Line 4 [Letter Date]

[Recipient Address] [Address Line 2] [Address Line 3] [Address Line 4] Attention: [Optional Name]

Dear [Recipient’s Name]: [Subject Line - Optional: Usually Bold, Sometimes Underlined] The Semi-Block style modified for personal letters is the same as the full block-style for business letters except that the Originator Address Block is flush on the upper right. Also, semi-block paragraphs are normally indented, while these are flush left, as per full-block style. This is paragraph 2 of the actual content of the letter. As stated elsewhere, ideally this should be three for four paragraphs long, and kept short enough that the letter can fit onto one page. This is paragraph 3 of the actual content of the letter. As stated elsewhere, ideally this should be three for four paragraphs long, and kept short enough that the letter can fit onto one page. Closing paragraph. Usually one or two sentences thanking the addressee for their time and attention and providing your contact information (See the templates later).

Sincerely, [Name of Originator] [Title of Originator - Optional]

Enclosures: [number – if required] cc: [Name receiving copy – if required] [Name receiving copy – if required]




LETTER FORMATTING GUIDELINES General Formatting Guidelines The following guidelines are adapted from a section of one of my other writing Kits that deals with business letters specifically: http://www.instantbusinessletterkit.com I include them here because they are also applicable to writing just about any professional-looking letter. Again, these are recommended guidelines only. Nothing is cast in concrete. Although I wouldn’t suggest you deviate from them unless you have good reason to do so. Vary them as you see fit, within reason, or as you may require in order to “squeeze” things onto one page. Remember, if you do “squeeze” things a bit, it shouldn’t be easily detectable by the average reader. In other words, it shouldn’t look “squeezed”. If it does, you will have to go to a second page (See the next section for tips on “compressing” a letter onto one page). § Top and bottom, and left and right page margins, can vary from 1 inch to 1.5

inches, but should be (or appear to be) the same all the way around. § I recommend using a font style and size of Times Roman, 12 point. This

combination has a businesslike appearance and is widely used. § The main text of resignation letters should be single spaced, with double spacing

between paragraphs. § A typical one-page letter will have between four (4) and (5) paragraphs. Try to

limit paragraphs to two or three sentences each in order to achieve a balanced look that is not too dense.

§ Generally speaking, skip one (1) line horizontally between the different

components of the letter (as per sample formats, page 23).

http://www.instantbusinessletterkit.com




§ At the top of the letter, try to skip between two (2) and three (3) lines between

the Letterhead Block and the Recipient Address Block. § In the Signature Block, leave three (3) to four (4) lines between the Closing

Salutation (i.e. Sincerely), and the Signatory Name so that there is ample room for a normal hand-written signature.

§ For a general idea of spacing, refer to the sample formats presented earlier. The

most important thing is “relative” spacing. It is not hard to recognize when two items are too close together or too far apart.

§ After you have finished the letter you may want to make some final adjustments

to spacing in order to give it a “balanced” look. In my opinion, the spacing in letters is not an “exact science” as it once was. What you’re looking for is an uncluttered, balanced look that respects the basic format you are following (as per the earlier sample formats). So, don’t get too worked-up about absolute formatting perfection! I’ve written thousands of business letters over the years and I can’t recall one of them ever being ignored because the margins were 0.8 inch rather than 1.0 inch. If it’s uncluttered and well-balanced in appearance (and most importantly, well-written!), it will be taken seriously as a professional business letter. As far as punctuation and capitalization are concerned, please refer to the “real-life templates” provided later on to see specific examples in specific contexts. You can also reference any one of the writing guides listed under “Writing References” in the Resources chapter at the end of this guide.




Tricks For Keeping Your Letter On One Page

There are a number of handy little tricks that I have learned over the years that will help “squeeze” a letter onto one page without it being noticed by the average reader. These tricks can be applied using any standard word processing software program. I’m not sure whether a purist at a secretarial school would approve of some of my methods since they may deviate from certain standards, but I have used them hundreds of times and nobody has ever been the wiser. The main point being that I was able to keep a letter on one page when the first version overflowed by a few lines onto a second page. Below are my “page compression tips”, in the order I suggest you use them: 1. Move the left and right margins out about ¼ in. closer to the edge of the page. 2. Move the top and bottom margins out about ¼ in. closer to the edge of the page. 3. Edit out the one or two word “overflows”. What I mean here is this. After the

letter is drafted take a good look at each paragraph. See if there are any that have an ending sentence that “overflows” onto an additional line for the sake of one word. If so, make a minor edit or two in the paragraph that shortens it a little so that the last word or two will not overflow onto the following line. Using this method, you can often gain two or three extra lines in a one-page letter.

4. Adjust the line spacing on the page. You can gain considerable space on a page

by adjusting the line spacing of the text. For example, if the default line spacing is set to “single” at 12 points try setting it to “exactly” at 12 points if your font size is 12. If that doesn’t do it, try “exactly” at “11 pts”. Often you have to experiment a bit with this one to get the look just right.

5. As a last resort, try reducing the font size by 1 point, say from 12 to 11. 6. If it still doesn’t “fit”, there’s one final thing you can try if you’re the author of

the letter. Go back and edit it one more time. Look for redundant thoughts and phrases, or those that can be combined into one sentence rather than two. Is every




word and phrase absolutely essential to your message? You’ll be amazed at the space savings that this process can result in.

As I said earlier, try the above methods in sequence, one-at-a-time, checking each time to see if your latest change has done the trick for you. What happens if it still won’t fit? Now, if you’ve used all of the above tricks and you still can’t get the letter to fit onto one page, it’s time to admit that you’ve got a real two-pager. In which case, you should then think about “reversing” some or all of the compression tricks that you applied when you tried to “squeeze” the letter onto one page. Then, concentrate on making a balanced looking second page. There’s nothing worse looking than a letter with a one or two sentence second page! So in this case, you may want to actually “stretch” the letter out a bit. The first thing I do in this instance is increase the line spacing and reduce the margins slightly so that there will be a decent sized overflow onto the second page. So, try reversing steps 1, 2 and 4 above. Instead of decreasing the top, bottom and side margins on page one, try increasing them by ¼ in. all around. Then adjust the point size and see if that helps. Again, I have used these little “compression” tricks thousands of times, and nobody has ever pulled out their ruler and chastised me for inaccuracy. The important thing is to end up with a professional-looking letter. In fact, if you did a detailed check on the letter templates included later in this guide you would find that I have used one or more of the above tricks on many of them. But, I’m not telling which ones!




Letter Formats Used In This Guide

This Kit includes more than 100 sample letter templates. Generically speaking, these are all business or personal letters of one description or another. As already discussed, there are two main page formats/layouts that can be used for almost all letters. The previous section of this guide illustrates in detail the two format standards that I recommend you use. Specifically: for business letters use the Full-Block Style (pg. 24); for personal letters I recommend the Semi-Block (Modified) style (pg. 25). For reasons of simplicity, I have chosen to use my personal favorite letter format in all of the templates/samples included throughout this document – Full-Block Style. As shown earlier, this style positions all major sections of the letter flush to the left-hand margin for a clean businesslike look (see sample layout, previous section).

Notes Re: Sample Letter Formats • Although the sample templates in this guide are based on actual situations

involving real people, identifying information has been altered to protect privacy. • All of the sample templates in this guide have been reduced in size slightly to fit

the book’s page format which allows for page headers and footers. • The samples use font size of 11 points rather than the 12 points that I recommend

as ideal. Also, the top/bottom and right/left margins have been adjusted to fit the margins of this book. You may want to readjust them for an actual letter.

The above notes are also included as “Template Notes” on the “About the Templates” page for each set of real-life templates that follow in this guide.




THE WORLD’S “TOP 25” MOST WRITTEN LETTERS

THE “TOP 25” LIST As I stated in the Introduction to this guide, after more than three years of observing and studying the letter-writing help needs of all of my Web site visitors who search for such information, I am in the unique position of being able to state unequivocally which letters are most often searched for, and in what order. Earlier I stated that my research indicates that over 90% of all people searching online for letter writing help are concerned about writing one or more of 20 specific types of letters. In fact, if you add 5 more to that list and increase it to 25 letter types you will cover over 97% of ALL letter-writing needs. Here is my “Top 25” list of the world’s most requested/written letters:

1. recommendation letter, letter of recommendation 2. resignation letter, letter of resignation 3. thank you letter, letter of thanks 4. reference letter, letter of reference 5. business letter, business memo 6. complaint letter, letter of complaint 7. cover letter 8. sales letters 9. introduction letter, letter of introduction 10. apology letter, letter of apology 11. application letter, letter of application 12. termination letter, letter of termination 13. acceptance letter, letter of acceptance 14. donation letter, fund-raising letter




15. condolence letter, sympathy letter 16. appreciation letter, letter of appreciation 17. invitation letter, letter of invitation 18. love letter, romantic letter 19. letter of intent 20. letter of interest 21. letter of credit 22. marketing letter 23. rejection letter 24. invoice letter 25. collection letter

Another dozen or so letters make up the other 3% or so of online letter-writing help requests. These other letters that are also being searched for on a regular basis include: follow-up letter, request for information, order request, compliment letter, congratulations letter, refusal letters, retraction letters, and a few others. With those letters added, this Kit covers 99.9% of all letters ever requested. To the best of my knowledge, this is the very first time that a letter-writing style and template guide has been compiled based entirely on what letter-writing information people are ACTUALLY searching for! What a concept! There’s no longer a reason to give people dozens of sample letters that are rarely, if ever, used. Instead, this Kit provides additional value-added through over 50 pages of how-to guidance AND over 100 templates that you can download straight into your word processor and work with. So, whether you’re a business person, an educator, a private citizen, a student or an employee of a government or corporation, this Kit is designed to answer your letter-writing needs in over 99.9% of all cases.




HOW TO USE THE “TEMPLATE ADAPTATION METHOD” The “Template Adaptation Method” is an approach that allows you to use pre-written templates as a tool for developing your own letters, in no time flat. Using this method in conjunction with real-life templates you will never have to start from a blank page or screen again. Not only will it significantly reduce the time taken to write your letter, it will also result in a better quality final product. I’m about to give up a major “trade secret” here. I first discovered the “Template Adaptation Method” years ago when I was in a job where I had to write a lot of letters and reports. At times, I suffered serious bouts of “writer’s block”. Sometimes I would stare at a blank page, screen and/or off into space for days. Yes, literally for days, sometimes. Then one fateful day I had a “eureka experience” that changed my writing life forever! I’m not sure whether it was by chance, or fluke, or divine intervention, but that particular day I stumbled onto a powerful secret for overcoming “writer’s block” -- instantly. As is usually the case when one makes one of these little “breakthroughs” in life, it was incredibly simple. It was so obvious. So, here is the big secret that I discovered for beating writer’s block: Place an actual sample of the type of document you have to write, directly in your line-of-sight. The closer the sample is to what you have to write, the better. For example, if you have to write a reference letter, try to find a previous letter of reference that you have written. If you haven’t done one before, get one that somebody else has written and post that up.




That’s it! It really is that simple. I call it the “template adaptation method”. Don’t ask me exactly how/why it works, but it does. My theory is that it gives your brain a concrete visual cue as to what you need to write in a very specific way. Staring at a blank page/monitor, or out into white space, just doesn’t give you this kind of cue. In fact, the very first thing I did when I sat in front of my computer to write this eBook was to open a copy of one of my previous eBooks right into my word processor. I then placed a hard copy of that eBook on the book stand/easel to my left, right beside the computer monitor. I was able to immediately start writing the new eBook on the spot using that “real-life template document” in my word processing program, and by referring to the hard copy document beside me, as required. Although the final versions of the document have completely different content, that doesn’t seem to matter. Because the structure and the flow are similar, and that seems to be the key. Using my “template adaptation method” for this eBook was a great time-saver. I’m sure it took about half the time it would have, working from a blank page/screen. Not only that; it also allowed me to get started almost instantly. So, if you are blocked at all in writing your own letters, and staring into space, or at a blank page or screen, I urge you to find an appropriate real-life template and give my “template adaptation method” a try. I guarantee, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. As I stated above, I personally use the “template adaptation method” all the time when I’m writing letters, essays, reports, and just about any other document.




In fact, thanks to this method, it is rare that I ever have to write anything anymore from a blank page or screen. And that’s a great relief, I can tell you!

A Step-by-Step Approach

Here’s a step-by-step way to apply the “template adaptation method” in developing your own letters. 1. First, scan through all of the sample letters included in this guide and find one

that is closest to what you need. Look at all the samples just to be sure. For example, if you need to write a recommendation letter you will want to check the reference letter samples as well to see if there’s a better “fit” there.

2. Once you’ve found a letter template “along the lines” of what you’re looking for

in terms of approach and style, copy and paste it into your word processor.

3. Start drafting your letter on the same page as the one you just selected and pasted, one paragraph at a time. This point is very important. Make sure you do it one paragraph at a time.

4. Proceed through the entire document, writing your letter, line-by-line,

paragraph-by-paragraph, until you have progressed through the entire letter.

5. Read through the paragraphs you have created and make sure they make sense and flow smoothly and logically, roughly in step with the flow of the template.

6. Now, delete all of the template paragraphs. What will remain is your own

personalized letter, but using the approach and style of the template. On the following pages I’ll give you an example that shows exactly how this “template adaptation method” works, in practical terms.




A Real-Life Example

I’m going to give you a detailed example here so you will understand exactly what I’m talking about. To keep things simple, I’ll use the resignation letter template that is included earlier in the chapter on Real-Life Templates (pg. 9). I chose that one because it represents a straightforward letter-writing situation. Here’s that entire real-life resignation letter template:

Dear Sharon: This is to advise you that I will be leaving Allied Industries Inc. to occupy a position with Telecom Systems International (TSI), as a Customer Service Agent, effective June 30, 2004. As you know, I have been looking for an opportunity in the customer services field for quite some time now. When I saw that TSI had a position available I immediately applied and was fortunate to be offered the job. It will not be easy for me to leave Allied Industries. The company and its people have been an important part of my life over the past four years. At the same time, I cannot pass up a career opportunity like this one that offers a future in the field for which I was trained. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you sincerely for all of your help and support during the years with Allied. I have no doubt that it was the knowledge and experience I gained working for you that helped me obtain the new position. Please pass on to Jim Dunning and the rest of the senior management team, both my regrets about leaving and my sincere gratitude, for what Allied has done for me. I want to assure them that I am leaving with the highest regard for this innovative company. I wish you and all of my friends and colleagues at Allied Industries, the very best in the future Sincerely, Jessica Amherst Corporate Support Group

The above example is a fairly typical resignation letter submitted by someone who has been fairly happy in their job but managed to get a better one elsewhere.




Now, here’s the new resignation letter scenario for which you need a new letter: § You’re leaving EnerCell Industries to accept an administrative position in the

same field withTreadway Manufacturing Systems Inc. § Your last day will be Friday November 30, 2004. § You’re leaving with mixed feelings. You couldn’t get a promotion at EnerCell so

you had to look elsewhere. § You want to thank the addressee, Michael Scribner in particular for mentoring

you over the years. Now let’s use the above template to create the new letter, paragraph by paragraph.

Paragraph 1 – Template Version: Dear Sharon: This is to advise you that I will be leaving Allied Industries Inc. to occupy a position with Telecom Systems International (TSI), as a Customer Service Agent, effective June 30, 2004.

Paragraph 1 – New Version: Dear Michael: This is to advise you that I have accepted a position with Treadway Manufacturing Systems Inc. and will therefore be leaving EnerCell effective Friday November 30, 2004.

Paragraph 2 – Template Version: As you know, I have been looking for an opportunity in the customer services field for quite some time now. When I saw that TSI had a position available I immediately applied and was fortunate to be offered the job.

Paragraph 2 – New Version: Although I’ve been quite happy at EnerCell, the company wasn’t able to offer me the type of advancement I was seeking so I was forced to look elsewhere. When I approached Treadway they made me a generous offer that I just couldn’t refuse.




Paragraph 3 – Template Version: It will not be easy for me to leave Allied Industries. The company and its people have been an important part of my life over the past four years. At the same time, I cannot pass up a career opportunity like this one that offers a future in the field for which I was trained.

Paragraph 3 – New Version: I will be sad to leave my many friends and colleagues at EnerCell after working there for close to a decade. Nevertheless, I believe it is time for me to move onward and upward in my field. They say an opportunity like this might only come once in a lifetime.

Paragraph 4 – Template Version: I would like to take this opportunity to thank you sincerely for all of your help and support during the years with Allied. I have no doubt that it was the knowledge and experience I gained working for you that helped me obtain the new position.

Paragraph 4 – New Version: I would like to take this opportunity to thank you in particular for your support and encouragement over the past few years since we started working together. I will always regard you as one of my work-life mentors.

Paragraph 5 – Template Version: Please pass on to Jim Dunning and the rest of the senior management team, both my regrets about leaving and my sincere gratitude, for what Allied has done for me. I want to assure them that I am leaving with the highest regard for this innovative company.

Paragraph 5 – New Version: Please thank the members of Management Council on my behalf and tell them how grateful I am for all of the valuable experience and training I have received at EnerCell over the years.

Closing – Template Version: I wish you and all of my friends and colleagues at Allied Industries, the very best in the future

Closing – New Version: I would like to wish you and my friends and colleagues at EnerCell the very best for the future. Now let’s copy and paste all of the “New Version” paragraphs developed above into a new template and see what it looks like:




Dear Michael: This is to advise you that I have accepted a position with Treadway Manufacturing Systems Inc. and will therefore be leaving EnerCell effective Friday November 30, 2004. Although I’ve been quite happy at EnerCell, the company wasn’t able to offer me the type of advancement I was seeking so I was forced to look elsewhere. When I approached Treadway they made me a generous offer that I just couldn’t refuse. I will be sad to leave my many friends and colleagues at EnerCell after working there for close to a decade. Nevertheless, I believe it is time for me to move onward and upward in my field. They say an opportunity like this might only come once in a lifetime. I would like to take this opportunity to thank you in particular for your support and encouragement over the past few years since we started working together. I will always regard you as one of my work-life mentors. Please thank the members of Management Council on my behalf and tell them how grateful I am for all of the valuable experience and training I have received at EnerCell over the years. I would like to wish you and my friends and colleagues at EnerCell the very best for the future. Yours sincerely, Richard Monstrasse Administrative Services Unit

Voila! We have a brand new resignation letter based on the original template but also different, dealing with a totally different resignation situation. So, as you can see from the above example, using the real-life template it was an easy matter to quickly adapt the approach, style and contents of the original resignation letter to create a new one to fit the new situation. Once you get into using this method you’ll find that your adapted letter will start to develop a life of its own. Soon, you’ll begin adding things and you’ll start plugging in your own words and phrases.




In the end you’ll have a very different letter - one adapted to the specific situation you’re writing the letter for. In most cases, your new letter will be better than the template you’re working from. The important point being that; by using the “template adaptation method” you didn’t have to start from a blank piece of paper or computer screen.

Benefits of the “Template Adaptation Method”

The main benefits of the template adaptation approach are the following: § Downloading the template into one’s word processor and developing a new

letter, paragraph by paragraph, saves significant time over starting from scratch. § Using a pre-written real-life template simplifies the process of finding an

approach for your letter. § The template will stimulate your thinking process and will give you new ideas

for your letter. § The template will act as a “checklist” to make sure you’ve covered everything. § You know that you’re using a “model” that has been used successfully by others. In short – the “template adaptation method” will give you a superior letter. So, if you ever struggle with getting started writing your letters, I highly recommend that you try the “template adaptation method”. It will really simplify your letter-writing process.




TOP 25 LETTERS – THE TEMPLATES

This chapter of the Kit contains a separate section for each of the Top 25 most requested/written letters, the origin of which were explained in detail on page 31.

1. recommendation letter, letter of recommendation 2. resignation letter, letter of resignation 3. thank you letter, letter of thanks 4. reference letter, letter of reference 5. business letter, business memo 6. complaint letter, letter of complaint 7. cover letter 8. sales letters 9. introduction letter, letter of introduction 10. apology letter, letter of apology 11. application letter, letter of application 12. termination letter, letter of termination 13. acceptance letter, letter of acceptance 14. donation letter, fund-raising letter 15. condolence letter, sympathy letter 16. appreciation letter, letter of appreciation 17. invitation letter, letter of invitation 18. love letter, romantic letter 19. letter of intent 20. letter of interest 21. letter of credit 22. marketing letter 23. rejection letter 24. invoice letter 25. collection letter

For the Top 10 letters there are 5 templates each. There are also “how-to articles” for the first eight. For letters 15 to 25, there are 3 templates each.




1 – RECOMMENDATION LETTERS The following is an excerpt from my recently released eBook "Instant Recommendation Letter Kit - How To Write Winning Letters of Recommendation". That eBook is the only definitive information source that deals exclusively with how to write ALL types of recommendation letters. Here's part of one chapter:

“Recommendation Letters Demystified”

There is a lot of confusion about recommendation letters. Recommendation letters are often referred to in a number of different ways including: letters of recommendation, reference letters, letters of reference, commendation letters, and sometimes even, performance evaluation letters. This terminology can be quite confusing, especially when these terms are often used interchangeably, sometimes to mean the same thing, sometimes to mean something different. In fact, there are five (5) main types of "recommendation letters", as follows:

• recommendation letters - job related • letters of recommendation - college/university related • reference letters - job and community related • commendation letters - employment and community related • performance evaluation letters - employment related

Even so, people often throw around the term "recommendation letter" without really knowing exactly what they're talking about. This causes a lot of misunderstanding when someone asks for a recommendation letter, and the person being asked has a totally different concept of what is being requested.




This can cause serious problems at times. That's because, of all letters ever written on a personal or business basis, recommendation letters are among the most critical because they almost always have important implications in the workplace or community, or in the often difficult quest for acceptance into a college or university. Below are some definitions that should clear up any confusion.

Recommendation Letters Employment-Related Also called a recommendation letter, it is an employment-related letter that is specifically requested by the person the letter is being written about. Such a letter is usually positive in nature, and written by someone who knows the subject well enough to comment on the skills, abilities, and specific work attributes of that person. Typically, an employment-related recommendation letter conveys one person's view of the work performance and general workplace demeanour of another person that has worked under their direct supervision. The requestor of the letter normally requests such a letter to use when applying for a promotion or a new job. These letters are usually addressed to a specific person to whom the requestor has been asked to submit the letter. Letters of Recommendation

College- and University-Related Another situation where recommendation letters are a common requirement is for entry into undergraduate and graduate programs at a college or university. Graduate programs often require two or more letters of recommendation as part of the program admission requirements.




Normally, these college-related recommendation letters are written at the request of the program applicant by people who know them and are familiar with their academic career to date, and their future education and career aspirations. These people could include: former teachers, community leaders, school faculty members, administrators, academic supervisors, and/or employers. These letters are always addressed to a specific person and are normally included as part of the program admission application. Reference Letters These are more general letters that are often requested by employees when they leave the employ of an organization. Normally factual in nature, they are usually addressed, "to whom it may concern" and provide basic information such as: work history, dates of employment, positions held, academic credentials, etc. Reference letters sometimes contain a general statement (as long as a positive one can be made), about the employee's work record with the company that they are leaving. Employees often submit these letters with job applications in the hope that the letter will reflect favorably on their chances for the new position. Character reference letters are sometimes required by employers when hiring individuals to perform personal or residential services such as child care, domestic services, etc. These letters are usually drafted by a former employer and deal with such attributes as honesty, dependability, and work ethic/performance. Commendation Letters These are normally unsolicited letters, which typically commend an employee to their supervisor for something outstanding or noteworthy that the employee has done. Usually, the employee would have to do something “above and beyond” what is normally expected of them in their job to warrant such a letter.




Typically, these letters are written by co-workers, or managers from another area of the organization who were suitably impressed while supervising the person on a short- term project. Commendation letters are also used to nominate individuals for special awards of recognition for outstanding public service. Performance Evaluation Letters These are usually detailed assessments of an employee's work performance as part of an organization's regular employee review process. Typically, they are written by the employee's supervisor and are attached to the individual's performance appraisal and placed in their personnel file. The format and structure for this type of letter is more often than not dictated by the employee performance evaluation system or process that is in-place wherever the subject of the letter is employed. However, in the academic environment in North America there is often a requirement for a specific “performance evaluation letter” for the assessment of academic staff. Know What You're Writing So, if your dealing with recommendation letters, here's a word of advice. The next time someone asks you to write a "recommendation letter" for them, make sure you know exactly what you're getting into. Or, if you're the one doing the asking, make sure you know specifically what you're asking for. If you're not quite sure, check out the templates on the following pages for answers:




About the Templates

Recommendation letters are also referred to as “letters of recommendation”. However, as the previous article explains, there is a lot of confusion between the terms and meaning of “recommendation letter” and “reference letter”. Consequently, sometimes the terms “reference letter” and “letter of reference” are used to mean the same thing as “recommendation letter”. Please read the article for clarification.

Recommendation Letter Templates Included Recommendation 1: Employment – Favorable Recommendation 2: Employment - Part-Time Student Recommendation 3: College-Related - Undergraduate Recommendation 4: College-Related - Ph.D. Candidate Recommendation 5: Teaching Award Nomination

Template Notes • Although the sample templates in this guide are based on actual situations







Recommendation 1: Employment - Favorable (print a Recommendation Letter on company letterhead paper)

July 30, 2004

Mr. Rodney Sims Director, Marketing Services Newport Industries Inc. 1500 Elm St. Dallas, TX 75270

RE: Employment Recommendation – Maria Fuentas Dear Rodney Sims: This is in response to your recent request for a letter of recommendation for Maria Fuentas who worked for me up until two years ago. Maria Fuentas worked under my direct supervision at Jasminder Technologies for a period of five years, ending in May 2003. During that period, I had the great pleasure of seeing her blossom from a junior marketing trainee at the beginning, into a fully functioning Marketing Program Coordinator in her final two years with the company. This was the last position she held before moving on to a better career opportunity elsewhere. Maria is a hard-working self-starter who invariably understands exactly what a project is all about from the outset, and how to get it done quickly and effectively. During her two years in the Marketing Coordinator position, I cannot remember an instance in which she missed a major deadline. She often brought projects in below budget and ahead of schedule. Ms. Fuentas is a resourceful, creative, and solution-oriented person who was frequently able to come up with new and innovative approaches to her assigned projects. She functioned well as a team leader when required, and she worked effectively as a team member under the direction of other team leaders. On the interpersonal side, Maria has superior written and verbal communication skills. She gets along extremely well with staff under her supervision, as well as colleagues at her own level. She is highly respected, as both a person and a professional, by colleagues, employees, suppliers, and customers alike. Two years ago, when Ms. Fuentas announced her resignation to take up a new position with a larger company, we were saddened to see her leave, although we wished her the greatest success in her new undertaking. Even now, two years after her departure, I can state that her presence, both as a person and as an exemplary employee, is still missed here. In closing, as detailed above, based on my experience working with her, I can unreservedly recommend Maria Fuentas to you for any intermediate to senior marketing support position. If you would like further elaboration, feel free to call me at (416) 765-4293. Sincerely, Robert Christie Director, Marketing and Sales




Recommendation 2: Employment - Part-Time Student (print a Recommendation Letter on corporate letterhead paper)

April 25, 2004

Ms. Diana Dumbrell Recreation Director Pinewood Lake Camp Pinewood Lake, ON H3P 4L2

RE: Employment Recommendation - Chelsea Salzberg Dear Ms. Dumbrell: Chelsea asked me to write this to you based on our working association over the past three summers. I understand she is applying for a Senior Program Coordinator position with you. I have known Chelsea Salzberg since the summer of 2000. We first met when she became a volunteer counselor at the City’s Pineview Day Camp for Kids. She volunteered that summer since she was not yet old enough to be a paid worker. She did this to both serve her community and to gain valuable counseling experience. From the beginning, Chelsea proved to be an eager and highly-motivated worker. During her first year with us she worked with the 5 to 8 year-olds and did a great job of keeping them busy with a variety of activities and crafts. Many of these group activities were Chelsea’s own creation, and I had to spend very little time supervising her once she got started. The kids loved her too. It was a great first summer. During the summers of 2000 and 2001, Chelsea worked at the day camp as a paid counselor. The first year she was a regular Counselor and in 2000, she moved on to Senior Counselor duties. I really can’t say enough about how well Chelsea handled her duties those two summers. She was definitely my top performer. She has a special knack for communicating with kids in all age groups. They just seem to relate very well to her and hang on her every word. No doubt, this has a lot to do with Chelsea’s unusually friendly and outgoing demeanor. Needless to say, she was very well liked by the kids, her peer counselors, and the City managers. One particular strength that Chelsea demonstrated consistently, was her leadership ability. This became particularly apparent last year when she organized and supervised two off-site field trips. The trips were considered great successes by both participants and staff, and went smoothly. Overall, Chelsea is a dedicated, hard-working counselor who always puts the needs of the kids before her own. She is a cooperative and willing employee, always ready to go the extra mile. Accordingly, without hesitation I am pleased to recommend Chelsea Salzberg for the Senior Program Coordinator position at your camp. I have no doubts that she will do an excellent job. Please call me at 732-1576 if you have any questions. Sincerely, Patricia Heywood Recreation Program Director, City of Ottawa




Recommendation 3: College-Related - Undergraduate

(print a Recommendation Letter on company letterhead paper)

October 25, 2004

Ms. Jillian Shepperd Director of Admissions Admissions and Recruitment Office MacDonald University 1449 Dorchester Ave. W., Rm 451 Montreal, QC, H3A 1T4 Dear Ms. Shepperd: I am very pleased to write this recommendation on behalf of Layla Bell. Layla has been a student in the accelerated liberal arts program at Holymount High for her entire five years of high school. During that period I have observed her grow into a poised and accomplished young woman. She is an exceptional student with excellent grades resulting from diligent work habits. Layla has superior interpersonal skills and works equally well independently or in a group setting. She also displays good leadership skills when involved in group projects. She is very well liked and respected by both her peers and her teachers. Among her many service activities at the school, Layla was a coach of the junior track team for the past two years and she was a member of the senior cross-country team. She also took part in the Mentoring Program and helped a number of juniors navigate their way through their first year of high school. In addition, Layla was involved in organizing a number of fund-raising projects at the school, including a team marathon event that raised over $5,000 for cancer research. Layla has shown an ongoing interest in world affairs and international development. It is my understanding that she intends to pursue an Honors degree in Political Science or Sociology. She has traveled extensively and has written outstanding reports with observations on conditions she has witnessed throughout the world. I believe that Layla Bell has tremendous potential as a student and I feel quite confident that she would be an asset to both student life and academics at MacDonald University. Yours truly, Allan S. Fenton Vice-Principal




Recommendation 4: College-Related - Ph.D. Candidate (print Recommendation Letter on corporate letterhead stationery)

March 5, 2004 Dr. Milton Quigley Associate Dean School of Advanced Psychology University of Wisconsin Graduate School Milwaukee, WI 52501-0340 Dear Director of Admissions:

Re: Regina Halldon It is a pleasure for me to be able to write a letter of recommendation supporting Regina Halldon’s application for admission to your Ph.D. program in psychology. I have taught psychology at St. Francis University for 17 years and Regina is one of the most outstanding undergraduate students that I have ever encountered. Regina Halldon earned a total grade point average of 3.85 out of a possible 4.0 counting all of her psychology courses over three years as an undergraduate. This is one of the highest grade averages achieved in our undergraduate psychology program in recent years. In her final year Ms. Halldon published an exceptional paper on Jungian Psychology in the student journal, PsychedIn. Her final paper was based on Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason, wherein Kant argues, largely in response to Hume, that the mind brings an elaborate a priori structure to its interactions with the world. This is Kant's transcendental psychology which contains arguments for a number of theses about the nature of a subject that has knowledge of objects. Patricia Kitcher and Peter Strawson have radically different positions on how to interpret Kant's Subjective Deduction and the transcendental psychology contained therein. Strawson rejects Kant's transcendental psychology completely; Kitcher advocates a limited acceptance of it. Ms. Halldon’s paper presents Kant's transcendental psychology and argues forcefully against a number of Kitcher's and Strawson's criticisms. I have urged her to rewrite the paper and submit it to a good journal. Finally, Regina Halldon is a personable, teachable, hard working and highly intelligent student. She is extremely articulate and always stands out among her peers for the clarity and cogency of her arguments. Many of my students make good use of email but the emails from Ms. Halldon were about the most interesting communications that I have ever had from a student. I have rarely had a student who acts so quickly and positively to address critical comments and suggestions. In short, Regina Halldon is one of those rare students who clearly has the potential to make a difference. I could not recommend her more highly. Yours sincerely, Randall Hurtibise, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology




Recommendation 5: Teaching Award Nomination (print award nomination Recommendation Letter on corporate letterhead stationery)

February 25, 2004 Philip B. Lear, M.D. Associate Dean for Educational Affairs Washington University School of Medicine 1425 Lexington Avenue Pullman, WA, 99164 Dear Dr. Lear:

Re: Washington U. Trustee Teaching Award - Nomination of Dr. A. Dharwan I am writing this in support of Dr. Anand Dharwan’s nomination for a Washington University Trustee Teaching Award. I have known Dr. Dharwan for the past 18 months, as a fellow in the division of Clinical Pharmacology/Gastroenterology and Hepatology. During that period I worked very closely with him in the clinic and on various research projects. As a result, I have become very familiar with Dr. Dharwan as a teacher. Accordingly, I am writing this because it is my sincere belief that he is eminently qualified to be a recipient of a Washington State University Trustee Teaching Award. Over the past year and one-half Dr. Dharwan has demonstrated to me time and again that he is an exceptional communicator and gifted teacher. In my opinion, he is the perfect model for a teacher in a school of medicine. He is a highly dedicated professional who knows how to motivate his students to strive for excellence. Both in the lecture hall and in person, Dr. Dharwan is a dynamic and powerful communicator who possesses the gift of being able to make complex subjects understandable. In spite of these formidable gifts, he is a humble and approachable person who loves to share his extensive knowledge with others. Dr. Dharwan has played a major role in helping me choose a career in Clinical Pharmacology Gastroenterology/Hepatology. Under his tutelage I have been motivated to strive for and achieve exceptionally high standards in patient care. In our work together on several research projects he provided me with outstanding mentorship in the disciplines of: study design, protocol writing, data analysis, and reporting. In many areas, both personally and professionally, Dr. Dharwan has taught and encouraged me to meet challenges that I had never before thought possible. In closing, it is with sincere conviction that I enthusiastically recommend that Dr. Dharwan be selected as a recipient of a Washington University Trustee Teaching Award. Sincerely, Reiner G. Pinter, M.D.




2 – RESIGNATION LETTERS

“Resignation Letters: Don’t Let Yours Backfire On You”

It turns out that “tips and templates on how to write resignation letters” is the third most sought-after information at my Writing Help Central Web site. So, when I looked into the subject more closely, I was surprised to find that there is not a lot of guidance available in guide book form on how to write a proper and appropriate resignation letter. In fact, a recent visit to the world’s largest bookstore www.amazon.com revealed that there are no “how to” books available there that deal with the art of writing resignation letters. This is interesting, because when you really look into it, you realize that whether you leave a job gracefully and appropriately will almost certainly have career and personal implications, and can be almost as important as writing a resume/cv or a cover letter. The Emotions Behind Resignation Letters A resignation letter will be one of the most emotionally-charged business letters that you will ever write. The sentiments behind it are invariably volatile because of what it represents. In fact, studies have found that leaving a job can be almost as stressful as the break-up of a marriage. Nevertheless, it is highly advisable that not too many of those emotions, especially any negative feelings, get transferred to the written page. As much as possible, a resignation letter should be treated as a business letter, just like any other such letter. There are a number of reasons why resignation letters have more emotional implications than most other personal or business letters. Here are the obvious ones:

http://www.amazon.com




They are highly personal because they normally mark the severance of both professional and personal relationships, sometimes of a long-term nature. They typically signify the end of a period in a person’s professional and/or personal life. And they represent the beginning of a new period or phase in someone’s personal and professional life, conjuring up the fears that often arise with an uncertain future.

Key Characteristics Of Resignation Letters Following are a number of primary characteristics unique to resignation letters.

Not Just Job-Related

Mention “resignation letter” and 99 of 100 people will think exclusively about job-related situations. In reality, there are a number of areas and circumstances for which recommendation letters can be required. For example, in addition to leaving jobs, resignation letters can be required for such situations as: stepping down from a committee, opting out of a course at school, leaving a club or fellowship, and others.

Sensitive and Delicate When you submit your resignation letter it will have implications for you, the organization you are leaving, and the colleagues and friends you are leaving behind. You must realize that regardless of the real reasons behind your departure, the message received by many will be that you’re leaving because the organization and/or people just don’t measure up any more. This is a natural human reaction for many people and can’t be entirely avoided. Just be sensitive to it and don’t say, do, or write anything that unnecessarily aggravates such feelings of abandonment.

Simple Formality or Big Surprise

A resignation letter can simply be the formalization of a conversation that already took place with your boss, or an announcement you made in a meeting. On the other hand, a resignation letter can be tendered completely unannounced, as a total surprise. In fact, this is often the case in the real world. If this latter case applies in your situation, you will have to be prepared to deal with any one of a number of




possible reactions from the organization and your colleagues, ranging from total acceptance, to anger, bargaining, and resentment.

Positive Beats Negative

The way in which you resign from an organization can have significant implications, both career-wise, and personally. Regardless of the circumstances and/or atmosphere surrounding your departure, you will be well-advised to take whatever measures you can to neutralize any negative factors that may be in play. The approach and wording used in the resignation letter can go a long way towards achieving this aim.

Always A Balancing Act Writing a letter of resignation can be a bit of a balancing act. You want to be honest, clear, and firm regarding your intentions to leave, while at the same time you don’t want to alienate the employer you are leaving. It would be nice for that door to remain open, or at least ajar, just in case you want to enter it in the future. After all, you never know what may happen down the road. For all you know, your current employer could end up buying the company you are moving to. So be careful about limiting your future options.

Backlash Can Be Swift Negative impacts from a poorly written or inappropriately worded resignation letter can be almost immediate. For example, if you are hoping to get a good recommendation or reference from the employer you’re leaving, a negative resignation letter can only hurt your letter of recommendation/reference. Also, even if you don’t request a recommendation letter there is nothing to stop future potential employers from checking back with organizations you have worked for. So here's a word for the wise. Before you blindly jump into writing a resignation letter, you might want to spend some time thinking about it and finding out how to write one that is proper and appropriate, so that it won't come back to haunt you.




About the Templates

Resignation letters are also referred to as “letters of resignation”. Please read the previous article for more information on resignation letters.

Resignation Letter Templates Included Resignation 1: Accept New Position Resignation 2: Return to School Resignation 3: Health & Safety-Related Resignation 4: Having a Baby Resignation 5: Job Burn-Out








Resignation 1: Accept New Position

(print this type of Resignation Letter on regular stationery or corporate letterhead)

789 Ferguson St.

Exeter, PA, 52094

June 10, 2004

Alfred Shrimpton Director, Marketing Lithinc International Inc. 151 North Valley Dr. Exeter, PA, 52187 Dear Alfred: This is to advise you that I have accepted the position of Marketing Manager, with Gandolfo Networks Inc., based in Buffalo New York. My last my last day of work here will be June 27, 2004. This will give me three full weeks from next Monday to complete the current marketing program design that I have recently been putting the finishing touches on. In addition, during this period I will be able to bring both you, and my deputy Aaron Roach, up-to-speed on all of the operations and outstanding issues in my department. I am very much looking forward to the professional challenge being offered to me by Gandolfo, which as you know, is the market leader in its field. Incidentally, during the recruiting process, the Gandolfo people were very impressed with the experience and knowledge that I had gained here at Lithinc International over the past five years. In closing, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to you as my supervisor, as well as to my many friends and colleagues at Lithinc. I have truly enjoyed my years working with all of you, and am grateful for the many learning and growth opportunities I was given over the years. I wish all of you at Lithinc International continued success. Sincerely, Ryan Alexander




Resignation 2: Return to School

(this type of Resignation Letter normally printed on corporate letterhead)

14 Station Street Apartment 450

Memphis, TN, 31065

December 2, 2004 Mr. Lawrence Kelleher General Manager, Operations FibroFab Plastics, Inc. Memphis, TN 31052 Dear Lawrence: It is with regret that I am sending this to inform you of my decision to resign from my position as Chief of Operations at FibroFab, effective January 1, 2004. After considerable soul-searching I have finally made up my mind and decided to return to university full-time to complete my studies in industrial engineering. I’m sure this comes as no great surprise to you since I sought your advice on this matter a number of times. Indeed, I thank you very much for the honest and objective advice that you provided me with on those occasions. Please be assured that between now and my departure date I will make every effort to assist you in any way required to ensure that there is a smooth transition. Until I leave, it will be business as usual as far as I am concerned. Should you wish, I would be pleased to assist you in the staffing process as you look for a suitable replacement. I have truly enjoyed my experience at FibroFab over the past three years. During that time I have worked alongside many fine individuals and have learned a great deal. I appreciate the numerous opportunities that you and the company gave me to improve myself and my skills. I particularly wish to express my sincere gratitude to you personally, and to a few others on the FibroFab management team, for your sage advice which helped me reach my decision to return to school. I am very excited as I take this next step in my career development, and am grateful for the degree of support that I enjoy from both management and staff at FibroFab. Of course, upon completion of my degree, I would be very happy to return should the company have room for a freshly trained industrial engineer at that time. In closing, I thank you all for your advice and support and I wish you all continued success. Yours sincerely, Rod Carruthers




Resignation 3: Health & Safety-Related

(this type of Resignation Letter normally printed on regular stationery)

1501 War Memorial Drive Dartmouth, NS

B5C 3A4

September 30, 2004 Mr. Fred MacMaster Director, Manufacturing Operations East Coast Manufacturing Inc. 155 Airport Road Halifax, NS, B3A 1T9 Dear Fred: This is to advise you that effective immediately I will not be returning to work on the production floor of East Coast Manufacturing, for health-related reasons. This decision comes after numerous consultations with my personal physician and various specialists with respect to my rapidly deteriorating health. Clearly, I cannot continue to work in such a stressful and polluted environment if I hope to maintain any kind of decent quality of life. As you know, I took my case in front of the Occupational Health and Safety Committee on more than half a dozen occasions over the past three years, and still management chose to ignore my concerns. Faced with this kind of indifference, I have consulted with legal counsel. They have advised me to first, resign immediately for the good of my health, and second, pursue legal action through the courts. Accordingly, I would ask you to please have Personnel draw up all of the appropriate termination papers and have them sent to me at the above address as soon as possible. I would just like you to know that I don’t hold any personal grudges towards you as an individual. Based on our nine-year association, I have the greatest respect for you as a person and a friend. I sincerely appreciate the efforts that you made on my behalf, particularly over the past year, and I thank you for that. However, the time has come where I must make a choice between my career and my health, and I therefore have no alternative but to leave ECM under these sad circumstances, and hope that it’s not too late for me to regain my health. Sincerely with regret, Brendan Fitzgerald Manager, Chemical Operations




Resignation 4: Having a Baby


958 Marsden St.. Apt. No. 710

Minneapolis, MN 55401

June 10, 2004

Ms. Jennifer Smale Manager, Production Operations POD Press Inc., Publishers 350 West Fifth Street Suite 1200 Minneapolis, MN 55402 Dear Jennifer: Further to our conversation yesterday, this is to confirm my intent to resign from POD Press Inc. effective Friday June 27, 2004. As you know, I am expecting a baby in mid-September. After much discussion, Ron and I have decided that it would be best for us as a family if I took a few years off while we raise our new family. We are hoping to have at least one more child after this one, so I expect to be out of the work force for at least seven years, assuming that I stay at home until both kids are in school. I know I will be sad to leave all of my friends at PPI, many of whom have been my adopted “family” for the past six years. I will also miss my job as Production Coordinator. It was a daily challenge that I really enjoyed, and I believe I excelled at most of the time. Nevertheless, I am really looking forward to one of the most important challenges that life can give us – that of raising a family. Thanks so much Jennifer for your friendship and support over the years. I have no doubt that you will be the first person I contact for advice when I decide to re-enter the workforce. Please convey my regrets about leaving the company to Ken Stanfield at the next management meeting. Very sincerely, Brenda Knox




Resignation 5: Job Burn-Out


29 Forrestor Road

San Diego, CA 92120

September 15, 2004 Ms. Rosalind del Buey Manager, Human Resources IdeaTech Innovations Inc. 10250 Pacific Heights Blvd. Suite 1700 San Diego, CA 92121 Dear Ms. del Buey: The purpose of this letter is to advise you that I plan to resign from IdeaTech effective Friday October 3, 2004. This will give you almost three weeks to find a replacement for me. You don’t know me personally but I am aware that my supervisor, Nancy Sheridan, has spoken to you about my situation on a few occasions. I have been suffering from a number of stress-related illnesses for the last three years and my condition seems to be getting worse. Not only do I have a case of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) but I recently came down with a case of shingles. In addition to that, my hair has been falling out in clumps for the past six weeks. My doctor advises me that these are all well known stress-related conditions. Accordingly, he recently told me in no uncertain terms that I need to make some major changes in my life and that a good place to begin would be with my job. I have to agree with him on that because, of all the stress-inducing situations in my life, my job as Customer Services and Support Agent has got to be by far the worst. For the first couple of years I found the stress level at Triple I was somewhat manageable. However when the company introduced the call handling quota system and customer satisfaction ratings three years ago things suddenly changed for me. Being constantly under pressure to perform up to certain quality levels and the need to meet arbitrary call-handling targets have caused my stress levels to skyrocket. Combine that with having to constantly deal with irate and abusive customers on the phones, and I just can’t cope any more. Please understand that I don’t have anything against the company. My Supervisor has done whatever she could to reduce my stress levels. Unfortunately it seems to be the very nature of the work that causes me problems. I am just not cut out to deal with people’s problems and negativity. So, after a few months rest and recuperation under my doctor’s supervision, I intend to look for an entirely different kind of work. I wish everyone at the company well and I thank you for your understanding. Sincerely, Marilyn Pitcairn cc: Nancy Sheridan




3 – THANK YOU LETTERS When I first started tracking the information preferences of people visiting my Writing Help Central Web site I was surprised to find how many folks were seeking information on how to write thank you letters. In fact, “thank you letter” information and sample templates are the third ranked destinations at that Web site. However, I caution you to be careful if you conduct a “thank you letter” keyword search using an engine such as google or yahoo. Those top 10 or 20 search results will definitely give you the wrong idea about thank you letters in the broad sense. Looking at those results alone you’ll find that the vast majority of so-called experts seem to think that there is essentially only one kind of thank you letter – one written after a job interview. In reality, this is a very narrow view that fails to recognize the literally dozens of situations for which thank you letters are often warranted. I believe that this proliferation of references to employment-related thank you letters is simply a reflection of the massive number of Web-based businesses involved in the online career and job hunting services industry.

“When and How To Say Thank You In Writing”

The purpose of a thank you letter is self-explanatory. Write one when you want to formally thank a person, company or institution for something they have done for you or your organization, which you consider to be out of the ordinary. Simply receiving a contracted service as requested does not normally warrant a formal thank you. However, service provided to you above and beyond your normal expectations can often call for a special thank you letter. Normally, it should be a clear case of “above and beyond the call of duty”, as the saying goes.




And yes, thank you letters can also be important follow-up mechanisms in certain employment-related situations. Generally speaking, there are two main types of thank you letters -- business thank you letters and personal thank you letters.

Business Thank You Letters There are many situations in business that can warrant a thank you letter. Here are a few generic examples of thank you letter situations for businesses and institutions: • Appreciation for any type of special consideration extended by another

organization. • Thanking a speaker for a presentation at an annual board meeting. • Customer appreciation letters – thanking them for their patronage. • Thank you letters to employees for exceptional service or performance. • Thanks to an individual or organization for a customer referral. • Commendations to volunteer service workers for their personal contributions. These are just a few examples. I’m sure you can think of many more situations that might demand a thank you letter from a business or institution.

Personal Thank You Letters As with business situations, there are many instances in day-to-day life that can warrant a formal thank you letter. Following are a few typical situations that would typically require a personal thank you letter: • As a follow-up after a job interview and/or job offer.




• To a company or institution in appreciation for exceptional customer service. • Letter of appreciation to a teacher for a positive influence on your child. • To friends/neighbors for their exceptional support during a difficult period. • Thanks to a service club or agency for their support to your family. • Social occasion thank yous. Again these are just examples. New situations similar to these arise on a regular basis in our daily lives that call for a formal thank you letter.

7 Tips For Writing Thank You Letters

Following are a few tips that will help you whenever you encounter thank you letter situations in your business or personal life.

1. Make Sure It’s Appropriate One of the main issues with respect to thank you letters is to know when to send one. As a general rule, I would say “better to be safe than sorry”. However, make sure there is something noteworthy about the situation. A thank you letter for a routine situation doesn’t make sense and dilutes its meaning.

2. Write It Promptly It is always best to send a thank you letter as soon as possible after the event for which you are doing the thanking. It will help with the level of sincerity in your letter if the event is still fresh in your mind. In any case, a delayed thank you letter will seem like an obligatory afterthought to the recipient.




3. Remind The Recipient In your introductory sentence, make it very clear that it is indeed a thank you letter and that it pertains to a specific event, situation and/or person. This will eliminate any confusion on the part of the recipient as to the purpose of the letter.

4. Make It Short and Direct Get straight to the point and never exceed one page. Thank you letters should be short, direct, sincere, and to the point. Business thank yous should be type-written but personal thank you letters can be hand-written or typed, as appropriate.

5. Make It Personal By definition, a thank you letter is a sincere personal gesture from one individual to another. It should be expressed as a heartfelt personal sentiment, even when written in a business situation. At the same time, strive to be balanced in approach and don’t be overly effusive.

6. Always Write it To One Person Always write your thank you letter to an individual, not an organization or group. Even if it’s a situation where a group was involved, write your letter to the senior person in the group and/or the group spokesperson. Ask that person to please pass on your sincere appreciation to the other people in the group, and name them in your letter if possible. (Contrary to advice given by some so-called experts, in my experience, writing a group letter is never appropriate and achieves little).

7. Check Spelling and Grammar As when writing all letters make sure you carefully check your spelling and grammar. This is even more important for thank you letters, since they are almost always a sincere statement of appreciation from one person to another. Be sure to double check the spelling of all names used in the letter. There’s no quicker way to blow your credibility and sincerity than to misspell someone’s name.




Sending thank you letters when appropriate is important in both business and personal life. Individuals and companies that do not send thank you letters are seen as ungracious and perhaps not worthy of future good deeds or special treatment. So, whenever it’s warranted, make sure you send an appropriate thank you letter. Invariably, thank you letters are very well received and appreciated by recipients, and the sender’s reputation is generally enhanced in their eyes.




About the Templates

Thank you letters are also referred to as “letters of thanks”. They are sometimes confused with “letters of appreciation” which are slightly different. See the separate section later in this book re: appreciation letters. Please read the previous article for more information on thank you letters.

Thank You Letter Templates Included Thank You 1: Employment - Job Interview Thank You 2: Employment - Informal Meeting/Interview Thank You 3: Employment – Job Lead Follow-Up Thank You 4: Community Service Thank You 5: Customer Survey Participation








Thank You 1: Employment - Job Interview

(print personal Thank You Letter on personal stationery)

953 Montreal Rd.

Ottawa, ON K2G 3H5

August 15, 2004

Ms. Carolyn Semanthic Manager, Administrative Services Lunar Solutions Inc. 1295 Stewart Rd., Unit 53 Toronto, ON, M5W 1E8 Dear Carolyn Semanthic: I would like to sincerely thank you for the time that you spent with me last Thursday, briefing me on your company’s background and operations, and interviewing me for the position of Administive Coordinator, in your organization. I was very pleased with the interview from my perspective, as I hope you were from yours. Now that I have met you and some of your colleagues, and know more about the activities of Lunar Solutions, I am even more excited about the possibility of working with you and your team than I was before the interview. I feel that this job would be a perfect fit for my skills and abilities, and that I would definitely be a value-added addition to your company. If you have any follow-up questions, please don’t hesitate to cal me at (613) 820-7359 or be-mail at [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you in the near future. Yours sincerely, Jason Alexus





Thank You 2: Employment - Informal Meeting/Interview


1253 Montrose Ave. Suite 1705

New York, NY 20145

November 15, 2004 Mr. William Mirander President and CEO Goldshield Investments Limited 3750 Wall Street, Suite 2800 New York, NY 20145 Dear Mr. Mirander: I would like to thank you very much for the generous amount of time that you spent with me last week as I researched my paper on the international securities market. Would you please pass on my thanks to your colleagues Ron Mitchell and Martha Steel for the time that they gave me. The information and contacts that you gave me are going to be invaluable as I continue with my research and then begin drafting my thesis. I was particularly grateful for your openness and frankness in talking about some of the more controversial issues in the U.S. banking industry. Thanks so much for opening the doors for me at both AmeriBank and the U.S. Treasury Department. I have already followed up on your leads and have booked appointments with both Mr. Baldwin and Mrs. Allegria, exactly as you had suggested. I really appreciate you calling those people on my behalf. My Thesis Advisor, Barry Greenwood was very impressed with that. I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by your tentative offer of employment once I complete my thesis. As I stated, I would be very interested in discussing this with you in detail after I have completed my Thesis Review Board session and have an idea as to what my availability time frame will be. For your information, my Review Board will take place on December 18, 2003. The Board normally issues its results within a week, so I will know exactly what the situation is by early January 2004, and will contact you at that time. Again, thanks so much for your help. Sincerely, Brent L. Pallant




Thank You 3: Employment – Job Lead Follow-Up


1210 Lindstrom Ave. Madison, Wisconsin 53706

August 14, 2004

Ms. Leanne Radcliffe Director, Corporate Operations POD Publishing Inc. 501 Makeway Drive New York, New York 01234 Dear Leanne: I would like to sincerely thank you for the time you spent with me during my visit to POD’s east coast publishing plant last week. Your insightful answers to my many questions gave me a much better understanding of the activities of the printing and publishing side of your operations. Further to your suggestion, I have enclosed a couple of samples of business reports that I have recently written. The second report has been officially adopted by the West Coast Printer’s Association as their “5 Year Strategic Plan”. The other report, is my assessment of the future of print-on-demand publishing in the North American publishing industry. As I mentioned, having recently completed my M.B.A. at Haas, through their executive MBA Program, I am quite comfortable conducting these types of studies. My interest in working with POD on the east coast remains quite serious. In addition to the sample reports, I have also enclosed a copy of my latest resume that will give you a good picture of my background and experience. If you have any questions or need any further information, I shall be happy to provide it. I hope to be hear from you in the near future. Yours sincerely, Bruce E. McCabe, M.B.A. Enclosures




Thank You 4: Community Service

(type corporate Thank You Letter on corporate letterhead paper)

December 10, 2004

Mr. Robert Christian Chairman 4th Annual Meadowbrook Community Fundraising Picnic 1105 Carling Ave., Suite 1501 Ottawa, ON, K2G 1P8 Dear Robert: The President, the Chairman, and of the Board of Directors have each asked me to make sure that you receive our collective appreciation for the wonderful job you and your committee did in organizing this year’s fundraising picnic. As everyone knows by now, this year’s event was a resounding success, raising twice as much money after expenses, as it ever has before. We are all well aware that this unprecedented success was a direct result of your skilful guidance of the committee in organizing and executing the event. A number of our major corporate donors have telephoned to say how much they and their families enjoyed the event and how they are already anticipating next year’s picnic. This has never happened before, and it means that we can already count on some major sponsorships for next year. This will really ease the burden of next year’s picnic chairperson and augers well for another record-setting event. Again, we sincerely thank you for your selfless gifts of time, energy, and organizational skills in making this the most successful one-day fund-raising event in the history of this hospital. Yours sincerely, Marsha Lawson Executive Director Community and Corporate Fundraising




Thank You 5: Customer Survey Participation

(print Thank You Letter on company letterhead paper) March 25, 2004 Mr. Bernard Armstrong 120 Nicholson Road, No. 505 Newmarket, ON L3Y 7V1 Dear Mr. Armstrong: Re: Customer Preference Survey – Your Participation Gift I would like to personally thank you for participating in our recent survey of customer preferences related to your purchase of office supplies and equipment. You were one of an elite group of 100 of our most valuable customers who were hand-picked to participate in the survey. We wanted to know about the unique preferences of our very best customers when it comes to both products and services offered by Office Essentials. Your input will be valuable to us as we continue to develop and implement our one-to-one “customer preference program”. Over the next few months you will start noticing the implementation of new programs and strategies that resulted directly from survey feedback. As promised when you signed up, in appreciation for your participation in the survey we would like to offer you a special gift. Enclosed you will find a merchandise gift certificate for $50 that can be redeemed against the purchase of any product or service offered by Office Essentials at any one of our 87 retail outlets nationwide. We thank you for your ongoing support of Office Essentials and we look forward to a continued relationship with you based on high quality products and services backed by unsurpassed customer service. Yours sincerely, Les Woods Manager, Customer Service Programs Encl.




4 – REFERENCE LETTERS Information about how to write letters of reference, as well as sample reference letters, are among the most popular links clicked by visitors to my www.writinghelp-central.com Web site. Reference letters are generally requested when the requestor intends to apply for a new job, or when they are trying to get accepted into a college or university program. Typically, a reference letter is a general statement that gives factual information about a person’s history by confirming details such as: dates, positions held, credit status, educational and/or professional qualifications. Reference letters sometimes include a general assessment as to a person’s overall character or work performance. Of course, the usual expectation is that a reference letter or recommendation letter will be positive overall. This section contains a revised version of an article I wrote in early 2002 entitled “Recommendation Letters Demystified”. That article was published in selected e-Zines and posted on various Web sites across the Internet. I have re-titled the article for this eBook on reference letters.

“Reference Letters Defined”

There is a lot of confusion about reference letters and recommendation letters. Reference letters are often referred to in a number of different ways including: letters of reference, recommendation letters, letters of recommendation, commendation letters, and sometimes even, performance evaluation letters.




This terminology can be quite confusing, especially when these terms are often used interchangeably, sometimes to mean the same thing, sometimes to mean something different. Below are some definitions that should clear up any confusion, followed by some tips and strategies on how best to deal with recommendation letters.

Letters Of Reference

Employment-Related These letters are usually general in nature. They are often requested by employees when they leave an organization. Normally factual in nature, they are usually addressed, "to whom it may concern" and provide basic information such as: work history, dates of employment, positions held, academic and professional credentials, etc. Employment reference letters sometimes contain a general statement (as long as a positive one can be made), about the employee's character and/or work record with the company that they are leaving. Employees often submit these general reference letters with job applications in the hope that the letter will reflect favorably on their chances for the new position.

Character/Personal-Related Character or personal reference letters are sometimes required by employers when hiring individuals to perform personal or residential services such as child care, domestic services, etc. These letters are usually drafted by a former employer and deal with such characteristics as honesty, dependability and work ethic/performance.

College- and University-Related Letters of reference are often required by colleges/universities for entry into undergraduate and graduate programs at a college or university. Graduate programs




often require two or more letters of reference as part of the program admission requirements. Normally, these college-related reference letters are written at the request of the program applicant by people who know them and are familiar with their academic career to date, and their future education and career aspirations. These people could include: former teachers, community leaders, school faculty members, administrators, academic supervisors, and/or employers. These letters are always addressed to a specific person and are normally included as part of the program admission application. Note: Many colleges and universities refer to “letter of reference” and “reference letter”, while many others use the terms “recommendation letter” or “letter of recommendation - both groups actually meaning exactly the same thing.

Other Reference Letters In addition to employment and college-related character reference letters, other types of reference letters include: credit references from banks, business reference from a company with which one has done business, attendance/credential references from an educational institution, etc.

Letters Of Recommendation

Employment-Related Also called a recommendation letter, it is typically an employment-related letter that is specifically requested by the person about which the letter is being written. Such a letter is normally positive in nature, and written by someone who knows the subject well enough to comment on the skills, abilities, personality, and specific work attributes of that person.




Normally, an employment-related recommendation letter conveys one person's view of the work performance and general workplace demeanor of another person that has worked under their direct supervision. The requestor of the letter normally requests such a letter from their current/former supervisor when applying for a promotion or a new job. These letters are almost always addressed to a specific person to whom the requestor has been asked to submit the letter.

College- and University-Related Another situation where recommendation letters are a common requirement is for entry into undergraduate and graduate programs at a college or university. Graduate programs often require two or more letters of recommendation as part of the program admission requirements. Normally, these college-related recommendation letters are written at the request of the program applicant by people who know them and are familiar with their academic career to date, and their future education and career aspirations. These people could include: former teachers, community leaders, school faculty members, administrators, academic supervisors, and/or employers. These letters are always addressed to a specific person and are normally included as part of the program admission application. Note: Many colleges and universities refer to “letter of recommendation” and “recommendation letter”, while many others use the terms “reference letter” or “letter of reference to mean exactly the same thing.

Other Recommendation Letters In addition to employment and college admission-related recommendation letters, other types of recommendation letters include: award recommendations, scholarship recommendations, and community/service-related recommendations.




Commendation Letters These are usually unsolicited letters. They typically commend an employee to their supervisor for something outstanding or noteworthy that the employee has done. Usually, the employee would have to do something “above and beyond” what is normally expected of them in their job to warrant such a letter. Typically, these letters are written by co-workers, or managers from another area of the organization who were suitably impressed while supervising the person on a short-term project. Commendation letters are also used to nominate individuals for special awards of recognition for outstanding public service.

Performance Evaluation Letters These are usually detailed assessments of an employee's work performance as part of an organization's regular employee review process. Typically, they are written by the employee's supervisor and are attached to the individual's performance appraisal and placed in their personnel file. The format and structure for this type of letter is more often than not dictated by the employee performance evaluation system or process that is in-place wherever the subject of the letter is employed. However, in the academic environment in North America there is often a requirement for a specific “performance evaluation letter” for the assessment of academic staff at colleges and universities. A number of real-life templates of academic-related performance evaluation letters are included in the appropriate section of this guide.




About the Templates

Reference letters are also referred to as “letters of reference”. However, as the previous article explains, there is often confusion between the use and/or meaning of the terms “reference letter” and “recommendation letter”. Thus, the terms “recommendation letter” and “letter of recommendation” are often used to mean the same thing as “reference letter”. See the article for clarification.

Reference Letter Templates Included Reference 1: Character – Friend, Acquaintance Reference 2: College - Graduate Studies, Education Reference 3: Employment - MIS Manager Reference 4: General - Community Service Reference 5: Career - Student Teacher (neutral)








Reference 1: Character – Friend, Acquaintance (print Personal Character Reference Letter on standard stationery)

501 Kemper Ave.

St. Louis, MO, 63139

October 14, 2004 [Recipient address- Line 1] [Recipient address- Line 2] [Recipient address- Line 3] [Recipient address- Line 4] To Whom It May Concern:

Re: Character Reference – Jason Sunderland The purpose of this is to provide a character reference for Mr. Jason Sunderland who I have known as a classmate, roommate, and friend for a period of five years. I first met Jason in our freshman year at Adirondack College. We were both studying a general arts program there and became acquainted through a number of common classes that we shared. By second year, we had become friends and decided to take an off-campus apartment together. We shared that living arrangement until we both graduated last year. Accordingly, having gotten to know Jason so well over the past few years, I believe puts me in a position to provide you with a pretty accurate assessment of his character. As a student, Jason was a hard-working and highly committed to his education. I believe that his excellent transcripts will attest to that fact. In addition, he was quite involved in a number of extra-curricular activities including the track and field team and the school newspaper. In fact, in his last two years he was Assistant Editor of the “Campus Inquirer.” Outgoing, and always willing to help someone out, Jason was very popular with his fellow students. As a roommate, Jason was a great choice. He was very neat and tidy at all times and he liked things in the apartment to be kept orderly. He made a point of cleaning his own room and the common living areas on a regular basis. He socialized occasionally at home but was always respectful of my needs, and he and his guests kept the noise down and ended their activities at a reasonable hour. As a friend, Jason Sunderland is a standout. He is a loyal, honest, considerate, and supportive individual who has the ability to see and understand things from another person’s perspective. He is a great direct communicator and knows how to raise and discuss common living issues and problems in a non-threatening manner. He is hyper-sensitive and is always tuned into how another person might “feel” in a given situation. He likes to have fun too. During our years at school we maintained an ongoing friendly rivalry on the squash courts. To tell the truth, I really can’t think of anything of consequence on the negative side of the personality ledger when it comes to Jason. All in all, I would have to say that Jason Sunderland is a fine, well-balanced person with an abundance of positive qualities. Sincerely, Ronald Marrion




Reference 2: College - Graduate Studies, Education (print Reference Letter on corporate letterhead paper)

September 5, 2004 [Recipient address- Line 1] [Recipient address- Line 2] [Recipient address- Line 3] [Recipient address- Line 4] Dear Admission Officer:

Letter of Reference - Jeanine Chambers I am writing this letter of reference at the request of Jeanine Chambers who is applying for your graduate program in Educational Studies. She has asked me to provide this general letter that she may show to any prospective graduate school to which she may apply. This letter is written on a confidential basis and therefore should be shared only with individuals in your school/program who are directly involved in the selection process. In addition, this letter should not be shown to Jeanine Chambers who has waived the right to see the letter. I have known Jeanine Chambers as an undergraduate student for the past two years. During that time she was a student in three of my courses: Media, Technology and Computers and Education. These were both small third year classes so I was able to get a good look at Jeanine’s performance and capabilities. Number one, she is an excellent communicator, both orally and in writing. Her papers and presentations were without exception, excellent. Her grade point average of 3.87 (4.0) for the two courses reflects her dedication to excellence. I was always impressed by her depth of research and she surprised me a number of times by taking an innovative and thought provoking look at generally accepted standards and norms. She wrote a wonderful paper on “Education and the Fear of Technology” which I suggest you read if you ever get the chance. Jeanine was an active participant in class discussions and was convincing in making her points. If she has one Achilles heel it is her tendency to be somewhat impatient, bordering on intolerant, at times with the points of view proffered by some of her less capable peers. Although to be fair, she was often reacting to poor research and/or preparation on the part of the peer. Based on my association with Jeanine Chambers, I believe that she would be a welcome addition to any graduate program in Pedagogical Studies, particularly if there is a strong research component. Yours collegially, Barbara Miller, Ph.D. Department Head, Secondary Education




Reference 3: Employment - MIS Manager (print Corporate Reference Letter on company letterhead paper)

October 12, 2004 [Recipient address- Line 1] [Recipient address- Line 2] [Recipient address- Line 3] [Recipient address- Line 4] To Whom It May Concern:

Re : Employment Reference – Neil Shankman Neil Shankman worked under my direct supervision for the eight-month period, from Jan. 2004 to Aug. 2004. During that time he performed the role of Manager MIS and later he provided advice as a Senior Consultant. Supervising him in those capacities, I believe that I was able to gain a fair idea of Neil’s performance, capabilities, and the primary personal attributes which he brought to those jobs. Neil is a hard-working self-starter who invariably understands exactly what a project is all about from the outset and how to get it done quickly and effectively. During my tenure as a Director at AstroCorp I cannot remember an instance in which Neil missed a deadline. In fact, he often brought projects in ahead of schedule, which allowed him to complete extra unplanned work at times. Neil is a resourceful, creative and solution-oriented person who is frequently able to come up with new and innovative approaches to his assigned projects. He functioned well as team leader when required, and he worked effectively as team member under the direction of other team leaders. On the technical and engineering side, he also produced excellent results, even though he much preferred creative assignments. Nevertheless, I think it is fair to say that Neil never let his creative passion get in the way of his technical obligation. In closing, as detailed above, based on my eight months working with him, I am pleased to recommend Neil Shankman for whatever the position he may qualify for at your company. I believe he is the type of employee that any organization would be happy to have in their workforce. Sincerely, Steven Farr General Manager, Operations




Reference 4: General - Community Service

(print Personal Reference Letter on regular stationery)

455 Bendix Avenue Suite 515

Hartford, CT 06105

April 29, 2004

[Recipient address- Line 1] [Recipient address- Line 2] [Recipient address- Line 3] [Recipient address- Line 4] To Whom It May Concern:

Reference – Charles Renfroe I have known Charles Renfroe since 2000. Charles and I belong to the same church where we have served together on a number of committees involved in community service in the greater Hartford area. In the four years I have known Charles I have been impressed with his dedication to any endeavor he has been involved with. He consistently demonstrates a giving nature and is very generous with his free time. For example, last year he participated in a mission trip with his young adults group to build housing for deprived people in Guatemala. To be part of that project he had to finance his own trip and he also lost one week of wages. Two years ago he used his own summer vacation to lead one of our youth groups on a wilderness canoe/camping trip. Charles demonstrated his honesty and integrity just recently when he found a purse in a parking garage that contained over $300 and many credit cards. He not only turned the purse in at the hotel front desk, but he looked up the phone number of the owner and called her to make sure she was aware of where to locate it. Due to his accounting training he also serves as the trusted treasurer of two service clubs. I trust that you will give serious consideration to selecting Charles for the position for which he is being considered. I believe that he would be an excellent addition to any organization. Yours in service, Reggie Idlewild




Reference 5: Career - Student Teacher (neutral)

(print teaching-related Reference Letter on school letterhead stationery) November 12, 2004 [Recipient address- Line 1] [Recipient address- Line 2] [Recipient address- Line 3] [Recipient address- Line 4] To Whom It May Concern:

Student Teacher Reference – David Goss David Goss was a student teacher under my supervision for ten weeks from January 15, 2004 to April 12, 2004 at Oakmount Valley Secondary School. During that term David taught three Algebra 1 classes. Oakmount is a comprehensive high school in an urban setting with a large and diversified student population. Overall, David adapted quickly to the “inner city” situation and progressed well as a student teacher. He demonstrated good command of the subject matter, was very cooperative, and a pleasure to work with. He was always receptive to my suggestions and was continuously striving to improve his teaching methods. David did encounter a few discipline and control problems with two of his large classes. However, after focusing on improving his class management skills and techniques, David was able to better manage these classes. I believe that this is one area that David needs to work on. In spite of his class management problems David was able to develop good relationships with the majority of students. He was well-liked by his fellow teachers. David is a great person and very dedicated to his teaching aspirations. I am sure that with his kind of commitment, coupled with continued experience and training, David will be a fine addition to the teaching profession. Sincerely, Ian Salter Department Head, Mathematics




5 – BUSINESS LETTERS As I mentioned earlier, information about how to write business letters is among the most sought-after at my www.writinghelp-central.com Web site. In the Introduction I pointed out the fact that there is a lot of confusion as to what exactly constitutes a true business letter. Indeed, if one checks out many “how to” reference guides on writing business letters, this confusion becomes apparent. Often, these guides include just about every type of letter imaginable all mixed in together and loosely labelled as “business” letters. The publisher probably told them that the term “business letters” would sell better than “general letters”. Unfortunately, such guides lack focus and are all over the place. On the other hand, this guide you are reading right now is “strictly business”, so to speak. This section contains a revised and expanded version of an article I wrote in early 2002 entitled “Writing Business Letters That Get The Job Done”. That article was published in selected e-Zines and posted on numerous Web sites across the Internet.

“Business Letters Explained”

Despite the widespread use of e-mail in commerce today, traditional business letters are still the main way that the majority of businesses officially communicate with their customers and other businesses. This is especially true when businesses want to formalize an agreement or an understanding. E-mails are great for all of the preparatory work, but a formal business letter is still most often needed to "seal the deal". There are two basic categories of business letters: business-to-business, and business-to-customer.

http://www.writinghelp-central.com




Business-to-Business Letters Most business-to-business letters are written to confirm things that have already been discussed among officials in meetings, on the telephone, or via e-mail. Can you imagine the letters that would have to go back and forth to cover all of the questions and possibilities that can be covered in a one-hour meeting, a half-hour phone call, or a few quick e-mails? The main purpose of a typical business letter is to formalize the details that were arrived at in those discussions and communications, and to provide any additional information that was agreed upon. Over the years, certain general standards have evolved in the business world that the vast majority of businesses use in drafting their business-to-business correspondence. Typical business-to-business letters include: price quotations, meeting confirmations, order confirmations, joint venture proposals, order confirmations, project status reports, news releases, invitations to participate, etc. There is also a type of internal business letter that is known as a “business memorandum”. Business memoranda are used almost exclusively for formal correspondence within a company.

Business-to-Customer Letters There are many different types of business-to-customer letters. The typical “customer” is defined here as an individual “consumer”. Although technically, other businesses can also be “customers” at some point.




Nevertheless, the vast majority of day-to-day business letters are sent to regular, everyday members of the general public who purchase products and services from the company sending the letter. Typical business-to-customer business letters include: sales and marketing letters, information letters, order acknowledgement letters, order status letters, collection letters, credit status letters, response to complaint letters, service follow-up letters, announcement letters, among others. As with business-to-business letters, over the years certain general practical standards have evolved in the business world that the vast majority of businesses use when drafting letters to existing and potential customers. Of course, going in the other direction are customer-to-business letters. These include such correspondence as: order letters, order status inquiry letters, requests for information, complaint letters, and others. Since these are customer-generated letters, there is no particular expectation that they follow any particular letter-writing standard. Typically, they are handled just like any other piece of personal correspondence.




About the Templates

As mentioned in the foregoing article, there is a lot of general confusion as to what exactly constitutes a true “business letter”. Indeed, if one checks out many “how to” reference guides on writing business letters, this confusion becomes apparent. The fact is that there is no ONE type of “business letter”. There are many. Some of those letters normally classified as “business letters” are included later on in this guide in their own separate section; i.e. cover letters, sales letters, etc. So, for the purposes of including five (5) business letter templates in this section I have decided to include one typical letter template for each of the “Top 5” most popular business letters, based on searches by visitors to my writing help Web sites.

Business Letter Templates Included: Business 1: Cover - Annual Report Business 2: Introduction - Business Associate Business 3: Sales - Targeted Business Mail-Out Business 4: Reference - Former Customer Business 5: Customer Service Error All five of these letters rank in the Top 25 most requested/written letters. Therefore, in addition to these individual templates under “Business Letters”, each one also has a separate section dedicated to it later in this Chapter.




Business 1: Cover - Annual Report

(print business Cover Letter for a report on business letter paper)

October 31, 2004 Ms. Karen Lambton Chief Financial Officer Dynamic Solutions Inc. 2005 40th St. North Bergen, NJ 07045 Dear Ms. Lambton: Further to your telephone inquiry yesterday, enclosed is a copy of Merrick’s Annual Report for the 2001-2004 operating year. As I mentioned, the financial results in terms of earnings per share need to be qualified as per the notes included on pages 28 and 29. As explained there, we had a number of extraordinary transactions last year which caused the earnings picture to appear understated in comparison with what we expect for this year. In fact, it is our firm expectation that this year’s per share earnings figures will be twice that of last year. With respect to the numerous questions you had regarding our publishing operations, would you please have a look at the summary of operations on pages 31 to 33. There is plenty of specific detail there that will likely answer most of your questions. If you still have questions after reviewing that information, please feel free to give me a call at 235-9867. If I can’t answer your questions I will put you in touch with those who will be able to. Thanks very much for your interest in Merrick Industries. If I don’t hear from you in the meantime, I look forward to getting your feedback at the November CFO Society meeting. Yours sincerely, Herman Reddfield Chief Financial Officer Enclosure (1)




Business 2: Introduction - Business Associate

(print business Introduction Letter on corporate business letter paper) April 13, 2004 Ms. Manuela Fernandez Senior Partner New Vistas Consulting Inc. 1110 Beacon Street, Suite 3500 Boston, MA 02108 Dear Manuela: The bearer of this letter is Roberta Olson, the person I spoke to you about on the phone last week. As I explained then, Roberta is moving back to the east coast next month for personal reasons. I would very much appreciate it if you could spare a few hours to get to know Roberta. If you do, our loss here at McMeaghan and Partners could well be your gain at New Vistas. Roberta has been one of our top management consultants for the past five years. During that time she has taken on some difficult assignments and has consistently achieved outstanding results. She has become our top expert on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and has been asked to speak on the subject frequently. She has also published a number of oft-quoted papers on that subject as well. Roberta has demonstrated a strong leaning towards one-to-one marketing ever since we participated in the Executive MBA program together at Kellogg in the early 1990s. If you have any clients that are interested in developing a one-to-one CRM strategy, Roberta would be the perfect expert to work with you. In any case, I’ll let you draw your own impression of Roberta when you meet with her. As you suggested, I have asked her to call you and arrange a meeting as soon as she gets settled in Boston. It was great talking to you last week Manuela. It took me back too the “good old days” at Kellogg. Please give me a call so we can get together the next time you come to Seattle. All the best, Charles Meredith Managing Partner




Business 3: Sales - Targeted Business Mail-Out

(print Sales Letter on corporate business letter paper) August 28, 2004 Mr. Ricardo Hession President and CEO Network Solutions Inc. 1253 Centrepointe Place Calgary, AB, T5J 4C1 Dear Mr. Hession: You are one of a few select Calgary business executives that we have chosen to advise about our exclusive limousine services. Accordingly, we respectfully ask you to kindly give this one-page letter your brief attention so that we can convey a special introductory offer to you. First, let us tell you about A1 Airport Limousine Services. We have been operating an executive limousine service in the Calgary area for over five years. We started with three cars, and have built-up our fleet to over 20 high-end luxury vehicles. We offer the following services: • Luxury business class, private road transportation – anywhere in the Calgary region; • A fleet of over 20 Ford Lincoln Town Cars – all of them are Model Year – 2004; • Professional, multilingual, uniformed drivers – many with backgrounds in security services.

In addition to Corporate Business Class Transportation, we also provide Special Transportation Services including sight seeing city tours, and transportation for special events and weddings. These special services might be of interest to your company or its guests from out of town, or even to your own family and friends (we give “family outing discounts” on weekends). Since we started, we have built-up an impressive corporate client list, including: • The Government of Alberta • The Government of Canada • Numerous prominent law firms

Since your company is new to our service, we would like to take this opportunity to make to you a special introductory offer of 10% off of every $500 in business that your company places with us. This special good will discount is in addition to our already extremely competitive rates. We thank you for your time and attention. We sincerely hope that you will seriously consider using A1’s limousine services so that your company may take advantage of our special offer. For more information on our services and/or rates, please don’t hesitate to have your staff contact me at 488-5887, or by e-mail at [email protected]. Yours very sincerely, Tony Americus President





Business 4: Reference - Former Customer

(print Corporate Reference Letter on corporate business letter paper)

November 20, 2004 To whom it may concern: Re: Customer Reference – Van Dusen Graphics Inc. I have been asked to write this letter of reference because our company will no longer be operating its printing plant that has served Van Dusen Graphics Inc. for more than a decade. Van Dusen Graphics has been one of our top customers for the past 12 years. Accordingly, I have no hesitation in recommending them as a company with which to do business. In addition to doing business with his company for many years, Ray Van Dusen and I go back to our university days over 25 years ago. So, I can also personally vouch for him as a great individual and a concerned and active citizen in this community. As far as a company to do business with, Van Dusen Graphics is one of the best that we have ever dealt with. Its practice was always to pay our printing invoices within the 30-day time limit. Our two companies did significant amounts of business, especially during the past 5 years, and I cannot recall a late-payment situation. Billing disputes were rare, and those only required some minor additional documentation for clarification and resolution. Van Dusen was one of the best companies that I have ever dealt with from a change-order and work scheduling perspective. We maintained a close communication with the company’s production people and they always kept us apprised of their upcoming workload, so that scheduling jobs on our presses was never a problem. In addition, Van Dusen’s graphics people always provided us with high quality finished artwork, and it was unusual for additional changes to be made after the plates had been produced. Based on our experience, any printing company should be very pleased to be the one that Van Dusen Graphics chooses to do business with once we have closed our doors. Sincerely, Edward Wallendar President and CEO




Business 5: Customer Service Error

(print business Apology Letter on corporate business letter paper)

June 28, 2004

Ms. Rebecca Quinlan 2595 Dewhurst Circle Unit No. 16 Birmingham, AL 35233 Dear Ms. Quinlan: The purpose of this is to convey to you my sincere apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced last month with respect to the installation of your Internet high speed service. I just returned from vacation this week and found your file in my in-basket. As soon as I reviewed your case it was clear that somehow your May 20th request for a change in service had somehow slipped through the cracks. The only possible explanation I can give is that we have recently had a number of key staff changes which might have resulted in your letter being overlooked. Consequently, I have directed our Installation Group to contact you by the end of this week to set up a time convenient to you when they could go to your house and install your new router and make the necessary adjustments to your software. Because of this serious oversight, and as a testament to our appreciation to you as our customer, we are going to provide you with your first three months of high speed service free of charge. Therefore, your account will not be billed until October of this year. Ms. Quinlan, let me assure you that what happened in your case is not typical of CableNet’s level of customer service. We continue to be committed to providing you and all of our customers with the highest standards of service in the industry. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call me at 754-9785. Yours in service, Paulo Colanzi Manager, Customer Solutions




6 – COMPLAINT LETTERS

“10 Secrets For Writing Killer Complaint Letters”

Complaint letters aren't always fun, but sometimes they need to be written. In many cases, if people don't complain, the problem agency at fault (i.e. company or government) won't even know that the problem you and others may have experienced, even exists. Ultimately, legitimate complaints, by even a few people, can (and often do) result in better service for everybody. Not only that, writing them can be personally beneficial too! That's right. Writing complaint letters can be an empowering and therapeutic experience! It allows one to take action instead of playing the role of a victim and "nursing" an ongoing resentment towards a company about poor service or treatment received. Once the complaint letter is written and in the mail, one can "let it go" knowing that one has done something tangible and constructive about the situation. Not only that, but properly written and handled complaint letters get action! After I started writing complaint letters, I began receiving gracious letters of apology and contrition from senior executives including bank vice-presidents and v.p.s of marketing for giant corporations. Getting those letters felt one heck of a lot better than "polishing" an ongoing resentment and getting even angrier the next time something bad happened. Sometimes I even get discount coupons and free merchandise!




The 10 Secrets Here are 10 strategies I have learned for writing complaint letters that are guaranteed to get attention and action.

1. Write To The Senior Person Responsible It is important that you get the name and detailed mailing address of a very senior person responsible for the product or service that you are complaining about. I generally try to write to the V.-P. level. Never go below Director level if you want a serious response. Name and address information can be obtained from the organization's Web site or by calling the company and asking for the name and title of the senior person who you should write to.

2. Don't Send An E-Mail

When it comes to sending a serious complaint to a company, don't send an e-mail, regardless of what it may say on their Web site. E-mails are usually handled dismissively by low level "customer service" people. If you want serious attention and action, the formal written complaint letter is the only way to go (yes, by snail mail!). When it arrives in the V.-P.s office, it triggers a bureaucratic process that ensures that the right people will see your letter, and will act on it.

3. Keep It As Short As Possible

Preferably no longer than one page, two at the most. When drafting a complaint letter there can be a tendency to go on and on just to make sure the recipient gets the point. Keep it as short as possible, but without diluting the facts of your message too much.




4. Give It A Heading For Easy Identification

Place a heading at the top of the letter with information that the company or agency will relate to, such as your account number or customer number. Make it easy for them to find you on their computer filing system.

5. Clearly Explain The Situation

Make sure that you give all of the specific details needed so that the company/agency can verify your claim without you having to get into an endless game of telephone tag with them. Include specific dates, times and places, as well as the names of people you dealt with. If you're not sure of these when composing the letter, call them back and ask for the specifics. (You don't have to say it's for a complaint letter).

6. Use A Positive and Respectful Tone

I have found that the best approach is to use a positive upbeat tone. Remember, you are writing to a senior person who probably sympathizes with what happened to you. Your tone should convey the message that you are the innocent victim and you understand that the company wouldn't have done such a thing deliberately.

7. Send Copies If Appropriate

There can be cases where it is wise to send a copy of the letter to other parties just to make sure that you will get some serious action. For example, in a case where you have been told to write to a Regional Manager of a program, it is often a good idea to make sure that someone in head office also gets a copy. I sometimes also send a copy to the national customer services/relations offices.




8. "Shame" Them As Much As Possible Companies that claim and advertise high levels of customer focus and service do not like to be criticized in those areas. If you have a strong case that makes them vulnerable in one of these areas, use as much ammunition as you can to embarrass them in these sensitive areas. Modern marketing terms such as: customer relationship management (CRM), one-to-one marketing, most valuable customer (MVC), and customer-centric focus, all tend to get their attention. Also, using such terms makes you sound like an authority.

9. Imply You Might Take Your Business Elsewhere

I always do this near the closing. Companies don't like to lose customers, especially long-time customers. Senior marketing people are well aware that study after study has shown that it costs five to seven times as much to recruit a new customer as it does to hold on to an existing one.

10. Ask For An Early Reply

In the closing paragraph of your complaint letter, state specifically that you are expecting an early reply. Make sure that you follow-up by phone or e-mail if you have heard nothing in three weeks. Some companies will send you an acknowledgement letter stating that they are working on your case and will get back to you within a week or two.

Use the above strategies and you are sure to get action from your complaint letters. And, don't forget the old truism "the squeaky wheel gets the grease"!




About the Templates

Complaint letters are also referred to as “letters of complaint”. Please read the foregoing article for more information on complaint letters.

Complaint Letter Templates Included Complaint 1: Poor Service Complaint 2: Defective Product Complaint 3: Inadequate Facilities Complaint 4: Credit Card Hidden Charges Complaint 5: Unacceptable Level of Service








Complaint 1: Poor Service (print Complaint Letter for personal matters on standard stationery paper)

4739 French St.

Tampa FL 33660

July 18, 2004 Mr. Kevin McManus National Manager , Customer Service Energy Corporation Inc. Heritage Building, Suite 200 795 Foundation Dr. New York, NY 10014 Dear Kevin McManus:

RE: EnerCorp Credit Card: 263 181 869 3 900XX Until midnight April 27, 2004 I had been an EnerCorp credit card holder for the previous ten years. Before that, I was a Texacana card-holder for over 20 years. I recall that EnerCorp took over/bought out Texacana about ten years ago. I don’t remember the exact details, but I do remember that the switch of companies/credit cards was handled smoothly and seamlessly. I wish the same was the case when EnerCorp recently transferred its credit card operations to NYBank. I was well aware of the impending changeover to NYBank a couple of months before it happened. I had received a notice of the planned change in the mail, and it was discussed often at my local EnerCorp station when I paid for my gas (with my EnerCorp credit card). More than once, I inquired, and was each time assured that I would receive a new credit card in the mail before the April 27th deadline. Unfortunately, that did not happen. April 27th came and went, without me receiving a replacement card, or even an application for a new one. Realizing that I was suddenly without a gasoline credit card after 30 years, I called a couple of your 1-800 numbers and was advised that I would have to re-apply for a credit card with EnerCorp via the NYBank. Incredible as this seemed, I did so. The form that was sent appeared to be the same kind of application that one fills in after walking in off the street. The fact that I had been a credit card-holder with EnerCorp (and its predecessor Texacana before that) for some 30 years, did not seem to make a difference with you people, or your NYBank colleagues. It is hard to believe that companies are still doing business this way in the year 2004. Have you people (or your colleagues at NYBank) ever heard of the concept of MVC (Most Valuable Customer). Just in case you aren’t familiar with this approach, the MVC is the customer that you already have (i.e. me). Normally, these are the customers you don’t want to lose. After all, research has revealed that it will cost you seven times as much to find a new customer as it does to keep an existing one (i.e. me). What about current “customer-centric” concepts such as One-to-One marketing? Or, has EnerCorp ever heard of customer relationships management (CRM)? Would you please advise me if EnerCorp is still interested in doing business with me, or if what has happened here is your not so subtle way of telling me to do my gasoline business elsewhere. Sincerely, John Swetnam, M.B.A. President/Owner, Financial Business Solutions Inc.




Complaint 2: Defective Product

(print Complaint Letter for personal matters on standard stationery paper)

1513-2871 Richmere Rd.

Ottawa, Ontario K2B 8M5

May 20, 2004

Mike Dyer President, BrinkTex Canada 520 Abilone Drive Mississauga, Ontario L5T 2H7 Dear Mike Dyer: About three or four years ago I became a devoted BrinkTex sports wear/clothing fan. I like your simple yet functional designs, the excellent choice of colors, the relatively high level of quality, and your low-key (tasteful) approach to displaying your logos and designs. I like the tasteful low-key approach because I believe that in competitive sports the bottom-line is the actions of the wearer - with the clothing complimenting those actions - and not the other way around. In fact I like your sports wear so much that yesterday I bought four (4) more BrinkTex shirts to add to my collection. That makes a total of thirteen(13) BrinkTex shirts in my active collection right now. Earlier this evening I spent an hour or so on the squash court where I was wearing both BrinkTex shirt and shorts. (I won by the way). Enclosed you will find a BrinkTex T-shirt which I bought about a year ago. As you will notice, it appears to be defective under the right armpit area. The tears that you will see there started a few months (three or four) after I bought the shirt. As you can see, they are not tears from normal usage - they clearly indicate some sort of defect in the material. It was my favorite shirt at the time but I just wrote it off as a bad experience with a BrinkTex garment and hoped that it wouldn't happen again. Yesterday when I bought my new shirts I noticed your personal guarantee sticker with regards to the quality of BrinkTex garments. It made me think of my favourite shirt that I can no longer wear in public due to the tears. Consequently I have returned it to you in the hope that you will honour your commitment to quality and replace it. Thank you for your sports wear, and thanks also for your commitment to quality. I look forward to a favorable reply. Yours sincerely, Ted Kowalski encl.




Complaint 3: Inadequate Facilities

(print Complaint Letter for personal matters on standard stationery paper)

1598 Guy Street Montreal, QC, H3C 1L2

September 1, 2004

France Rivest Manager, Health Club Beltron Hotel Montreal 1475 Sherbrooke West Montreal, QC H2A 1L7 Dear France Rivest: I am writing to you because Lynn Dupont recently advised me that you are the manager with overall responsibility for the Beltron Health Club. First of all, thanks for your letter dated August 13, 2004. I appreciate that you took my comments seriously. As a regular user of the Health Club and patron of the hotel I have an interest in the quality of services provided. However, since I gave you my previous comments, one other subject has come to mind which you will probably be interested in. Three times in the last two weeks (and many times over the past two years), I have been sitting in the whirlpool with hotel guests when they have expressed marked dissatisfaction with that facility. I'm not sure if you are aware, but the turbulence in the whirlpool is minimal; in fact, almost non-existent. This is because the pressure from the jets is extremely weak. When I first arrived at the Club in July 1996 I too noticed the weak jets and expressed my concerns at that time. I was told that nothing could be done because the pump is installed far away from the whirlpool and therefore it cannot pump with enough force to create normal whirlpool turbulence. This may be true, but I don't think your guests are too impressed; especially the Americans. Many of these people point out to me that they have stronger jets in their own bathtub whirlpools! Whenever I explain the supposed reason to them, they just roll their eyes in disbelief. The reason I am telling you this is because I believe that this factor is most likely hurting the hotel's repeat business. The guests to whom I have spoken on this seem to think it is a big deal that the whirlpool is sub-standard. Even if they haven't formally complained about it during their visit, I suggest to you that many of these people may well be "voting with their feet" and avoiding the Beltron on their next trip. I just wanted to pass this observation on to you since it is a major quality of service point that I am aware of, but forgot to mention to you before. Since you are planning some improvements to the Health Club I thought that you may want to take this point into account. I trust that you will accept this in the spirit of quality customer service in which it is offered. Sincerely, Richard Simpson.




Complaint 4: Credit Card Hidden Charges (print Complaint Letter on personal or business letterhead, as appropriate)

October 23, 2004 General Manager Assurant Group P.O. Box 9621 Ottawa, ON, K1G 6G4 Re: MBNA MasterCard Account 5452XXXXXXXX0503 - Optional Protection Plan Insurance In April of this year, while doing a detailed review of my credit card expenditures for income tax submission purposes, I was surprised to find a recurring monthly charge of well over $100 per month for something called “Gold Plus/Platinum Plus”. I had noticed this monthly charge on occasion previously, but had thought it was for one of the many services I pay for by credit card to support my online Internet business. However, in April 2004 I decided to investigate this further to see to which service this “Gold Plus/Platinum Plus” charge applied. So, I contacted the MBNA 1-800 service line. I was surprised and shocked to find out that this monthly charge, in excess of $125, was NOT for one of my Internet business services, but rather it was a regular monthly MBNA charge for insurance coverage through something called the “MBNA Protection Plan”. I immediately advised your agents that I had NEVER at any time elected such insurance coverage and I told them to cancel those charges immediately. Your April 21, 2004 form letter to me that confirmed my cancellation stated that I had been receiving such insurance coverage (and matching monthly charges) since February 2001. I’m sorry, but until I checked into it in April of this year I had no idea I was paying for such coverage. I am certain that I NEVER would have knowingly elected such credit card related insurance. I never have, and I never will purchase such coverage. In fact, I must receive two or three calls per month from the various credit card companies (including yours) trying to “upsell” such services to me. I have ALWAYS said “no”, without exception. Your letter also stated that you had sent me a “certificate of insurance” after “enrollment”. Well, there never was an enrollment in your insurance scheme as far as I know. The only thing I ever applied for was a credit card. In any case, I do not recall ever receiving a “certificate of insurance” which you claim would have let me “opt out” of the insurance plan within 30 days. Sorry, but not having received such opt out information how could I ever have known that I was somehow “opted in”. Believe me, had I ever received any such correspondence I would have opted out pretty quickly. If you have any kind of document signed by me which proves that I deliberately chose your specific insurance scheme, would you please produce it and send me a copy. Otherwise I demand an immediate full refund/credit of all unsolicited charges you made against the above-noted credit card for your Protection Plan insurance scheme between February 2001 and May 2004. I trust I won’t have to refer this complaint to the Financial Consumer Agency of Canada. I look forward to a favourable response in the near future. Sincerely, Shaun Fawcett, M.B.A.




Complaint 5: Unacceptable Level of Service (print Complaint Letter on personal or business letterhead, as appropriate)

5-1501 Notre-Dame W.

Montreal, QC, H3C 1L2

October 15, 2004 John Waddell General Manager Simnetwork Member Services P.O. Box 450082 Ottawa, ON, K2P 2C4 Dear John Waddell:

Re: Case No. 47716376 - Personal Disk Space Unavailable For More Than 48 Hours This is a follow-up to numerous telephone conversations I had with your customer service people between Oct. 6/04 and Oct. 9/04 regarding the unavailability of access to personal user space on Simnetwork servers for a period of more than three days. I first noticed that access to my personal space was not accessible around 10:00 p.m. on Wed. Oct. 6/04. At the time I thought it was probably just a typical temporary condition that would be rectified in a matter of minutes. However, when I checked the next morning the problem was still apparent. I called your customer service people late that morning and the people I spoke to weren’t even aware the personal space server had already been down for at least 12 hours! After checking it out they advised me that your technicians were working on it and the problem would be fixed as soon as possible. That was noon, Thursday October 7th.

From that point on; through the remainder of Thursday, and then throughout Friday, I continued to monitor the situation but was still not able to gain access to my personal space. Finally, sometime around noon on Saturday October 9th I was again able to access my personal space on your servers. So, according to my calculations those servers were inaccessible to users for well over 48 hours. By my experience, this kind of downtime for any type of Web hosting service in this day and age is totally unacceptable. I operate a total of nine (9) Web sites (hosted elsewhere) and it is considered to be a serious problem by both me and the Web hosting company if a server goes down for more than an hour. A server being inaccessible for more than 48 hours is almost incomprehensible. In fact, this is the worst level of Web hosting service that I have ever heard of. And, by a major company such as yours? Whatever happened to capabilities such as mirror redundancy of data and back-up servers that you could switch over to? Quite frankly, if I were a manager or technical professional at your company I would be truly embarrassed by this incident. I was one of your very first Simnetwork customers back in 1994 and I have stuck with you through thick and thin; and believe me there have indeed been some trying times over the years. However, we are now in the year 2004 and you have failed at properly provide basic hosting services that can be trusted. I pay your company almost $60 per month for Internet access which includes access to my personal space. At this point I would like to know two things in particular: how/why this server access problem was allowed to go on for so long before it was corrected; and, have you taken measures to prevent such significant outages from occurring again? I look forward to receiving your reassurances. In the spirit of excellent customer service, Ian Francis




7 – COVER LETTERS

“How To Write Cover Letters That Work”

Sometimes there is confusion about the exact meaning of the term "cover letter". That's because when most people use that term, they don't realize that there are two main types of cover letters. There are "document transmittal cover letters", and there are "resume cover letters".

Document Cover Letters

A document cover letter is a letter of transmittal that explains and conveys an attached document to a second party. The types of documents that this type of cover letter is used for typically include: reports, plans, legal papers, applications, manuscripts, contracts, travel documents, booklets, manuals, brochures, product samples, photos, artwork, etc. A document cover letter is normally a short one-page business letter that very briefly explains the attached or enclosed document(s) that is being sent. It only contains the essential information such as why the document(s) is being sent, what the recipient is expected to do with it, and any applicable deadlines.

Resume Cover Letters When most people use or hear the term "cover letter" they are thinking of resume cover letters. Resume cover letters are used for one purpose only; to convey a resume or curriculum vitae to a prospective employer. A resume cover letter is normally a concise one-pager that introduces you, explains why you're writing, summarizes your key skills, abilities and experience, and asks




the recipient to get back to you. Its main purpose is to capture the attention of the recipient enough to get that person to look at the attached resume with interest. Of the two types of cover letters, by far the most commonly requested at my Writing Help Central Web site is the cover letter for a resume or curriculum vitae.

Resume Cover Letter Writing Tips

When drafting a cover letter for a resume or c.v., there are a number of important rules of thumb to follow. The following list is an adapted summary of a similar list in my eBook "Instant Home Writing Kit".

Address It To A Specific Person Even when sending an unsolicited resume to a company you should take the time to find out the name of the appropriate person and write the letter to that person. At least it will reach their office. Resumes sent to "Dear Human Resources Manager" are almost always a waste of time. Name someone specifically and it will at least make it into an in-basket. Keep It Short and Focused Remember, your resume already says it all. Keep the letter short and focused and don't repeat what is already in the attached resume or c.v. Never exceed one page in a cover letter.

Be Enthusiastic Express your interest in the job and the new company with enthusiasm. Show that you really want the job, and that you would really like to work for that particular company.

Focus On Needs Of the Employer Throughout your cover letter make it clear that you are interested in the needs of the employer. You are there to help them. You are part of the solution. Try to make this the subliminal message of your entire letter.




Show That You’ve Done Your Homework Demonstrate a good knowledge of the company and industry for which you are applying. A one-liner, or a phrase or two in the appropriate place in your letter that shows you are interested, and understand the company's problems, will give you instant credibility (i.e. do some simple Internet research).

Use the Appropriate "Buzzwords" Every organization has its own ways of doing things and its own lingo. Look through key documents such as annual reports, corporate Web sites, etc. Try to spot key words, terms, and phrases that are often repeated. Every company has them. Use as many of these "hot buttons" as you can in your cover letter - where appropriate, of course. For example, if the "Message From the CEO" in the annual report mentions the phrase "action plan for the future" three times, make sure you work that term into your cover letter. Don't overdo it, of course.

Summarize Your Skills and Abilities If possible, without making the letter too long, summarize your overall skills and abilities in bullet-point form. This can make them stand out in a way that they wouldn't, buried in the resume or c.v.

Promise To Follow-Up In the final paragraph, clearly state that you will be following up by telephone in a few days to see if you can answer any questions. Make sure you do this. Industry experts say that over 80% of people never do this crucial follow-up and just wait for the phone to ring. The challenge of course, is to try to address all of these points in a three or four paragraph letter. It can be done!




About the Templates

Cover letters sometimes get confused since there are actually two main types: resume/c.v. cover letters, and document transmittal cover letters. Please read the foregoing article for more information on cover letters.

Cover Letter Templates Included Cover 1: Resume – Sales Manager Cover 2: Resume - Experienced Writer Cover 3: Resume - Recent Graduate Cover 4: Progress Report Cover 5: Franchise Application








Cover 1: Resume – Sales Manager

(print personal Resume Cover Letter on premium quality paper)

716 Chisel Ridge Houston, TX 77094

November 25, 2004

[Name of Addressee] [Title of Addressee] [Name of Company] [Address Line 1] [Address Line 2] Dear [Name of Addressee]: Please regard this as an application for the position of Senior Sales Manager that was advertised in last Saturday’s Tribune. Based on the requirements stated in the ad, I believe that I am the kind of pro-active, results-oriented, sales and marketing professional you are looking for. I possess a unique mix of experience, skills and abilities, as well as a proven track record, which can definitely help your company increase its sales revenues. Experience, skills, and abilities that I can offer your company include: § Over 20 years of progressively senior sales and marketing experience in a variety of challenging

market environments; § Well-developed relationship-building skills and abilities that quickly attract new customers, as well as

maintaining the loyalty of the existing customer base; § Extensive experience in analyzing under-performing sales and marketing programs and identifying and

implementing solutions to quickly revitalize stagnant markets; § Proven ability to develop new business through opening up new markets and growing existing markets;

§ Ability to build and lead an effective and productive sales team in a dynamic marketing environment.

The enclosed resume provides more details on the above, as well as on my other experience, skills, abilities, and qualifications. When I read your advertisement I was immediately excited by the vision and mission of [Name of Company]. Then, when I checked out your impressive Web site, I knew right away that yours is the kind of company to which I could add significant value. I will call your office [early next week] to see when we can meet to discuss my qualifications and how I can help [your company] achieve its sales and marketing goals. Sincerely, Jeffrey S. Lewis Encl.




Cover 2: Resume - Experienced Writer

(print personal Cover Letter on standard stationery paper)

2919 Durant Drive

Apartment 1832 New York, NY

10023

August 28, 2004 Ms. Henrietta Fordham Front & Center Communications, Inc. 945 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 Dear Ms. Fordham, Rhonda White of Smithfield & Associates Advertising, suggested I contact you regarding possible public relations openings in your firm. Having worked as an editor/writer for a number of magazines, I have highly-developed skills and abilities as a public relations copy writer. Because I have always worked for smaller city-type publications, I have always had to wear a number of hats, including: developing editorial format, theme, and story concepts, writing news and feature articles, editing copy, performing magazine layout, and supervising production and distribution activities. Before my current position as Senior Editorial Writer with “Our City Magazine”, I spent three years in the public relations industry, working for Trask & Smith where I gained valuable experience preparing numerous news releases and media guides. In addition, I planned and managed a number of major direct mail campaigns. My positive attitude and high motivation level have both been recognized by all of my previous employers, who have quickly promoted me to positions of greater responsibility. For example, I was promoted from junior to senior writer at “Our City” after only three months on the job. I have enclosed a copy of my resume for your information. I would very much like to talk with you about the contributions I could make to your firm. I will call you the week of September 4th to see if we can find a mutual time and date to meet and discuss what possibilities may exist. Your time and consideration is greatly appreciated. Yours sincerely, Joanne Wright Enclosure




Cover 3: Resume - Recent Graduate

(print personal Cover Letter on standard stationery paper)

97 Mountain St. Seattle, WA, 45902

206-254-1719

October 2, 2004 Mr. John Weston Director, Marketing Programs Chatterton Enterprises. Inc. 455 Palmway Drive San Francisco, CA 94203 Dear Mr. Weston: My strong work ethic, my outgoing personality, my retail sales experience, and my recently completed degree in marketing, qualify me as a strong candidate for a position as a marketing and sales trainee for Chatterton Enterprises, Inc. I recently graduated from the University of Seattle with a degree in marketing management. In my final year, I was president of Business Entrepreneurs of the Future, and publicity coordinator of the university chapter of the American Marketing Association. I can assure you that I am not a typical recent graduate. Before Seattle, I studied business and marketing at both the University of Colorado and University of Southern Illinois. While attending these schools, I worked part-time to fund my education in a variety of jobs including: direct mail marketing, radio advertising sales, magazine subscription sales, and restaurant and bar management. Experienced gained in these customer-centric jobs was invaluable to me as I completed my degree at U. of Seattle, where I place 2nd overall in my final year. I believe I possess the maturity, skills, abilities, and experience to embark on a successful career in marketing. Ideally, I would like to do this in San Francisco, the city where I was born and grew up. I will be there visiting my family at the end of this month, and would very much like to talk with you concerning a possible position at Chatterton. Shortly after I arrive there on October 20th I will follow up this letter with a phone call to your office to see if I can arrange a time to meet with you. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. Sincerely, Robert Horton




Cover 4: Progress Report

(print Cover Letter for a report on business letterhead paper)

July 21, 2004 Mr. Raymond Keefer Director of Operations Aircraft Manufacturing Division Alliance Aerospace Inc. 1825 Pedrogosa Street, Suite 1200 Santa Barbara CA 93101 Dear Mr. Keefer: Attached is the latest version of the strategic plan update and working papers. I have made all of the adjustments that you requested in your recent e-mail. In addition, I have completed the new section on “performance indicators” based on the inputs received from the branches last week. Performance Indicators Each directorate/branch prepared its own version of the entire matrix that John Hannon had suggested. Essentially, for the strategic plan document I took those inputs and consolidated them into one overall corporate matrix. I eliminated duplicates and redundancies and cleaned up the wording and terminology. Strategic Plan As mentioned, I have incorporated all of your comments. Additional changes are: • Note re: “Working Papers” has been added to the bottom of the Preface page. • Pages 10 through 15 are the new consolidated Performance Indicator pages.

Working Papers Revisions to the Working Papers are: • A brief Introduction has been added to summarize the contents. • Pages 13 through 20 have been added. These are the Directorate/Branch submissions on Performance

Indicators. I’m not sure what you had in mind for the review process. Nevertheless, I have a suggestion. If you deem the enclosed to be in acceptable shape for review, you could send review copies to the Senior Management Committee, with a cover letter proposing a meeting at which comments could be tabled and discussed by all. Hopefully, I would be able to attend that meeting, and collect all of the comments and their final resolutions direct from the originators. The foregoing is just a suggestion of course. Please let me know how you would like to handle the review and revision process and I will comply with whatever your wishes are. If you would like, I could draft a brief letter of transmittal to your directors, for your signature. Sincerely, Sam Beaubien Senior Partner – Kaizen Consulting Inc. Attachments (2)




Cover 5: Franchise Application

(print Cover Letter on business letterhead paper)

February 25, 2004 Mrs Florence Henderson 32 Kirby Avenue Somerbville NJ 08876 Dear Mrs. Henderson: Further to your recent telephone request, enclosed is a blank Franchise Application with a set of instructions for its completion. I have also enclosed a Craft City corporate brochure and a franchise fees schedule. If after reviewing these documents you decide that you would like to proceed with acquiring a Craft City business franchise, please contact me and I will arrange for an immediate meeting with our business development team. The people in that group will be able to answer any technical or financial questions that you may have. I can be reached during office hours at 345-2789, and after hours at 232-4973. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Francesca Clayton Senior Business Associate Enclosures (3)




8 – SALES LETTERS A good sales letter could be the most productive “employee” that you will ever have. Once developed, a successful sales letter can bring you sales and leads, over and over again, even when the office is closed and all of your employees are home sleeping. Sales letters can be developed for every kind of business, ranging from restaurants and retail operations, to accountants, lawyers, and dentists. Anyone who wants to increase their business needs to use sales letters.

“10 Insider Secrets For Powerful Sales Letters”

Here are 10 insider tips for writing sales letters that work:

1. Keep It Short And Simple In general, traditional sales letters should not exceed one page. Never exceed two. Use simple uncomplicated everyday language that you would use if you were talking directly to the prospect.

(This may not hold true on the Web, where conventional wisdom these days is indicating the longer the better for online sales letters).

2. Focus On The Benefits Successful marketers and advertisers will tell you to start with the benefits and finish with the benefits in your sales letters. The number one question in a prospective buyers mind is “what’s in it for me?” Keep giving them the answer to that question over and over again by stressing all of the benefits of your product or service throughout your letter.




3. Make Them Simple And Readable A sales letter should be appealing to the eye: enlarge the font size a little, use bolding on key selling points, keep sentences and paragraphs short, use lots of white space between paragraphs. Minimize underlining.

4. Personalize It In the letter, talk directly to the prospective buyer as if the two of you were sitting across from each other at a restaurant table. Talk in human terms about yourself so that the prospect will identify with you. Use statements like “I used to struggle every day with balancing the cash …”, knowing that your prospect does too, and knowing that your product will eliminate that problem.

5. Use Testimonials Testimonials are a well-known way to gain credibility and increase sales. These are positive statements made by customers about your product or service in letters or e-mails. Enclose them in quotes and they can be very effective. You should obtain permission from the source before using their quote publicly.

6. Insert Numbers In Your Headlines People tend to be convinced by specific numbers because, rather than the usual vague generalities, they clearly quantify a benefit that will be received.

7. Use Proven Selling Words Make sure you use proven power selling words and terms like: secret, free, wealth, success, savings, benefits, now, you, exclusive, instant, easy, quick, revealed, powerful, amazing, make money, untold, never-before, little-known, order before, etc.

8. Sign-Off With A P.S. Research has shown that most people immediately look to the signature block of a letter, even before they have read it. Inserting a P.S. right after the signature in a sales letter is the perfect place to summarize the benefits and emphasize any incentive deadlines that apply to the offer.




9. Always Use Positive Words Make sure that you always use appealing and motivating positive words. Avoid any negative terminology, direct or implied. For example, rather than “difficult” or “hard” use the more positive and hopeful word, “challenging”.

10. Add Extra Incentives Bonuses such as early purchase discounts, premiums, and extra products, can leverage the success of a sales letter. Professionals sometimes offer a few hours of free phone consultations for a limited one-year period.




About the Templates

Sales letters normally focus on “making a sale” of a specific product or service. Sales letters are sometimes confused with “marketing letters”. To see the difference, refer to the separate section later on re: marketing letters. Please read the foregoing article for more information on sales letters.

Sales Letter Templates Included Sales 1: Promote New Product - To Consumer Sales 2: Introduce New Product - To Consumer Sales 3: Special Offer - To Regain Former Customer Sales 4: Exclusive Mailer – To Loyal Customers Sales 5: Personalized Sales Follow-Up








Sales 1: Promote New Product - To Consumer (print Sales Letters on product or corporate letterhead)

November 1, 2004

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Sales 2: Introduce New Product - To Consumer

(print Sales Letters on product or corporate letterhead)

Introducing The New PunchPro 3-Hole Punch... Dear Karen: I decided to write you personally and give you advance notice of a fabulous new office product we're about to carry in our store. I'm only telling our most valued business customers about this exciting new product before it goes public because initial quantities are very limited. This way you get the first opportunity to take advantage of all the benefits that the new PunchPro 3-Hole Punch, before the general public even finds out about it. Here's what makes the PunchPro so superior to existing 3-hole punches: § it can handle up to 50 sheets at a time § the punch dies are self-sharpening and jam-proof § it costs less than inferior punches - i.e. less than $30 § it's guaranteed for a full 5 years

But that's not all. I've reserved a PunchPro for you, at a very special price, if you come down to our store for our Business Buyers Preview sale on Monday January 31st. That means you'll get the first chance to save on this exciting new product. How much of a savings are we talking about? How does 30% off sound? That's right, 30% off next week's public introductory price. And the reason we're offering such a steep discount is to reward you for being one of our very best customers. Now there's just one catch Karen. Since we're making this offer only to select business customers, and quantities are limited, you've got to be discreet about this special offer. So when you come into the store, please quietly hand this letter to one of our sales associates and let them know you would like your 30% saving on your new PunchPro. I hope I'll see you down here on the 31st so you can take advantage of this fantastic opportunity. See you there! Best wishes, Gord Peterson P.S. One more thing Karen. Since you are a preferred customer, if you decide to try the new PunchPro you'll get your choice of one of our three new pen-pencil sets, absolutely free! That's a $7.99 value, with our compliments.




Sales 3: Special Offer - To Regain Former Customer

(print Special Offer Sales Letters on corporate letterhead)

You're The Winner Of A World Atlas - Absolutely Free!

Dear Anthony: Congratulations! You've just won a free Travelex World Atlas! No strings attached and no fine print. It's yours absolutely free because... I REALLY, REALLY MISS YOU! This is Susan Hart, owner of Travel Books and Maps Center, and I haven't seen you in a long time. And, according to my records, it's been quite a while since you've made a book purchase at our store. I get concerned when I don't hear from a valued client like you. I know you've probably been meaning to get around to dropping in, so that's why I have decided to give you a free World Atlas to help "motivate" you to come down and visit us soon. Given your interest in the traveling lifestyle, I thought you would really enjoy this gift. With this free World Atlas you will be able to start planning your next trip. Or, you can use it to tell everybody all about your last adventure! Anthony, this Travelex World Atlas is a $29.99 value, and I'm giving it to you absolutely free. No strings attached and nothing else to buy. You see, this really is a free gift! So, why am I giving you this gift? Well, the answer is very simple, it's because I want to see you back in our store whenever you're looking for any kind of travel or lifestyle book, because that's what we're all about. I must tell you now that I was only able to get my hands on a limited number of these books, so this offer is only good while quantities last. I suggest you get down here by the 15th of this month at the latest if you want to be sure to get your free world atlas. Why not call us now and reserve your gift in advance and make sure we'll have it on hand for you when you come down to the store. So pick up the phone and dial 232-4565 right away and ask Janice or Ian to put you down for your free World Atlas. (Sorry, but even if you reserve in advance, if you don't pick yours up by the 15th we'll be offering your copy to others on our list. So don't miss it!). I hope to see you by the 15th! Sincerely, Susan Hart P.S. Don't miss this chance - to pick up your free World Atlas. This gift is a $29.99 value with no strings attached. But remember, you've got to pick yours up by the 15th of this month.




Sales 4: Exclusive Mailer – To Loyal Customers

(print Sales Letter on product or corporate letterhead paper) May 5, 2004 To Member Mailing List Member Address Line 2 Member Address Line 3 Member Address Line 4 Dear [member name],

Special Offer – FREE Memberships For Your Family and/or Employees! First,I would like to sincerely thank you for your patronage of CostRight Stores! Second, in recognition of that loyal patronage, we have decided to make a valuable offer that you can pass on to your relatives and/or employees. An offer that we believe, they will be very happy to receive! Our offer is this. From now until June 30, 2004, your relatives and/or employees can become members at any CostRight Warehouse, simply by filling out the enclosed pre-approved registration forms. No strings attached! By joining, these relatives and/or employees will be receiving at no charge, the equivalent of a CostRight Privileged Membership, which has a value of $50 per year, plus taxes. This type of membership includes eligibility for a free Spouse card, as well (see Passport document enclosed). In addition, if they become CostRight members right away, your relatives and/or employees will also qualify for their own Passport that will make them eligible for more than $1,500 in additional savings on various products over the summer months. These special discounts are being offered exclusively to CostRight Members by our suppliers. By passing on this offer and giving these pre-approved membership applications to your relatives and/or employees, you will be allowing them to obtain many summer products at near-cost prices, as well as making them eligible for many other CostRight benefits. And it won't cost you anything! Why not give your relatives and/or employees a chance to receive all of the benefits of a CostRight Membership? Not only will they very much appreciate the many savings that you give them, but they will also remember your generous gift every time they make a purchase this summer! What do you have to lose? Thank you for your kind consideration. Sandra Brunette Manager, Membership Programs P.S. If you run out of pre-approved membership applications, please don't hesitate to call us at (416) 274-3572 and we will look after your needs right away. Encl.




Sales 5: Personalized Sales Follow-Up (print Sales Letter on product or corporate letterhead)

May 3, 2004 Mr. Rob Cunningham President, Cunningham Racing 89 Newton Drive, Suite 507 Toledo, OH 43612 Dear Mr. Cunningham: It was nice chatting with you briefly on the telephone earlier today. As I said, it was Dan Borhman who does the marketing work for Tae-Box who suggested I call you. Dan and I are now involved in final discussions aimed at getting the Tae-Box logo placed on our new drug awareness product right beside D.A.R.T.’s. During my last chat with Dan, he suggested I give you a call because of your involvement in the health and fitness club business and your personal interest in Tae-Box. Enclosed for your review is our new drug awareness poster entitled "The Self-Destructive Use of Drugs”. This unique and internationally acclaimed educational product has taken the International Drug Awareness Research Foundation (IDARI) more than two years to research, develop, test and perfect. IDARI is currently on a mission to distribute this powerful communications tool across North America. The primary purpose of "The Self-Destructive Use of Drugs" is to inform and educate: kids, parents, teachers, coaches, legislators, clergy, military personnel, healthcare professionals, law enforcement officials, business and community leaders, and many others, about the factual and objective truth related to the use and abuse of all drugs, both legal and illegal. As you can see, it very graphically demonstrates the “mind-body-drug connection” involving all of the major drug groups. Just imagine the impact that this poster will have once it is hung on the walls of every school, home, community center, health/fitness club, workshop, police station, clubhouse, lunch room, medical clinic, sports facility, hospital, doctor's office, dentist’s office, barracks, library, etc., throughout North America? We believe that the wide-spread dissemination of "The Self-Destructive Use of Drugs" will significantly increase substance abuse awareness and prevention, especially among kids. One feature of the poster that I thought would interest Cunningham Racing is its promotional aspect. We have designed it so that an organization's name, logo and/or message can be custom-printed at the bottom of the poster. This is a very powerful way for an organization to send a compelling prevention message, while at the same time giving them a high level of recognition and visibility. I can already visualize your slogan “Don’t Let Anything Stand In The Way Of Your Dream” custom-printed on the bottom of this high-visibility and attention-grabbing wall hanging (Your slogan is perfect for inclusion on a drug awareness poster!). This would definitely be a powerful communications vehicle that you could distribute widely throughout your network of health and fitness clubs. I trust you will still see the powerful marketing opportunity here. I therefore look forward to hearing from you soon about how you might use this product. I can be reached in Montreal at (514) 979-1298. Sincerely, Brian R. Casey, M.B.A. Vice-President, Marketing and Communications




9 – INTRODUCTION LETTERS

About the Templates

Introduction letters are sometimes referred to as “letters of introduction”.

Introduction Letter Templates Included Introduction 1: Sales Personnel Introduction 2: Self-Introduction Introduction 3: Former Employee Introduction 4: New Loans Manager Introduction 5: New Service Available








Introduction 1: Sales Personnel

(print business Introduction Letter on corporate letterhead paper)

September 12, 2004 Mr. Herbert Franco ABC Furnishings Inc. 1234 Anyold Street Anytown, AS, 10524 Dear Mr. Franco: The purpose of this letter is to briefly introduce myself as Duratel’s new Business Sales Representative assigned to serve your account. I have just completed Duratel’s management orientation program and am now keen to meet face-to-face with all of my key customer accounts. Accordingly, as a first step in my customer familiarization process, I would like to meet with you personally, for about an hour or so, to discuss ABC’s needs and concerns. At the same time I would also like to take that opportunity to briefly review Duratel’s latest offering of products and services. To set up a meeting for this at your convenience, I propose to call your office by the end of this week. It is my hope that we will be able to arrange to meet at your offices before the end of the month. As your new Duratel Business Account Representative I believe that my paramount concern is how both Duratel Inc. and I can better serve ABC Furnishings Inc. I look forward to meeting with you and learning more about your company in the near future. Sincerely, Alan Moore Business Sales Representative




Introduction 2: Self-Introduction

(print Introduction Letter on corporate letterhead paper) August 12, 2004 Mr. Brent Collinson Senior Buyer Office-Tech Furnishings Inc. 4830 Kimbark Ave. Chicago, IL 60635 Dear Mr. Collinson: The purpose of this letter is to briefly introduce myself as Dynatek’s new Sales Representative, Business Accounts. I very recently joined the company and am taking over your account from Jack Winters who has moved on to other challenges in this industry. I have just completed Dynatek’s management orientation program and am now keen to meet face-to-face with all of my key customers. Accordingly, as a first step in my customer familiarization process, I would like to meet with you personally, for about an hour or so, to discuss Office-Tech’s needs and concerns. At the same time I would also like to take that opportunity to briefly review Dynatek’s latest offering of products and services. To set up a meeting for this at your convenience, I propose to call your office by the end of this week. It is my hope that we will be able to arrange to meet at your offices before the end of the month. As your new Dynatek Business Account Representative I believe that my paramount concern is how both Dynatek Inc. and I can better serve Office-Tech Furnishings Inc. I look forward to meeting with you and learning more about your company in the near future. Sincerely, Jim O’Malley Senior Sales Representative




Introduction 3: Former Employee

(print Introduction Letter on corporate letterhead paper) August 12, 2004 Ms. Judith Baxter Senior Buyer Avon Books & Things 125 Fifth Ave., Suite 1540 New York, NY 10010 Dear Judith: I would like to take this opportunity to introduce APN Sales Representative, Peter Lenester, whom I spoke to you about recently. As I mentioned on the phone, Peter spent the last eight years with APN Publishing House as both a Book Buyer and then a Regional Sales Rep. He was very successful in both of these jobs and managed to learn a great deal about the book publishing business along the way. As I also mentioned when we spoke, Peter is moving back to New York for family reasons. One of his children suffers from a rare blood disorder. The Columbia University Medical Center is the leading research institute looking into that disease and they have agreed to accept Peter’s son as a special study patient. We will be very sorry to see Peter leave the company. He has proven to be a valuable asset in dealing with our existing clients, and in recruiting new ones. The fact that he has a degree in English Literature from New York University, coupled with him being a self-published author, gives him a great deal of credibility when dealing with these people. If you could spare a couple of hours to meet with Peter I have no doubt that the two of you would very quickly find a lot of common ground. He’s the kind of person who, once you get to know him, you want to make room for. Judith, I thank you in advance for taking the time to meet with Peter and I look forward to visiting with you at next month’s homecoming gathering at our alma mater. Sincerely, Amy Winston Publisher




Introduction 4: New Loans Manager

(print Introduction Letters on business letterhead paper)

April 18, 2004 Send To Client List Client Address - Line 2 Client Address - Line 3 Client Address - Line 4 Client Address - Line 5 Dear [Client Name]: The purpose of this is to advise you that we now have a new Personal Loans Manager here at Nation Wide Bank. Her name is Catherine Wong, and she joins us after completing a five year assignment at our Customer Service Center in Dallas. I’m sure you will find Catherine to be a very pleasant professional to deal with. She is a very people-friendly type of person, and she has received specialized training in personalized customer service considerations and techniques. She also holds a Masters of Business Administration degree from Dartmouth College. Please feel free to say hello to Catherine the next time you are in at the branch doing your banking. Or if you like, you can give her a call at 823-5621 to discuss your personal financial needs. I’m sure that you will join me in welcoming Catherine to our branch. I know that she looks forward to meeting each and every one of our valuable clients. Yours sincerely, Grant Cumberland Branch General Manager




Introduction 5: New Service Available

(print Introduction Letters on business letterhead paper)

March 15, 2004 Send To Customer List Customer Address - Line 2 Customer Address - Line 3 Customer Address - Line 4 Customer Address - Line 5 Dear [Customer Name]: New Child Care Center For Busy Parents This is to let you know that on April 1, 2004 we will be introducing our brand new state-of-the-art Customer Child Care Center at our downtown location on University Street. We have taken this initiative because we talked to our customers and you told us that such a service ranks high on your priority list. We listened to you. Then we hired one of the best experts available for designing such programs and facilities, Dr. Claire Reinholdt. As most of you will know, Dr. Reinholdt is a successful and highly respected child psychologist who has penned two best-selling books about her specialty. We told Dr. Reinholdt that our general requirement was for a child care program and facility at which people could leave their children in a safe and educational environment for periods of between one and four hours while they shopped in our store. What she has designed is a leading-edge program and facility, staffed by accredited professionals, that is one-of-a kind in North America. We invite you to take advantage of this new service the next time you are in the market for anything from clothing , to furniture, to home appliances. Not only will you be well taken care of by our professional sales staff, your children will be in the safe care of the professionals at our new Customer Child Care Center. We look forward to seeing your whole family! Yours very sincerely, Charlotte Renfrew Vice-President, Customer Services




10 – APOLOGY LETTERS

About the Templates

Apology letters are also referred to as “letters of apology”.

Apology Letter Templates Included Apology 1: Serious Professional Error Apology 2: Customer Service Breakdown Apology 3: Service Installation Oversight Apology 4: Employee Mistake Apology 5: Unprofessional Behavior








Apology 1: Serious Professional Error

(print business Apology Letter on corporate letterhead paper)

September 7, 2004 Professor Myron Beckwith Professor of Aviation Management Kingston College, School of Business 125 Queen Elizabeth Way Kingston, ON K2Z 4P9 Dear Professor Beckwith: The purpose of this letter is to express my sincere apologies, on behalf of the International School of Aviation Management, for the errors and omissions that appeared in your listing and write-up in our Calendar of Courses for 2005. I heard that that you were quite offended by the mistakes when you received your copy of the Calendar recently. After reviewing the problems, I must say that I can quite understand your reaction, particularly when I see the number and extent of the errors in your listing. The only explanation that I can offer is that an honest mistake was made by some of our staff in preparing the Calendar for printing. Somehow, in the rush to get everything into printing production at the last minute, your particular update sheet was overlooked. It was doubly unfortunate, since it appears that yours was the only case in which this happened. As you know, the Calendars have all been mailed out internationally, so it is too late to stop and correct them. Nevertheless, I have met with the Director of Administration and we have come up with the following damage reduction plan. • We will immediately print an erratum sheet and send it to all recipients of the Calendar.

• We will ensure that all corrections are made to the Web site Course Calendar immediately, and a

special note will be posted drawing attention to the revisions. • We will ensure that all existing materials for courses that you will be teaching will be corrected, and

that all new materials will reflect the correct information. I trust that you will find these actions acceptable. If not, or if you have any other suggestions, please let us know at your earliest convenience. Again, on behalf of the School of Business, my colleagues, and the staff, I sincerely apologize for this incident, and hope that you will be understanding enough to accept our offer. Very sincerely, Johnson Bradley Executive Director c.c.: Elizabeth Hurtibuse, Director of Administration




Apology 2: Customer Service Breakdown

(print Apology Letter on corporate letterhead paper)

October 17, 2004 Mr. Gerry Rocca 750 Beacon Parkway West Suite 501/108 Birmingham, AL 35209 Dear Mr. Rocca: Re: Case No. 4579-04A – Late Delivery of Laptop Computer On behalf of Bellmode Computer Inc. I would like to apologize to you for the recent breakdown in our delivery chain in delivering your new computer to you. I very much appreciate your telephone call earlier this week. It is only through hearing from people like you who report service failures, on the rare occasions when they do occur, that we are able to correct the problems and continue to improve our level of service. So thank you for contacting us. For your information, I’ll briefly explain what happened at our end. When your original telephone order was placed you asked our sales representative to put “rush shipment” status on it. Accordingly, that agent flagged your order in our computer system to go out by “air express courier” service. Unfortunately that particular service is only available to our large corporate accounts since it only involves bulk shipments of equipment. Instead, your order should have been flagged “overnight courier” service. However, because of the mix-up, your laptop ended up in the shipment to one of our corporate customers in Canada. Unfortunately, that error was not detected until you inquired and we put a trace on your order. That is the short explanation as to how your computer arrived at your address four days late. As I stated above, it is rare that Bellmode makes such errors, and we sincerely apologize for the serious inconvenience and upset this caused you. As a gesture of good will, and in the hope that you will give Bellmode a second chance in the future, I have enclosed a gift certificate for $150. To use it, please go to our Web site (www.bellmode.com) and choose any product you would like to purchase. During the ordering process you will be prompted for your gift certificate number which will give you a $150 discount off whichever product you may choose. There is no time limit on this certificate so you may use it whenever you wish. Thank you for your valuable feedback on our customer service. We have already implemented procedures to prevent a repeat of such an occurrence. We look forward to serving you in the future. Very sincerely, Linda Sumner Director, Customer Service Follow-Up encl.

http://www.bellmode.com




Apology 3: Service Installation Oversight

(print Apology Letter on business letterhead paper)

October 28, 2004

Ms. Margaret Reitman 1743 South Alvernon Tucson, AZ 85711 Dear Ms. Reitman: The purpose of this is to convey to you my sincere apologies for any inconvenience you may have experienced last month with respect to the installation of your Internet high speed service. I just returned from vacation this week and found your file in my in-basket. As soon as I reviewed your case it was clear that somehow your May 20th request for a change in service had somehow slipped through the cracks. The only possible explanation I can give is that we have recently had a number of key staff changes which might have resulted in your letter being overlooked. Consequently, I have directed our Installation Group to contact you by the end of this week to set up a time convenient to you when they could go to your house and install your new router and make the necessary adjustments to your software. Because of this serious oversight, and as a testament to our appreciation to you as our customer, we are going to provide you with your first three months of high speed service free of charge. Therefore, your account will not be billed until October of this year. Ms. Reitman, let me assure you that what happened in your case is not typical of CableNet’s level of customer service. We continue to be committed to providing you and all of our customers with the highest standards of service in the industry. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to call me at 754-9785. Yours in service, Peter Richards Manager, Customer Solutions




Apology 4: Employee Mistake (print personal Apology Letter on plain stationery or personal letterhead)

745-A Horizon Drive Phoenix, AZ 85037

November 25, 2004

Dr. Thomas Stapleton Director, Research and Development PharmAid Pharmaceuticals Inc. 3590 E. Thomas Road Phoenix, AZ 85016 Dear Dr. Stapleton: Further to our recent conversation, the purpose of this letter is to express my sincere apologies for the mistakes that I have made recently with respect to my use of leave from my job. I believe that these mistakes were largely a result of some misunderstandings between me and the agency with respect to policies on the use of leave. In particular, I would like to apologize to Dr. Fleming and Dr. Lindhoff for any confusion I created. I will see that it does not happen again. Since I joined the company over three years ago, I have always taken great pride in supporting and serving our medical research professionals. During that time, I believe I have maintained high overall standards of ethical conduct and integrity. With respect to the recent leave situation, I understand that my actions were not appropriate. I believe that my lapses in this area were the direct result of my being under stress which caused me to make some questionable decisions. Since this is the first time I have made such a mistake, I would ask you to please consider it as an exception, and not something that will occur in the future. This behavior truly does not represent who I really am and the values with which I was raised. To avoid future misunderstandings of this nature I pledge to: 1) research in more depth, the rules and regulations associated with the use of leave; 2) request leave in advance, in order to allow my supervisors to adjust work plans and schedules; 3) notify supervisors as much in advance as possible of any expected leave requests; 4) discuss with my supervisor, any new regulations, notices or policies pertaining to the use of leave; 5) request for clarifications and explanations when new leave policies are implemented. I trust that you will find the actions proposed above to be acceptable. If you have any other suggestions please let me know and I will incorporate them. I very much look forward to clearing up this misunderstanding so that I may continue with my PAPI career. I therefore ask you to please take my apology and proposed corrective actions into account when making any decisions on this case. In closing, I sincerely apologize for any misunderstanding and confusion I have caused. I truly hope that you will understand and accept my regrets for this one-time situation and will allow me to prove myself in the future. Yours very sincerely, Juan Ramirez




Apology 5: Unprofessional Behavior

(print professional Apology Letter on plain personal or corporate letterhead)

765 Mission Blvd

Suite 1210 Pomona, CA 91766

December 14, 2004

Mr. Michael Angelos Director, Business Delevopment NextGen Electronics Inc. 2785 E. Kings Canyon Fresno, CA 93727 Dear Michael: I would like to sincerely apologize for my behavior at last week’s regional business development meeting. Shortly after the brainstorming workshop was over I realized that I had crossed the line with a number of remarks I made regarding the draft business development plan. I should not have addressed my criticism of the plan by attacking you personally. That was completely inappropriate and unacceptable behavior on my part. The only thing I can offer in my defense is that it took place near the end of a long and frustrating day for me, although that in no way excuses what I did. In closing, I am truly sorry for my unprofessional behavior and remarks last week. I can assure you that it will not happen in the future. I therefore ask you to please accept this apology so that we may both move forward for the good of the company. Yours sincerely, Marjorie Weiland cc: Bill Raleigh, President and CEO




11 – APPLICATION LETTERS

About the Templates

Application letters are also referred to as “letters of application”.

Application Letter Templates Included Application 1: Employment – Sales Manager Position Application 2: Employment - Customer Service Job Application 3: Employment – Chief Financial Officer








Application 1: Employment – Sales Manager Position

(print Application Letter on personal stationery)

1450 Vanguard Rd Apt. 2550

Bulverde TX 78163

November 20, 2004 Mr. Frank Hopkins Director, Sales and Marketing Mountain Electronics Inc. Denver, CO 80222 Dear Frank Hopkins: Please regard this as an application for the position of District Sales Manager that was recently advertised on Monster.com. Based on the requirements stated in the ad, I believe that I possess a unique mix of experience, knowledge, and skills that can definitely help your company in the critical customer service area. Experience, skills, and abilities that I can offer your company include: § 20 years of experience in the sales and marketing, 6 of those in sales management; § Selling services to commercial, institutional, and consumer markets; § A record of consistently meeting or exceeding sales quotas; § Extensive team management and team building experience; § Excellent grasp of "one to one" customer relationship management concepts and techniques; § Ability to work effectively in a dynamic, multi-tasking environment.

The enclosed resume provides more details on the above, as well as on other experience, skills, and abilities that I possess. I am confident that my ability to develop and maintain strong relationships with customers will benefit Mountain Electronics Inc. as it has my previous employers. I believe that my excellent record of success in closing sales, winning back customers from competitors, and increasing market share, clearly demonstrates my proven ability to meet and resolve customer challenges and add to a company's bottom-line. After you've reviewed my resume, I would welcome an opportunity to discuss your company's goals and talk to you about the value that I can bring to MEI. Let's talk soon! If I haven't heard from you by early December I will contact your office to see if we can set up an appointment at your convenience. Sincerely, Alan Gustafson Encl.




Application 2: Employment - Customer Service Job

(print Application Letter on personal stationery)

2545 Lisieux Street Saint-Jerome, QC

H1T 1J7

August 12, 2004 [Name of Addressee] [Title of Addressee] [Name of Company] [Address Line 1] [Address Line 2] Dear [Name of Addressee]: Please regard this as an application for the position of [Customer Services Manager] that was advertised in [last Saturday’s Gazette]. Based on the requirements stated in the ad, I believe that I am the kind of pro-active, results-oriented manager you are looking for. I possess a unique mix of experience and skills that can definitely help your company in the critical customer service area. Experience, skills, and abilities that I can offer your company include: § Over 15 years of management experience in the customer services field, the last five of those managing

my own business operation; § Ability to effectively recruit, train, and supervise staff in a multi-tasking customer service environment;

§ Above average communication and issues resolution skills and abilities when dealing with both staff

and customers; § Excellent grasp of the principles of “one to one” customer relationship management techniques;

§ Ability to lead an effective and productive team in a dynamic, multi-tasking environment.

The enclosed resume provides more details on the above, as well as on other experience, skills, and abilities that I possess. When I read your advertisement I was immediately excited by the vision and mission of [Name of Company]. Then, when I checked out your impressive Web site, I knew right away that yours is the kind of company to which I would like to contribute. I will call your office [early next week] to see when we can meet to discuss my qualifications and how I can help [your company] better serve its customers. Sincerely, Robert Crampton Encl.




Application 3: Employment – Chief Financial Officer (print Application Letter on personal stationery)

78 Gardiner Drive

Ottawa, ON, K2C 1G5

September 25, 2004 Mr. Allen Francisco AFA International Ltd. 1575-205 Blair Road Ottawa, ON K4R 2E8 Dear Mr. Francisco:

Re: Project No. JT-0597 – Chief Financial Officer Please regard this as an application for the position of the above-noted Chief Financial Officer position that you recently advertised in the Ottawa Citizen. Based on the requirements stated in the ad, I believe that I possess the type of experience you are looking for, having managed the financial operations of a number of fast-growing companies in the manufacturing and services sectors over the past 20 years. I have a proven track record as a pro-active, hands-on, results-oriented, financial management professional with a unique mix of experience, skills and abilities that I believe can definitely help the company for which you are seeking a CFO. I would relish such a challenge. Experience, skills, and abilities that I can offer that company include: § Over 20 years of experience as a trusted financial professional advising/assisting senior management

on strategies to move companies operating in dynamic entrepreneurial environments from the brink of bankruptcy to profit and growth positions.

§ Well-developed communication skills and abilities for the successful motivation and effective

management of both teams and individual employees. § Extensive experience in analyzing the operations of under-performing companies and then developing

and implementing strategies and solutions to revitalize the bottom-line. § Demonstrated experience and ability to manage and direct the financial operations of a company

including accounting, analysis, reporting, and cash flow management. § Proven ability to work closely with, and provide advice to, senior management on all aspects of the

financial operations of a company, based on a relationship of trust and integrity. The enclosed resume provides more details on the above, as well as additional information. Reading between the lines of the advertisement, I have the impression that the CFO postion you are staffing is almost a perfect fit with my background and experience. It definitely sounds like an exciting challenge and I look forward to discussing it with you. Sincerely, Raymond Mitchell, CA Encl.




12 – TERMINATION LETTERS

About the Templates

Termination letters are also referred to as “letters of termination”.

Termination Letter Templates Included Termination 1: Employment – Downsizing Termination 2: Employment – Poor Performance Termination 3: Employment – Sudden Closing








Termination 1: Employment – Downsizing

(print Employee Termination Letter on corporate letterhead)

CONFIDENTIAL

December 5, 2004 Thomas Zatinski 795 Gilmour St. Apt. 508 Chicago, IL, 60611 Dear Thomas: It is with sincere regret that I must inform you that your employment at Addison Systems Inc. will be terminated as of Friday January 31, 2005. As you know, the Downsizing Task Force delivered their report to the general manager in late October, 2004. Among the task force recommendations was the elimination of all temporary and contract positions. Since you occupy a temporary position, your position is automatically subject to the task force recommendations. I would like to make it absolutely clear that in no way does your termination reflect that the company is in any way unhappy with your work performance over the past 18 months. In fact, you have been highly regarded as one of our most productive contract staffers. Unfortunately, you and the other non-permanent staff that are being let go are simply a reflection of the general economic downturn in the fiber-optics industry over the past year. In an effort to try to reduce the impact of this termination, the company has worked out a severance arrangement that will give you one week's pay for each month you worked beyond 12 months. In your case this will amount to six (6) weeks of severance pay. In addition, your medical and dental coverage will remain in effect until the end of the severance period. You will soon receive a letter from the Human Resources Department with all of the details on the severance package. Thomas, given your qualifications and proven abilities, I am confident that you will be able to find another position in the relatively near future. If you would like, I would be pleased to write a recommendation letter for you, to help with your job search. Sincerely, Fred Shandling Unit Manager cc: R. Jackson, Human Resources




Termination 2: Employment – Poor Performance


CONFIDENTIAL

September 13, 2004 Kenneth Harrelson 418 Southpoint Boulevard Suite 805 Jacksonville, FL 32216 Dear Kenneth: This is to advise you that your employment with Rogers Battery Corp. is to be terminated and your last day of work will be Friday September 28, 2004. I am sure that this comes as no surprise to you after our numerous discussions about your sub-standard work performance over the past 18 months. Last week I completed my third formal review of your performance this calendar year and I once again concluded that your overall level of performance continues to fall short of the expectations set-out in your job description. Unfortunately I have had to conclude that there is no alternative at this point but to let you go. I regret that it came to this, but as you said to me last week, you just don’t seem to be able to fit in well with our way of doing business here at Rogers Corp. This letter provides you with two weeks notice so that you may have time to get your affairs in order and begin to prepare for your future. However, you are expected to report for work during these final two weeks. In accordance with company policy you will be given one week’s severance pay for each month you were with the company in excess of 12 months. In your case, this works out to a severance check for six week’s pay to cover your 18 months with the company. Your insurance benefits will cease on your date of termination. Also in accordance with company policy we will not release any details of your employment here aside from the name of the position you occupied and your dates of employment. Your salary information will not be released without your written permission. I would ask you to please report to Anne Fraser in Human Resources next week so that she may complete the appropriate forms to ensure that you receive your severance pay and are registered in the government database to qualify for possible future benefits. On behalf of Rogers Battery Corp., I wish you all the best in your future endeavors. Sincerely, Belinda Costanza




Termination 3: Employment – Sudden Closing


December 1, 2004 All Employees Allied Manufacturing Inc. Head Office 650 Canal Street Manchester, NH 03101 Dear [Name of Employee]: I am profoundly sad to have to advise you that Allied Manufacturing is ceasing all production operations effective immediately. You are therefore asked to clean out your desk and pick up your other personal belongings and vacate the office building by noon today. The decision to shut down operations has not been an easy one by any means. In fact, it was taken as a last resort measure. As I’m sure you’re aware, the company has been struggling financially for some time now and numerous measures have been introduced to try to improve efficiency and reduce costs. However, the recent loss of the small parts and fastenings contract with the Air Force was the final straw. With that revenue gone and no other replacement contract in the offing we cannot afford to operate, even under a breakeven scenario. I thank each and every one of you for your loyal service and your commitment to sticking it out over the past year. Your efforts to try to turn things around are appreciated by the entire management team. I want to assure you that we have made arrangements for most employees to receive a small severance package to help through the transition to another job. To find out the details on that, or to inquire into any other matters related to this termination, please call our special info-hotline at 1-800-650-6700. With sincere regret, Paul Holmes President and CEO




13 – ACCEPTANCE LETTERS

About the Templates

Acceptance letters are also referred to as “letters of acceptance”.

Acceptance Letter Templates Included Acceptance 1: Offer of Employment Acceptance 2: Community Service Appointment Acceptance 3: Consulting Services Proposal








Acceptance 1: Offer of Employment

(print Acceptance Letter on personal letterhead paper)

245 Washburn Ave. Suite 955

Darien, CT 06820

December 10, 2004 Ms. Rosalind Rogers Director, Corporate Communications Better Logistics Incorporated 500 Riverside Road Wilton, CT 06897 Dear Ms. Rogers: In response to your "Letter of Offer" dated December 3, 2003, please regard this as my acceptance of your offer for me to assume the position of Chief, Publishing Services at BLI. I appreciate you getting back to me so soon after the interview process. As discussed at the interview, I will be available to report to work at BLI on Monday January15, 2004. As I explained at that time, I have already committed to conducting a staff training seminar in my current position during the first two weeks in January. I really appreciate your offer and am very pleased to be able to accept. I very much look forward to working with you and the rest of the communications team at BLI. If you or anyone else at BLI would like to discuss anything with me prior to January 15th please feel free to call me at Pharmex anytime at 546-3478. Yours sincerely, Wendy Crichton




Acceptance 2: Community Service Appointment

(print Community Service Acceptance Letter on personal or business letterhead paper)

397 Washburn Ave. Concord, NC 28024

October 13, 2004

Mr. Ronald Whitcombe Director Of Business and Neighborhood Services City Hall City of Concord, NC 28026-0308 Dear Mr. Whitcombe:

Re: Business-Community Partnership Committee I was surprised and humbled when I received your recent invitation for me to become the first Chairperson of your new Business-Community Partnership Committee. I am honored by your offer. After some soul searching and an examination of my personal and professional commitments I have decided to accept your offer on a one year trial basis. By the end of that year I will know whether I am able to juggle the work of your committee with the other priorities in my life. I hope this trial period will be acceptable to you. Should you concur with my condition, I will be available on November 1st to start assembling a list of suggested committee members for your consideration. One of my first priorities would be to draft a terms of reference for the committee. I truly appreciate your offer and trust that you will be able to accept my one year trial condition. I look forward to working with you and the rest of the City’s management team. Please feel free to contact me at 345-5678 if you would like to discuss any of the details of the appointment. Yours sincerely, Bradley Fleet




Acceptance 3: Consulting Services Proposal

(print Proposal Acceptance Letter on business letterhead paper) October 10, 2004 Ms. Margaret Wainwright Senior Partner Wainwright and Bryson Consulting Inc. Brentwood Place, Suite 8-500 1501 W. Church Street Lewisville, TX, 75029 972-219-3400 Dear Ms. Wainwright:

Re: Community Attitudinal Survey – City Services The purpose of this is to advise you that your firm, Wainwright and Bryson Consulting Inc. has been selected as the successful bidder in response to our recent request for proposals for the “Conduct of an Attitudinal Survey Regarding the Provision of City Services”. I congratulate you on your successful bid The selection committee was impressed by the overall quality and depth of your proposal. As your lead contact for this project I look forward to working with you in ensuring that the survey is completed by the end of this calendar year and the report tabled by January 31, 2005. I suggest you call me as soon as possible so that we can set up a project initiation meeting. If you can’t reach me through the main number, please feel free to call my mobile number at (972) 218-3545. Yours sincerely, Frank Schuller City Manager cc: Brenda Wallace Director, Contract Administration




14 – DONATION LETTERS

About the Templates

Donation letters are also referred to as “fund-raising letters”.

Donation Letter Templates Included Donation Letter 1: Community Project Donation Letter 2: Self-Supporting Organization Donation Letter 3: Charity For The Homeless








Donation Letter 1: Community Project

(print Donation Letter on company letterhead paper) November 30, 2004 To Customer List Customer Address Line 2 Customer Address Line 3 Customer Address Line 4 Dear [Customer Name]:

Will You Join Me In Protecting Our Community? I am sending this to you as a fellow member of the Pinewood Acres community. I’m sure that you must value living in such a quiet and peaceful neighborhood as much I do. You know, sometimes in order to keep one’s community “quiet and peaceful” one has to take action. That’s what this letter is all about – taking action – community action. By now, via media reports and word of mouth you must be aware of the significant increase in house break-ins in this neighborhood over the past couple of years. In fact, the break-in rate has more than doubled over the past two years. According to the police this is just a sign of the times as the economic downturn continues and local businesses and factories continue to close their doors for good. As you may know, a local Community Action Committee has been meeting over the past two months to try to find ways to reduce the break-in rate in Pinewood Acres. Last week they released their recommendations on how best to combat that problem. Their primary recommendation calls for increased police and security patrols to supplement the local Neighborhood Watch program. They estimate that the extra cost to double nighttime (after dark) security patrols by Secure Inc. will be in the range of $15,000 to $20,000 per year. Unfortunately, this amount is not included in this year’s municipal budget allocation and there are no additional funds available. Therefore, as a concerned member of this community I have decided that my business will take the lead in assisting with this year’s security control budget. Accordingly, Branscombe’s Hardware will donate $1 for every $2 raised in the community to cover the additional security costs. I urge you to join me today in supporting this worthy cause for our common good. To make your donation today you can drop in to either one of our two stores and deposit your donation in the boxes provided near the front cashes. If you can’t make it to the store, please send a check or money order, made out to “CAC Security Patrol” and mail it to the address listed at the top of this letter. Together, we can make sure that Pinewood Acres continues to be “a better place to live”. Yours in community spirit, Gerry Cartwright President and Owner




Donation Letter 2: Self-Supporting Organization

(print Donation Letter on company letterhead paper)

November 20, 2004 Dear Past Supporter, Where there is a will there is a way. As our valued friend and past customer, we thank you for your encouragement and support which continues to inspire us to overcome our disabilities and gain independence by painting with our mouth or foot. It is with pleasure and pride that we forward to you our new selection of festive greeting cards and calendars. All items have been reproduced from original work painted by talented artists who are unable to use their hands due to illness, injury, or birth defect. The price for the complete set of six cards with envelopes is $19.95. We hope you enjoy this year’s selection and decide to buy it. You are, of course, under no obligation to buy. Should you decide to purchase, your contribution will be vitally important to us and will help us continue with our self-supporting work. We trust that you are pleased with this year’s offering and we thank you in anticipation of your remittance for the enclosed cards and for any order you might make for additional products that we offer for sale in the brochure. May the warmth of the holiday season surround you and yours with love and happiness. Gratefully yours, Sandra Mathews Mouth Painter




Donation Letter 3: Charity For The Homeless

(print Donation Letter on organization’s letterhead paper)

December1, 2004 Dear Friend of the Homeless, Did you know that only $1.97 will feed a hungry person in our community this Holiday Season? That’s right! It will cost just $1.97 to provide a complete Christmas dinner to one of the over 7,000 homeless people we expect to serve over the holiday season this year. That’s in addition to the 57,000 hot meals and other vital services we expect to supply over the entire winter. Please send the best gift you can this year to provide our traditional Christmas dinners on December 19th, or for the many thousands of hot meals we will serve over the winter. Your gift can also help provide safe shelter, spiritual guidance and other essential services for men, women and children in need. We truly appreciate all you have done to help us in the past to help us care for and bring God’s love to the needy men, women and children of our community. We thank you in advance for standing with us once again as, together, we offer hope to the less fortunate. Blessings of the season to you and yours, Dorothy Merriwether Executive Director. P.S. This annual Christmas fund-raising appeal is vital to our work here at the Mission. Please help us feed and care for those who are hungry and homeless by sending your gift today. Thank you!




15 – CONDOLENCE LETTERS

About the Templates

Condolence letters are also referred to as “sympathy letters”.

Condolence Letter Templates Included Condolence 1: Death of Colleague’s Father Condolence 2: Death of Employee Condolence 3: Death of Long Time Customer








Condolence 1: Death of Colleague’s Father

(Ideally, a personal Condolence Letter should be hand-written)

175A Fairmont Ave. Toronto, ON

M5W 1F2

August 18, 2004

Dear Robert:

I would like to express my sincere condolences on the recent passing of your father. Pamela and the children also send their thoughts and prayers to you and your family at this difficult time.

Although I didn't know your dad that well, on the half dozen or so occasions that I spent time in his company over the years, I did come to realize his great kindness and compassion towards those less fortunate than him. And I do know that he was very highly respected throughout this community and profession, and his good works changed the lives of many.

You were truly fortunate to have such a man as a model in your life.

As you know, it was not that long ago that my own father passed away, so I have some idea of what you and your family are going through. No comfort is quite enough to replace the loss.

Please pass my deepest sympathies on to your mother, and brother, and sister, and to all of your father's grandchildren.

Very sincerely,

Gord Henderson




Condolence 2: Death of Employee

(print Condolence Letter to employee's family on corporate letterhead)

November 15, 2004

Mrs. Edith Hampton 4575 Village Drive Seattle, WA 98105-5032 Dear Mrs. Hampton: I was deeply saddened to learn of Frank's death and I would like to express my sincere sympathy to you and your family on behalf of the senior management team here at Interconnect Corp. Your husband was highly respected by managers and employees alike throughout the entire company. He was regarded as a visionary leader by anyone who ever worked with him. Frank's contributions to this company during his 27 years of dedicated and selfless service were many and varied. In the early years he was a major part of our initial expansion overseas, and a number of the offices he set up in Europe are still operating very successfully. In recent years Frank was a key player in our transformation to full digital technology, a move which catapulted us into a leadership position in the industry. Believe me, his contributions to this company will not be forgotten. Please accept my heartfelt condolences at this difficult time and I ask you to please pass these sentiments on to your children. Your husband was a remarkable man in many ways. Knowing him personally as I did for many years, I am well aware of the difference he made in the lives of many people, both here in the company, and in his private life. He will be missed by many. With sincere sympathy, Charles T. Simpson President and CEO




Condolence 3: Death of Long Time Customer

(a business Condolence Letter can be hand-written or on company letterhead)

November 16, 2002

2698 Stonehearst Ave. Toronto, ON H4S 7Y6 Dear Robert: I would like to express my sincere condolences on the recent passing of your father. Veronica and the children also send their thoughts and prayers to you and your family at this difficult time. I can still picture in my mind’s eye, that day over 30 years ago, when your Dad brought you into the store for the first time. You got so excited when he bought you that 10-speed racer I was afraid you were going to hurt yourself when you charged out into the parking lot. You should have seen the smile on your Dad’s face as you raced off for home! He was one proud father. As I believe you are aware, your Dad and I grew up together and went to the same high school. Later, his young family became my valued customers. Over the years, I saw your father grow into a hard working and highly respected member of this community. When the two of us worked together on various community projects, I was often in awe of his truly caring nature and the great kindness and compassion he extended to those less fortunate than himself. I know that his good works changed the lives of many in this town. He will be missed by all of us. You were fortunate to have such a man as a model in your life. As you know, it was not that long ago that my own father passed away, so I have some idea of what you and your family are going through. No sentiment of comfort is quite enough to replace the loss. Please pass on my deepest sympathies to your mother and the other members of the family. Sincere sympathy, Jack Hutchinson




16 – APPRECIATION LETTERS

About the Templates

Appreciation letters are also referred to as “letters of appreciation”. Appreciation letters are simply another type of “thank you letter”, but they tend to be a bit more formal and businesslike.

Appreciation Letter Templates Included

Appreciation 1: Professional Assistance

Appreciation 2: Use Of Facilities

Appreciation 3: Guidance and Support








Appreciation 1: Professional Assistance

(print corporate Appreciation Letter on corporate letterhead) November 30, 2004 Mr. David Kimberly Director General, Civil Aviation Government of Seychelles 10 Island View Parkway Seychelles Dear David, I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks to you for your very active participation in our recent conference in Montreal on the "future of aviation". The Chairman and Board Members have also asked me to pass on their sincere appreciation for your efforts in supporting the Institute in this important undertaking. Your skill in chairing the controversial panel on "The Role of Developing Countries in the Future of Aviation Management" was very much appreciated by those representing all sides of that extremely sensitive topic. As well, we have received numerous post-conference requests for the paper you delivered on "The Critical Issue of Cooperation Between Airlines and Airports." It appears that you may have penned a best-seller with that one! On both a professional and a personal level, I really appreciated the time that the two of us were able to spend together for fun and reflection during conference down times. I certainly learned a lot about the unique aspects of aviation operations in your part of the world (not to mention the things you taught me about the backhand on the squash court!). We are currently hard at work producing the "Compendium of Conference Proceedings" document, and we expect to be sending it out to all participants early in the new year. Again, thanks so much for your enthusiastic participation in our conference. I have no doubt that it would not have been the success that it was without your presence. Please keep in touch, and drop in and visit us whenever you are in this part of the world. Very sincerely, Peter Smithfield President and CEO




Appreciation 2: Use Of Facilities

(print this type of Appreciation Letter on corporate letterhead stationery)

May 15, 2004 Ms. Jessica Patrick Senior Curator American Museum of Sports 505 Hudson Avenue Suite 2805 New York, NY 01253 Dear Ms. Patrick: The purpose of this is to sincerely thank you for the assistance and cooperation that you and your staff afforded us last week when we were filming at your museum. We are well aware that the three days we spent there was not easy for you or your museum visitors. We can only hope that the quality and message of the final product will allow people to forgive all of the disruptions that we caused to the normal routine of the museum. Hopefully, the fact that 10% of the proceeds from this documentary will be donated to the U.S. Olympic Committee will help our cause a little bit. Naturally, all of us working on the film believe that the disruptions during its making will be well worth the trouble if it helps us spread the word about this country’s many great “drug free” athletes. As I mentioned to you, the producers are planning to give the museum special credit at both the beginning and end of the film. In addition, the museum will be mentioned as a supporter and partner in all major promotional material, and its logo will appear on all posters. Again, thanks very much for your cooperation and support. Yours sincerely, Veronica Lacosta Senior Production Co-ordinator




Appreciation 3: Guidance and Support

(type corporate Appreciation Letter on corporate letterhead paper)

708 Sparks Street

University Park, PA 16804-3000

January 12, 2004

Mr. Grant Defalco Assistant Principal Magnolia High School 709 Hickory Street Martinsville, WV 26155 Dear Mr. Defalco: I’ve been meaning to write this letter to you for a long time now but things have been so busy getting started at College that I haven’t been able to get around to it until now. I apologize for the delay. I just want you to know how grateful I am and how much I truly appreciate all of the assistance and support you gave me while I was applying for college admission last year. The advice and guidance you gave me when you reviewed a number of my draft admission essays was invaluable. It allowed me to revise and refine them to the point where I was able to submit high quality essays and personal statements to all of the schools to which I applied. I’m not sure if you heard, but I was accepted into three different programs out of the five to which I applied. Thanks to your help! Also, the letter of recommendation you wrote was second to none. I know for a fact that it made the difference at two of the schools to which I applied, including Penn State where I finally decided to attend. I am now in their Liberal Arts Program and am taking electives that I hope will eventually lead to post-graduate studies in Journalism. I’m hoping I will have an opportunity to drop in and see you at MHS when I come home for the mid-winter study break. If I can help you in any way at that time I would be happy to do so. Thanks again for your kind and generous support. You will never know the degree to which your influence has shaped my life. Yours in gratitude, Shane Pearson Class of 2002




17 - INVITATION LETTERS

About the Templates

Invitation letters are also referred to as “letters of invitation”.

Invitation Letter Templates Included Invitation 1: International Conference Invitation 2: Speaker Invitation Invitation 3: Special Customer Invitation








Invitation 1: International Conference

(Invitation Letters can be hand-written or printed on corporate letterhead) June 20, 2004 [Graduate Name] [Address Line 1] [Address Line 2] [Address line 3] [Address line 4] Dear [Name of Graduate]: Over the past 10 years, you and over 4,500 of your colleagues have joined the MTIA global family. Since then you have become our best spokespersons in over 175 countries around the world and we thank you for that. To celebrate this together, we have organized the MTIA 10th Anniversary Aviation Executive Conference on October 8 to 10 2004. As a participant you will be able to take part in our Very Special Anniversary Program, or VSAP as we call it. That program will bring together top industry figures who will be speakers or serve as panelists. VSAP also stands for Very Special Anniversary “Party”! In conjunction with the conference, the Institute will be hosting a number of social and networking events. These will give you the opportunity to connect with fellow graduates and share how you have integrated your MTIA training experiences into your day-to-day professional activities. Held in Montreal, the international aviation capital of the world, this VSAP promises to be a unique experience. You really can’t afford to miss it! So you had better register right away. And remember, if you register before August 1st you can deduct $US 100 from the $US 525 basic Executive Conference registration fee. We hope that you’ll join us at this important international aviation event. The staff and I are looking forward to personally welcoming to you to this world class event. Patrick Crampton, M.Sc. President and Chief Executive Officer P.S. Make sure to check our Web site at www.mtia.org for regular updates on the conference. Beginning August 15th we’ll be posting a running list of the latest confirmed conference participants.

http://www.mtia.org




Invitation 2: Speaker Invitation

(Invitation Letters can be hand-written or printed on corporate letterhead) April 15, 2004 Mr. Roger Moriarity Executive Director Children With Disabilities Foundation 430 Smithson Drive, Suite 500 Chicago, IL 32956 Dear Mr. Moriarity: The purpose of this letter is to formally invite you, on behalf of the Board of Directors, to be the Closing Keynote Speaker at the upcoming 2004 IDCRI Conference. The theme of this conference is "Disabling the Disability - Looking It Straight In the Eye".It will be held at the Mountainview Conference Facility, in Montpelier, Vermont from November 3 to 5, 2003. For you information, Susan Crutchlow of Taming the Environment will be the opening Keynote Speaker. The provisional title of her presentation is "The Disabled Environment - Can We Help It?". We will forward a complete draft speaker program to you in a couple of weeks to give you an idea of the specific subjects that will be covered by the other speakers. We expect attendance this year to be the highest ever; in the area of 2,000 delegates and 150 speakers. This includes a large contingent from our new European Chapter that is based in Geneva. You may have hearsd that Dr. Walton Everinson will be presenting a major paper on his latest research into "Genetic Reengineering". We are already receiving inquiries from all over the world about Dr. Everinson's presentation. In closing, we would be pleased and honored if you would consent to be our closing speaker at the 2003 ICDRI Conference. I will call you in a week or so to follow up on this. Yours sincerely, Richard Bagnall Executive Director International Disabled Children Research Institute




Invitation 3: Special Customer Invitation

(print customer relations Invitation Letters on business letterhead paper) December 20, 2004 Mrs. Brenda Brewer 1541 Notre-Dame West Suite No. 7 Montreal, QC H3C 1L2 Dear Mrs. Brewer:

Re: Private Preview Showing – Spring Collection 2005 – Ticket No. 798435-2 As one of our longtime valued customers we would like to invite you to our special Private Preview Showing of our Spring Fashion Collection for 2005. The showing will take place at our downtown store at 4550 Sherbrooke St. West, Monday evening, February 20, 2005 from 7:00 pm to 11:00 pm. Limited free parking will be available in our parking garage on the Mountain Street side of the store. In addition to the continuous fashion show that will be running all evening long, there will be a number of spring merchandise draws, as well as a door prize for a $2,000 unlimited shopping spree. So, don’t miss out on the fun! For entry into the show and to be eligible for any of the draws you will be required to produce this original invitation with your ticket number printed on it. In order that we may plan for snacks and refreshments appropriately, if you plan to attend, we ask you to please call Danielle Laporte at (514) 982-7593 and advise her by February 10th. Please note: If Danielle doesn’t hear from you by Friday, February 10th we will assume that you are not attending the show and we will issue your ticket number to someone else. Everyone here at The Fashion House looks forward to meeting you and sharing our Spring Collection with you at our Preview Private Showing. Yours sincerely, Susan Rodgman Show Coordinator




18 – LOVE LETTERS

About the Templates

Love letters are also referred to as “romantic letters”.

Love Letter Templates Included Love 1: Someone You’ve Known For A While Love 2: After A Special Evening Love 3: Separated By Travel








Love 1: Someone You’ve Known For A While

(hand-write or print Love Letter on personal or plain stationery)

1735 Stanton Ave. Richmond, VA 22045

May 15, 2004

My Dear Cheryl, Loving you is so easy. There are so many reasons why I love you… The little things you do, the simple gestures you make, the feelings and thoughts that you share with me. I adore the way you look, the way you move, and your infectious smile. There are so many things to love about you! Do you know I love it when you daydream and you think no one is watching? Do you know I love the way your eyes sparkle when you tell a funny story? Do you know that I love the shape of your ears? Do you know I love to watch you sleep? I could go on and on. It's important to me that you know that I love you - and how much I love you. So whatever it is that you are doing, thinking or saying, as you go about your day -- know that I am there with you, loving you. Much Love, Nathan




Love 2: After A Special Evening

(print Love Letter on personal or plain stationery)

11017 Ashley Dr. Rockville, MD 21547

September 5, 2004

Dear Robert: I was just reminiscing about Saturday evening; it was such a perfect night. The subtle breeze made me shiver from time to time, but I'm so glad they had a table for us outside. What a wonderful way to spend an autumn evening. Sitting across the table from you, listening to your fascinating stories, I was mesmerized. You're so passionate and intense when you speak of the things you love. I find that so attractive. The wine you selected was perfect. Sipping it from the delicate glass enhanced the taste and it warmed my body as it filled up my insides. Dinner was sumptuous. The pasta was so flavorful; I savored every bite, sucking each strand of linguini slowly through my pursed lips as I listened to you speak. It was a luscious meal, and you were a delicious date. I loved it after dinner when we sat there gazing into each other's eyes sipping our wine. After each sip, the subtle taste of wine lingered on my lips, and I licked them so slowly, catching every last drop. And when you touched my lip with your finger, capturing that one drop of wine that I missed, and then licked your finger, a tingling sensation flooded my entire body. After dinner, as we walked along the sidewalk hand-in-hand, I realized just how much I love being with you, sharing a meal with you, talking with you, and being a part of your life. Love and affection, Diana




Love 3: Separated By Travel

(print Travel Love Letter on personal, plain, or hotel stationery)

Hotel Pierre

Fifth Avenue at 61st Street New York, NY, U.S.A. 10021

(212) 838-8000

My Dearest Catherine, Even though we’ve only known each other for a few months I have absolutely no doubts in my heart how much you already mean to me. I just wish you were here with me right now, so I could hold you tight and look deep into your eyes and tell you how much I love you. I can hardly bear to think that I won’t be able to hold you close for another 10 days. I wish my job didn’t involve so much travel. Catherine, I know that this waiting game is difficult for you too. At least you have your job, family and friends to help keep your mind off our separation. But I know that it’s still not easy for you either. Late at night is the bleakest time to be without you. The solitude and silence of my hotel room is almost deafening as thoughts of you endlessly invade my consciousness. I swear I can sometimes feel your touch as if you were right here with me. The faint smell of your perfume on my pajamas keeps me awake late into the dark and endless night. Catherine, it hasn’t always been easy since we met but we’ve somehow overcome all of the obstacles we’ve faced. I believe that’s because we’ve faced them together with the strength of our love empowering us, each and every time. As someone once said “love conquers all”. Now that I know you, I truly believe that saying for the first time in my life. In fact, it seems that we get ever stronger with each hurdle we overcome together. I must try get some sleep now my love. I have a big day tomorrow. I will think of you in my dreams. I will dream of when I will be holding you in my arms once again, tenderly kissing your lips and pressing my eager body against yours. With much love and anticipation, Charles




19 – LETTER OF INTENT

About the Templates

Letters of intent are a clear expression of one’s specific intent to do something. Letters of intent are often confused with “letters of interest”. Refer to the samples in the next section to see the differences between the two.

Letter of Intent Templates Included

Intent 1: Research Project Support

Intent 2: Homeschool

Intent 3: Scholarship Application








Intent 1: Research Project Support

(Print Letter of Intent to support research on company letterhead paper) August 25, 2004 Professor Glenn Davies Chairperson Research Projects Review Committee Department of Advanced Technology University of Colorado at Boulder Boulder, Colorado 80309 Dear Professor Davies: Under the terms of the SyncroChip Program for the academic year 2004-05, it is the intent of R. J. Dittweller Industries International Inc. to support the research project Development of Photon Microchip Protocol proposed by Professor Brian Johnson, Ph.D. of the University of Colorado at Boulder. We intend to make the following contributions on a cost-sharing basis with the University of Colorado in the form of direct gifts and contributions in kind: Cash: $150,000. Equipment: Unlimited access to our R & D. Laboratory and equipment, as available. In Kind: Support and advice from our research scientists, by formal written request, on an “as

available” basis. The technical liaison person representing our company for this project will be Dr. Vivien Wong, Senior Research Scientist (303) 492-1567. Financial matters related to the project will be handled by William Crandell, Director of Research and Development (303) 492-2135. Please have your staff contact them directly as appropriate. Sincerely, Bradley Scorrar President and CEO cc: W. Crandell, Director, R&D




Intent 2: Homeschool

(Print Letter of Intent to homeschool on personal stationery)

45 Rockwell Heights Dr. Painesville Ohio (403) 355-2590

August 1, 2004 Mr. Bradford Kindersley Superintendent Lakeland District School Board 30 Park View Drive, Suite 530 Painesville, Ohio 44077 Dear Supertindent Kindersley: As required by your Board, this letter is to advise you that we intend to homeschool our child in Grade 7 during the 2004-2005 school year. Student Name: Russel Bryant Student Address: 45 Rockwell Heights Drive Student Town: Painesville, Ohio Student DOB: Nov. 14, 1994 Attached is a preliminary curriculum list of books and materials we intend to use. However, we reserve the right to change or replace curriculum materials at any time in order that we might achieve the desired academic goals while being responsive to our child's needs and abilities. We look forward to receiving your written acknowledgement. Should you have any questions or comments, we can be reached at the above address and phone number. We do not authorize the release of any information contained in this notice except as specifically provided by law. By this notice we are not waiving our rights under the United States and/or Ohio constitutions as amended. Sincerely, ____________________ ___________________ Herbert Bryant Susan Carter-Bryant attach. (2)




Intent 3: Scholarship Application

(Print Letter of Intent to apply for scholarship on personal stationery)

1225 East 18th Street Suite 1530

New York, NY 10002

August 12, 2004 Mr. Robert Preston Office of Admissions Graduate School of Public Service New York University 295 Lafayette Street, New York, NY 10012-9604 Dear Mr. Preston: This letter is to inform you that I intend to submit an application for the 2005-2006 Mayor’s Graduate Scholarship Program (MGSP). I have been an employee of New York City for 16 years. I have already applied for admission into your Master’s Program in Public Service Studies program for the Fall Term, 2005. I will be submitting my MGSP application in conjunction with that program, shortly. I would ask you to please give serious consideration to my application for both your graduate program and the MGSP scholarship. If you have any questions regarding my applications, please don’t hesitate to contact me at (212).987-6534 during business hours or at home at (212) 988-5432 at other times. Thank you for your kind consideration. Sincerely, Janet Fraser cc: Mayor’s Graduate Scholarship Program




20 – LETTERS OF INTEREST

About the Templates

A letter of interest expresses one’s interest in something. Letters of interest are often confused with “letters of intent”. Refer to the samples in the previous section to see the differences between the two.

Letter of Interest Templates Included

Interest 1: Joint Project Participation

Interest 2: Development Project

Interest 3: Employment








Interest 1: Joint Project Participation

(Print Letter of Interest for joint project on corporate letterhead) December 2, 2004 Ms. Karen Federer Head of the Innovation Remote Sensing Centre Canada Centre for Remote Sensing 1600 Preston Street Ottawa, ON K1A 0Y7 Dear Ms. Federer: Re: Letter of Interest to Participate in the Innovation Remote Sensing Centre Program This letter is to confirm that Masterson Geomatics Inc. is interested in participating in your Innovation Remote Sensing Program. We would be interested in discussing with you the development of satellite-based geographic information systems (GIS) database technology and related products and services. We believe that application of the concepts used in the preliminary SENSIS model that we have designed will allow the energy exploration sector to significantly accelerate the detection of subterranean energy reserves, through enhanced satellite-based remote sensing. We believe that our SENSIS model employs a unique and highly cost-effective approach that has not yet been applied by anyone else in the world. Please refer to the attached SENSIS feasibility overview for additional information. We understand that, based on your review of the attached paper, you will determine if relevant expertise is available within CCRS to support this project and you will evaluate CCRS’ initial interest in participating in this project. We look forward to hearing from you whether our company can proceed to developing a proposal for a collaboration between Masterson Geomatics and CCRS. Sincerely, Charles Webber President and CEO attach.




Interest 2: Development Project

(Print Letter of Interest for project participation on corporate letterhead) March 15, 2004 Mr. Raymond Fielding President Campus Renaissance Inc. 1850 Highridge Road Columbus, Ohio 43201 Dear Raymond: Mitchell-Maxwell and Timberline Properties are pleased to submit herewith our letter of interest to participate in your campus neighborhood redevelopment project. Since being invited to address this exciting opportunity, our team members have collaborated to produce a preliminary plan that we believe will energize the neighborhood, strengthen the University community, and produce long-term benefits for the entire City of Columbus. As you know, we are a team based in the region with the ability to closely and intensively shepherd the transformation of our plan into reality. We are also a team comprised of members who have already worked together on a number of successful projects and who have come together, not for tactical reasons, but as a product of the enormous confidence which we already have in one another. Finally, we are a team with lead partners within which accountability for results will not be delegated. In the weeks ahead, we look forward to hearing comments from Campus Renaissance and the community at large about our preliminary proposal, which is clearly a 'work in progress' and which can only be improved by input from those stakeholders who care the most about the area in question. We therefore look forward to using that input to develop a comprehensive integrated final development plan. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to participate. Sincerely, ____________________ ____________________ Roy Gooding Mary Louise Lasser Mitchell-Maxwell Timberline Properties




Interest 3: Employment

(Print Letter of Interest for employment on personal stationery)

435 Mountain Road St. Paul, MN 55452

November 24, 2004

Ms. Emily Bronson Employment Services Recruiter Illinois State University Department of Administrative Services Normal, IL 61790 Dear Ms. Bronson: Please consider me an interested candidate for the Office Administrative Assistant position that is advertised on the university’s Human Resources Web page. As you will see when you review the enclosed resume, my background in software is extensive. I am knowledgeable in many types of spreadsheet and database applications. I also have several years of clerical experience which has given me the opportunity to develop good customer relations and communication skills. My previous experience has taught me how hard work, dedication and perseverance are essential when completing a task or project. As your employee, I would welcome hard work, be willing to learn new skills, be mindful of details, and stay on top of the latest software. I pride myself on my dependability and ability to work well with others. I would very much appreciate an opportunity to work at Illinois State University. Please call me at (651) 226-5962 arrange an interview at your convenience. Thank you for your time and consideration. Yours sincerely, Nancy Carmichael encl.




21 – LETTERS OF CREDIT

About the Templates

A letter of credit is an official statement, normally from a financial institution or government body, that guarantees the financial standing of a company or individual, subject up to specific stated limits.

Letter of Credit Templates Included

Credit 1: Public Improvement Project

Credit 2: Home Owner’s Association

Credit 3: Offshore Export Transaction








Credit 1: Public Improvement Project

(Print Bank Letter of Credit on bank letterhead paper)

LETTER OF CREDIT July 1, 2004 City of West Waterford Community Development Department Engineering Branch 1310 New Capital Avenue West Waterford, CA, 95593 Subject: Letter of Credit for Jackson Brothers Construction Inc.

Project A-045-595-23 – Upgrade and Repave Parking Lot – Larkin Building To Whom It May Concern: Please be advised that we have placed a hold on the line of credit of Jackson Brothers Construction Inc. in the amount of $650,000 for the benefit of the City of West Waterford for the work related to the above-noted public improvement project. This hold is effective July 1, 2004 and will remain in effect until the work is completed and approved by the City of West Waterford. Chambers Bank will secure said funds as a guarantee to the City of West Waterford for completion of the named public improvements in accordance with City permits. Funds guaranteed by said line of credit will only be restored to Jackson Brothers Construction Inc. after Chambers Bank has received written confirmation from the Director of Community Development of the City of West Waterford that said improvements have been satisfactorily completed in accordance with the approved construction permit. Chambers Bank agrees to disperse funds from the line of credit to the City of West Waterford upon written demand of the Director of Community Development, accompanied by the statement that conditions of the construction permit have been violated. This is an irrevocable commitment of funds which is not subject to recall by Jackson Brothers Construction Inc. Sincerely, _______________________ John Livingstone Corporate Credit Department

We Concur with this agreement: _________________________ Fred Jackson President




Credit 2: Home Owner’s Association (Print Municipal Letter of Credit on Municipal letterhead paper)

LETTER OF CREDIT

October 31, 2004 Treasurer West Beach Homeowner’s Association 1500 Bayview Drive West Beach, CA 95430 Dear Sir or Madam:

Re: Irrevocable Letter of Credit No. B-04-578379 We hereby establish our irrevocable Letter of Credit in favor of the West Beach Homeowner’s Association, a California Corporation (Association) for an amount up to one million Dollars ($1,000.000.) for the account of West Wind Developments Ltd. (Sub-divider) securing Sub-divider’s obligation to pay Working Capital Funds to the Association in accordance with the Agreement for Payment of Working Capital as required by the California Department of Real Estate. Your draft must be accompanied by the following statement executed by an officer of the Association and dated:

The Sub-divider has failed to deposit Working Capital Funds with the Association for every lot or unit, title to which is held by Sub-divider a, as of November 30, 2004, a date six months following the first conveyance of a lot or unit in the subdivision in accordance with the attached Agreement for the payment of Working Capital.

It is a condition of this Letter of Credit that it shall be deemed automatically extended without amendment for one year from the present or future expiry date hereof unless, sixty days prior to such expiration date, we notify the Association in writing that we do not intend to renew this Letter of Credit. Upon receipt of such notice, you may draw hereunder by your sight draft accompanied by our statement signed by an officer of the Association that:

We hereby certify that we will hold or disburse funds to discharge the obligation of the Sub-divider to deposit Working Capital Funds with the Association pursuant to the attached agreement.

Drafts drawn under this Letter of Credit must bear its number and date. Partial draws are permitted. We engage with you that all drafts drawn under and in compliance with this Letter of Credit will be duly honored on delivery of original certification and the original of this Letter of Credit for endorsement of amounts drawn, if presented at this office on or before October 31, 2005, or any automatically extended date as set forth herein above. This credit note is subject to the Uniform Customs and Practices for Documentary Credits (1983 Revision) International Chamber of Commerce publication. _________________________ William Nesbitt Vice-President Corporate Credit Transactions First International Bank




Credit 3: Offshore Export Transaction

(Print bank sponsored Letter of Credit on bank letterhead paper)

LETTER OF CREDIT To: AMCO Exports Ltd. 235 Industrial Parkway Bangkok, Thailand

Date: January 30, 2005 Ref. No: OEB-567-05

Dear Sirs: We have been requested by the Offshore International Bank, Boston, Mass. to advise that they have opened with us their irrevocable documentary credit number OEB-876-05 for the account of ABC Imports Ltd., in your favour for an amount not exceeding thirty-five thousand U.S. dollars (USD $35,000) . This amount will be made available by your draft(s) on this bank at sight for full invoice value accompanied by the following documents: 1. Signed commercial invoice in three (3) copies indicating the buyer’s Purchase Order No. A04-201

dated January 1, 2005. 2. Packing list in three(3) copies. 3. Full set of on board ocean bill of lading, plus (2) non-negotiable copies, issued to the Offshore

International Bank, Boston, Mass., U.S.A., marked “freight prepaid”, dated December 15, 2004, and showing documentary credit number.

4. Insurance policy in duplicate for 110% CIF value covering Institute Cargo Clauses (A), War and Strike Clauses, confirming that claims are payable in the U.S.A.

Covering: 200 cases of industrial tool dies, complete with installation assemblies. Shipped from: Bangkok, Thailand to Boston, Mass., U.S.A. Special Conditions: 1. All documents indicating Import License No. IPL-73259, dated January 15, 2005. 2. All charges outside U.S.A. are on beneficiary’s account. Documents must be presented for payment within 15 days after the date of shipment. Draft(s) drawn under this Letter of Credit must be marked with: Drawn under documentary credit No. OEB-566-05 of the Offshore International Bank, Boston, Mass., U.S.A., dated January 30, 2005. We confirm this credit and hereby undertake that all drafts drawn under and in conformity with the terms of this Letter of Credit will be duly honored upon delivery of all documents as specified, if presented at our offices on or before March 30, 2005. Sincerely, Jeremy Slater Business Credit Department




22 – MARKETING LETTERS

About the Templates

Marketing letters are sometimes confused with “sales letters” since they are quite similar. Marketing letters are usually more general than sales letters and often promote a concept or an event., whereas a “sales letter” normally focuses on “making a sale” of a specific product.

Marketing Letter Templates Included Marketing 1: Corporate Publicity Release Marketing 2: Post-Conference Follow-Up Marketing 3: Trade Show Industry Promotion








Marketing 1: Corporate Publicity Release

(print News Release Marketing Letter on corporate letterhead paper)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BATT-TECH Productions Inc. Takes A New Name – Will Now Be Known As ACROBAT Corporation (Montreal, September 30, 2004) - Batt-Tech Productions Inc. is changing its corporate name to ACROBAT Corporation. The change takes effect September 30, 2004. Batt-Tech, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hydro-Alliance, was established in 1994 to conduct pilot plant activities related to the development of the lithium-nickel-polymer (LNP) battery. Prior to Batt-Tech, Hydro-Alliance’s research institute had been conducting research and development into LNP technology since 1979. The new name is another step in the company’s plan to manufacture and commercialize its world-leading LNP battery technology on a global basis. The re-naming follows the assembly of a new senior management team during the past year. That experienced and market-savvy team was chosen to lead the company as it prepares to launch its LNP battery products in the global marketplace over the next few years. The first two industries targeted as potential major users of LNP batteries are the telecommunications stationary power sector and the automotive electric vehicles sector. “Adopting a new name is just a natural evolvement for us as we fast-track our unique LNP technology to the marketplace”, stated Boris Cadet, President and Chief Executive Officer. He added, “The old name served the company very well during the pilot program days and we will all be a little sad to leave it behind, but it is now time for us to adopt a new image that will get us noticed in the global battery marketplace.” Along with the new name, ACROBAT has embraced an entirely new corporate look, with a stylized logo, as well as new company colors, both of which will define its new corporate signature on all company documents and give it a distinctive identity in the marketplace. ACROBAT Corporation is the world leader in the development of lithium-nickel-polymer battery technology. LNP technology is widely recognized as the foremost in advanced solid-state battery design. ACROBAT is currently perfecting its LNP batteries for use in stationary applications (telecommunications) and in both HEVs (hybrid electric vehicles) and EVs (pure electric vehicles). Based just outside of Montreal, Canada, ACROBAT plans to launch its automotive line of batteries by 2005, following a launch in the telecommunications sector in 2003.

- 30 - Information: Pierre Colombe or France St-Michel, ACROBAT (450) 455-3262, [email protected] David Dresden , DD Communications, (514) 327-8205, [email protected]






Marketing 2: Post-Conference Follow-Up

(print Marketing Letter Follow-Up Letter on corporate letterhead paper)

June 14, 2004 Colin Bissell Manager of Membership Services Anti-Drug Association of America 1908 North Battle Street, Suite 1500 Alexandria, VA 22314 Dear Colin: It was great meeting you and getting to know a little bit about both you and ADAA at last week’s NASADAD Conference in Reno. I trust that your return journey went well and that you are settled back into the office routine (if such a thing is possible these days!). Although there were a few problems associated with weak traffic flow at times, overall I was satisfied with our participation as an exhibitor since I was nevertheless able to make quite a few quality contacts. As I said last week, when I first came across the ADAA Web site a few months ago I definitely saw a fit between “The Self-Destructive Use of Drugs” and AADA’s mission to “… build safe, healthy and drug-free communities”. In particular, I could very clearly see the poster being used as a marketing vehicle by your organization, and also by your members. Not only does it convey a powerful and attention-grabbing anti-drug message, but with AADA’s logo custom imprinted on the bottom-center, it would definitely give your organization high profile visibility throughout your communities. As I assured you, once an organization has a copy of this striking wall-hanging, it always gets hung in a prominent place. At IDARI we truly believe that the message of “The Self-Destructive Use of Drugs” will have a significant impact on reducing drug-abuse once it is hanging on thousands of walls throughout North America. Its powerful and compelling depiction of the“mind-body-drug connection,” involving all of the major drug groups, all in one place, is unique. Can you imagine the impact that this poster will have once it is hung on the walls of every school, home, community center, government building, hospital, police station, clubhouse, lunch room, medical clinic, sports facility, doctor's office, dentist’s office, military barracks, library, etc., across this continent? As for pricing; we would be happy to put together a custom quote for you once we know the exact specifications of your order, in terms of artwork and, most importantly, quantity. Please let me know what parameters you are considering and we will be happy to do a quotation for you. Colin, I truly hope that AADA and IDARI will be able to work together to spread the anti-drug message of “The Self-Destructive Use of Drugs” throughout communities across America. Please drop me a line or give me a call when you would like us to prepare a quotation for you. I can be reached in Montreal at (514) 972-2019, or at [email protected]. Sincerely, Tom Zachary Vice-President, Marketing and Communications





Marketing 3: Trade Show Industry Promotion

(print Promotional Marketing Letter on product or corporate letterhead paper)

October 30, 2004 To all Editors and Publishers,

Come and See a Snapshot of our Latest Products! Genoptik Laser Photo and its network of dealers in the United States, cordially invite you to drop by our booth at PhotoPlus East for a close-up look at our latest technological breakthroughs in digital camera technology. eyesight twilight™ - Just released in September, this is the first digital camera product that enables presentation of multiple exposures with a reliable preview image. Before this innovation it was impossible to overlay a second exposure over another digital image. With twilight™ it is now possible to overlay several images and display the resulting montage in preview mode before the final exposure is made. eyesight winder™ - Also just released, this digital camera software is specially designed for the capture and processing of either moving objects or still portraits. It allows the shooting and capture of multiple images in sequence, at a speed of approximately one image per second for later review. Using winder™ the photographer can later view all of the memory-stored images one shot at a time, in "digital contact sheet" format, on a color computer monitor. These leading-edge software modules are just the latest additions to Genoptik's line-up of products that make its eyesight™ Digital Camera System. a world leader They are available to all users of the eyesight™ system whether they work in a PC or a Macintosh based environment.

2,004 good reasons to check us out! Genoptik Laser Photo manufactured its 2,004th digital camera in 2004. These cameras are used by professionals worldwide in the fields of: photography, prepress, archiving and, microscopy. The basis of this technology is the ProgPic 4000 family of cameras that have evolved over the past decade. In 1994, the ProgPic 4018 camera won the internationally recognized Seybold Award as best digital camera for professional use. The longevity of Genoptik Digital Camera Systems is legendary throughout the industry. All new hardware and software developments made over the years have been designed compatible with the original base products so that users of the very first modules are able to work with the latest technological advances without changing their equipment. Come and scan our products at Booth 929 and we will also give you an insider’s look at our latest innovation, a revolutionary new Electronically Controlled Lens System. Here’s hoping to see you at PhotoPlus East! Victor Muehlen Marketing Director, Genoptic Products




23 – REJECTION LETTERS

About the Templates

Rejection letters are sometimes referred to as “letters of rejection”. They are a formal way to directly refusing a request that has been made by someone asking for something.

Rejection Letter Templates Included

Rejection 1: Employment – Job Application

Rejection 2: College – Application Rejection

Rejection 3: Credit Application








Rejection 1: Employment – Job Application

(print Rejection Letter on corporate letterhead paper) October 25, 2004 Mr. Donald Cameron 2950 Amherst Blvd., Suite 705 Richmond, VA 23223 Dear Mr. Cameron:

Re: Head of Security, Davidson Industries Inc., Washington, D.C. I regret to inform you that your recent application for the Head of Security position at Davidson Industries was unsuccessful. Although you met all of the mandatory minimum qualifications for the position, the Interview Board chose a candidate with considerably more experience than you currently possess. The chairperson of the Board asked me to convey to you his thanks for your candidacy and to tell you that with a few more years of diversified experience in the field you might well have been the successful candidate. On behalf of Davidson Industries I thank you for your interest and effort, and I wish you all the best in your future career endeavors. Please don't hesitate to contact me at 342-9856 should you require further information. Sincerely, Marilyn Litwack Senior Staffing Officer




Rejection 2: College – Application Rejection

(print Rejection Letter on corporate letterhead paper) May 25, 2004 Ms. Charlotte Purie 155 Ashgrove Ave. Ottawa, ON K2G 0P9 Dear Ms Purie: Your application for undergraduate studies at McGill University has recently been reviewed. We regret to advise you that we are not able to offer you admission to the Bachelor of Arts program for the session beginning in September 2004. As you may be aware, McGill receives a large number of applications and admission is highly competitive. Applications are reviewed taking into account all elements of the students dossier, including general level of academic achievement, marks in specific prerequisite courses, and additional information that may have been submitted. Given the overall high quality of our applicants, we are unable to offer admission to many students who are qualified for university studies. We realize that this decision will be disappointing and extend our best wishes for success in your future endeavors. Sincerely, Angela Redfern Director of Admissions and Recruitment




Rejection 3: Credit Application

(print Rejection Letter on corporate letterhead paper) July 19, 2004 Darren Holmes 1605 Rue Canning Montreal, QC H2D 1L3 Dear Mr. Holmes: Thank you for submitting your recent application for credit. Unfortunately, we are not able to approve your request at this time. Many of our customers in this situation find that understanding the reason(s) for our decision helps them to identify suitable alternatives. Our decision in this case was based on: § Information provided which indicates that the business may not be able to handle the proposed debt; § Our assessment that the projections provided need to make more provision for unexpected events.

If you would like a copy of your credit record which we used in our assessment of your application, please contact CreditRec Canada at 1-800-455-8177. Enclosed for your information is our booklet “Finding the Money You Need” which provides answers to commonly asked questions about business financing. This information may help you in your present search and in understanding how you may qualify for a business loan in the future. If you would like more information, please call me at (514) 495-4575. Yours truly, Diane Monpetit Branch Manager




24 – INVOICE LETTERS

About the Templates

Invoice letters are often used to bill someone for products delivered or services rendered when one has low-volume invoicing to do. Sample 3 can be sent as a letter but is normally a pre-printed form used for high-volume invoicing.

Invoice Letter Templates Included

Invoice 1: Letter Format - Professional Services

Invoice 2: Fax Format - Professional Services

Invoice 3: Standard Format - Professional Services








Invoice 1: Letter Format - Professional Services

(print Invoice Letter on corporate letterhead stationery) December 15, 2004

INVOICE Mark Burton Editor - Aviation Digest 345 Gilchrist Ave. Suite. 508 Chicago, IL, 60611 Dear Mark Burton:

Re: Invoice 03-139 - Article on Civil Aviation In India Please regard this as an Invoice for English editorial services provided while researching and writing a feature article on the state of civil aviation in India titled "Flying High In India: Young High Fliers Spread Their Wings". I understand that the article is for inclusion in your January 2005 issue of Aviation Digest Magazine. The work was performed between November 12, 2004 and December 14, 2004. Final copy (4,800 words) was submitted to you by e-mail on December 13, 2004. English Editorial Services - 35.0 hours at $60. per hour $2,100.00 Expenses (LD, faxes, copying - as per attached receipts) $170.50 State Professional Services Tax (Reg. No. 1426-94, at 8%) $181.64 Invoice Total (payable within 30 days of invoice date) $2,452.14

Thanks very much for this work. I really enjoyed working with you on this project. Please don't hesitate to contact me should you require my services in the future. Sincerely, Christopher Drew attach.




Invoice 2: Fax Format - Professional Services

(print Faxable Invoice Letter on Fax letterhead paper)

FAX INVOICE: 04-047

To: David Kingsley 374 Laurentian Ave. Montreal, QC H3C 1L2

From: Robert Williams (as per above)

Fax (516) 954-6376

Pages: 1

Phone: (516) 954-8222 Date: Nov. 26, 2004 Re:

Development of Resume, Cover Letter, and Bonus Career Brief

CC:

Please regard this as an INVOICE for English editorial services provided while developing your resume/cv and a cover letter. Package includes a Bonus 300 word Career Brief. Work was performed Nov. 20 to 25/04. Final copy submitted to Client by e-mail on Nov. 25/02.

English Editorial Services 5.0 hours at $ 60.00 per hr. $ 300.00

GST at 7.0% (142687426) $ 21.00

QST at 7.5% (101394564) $ 24.08

TOTAL Amount Owing (payable within 30 days of Invoice date) $ 345.08 Thanks very much for this work. Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you have a requirement for editorial or consulting services in the future. Sincerely, Robert Williams




Invoice 3: Standard Format - Professional Services (print on specially formatted or pre-printed Invoice Letter paper)

Corporate Letterhead Block 5000 Anyold Drive, Suite 2500 Anyold Town, NY, 12800, USA

[email protected] (514) 985-4550 www.corporate.com INVOICE

INVOICE NO: 2004-354 DATE: 11/20/2004 TO: Aztec Energy Systems Attn: Raymond Parent 245-3055 Victoria St. St. Laurent, QC J4S 1H1 (450) 754-1379

FROM: Robert Christenson (as per letterhead co-ordinates)

DESCRIPTION: Conduct of a Strategic Planning Review and development of a Corporate

Business Plan for Aztec Energy Systems to cover the period 2005 to 2007 as per memorandum of agreement dated April 07, 2004. Itemized costs as follows:

Project initiation, research and familiarization Meetings and preparation of documents for Strategic Planning Session Conduct of 2-Day Strategic Planning Session Drafting of Business Plan for management review Revising and finalizing report as per management comments Executive presentation and submission of final report Travel and accommodation expenses (as per attached receipts) Services Tax at 7% Prov. Tax at 7.5%

COST:

1,500.00

3,700.00

2,200.00

9,700.00

1,400.00

1,100.00

2,300.12

1,533.00

1,757.48

TOTAL: $ 25,190.60

TERMS: Payment in full due within 30 days of invoice date. Interest charge thereafter at 1.25% per day.

SIGNATURE:


http://www.corporate.com




25 – COLLECTION LETTERS

About the Templates

Collection letters are used to follow-up after someone has not paid an invoice within the original allotted timeframe for payment.

Collection Letter Templates Included Collection 1: Initial Notice Collection 2: Second Notice Collection 3: Third Notice








Collection 1: Initial Notice

(print Collection Letters on business letterhead paper)

June 15, 2004 Mr. Dylan Macdonald 150 Armstrong Ave. Georgetown, ON L7G 5S4 Dear Mr. Macdonald:

Re: Invoice 279-02 - April 30, 2004 - $1,755.68 This is just a reminder that the above-noted invoice is now two weeks overdue. All of our invoices are due in full within 30 days of the invoice date. Would you please remit $1,755.68 today. If you have already mailed your payment, please disregard this letter. Thanks very much, B. R. Egan Accounts Receivable BRE:st




Collection 2: Second Notice

(print Collection Letters on business letterhead paper) July 15, 2004 Mr. Dylan Macdonald 150 Armstrong Ave. Georgetown, ON L7G 5S4 Dear Mr. Macdonald:

Second Notice: Re: Invoice 279-02 - April 30, 2004 - $1,755.68 Our records indicate that the above-noted invoice is seriously overdue and remains unpaid. If there is some problem affecting this invoice that we may be unaware of, would you please give me a call at 725-9943. Otherwise, we would ask you to please submit the full amount of $1,755.68 immediately. If you have already taken action to pay this, please ignore this notice. Thank you, B. R. Egan Accounts Receivable BRE:st cc: M.S. Brandon, Credit Manager




Collection 3: Third Notice

(print Collection Letters on business letterhead paper)

July 30, 2004 Mr. Dylan Macdonald 150 Armstrong Ave. Georgetown, ON L7G 5S4 Hand Delivered By Courier Dear Mr. Macdonald: Third Notice: Re: Invoice 279-02 - April 30, 2004 - $1,755.68 According to our records, the above-noted invoice for the amount of $1,755.68 is still unpaid. We assume that there must have been some oversight at your end and we understand that these things happen from time to time. Nevertheless, we would ask you to please remit payment immediately. If there is some problem preventing the payment of this invoice would you please contact our Credit Manager, Mr. M.S. Brandon and he would be happy to discuss the matter with you. If you have already sent your payment, we thank you, and ask you to please disregard this letter. Sincerely, B. R. Egan Accounts Receivable BRE:st cc: M.S. Brandon, Credit Manager




OTHER FREQUENTLY WRITTEN LETTERS

As stated earlier, the foregoing Top 25 letters cover over 97% of ALL letters ever requested by the over one million annual visitors to my writing help Web sites. Another dozen or so letters make up the other 3% or so of online letter-writing help requests. These other letters that are also being searched for on a regular basis include: follow-up letter, request for information, order request, compliment letter, congratulations letter, refusal letters, retraction letters, and a few others. Other Letters 1: Follow-Up Other Letters 2: Request for Information Other Letters 3: Order Request Other Letters 4: Compliment Other Letters 5: Congratulations Other Letters 6: Refuse Job Offer Other Letters 7: Replacement Request Other Letters 8: Request Letter of Recommendation Other Letters 9: Refusing An Invitation Other Letters 10: Teacher Commendation Other Letters 11: Parent To Teacher Inquiry Other Letters 12: Resignation Retraction With these letters added, this Kit covers 99.9% of all letters ever requested.




Other Letters 1: Follow-Up

(print Follow-Up Letter on business or personal stationery, as appropriate)

May 25, 2004 Ms. Wendy Todd 891 Fourth Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Dear Ms. Todd: This is just a quick follow-up note to thank you for dropping in at Downtown Toyota and entering our "Miles of Smiles" contest. Your entry has been processed and is entered in the draw which will take place on June 12, 2004. I enjoyed our brief chat about the various models of Toyota cars that might be of interest to you. Your observation about the low interest rates we are offering on our lease financing was absolutely correct. As you said, it is the period of economic prosperity the economy is now experiencing that allows us to offer such low rates. As I mentioned, when the time comes for you to trade in your current vehicle, I would be very pleased to brief you on the entire line of Toyota passenger vehicles so that you will be able to make an informed decision about which vehicle best suits your needs. Any time you would like to discuss your personal transportation needs, please give me a call at 234-7865. In the meantime, I would ask you to please accept the enclosed key chain as a small token of your visit to Downtown Toyota and your entry into the "Miles for Smiles" draw. At your service, David Chen Senior Sales Associate encl. (1)




Other Letters 2: Request for Information

(print Request For Information Letter on business or personal stationery, as appropriate)

256 Cynthia Drive Little Rock, AR 72201

July 20, 2004

Mr. Jonathan Reddfield Information Officer LR Industries Inc. Little Rock 8156 Rodney Parham Rd. Little Rock, AR 72205 Dear Mr. Reddfield: Further to our telephone conversation yesterday, could you please send me a copy of your company's annual report for the latest complete operating year. As I mentioned when we spoke, I am particularly interested in the overall financial health of your company, its future prospects and the financial performance of your publishing operations. Anything in addition to the annual report that would provide information related to my areas of interest would also be appreciated. Thank you for your help and cooperation. Sincerely, Linda Struthers




Other Letters 3: Order Request

(print Order Request Letter on business or personal stationery, as appropriate)

Bridgewater Office 305 Commons Way

Bridgewater, NJ 08807

December 5, 2004 Mr. Shaun Fawcett Final Draft Publications 5-1501 Notre-Dame West Montreal, QC, H3C 1L2 Dear Mr. Fawcett: I would like to order one copy of your ebook “Instant Book Writing Kit – How To Write, Publish and Market Your Own Money-Making Book (or eBook) Online”. I saw the book on your Web site but I was afraid to use my credit card to order it online. Could I ask you to please send me the information by e-mail so that I may download it to my hard drive. My e-mail address is [email protected]. As per the instructions on your Web site, enclosed is a money order made out to you for the amount listed on the Web site of USD $29.97. Thank you. I look forward to reading your book soon. Rachel Dodson





Other Letters 4: Compliment

(print Compliment Letter on business or personal stationery, as appropriate)

253 Bridge Street Cooperstown, NY, 13320

547-2729

October 20, 2004 Mr. Reginald Hamblin Manager West-End Home Hardware 72 Elm St Cooperstown, NY 13326 Dear Reginald Hamblin: This letter may strike you as somewhat unusual since I am writing it to compliment your customer service and congratulate you on a job well done. I say that because I would imagine that most unsolicited letters you receive from customers are letters of complaint. I recently purchased a Sunbeam propane barbeque from your store for over $400. Although it was a bit over my planned budget, I knew I would be getting a high quality unit after I inspected the model you had on display. Well, you can imagine my shock and surprise when your truck delivered it the next day and I realized that it came unassembled! There is no way I would even attempt such an assembly, especially with the severe arthritis in my hands. No one at the store advised me that the barbeque would be delivered unassembled. In any case, your truck driver advised me to call your customer service desk which is exactly what I did. I have to tell you that the customer service person I dealt with was one of the most accommodating and helpful that I’ve ever come across. Her name is Joan Conte, and I believe she shoud be commended for her fine customer-centric attitude. Long story, short -- within two hours of me explaining my dilemma to Joan, there was a technician already in my driveway assembling my new barbeque. One hour later the job was done and I was charged the minimum $25 fee for the assembly. I’m happy to report we had barbequed ribs that evening and they were great! Thanks so much for your exceptional customer service. And please pass on my thanks to both Joan Conte and Mike the technician. With customer-focused staff like that your business can’t go wrong! Yours sincerely, Murray Wilson




Other Letters 5: Congratulations

(print Congratulations Letter on business or personal stationery, as appropriate)

June 25, 2004 Belinda Asher 620 Mayview Ave. Pineville, WV 24874 Dear Belinda: On behalf of everyone here at Deerwood Resorts Ltd., I would like to sincerely congratulate you on your recent graduation from Mountain State University with your M.B.A. (Marketing). I must say that I was not surprised to read of your success in the newspaper. During your first of four summers as an employee at our Lakeland Family Resort I noted how bright you are and how you have a very quick mind for business. Combine those attributes with your relentless work ethic and commitment to quality customer service, and it is obvious that you have a wide-open future ahead of you. I can only hope that your experience working with us contributed in some small way to your success. On behalf of the management and staff at Deerwood Resorts I wish you all the best in your future career and life endeavors, whatever they may be. Yours sincerely, Bruce Atkinson President and CEO




Other Letters 6: Refuse Job Offer

(print Refusal Letter on personal stationery)

15-495 Parker Blvd. Lowell, MA 01851

November 15, 2004

Ms. Joanne Gilmore Training Services Co-ordinator TecSys Educational Services Inc. 1675 Pawtucket Blvd, Suite 3005 Lowell, MA 01854 Dear Joanne Gilmore: I regret to inform you that something unforeseen has suddenly come up and I will not be able to report for the Training Officer position at TecSys on December 1st as we had discussed. I can’t go into the details for this change here because they are highly personal in nature. But I would like to assure you that this change in plans has nothing to do with the offer you made for me to join TecSys. Up until yesterday I had every intention of reporting there for duty on December 1st as we had agreed. I am truly sorry about this. Please forgive me for any inconvenience that this situation may have caused to you and your colleagues at TecSys. I will always be grateful for the time you spent with me and the generous offer that you made. In many ways it was the opportunity of a career for me. Please accept my sincere regrets. Sincerely, Manuela Lopez




Other Letters 7: Replacement Request

(print Replacement Request Letter on personal or business stationery, as appropriate)

415 Concord Pike

Wilmington, DE 19803 (302) 479-0144

August 25, 2004

By Express Courier Ms. Sharon Wainwright Manager, Customer Satisfaction ClikIt Cameras Inc. Dearborn Office 16500 Hubbard Dr #750 Dearborn, MI 48126 Dear Sharon Wainwright: This is further to the telephone conversation I had with you yesterday regarding problems I am experiencing my new ClikIt digital camera. (EasyPix, 3.2 MP). As I said, the main problem seems to be with the telephoto lens which does not seem to telescope as it’s supposed to, no matter what I do. There may also be a memory problem since I haven’t been able to store more than 12 standard color photos and the user guide states that the model I have should be able to store at least 20 standard color photos at the default resolution. Accordingly, as per your instructions I am returning the camera directly to you in the enclosed padded envelope. I would appreciate having this camera repaired or replaced as soon as possible. The primary reason I bought it was to take photos during my trip abroad which begins September 15th. Thanks in advance for your help. I look forward to hearing from you very soon. Sincerely, Patrick Greenway encl. (1)




Other Letters 8: Request Letter of Recommendation

(print Request for Recommendation Letter on personal or business stationery, as appropriate)

36 Braeburn Ave.

Bloomington, MN 55412 885-4135

June 5, 2004

Mr. Brian Gardiner Principal West Park High School 7885 Lyndale Ave. Bloomington, MN 55420 Dear Mr. Gardiner: I was wondering if you would be kind enough to consider writing a letter of recommendation to support my application to a number of universities for an undergraduate program in Liberal Arts. I have made this request because you know me personally and are well aware of my activities and achievements throughout my high school career at West Park. In addition, during the final two years of high school I sought out your personal and professional advice on a number of occasions when I was debating what I should do after high school, career-wise. So, you really do know a lot about me, which makes you the ideal choice as a recommendation letter writer. After my undergraduate degree I believe I would like to pursue post-graduate studies in journalism followed by a career in international affairs. This should come as no surprise to you since it is one of the possible academic-career tracks that we had discussed. At this time I’m not quite sure to which colleges I will be applying but I wanted to make this request to you well in advance to give you ample warning. I do not need an actual letter from you at this moment. Right now, I’m just seeking your agreement to write one (or more). If you agree, I will let you know the specific requirements for each of the programs to which I will be applying. That should be in about one month or so. I thank you in advance for your time and consideration and I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours sincerely, Gregg Hamilton West Park H.S. – Class of ‘04




Other Letters 9: Refusing An Invitation

(print Invitation Refusal Letter on personal or business stationery, as appropriate)

354 Adelaide St. Toronto, ON

M5W 1E4

November 15, 2004 Susan Lantos Space SL Gallery 4560 Yonge St., Suite 1010 North York, ON M2N 6L9 Dear Susan: Thank you so much for the invitation to your opening. Andrea and I were thrilled to see that you have finally realized your long-time dream and are opening your own gallery. We’re so happy for you. We know how long you have dreamed about it. Unfortunately, we will not be able to attend. We are already committed to a buyers trip in Europe the first two weeks of December so we’ll be out of town. How sad. We would have loved to be there to celebrate with you and your other friends. Shortly after we return from Europe we will contact you and arrange to visit the gallery when you are going to be there. We both look forward to seeing you in your element. We wish the very best of success with your new gallery. Yours truly, Tony and Andrea Asper




Other Letters 10: Teacher Commendation

(print Teacher Commendation Letter from a private citizen on standard stationery)

45 Muskoka Drive West

Orillia, ON L3V 7T5

July 12, 2004

Ms. Patricia Morton Couchiching District Secondary School 78 Andrew St. S. Orillia, ON L4S 3R2 Dear Ms. Morton: The purpose of this is to thank you for the positive influence you have had on our daughter Samantha this past school year. Up until this year, Samantha had problems every year with her English language studies. This year we have noticed a dramatic turnaround, and it is clear to us that it is directly attributable to your teaching methods. Samantha’s average in English Language Studies is now in the mid 80s, when in previous years she has never received an average over 65% in those subjects. Your transforming influence also shows in Samantha’s general attitude towards all of her subjects, and school in general. For the first time that we can remember, she looks forward to going to school and to your English Literature and Drama classes in particular. Her overall average for all subjects has increased this year by over 10 points, to above 80%! Veronica and I feel that the changes in Samantha’s attitude and marks have been so dramatic that we wanted to formally thank you for your efforts on our daughter’s behalf. We have also taken the liberty of sending a copy of this letter to your Principal, Jackson Davies. Thank you so much for what you have done for our daughter. Yours sincerely, Patrick and Veronica Miller cc: Mr. Jackon Davies Principal, Couchiching District Secondary School




Other Letters 11: Parent To Teacher Inquiry

(print Parent to Teacher Inquiry Letter on standard stationery)

147 Ridge Road

Salt Lake City, Utah 84105

November 15, 2004 Mr. Frederick Masters Mathematics Teacher Mountain Central High School 290 South Main St. Salt Lake City, Utah 84111 Dear Mr. Masters: I am writing this out of my concern over Morgan’s progress in her math subjects so far this year. It seems she is struggling just to maintain a passing grade this year when in the past math was her best subject. When Beth and I met with you in early October at the Parent-Teacher Introduction Night, you didn’t indicate that Morgan was experiencing any problems. However, based on her last two test scores it appears that she is indeed having serious problems with her math subjects this year. Morgan herself is quite upset with her progress in math but doesn’t seem to know what the problem is. She is quite confused about the whole thing. She has been studying harder than ever this year but her marks have been going down. It’s very demoralizing for her. Could you please contact me at 232-5973 so that we may discuss this in more detail and possibly set up a meeting. Thank you in advance for your co-operation. Sincerely, Bruce Barry




Other Letters 12: Resignation Retraction

(print Resignation Retraction Letter on personal stationery)

1309 Pickwick Court Naperville, IL 60563

November 18, 2003 Ms. Theresa Constantine General Manager, Quality Control Systems NEO Solutions Inc. 2500 Industrial Park Road, Unit 1500 Chicago, IL 60560 Dear Theresa: Further to our conversation this morning, please regard this as a retraction of the resignation letter that I submitted to you on November 15, 2003. As I said when we spoke, I had not thought through all of the personal and professional implications of resigning at this time. I was tending to focus on one particular problem and had lost sight of the bigger picture here at NEO Solutions. A very bright picture I might add, that I will be happy to be a part of. Thanks so much for helping me see the light and for giving me another chance with the company. Yours very sincerely, Roxanne Daniels




LETTER WRITING RESOURCES

I believe that if you faithfully follow ALL of the advice and information included in this eBook you will be successful in writing virtually any type of letter. Nevertheless, even given all the information provided here, there will be some people who won’t feel entirely confident until they check out every possibility. So, those people will continue to look for additional help and advice. To save those people a lot of time and trouble I have spent many hours researching what additional online resources are out there that one may want to consult. When I did a www.google.com search on the term “letter writing”, over 1,370,000 results were returned. For “how to write a letter” it was 22,100 results. So, to get that list down to a meaningful number of sites, I did a detailed review of the first 50 to 100 results from each search and then chose the ones I consider to be the most relevant and useful out of those. I then listed those sites ranked in order of popularity according to their alexa.com traffic ratings on the day that I conducted this research. Alexa is a respected Web site ranking service that computes traffic rankings by analyzing the Web usage of millions of www.alexa.com toolbar users (See Step 1). For a subject like “letter writing” the Alexa ranking, which is based largely on volume of traffic, can be considered a reasonable indicator of quality content. As you can imagine, researching and compiling these short-lists of links took many tedious hours, so please take advantage of the fruits of my labors.

http://www.google.com

http://www.alexa.com




TOP 25 ONLINE LETTER WRITING SITES The following links are what I consider to be the top 25 letter writing resource and information sites to help you find any additional resources you feel you may need to help you with your letter writing. As mentioned above, the sites are ranked in order of popularity according to their alexa.com traffic ratings on the day that I conducted this research. Please note that at the time this research was conducted and these lists were compiled, all links were tested and were found to be in good working order. Business Letter Writing Basics: for English learners… http://esl.about.com/cs/onthejobenglish/a/a_basbletter.htm Career Letter Writing and Resume Writing: Career Center Articles. ... http://career.berkeley.edu/Guide/Resume.stm OWL at Purdue University: The Basic Business Letter… http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/pw/p_basicbusletter.html Hobbies – Writing: Learn how to write a letter! ... http://www.essortment.com/in/Hobbies.Writing/ Letter Writing Guide: The Career Center. The Florida State University… http://www.career.fsu.edu/ccis/guides/write_eff.html Letter Writing Unit: Challenges students to write business letters... http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/letterwrite.htm

Business Letters: Writing Guide ... http://writing.colostate.edu/references/documents/bletter/

Letter Writing Help: letter writing tips & sites - Letter writing is an art… http://www.indianchild.com/letter_writing_help.htm English Writing: Resume & Cover Letter Writing Help… http://writing.englishclub.com/re/ AskOxford: Letter Writing: Letters remain important in our everyday lives… http://www.askoxford.com/betterwriting/letterwriting/

http://esl.about.com/cs/onthejobenglish/a/a_basbletter.htm

http://career.berkeley.edu/Guide/Resume.stm

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/pw/p_basicbusletter.html

http://www.essortment.com/in/Hobbies.Writing/

http://www.career.fsu.edu/ccis/guides/write_eff.html

http://volweb.utk.edu/Schools/bedford/harrisms/letterwrite.htm

http://writing.colostate.edu/references/documents/bletter/

http://www.indianchild.com/letter_writing_help.htm

http://writing.englishclub.com/re/

http://www.askoxford.com/betterwriting/letterwriting/




English Works! Writing: Format for Writing Letters. There are several formats http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/writing/main/letter.htm Writing Help Central: Letter writing help… http://www.writinghelp-central.com/letter-writing.html Letter Writing Help: National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)… http://academic.uofs.edu/department/ocs/cover.html Automatic Letter Generator: http://readwritethink.org/materials/letter_generator/ Letter Writing Contents: Letter Writing Rules. ... http://englishplus.com/grammar/letrcont.htm Parent Guides: Communicating Through Letter Writing http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/parent/pa9txt.htm Eight or Nine Wise Words About Letter Writing… http://www.hoboes.com/html/FireBlade/Carroll/Words/ Friendly Letter Writing Unit. Learn to write letters with Mitchell! http://esd.iu5.org/Teacherlink/teacher.htm Letters, Letter-writing and Other Intimate Discourse: General Letter Writing... http://www.wendy.com/letterwriting/ Plain English Campaign: The plain English guide to writing letters... http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/letterguide.html How to write a letter to someone famous: There are 100's of articles on this site... http://www.justdosomething.net/xsp/xsc.asp?uri=/home/zone/toolkit/someone-famous Author! Author! Writing Letters... Writing Business and Friendly Letters... www.kingsharvest.com/letters.html Business Letter Writing: An interactive online business letter writing tutorial… http://www.businessletterpunch.com Effective Letter Writing Letter: The average business professional spends 3+ ... www.kanten.com/styleguide/writing.html Letter Writing…letter writing help etiquette letter writing; sales letter writing... www.worldwriters.net/letter-writing.shtml

http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/writing/main/letter.htm

http://www.writinghelp-central.com/letter-writing.html

http://academic.uofs.edu/department/ocs/cover.html

http://readwritethink.org/materials/letter_generator/

http://englishplus.com/grammar/letrcont.htm

http://www.nichcy.org/pubs/parent/pa9txt.htm

http://www.hoboes.com/html/FireBlade/Carroll/Words/

http://esd.iu5.org/Teacherlink/teacher.htm

http://www.wendy.com/letterwriting/

http://www.plainenglish.co.uk/letterguide.html

http://www.justdosomething.net/xsp/xsc.asp?uri=/home/zone/toolkit/someone-famous

http://www.kingsharvest.com/letters.html

http://www.businessletterpunch.com

http://www.kanten.com/styleguide/writing.html

http://www.worldwriters.net/letter-writing.shtml




GENERAL WRITING REFERENCES Even though this guide is all about “letter writing”, as a Bonus I have included my standard quick-list of business writing resources for your information and reference, should you need additional writing help. There are literally thousands of business writing reference books available. The following is a researched “desert island short-list” of what I consider to be some of the most accessible and useful books for anyone looking for basic help in drafting their business and/or general writing projects.

Writing References A Pocket Style Manual, by Diana Hacker, Bedford/St. Martin's, 3rd Edition (January 2000). http://www.amazon.com Basic Grammar in Use: Reference and Practice for Students of English, by Raymond Murphy, Cambridge Univ. Press (March 1993). http://www.amazon.com The Chicago Manual of Style: The Essential Guide for Writers, Editors, and Publishers (14th Edition), by John Grossman (Preface), University of Chicago Press (Trd), 14th edition (September 1993). http://www.amazon.com Effective Business Writing: A Guide for Those Who Write on the Job, by Maryann V. Piotrowski, HarperCollins,2nd Rev&up edition (July 1996). http://www.amazon.com The Elements of Business Writing: A Guide to Writing Clear, Concise Letters, Memos, Reports, Proposals, and Other Business Documents, by Gary Blake, Robert W. Bly, Longman; 1st edition (1992). http://www.amazon.com









The Elements of Style, by William Strunk Jr., et al, Allyn & Bacon, 4th Edition (January 15, 2000). http://www.amazon.com How To Create and Sell Your Own Profitable eBook, by Ken Silver, Ken Silver Publishing. http://www.kensilver.com/ How to Say It: Choice Words, Phrases, Sentences & Paragraphs for Every Situation (Paperback), by Rosalie Maggio http://www.amazon.com How to Write It: A Complete Guide to Everything You'll Ever Write, by Sandra E. Lamb, Ten Speed Press (1998). http://www.amazon.com Instant Sales Letters, by Yanik Silver. http://www.instantsalesletters.com/?2985 Make Your Words Sell!, by Joe Robson and Ken Evoy, M.D., SiteSell.com Inc., http://myws.sitesell.com/goforitnow.html Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, by Merriam-Webster, Merriam Webster, 10th Edition (1998). http://www.amazon.com MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers (5th Edition) , by Joseph Gibaldi, Modern Language Association of America, (June 1999). http://www.mla.org MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing (2d ed) by Joseph Gibaldi, Herbert Lindenberger, (Foreword), 2nd Edition, Modern Language Association of America, (April 1998). http://www.mla.org Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition, American Psychological Association, (2001). http://www.apa.org


http://www.kensilver.com/



http://www.instantsalesletters.com/?2985

http://myws.sitesell.com/goforitnow.html


http://www.mla.org

http://www.mla.org

http://www.apa.org




Professional Writing Skills, by Janis Fisher Chan, Diane Lutovich, Advanced Communication Designs, Inc.; 2nd edition (1997). http://www.amazon.com Writers Inc.: A Student Handbook for Writing & Learning, by Patrick Sebranek, Verne Meyer, Dave Kemper, Great Source Education Group Inc., (August 1995). http://www.amazon.com Writing That Works - Third Edition, by Kenneth Roman, Joel Raphaelson, HarperResource; 3rd edition (August 2000). http://www.amazon.com

Writing Tools A collection of additional researched writing-related resources can be found at the following links at writinghelp-central.com: Letter Writing http://www.writinghelp-central.com/letter-writing.html APA Format http://www.writinghelp-central.com/apa.html MLA Format http://www.writinghelp-central.com/mla.html Writing Help Tools In addition, my Writing Help Tools Web site also contains a number of other writing-related resources that may interest you: http://www.writinghelptools.com




http://www.writinghelp-central.com/letter-writing.html

http://www.writinghelp-central.com/apa.html

http://www.writinghelp-central.com/mla.html





OTHER WRITING TOOLS The following is a list of my other writing-related toolkit ebooks: Instant Home Writing Kit - How To Save Money, Time and Effort and Simplify Everyday Writing Tasks http://instanthomewritingkit.com

Instant Business Letter Kit - How To Write Business Letters That Get The Job Done http://instantbusinessletterkit.com Instant Recommendation Letter Kit - How To Write Winning Letters of Recommendation http://instantrecommendationletterkit.com

Instant Resignation Letter Kit - How To Write A Super Resignation Letter and Move On With Class http://instantresignationletterkit.com Instant College Admission Essay Kit - How To Write A Personal Statement Essay That Will Get You In http://instantcollegeadmissionessay.com Instant Book Writing Kit - How To Write, Publish and Market Your Own Money Making Book or eBook Online http://instantbookwritingkit.com

http://instanthomewritingkit.com

http://instantbusinessletterkit.com

http://instantrecommendationletterkit.com

http://instantresignationletterkit.com

http://instantcollegeadmissionessay.com

http://instantbookwritingkit.com




INDEX

A accept new position, 55, 56 acceptance letter(s), 31, 41, 140-143,

152 alexa.com, 205, 206 amazon.com, 5, 52, 208, 209, 210 annual report, 86, 87 apology letter(s), 31, 41, 91, 126-131 application letter(s), 31, 41, 132-134 appreciation letter(s), 32, 41, 152 B barnesandnoble.com, 5 burn-out, 55, 60 business associate, 86, 88, 110 business letter(s), 4, 7, 14, 24-27, 30,

31, 41, 52, 83-91, 102, 206, 207 business stationery, 22, 23 business writing, 208 business-to-business, 83, 84, 85 business-to-customer, 83, 84, 85 C character reference, 44, 73, 77, 78 charity, 144, 147 chief financial officer, 87, 132, 135 child care, 125 collection letter(s), 32, 41, 188-191 college, 42, 43, 72-75, 155 commendation letter(s), 42, 45, 72, 76 community (service), 66, 70, 77, 81,

140-145, 173 complaint letter(s), 4, 31, 41, 92-101 compliment letter(s), 32, 192, 196 condolence letter(s), 22, 32, 41, 148-

151 conference(s), 153, 156-158, 176, 178

congratulations letter(s), 32, 192, 197 consulting services, 140, 143 cover letter(s), 4, 31, 41, 52, 102-110,

115, 186, 206 credit card, 96, 97, 100 customer, 9, 36, 37, 60, 62, 66, 71, 84,

86-91, 97, 114-117, 124-134, 145, 148, 151, 156, 159, 199

customer service, 63, 71, 91, 93, 99, 101, 124-129, 133, 134, 196, 197

D death, 148-151 defective product, 96, 98 document cover letter, 102 donation letter(s), 31, 41, 144-147 downloadable templates, 4, 7, 12 downsizing, 136, 137 E employee mistake, 126, 130 employees, 44, 47, 62, 73, 111, 118,

135, 139, 150 employment, 42-48, 61, 62, 66-69, 73-

77, 80, 132-141, 168, 171, 180, 181 F facilities, 152, 154 fill-in-the-blank(s), 5, 7, 8, 10 follow-up letter, 32, 66, 69, 104, 114,

119, 128, 176, 178, 192, 193 franchise application, 105, 110 full-block style, 23, 24, 30 fully-formatted, 4, 5, 7, 11, 12 fund-raising letters, 144




G graduate, 43, 50, 73, 75, 77, 79, 105,

108, 157, 167 graduate programs, 43, 73, 75, 77, 79 grammar, 17, 64, 208 H having a baby, 55, 59 health & safety, 55, 58 home owner’s, 172, 174 homeschool, 164, 166 I inadequate facilities, 96, 99 introduction letter(s), 31, 41, 88, 120-

125 invitation letter(s), 32, 41, 156-159 invoice letter(s), 32, 41, 175, 184-191 J job application, 180, 181 job interview, 61, 62, 66, 67 joint project, 168, 169 L letter formats, 23, 30 letter generators, 13 letter of application (see application

letter) letter of apology (see apology letter) letter of appreciation (see appreciation

letter) letter of complaint (see complaint

letter) letter(s) of credit, 172-175 letter(s) of intent, 32, 41, 164-170 letter(s) of interest, 32, 41, 168-171 letter of introduction (see introduction

letter)

letter of invitation (see invitation letter)

letter(s) of recommendation (see recommendation letter)

letter of reference (see reference letter) letter of rejection (see rejection letter) letter of resignation (see resignation

letter) letter of termination (see termination

letter) letter of thanks (see thank you letter) level of service, 96, 101 loans manager, 120, 124 love letter(s), 32, 41, 160-163 M marketing letter(s), 32, 41, 176-179 MIS manager, 77, 80 MS-Word, 4, 12 N new product, 114, 115, 116 new service, 120, 125 O offshore, 172, 175 order request letter, 195 oversight, 126, 129 P page compression, 28 parent to teacher letter, 203 performance evaluation letter(s), 42,

72, 76 personal letter template, 25 personal stationery, 22, 23 Ph.D, 46, 50, 79, 165 poor performance, 136, 138 poor service, 96, 97




privacy, 11, 30, 46, 55, 66, 77, 96, 105, 114, 120, 126, 132, 136, 140, 144, 148, 152, 156, 160, 164, 168, 172, 176, 180, 184, 188

professional assistance, 152, 153 professional error, 126, 127 professional services, 184-187 progress report, 105, 109 public improvement, 172, 173 R real-life template(s), 5, 9-13, 34, 39, 40 recommendation letter(s), 2, 4, 31, 35,

41-51, 54, 72-77, 137, 155, 200, 211 reference letter(s), 4, 31, 33, 35, 41,

44, 46, 72-82, 90 refusal letter(s), 32, 192, 198, 201 rejection letter(s), 32, 41, 180-183 replacement request letter, 199 request for information letter, 32, 192,

194 request for recommendation letter, 200 research project, 164, 165 resignation letter(s), 2, 4, 8, 9, 31, 36,

37, 39, 41, 52-60, 204, 211 resignation retraction letter, 204 resume cover letter, 102 retraction letters, 32, 192 return to school, 55, 57 S sales, 47, 86, 89, 105, 106, 111, 114-

123, 132, 133, 193, 209 sales letter(s), 4, 111-117, 176, 207 sales manager, 105, 106, 132, 133 sample templates (letters), 4-7, 11, 14,

30, 32, 35, 46, 55, 61, 66, 77, 96, 105, 114, 120, 126, 132, 136, 140, 144, 148, 152, 156, 160, 164, 168, 172, 176, 180, 184, 188

scholarship application, 164, 167 self-introduction, 120, 122 self-supporting, 144, 146 service breakdown, 126, 128 service club, 63 service error, 86, 91 speaker, 62, 156, 158 spelling, 17, 64 student, 46, 48, 77, 82, 166, 210 style guide, 4, 6 sudden closing, 136, 139 survey, 66, 71, 143 T teacher commendation letter, 202 teacher reference, 82 teaching, 46, 51 template adaptation method, 6, 13, 33,

40 termination letter(s), 31, 41, 136-139 testimonials, 112 thank you letter(s), 4, 31, 41, 61-71,

152 Top 25, 5, 6, 31, 41, 192, 206 trade show, 176, 179 transition words/phrases, 16-19 U undergraduate, 46, 49 university, 42, 43, 57, 72, 73, 75, 90,

108, 171, 182 unprofessional behavior, 126, 131 V volunteer, 48, 62 W writing references, 5, 27, 208 writing tools, 7, 210, 211




NOTES

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