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What is the difference between a business letter and an office memorandum? BUSINESS LETTER -A business letter is usually a letter from one company to another, or between such organizations and their customers, clients and other external parties. The overall style of letter depends on the relationship between the parties concerned.
Business letters can have many types of contents, for example to request direct information or action from another party, to order supplies from a supplier, to point out a mistake by he letter’s recipient, to reply directly to a request, to apologize for a wrong, or to convey goodwill. A business letter Is sometimes useful because it produces a permanent written record. And may be taken more seriously by the recipient than other forms of communication. MEMORANDUM -A memorandum (barber. Memo) was from the Latin verbal phrase memorandum est., the gerundive form of the verb memory, “to mention, call to mind, recount, which means “It must be remembered (that)… “. It is therefore a note, document or other communication that helps the memory by recording events r observations on a topic, such as may be used in a business office. The plural form of the Latin noun memorandum so derived is properly memoranda, but if the word is deemed to have become a word of the English language, the plural memorandums, abbreviated to memos, may be used. . What are the parts of a memorandum? Heading Segment The heading segment follows this general format: TO: (readers’ names and lob titles) FROM: (your name and job title) DATE: (complete and current date) SUBJECT: (what the memo is about, highlighted in some way) Opening Segment The purpose of a memo is usually found in the opening paragraph and includes: the purpose of the memo, the context and problem, and the specific assignment or task.
Before indulging the reader with details and the context, give the reader a brief overview of what the memo will be about. Context The context Is the event, circumstance, or background of the problem you are solving. You may use a paragraph or a few sentences to establish the background and state the problem. Task Segment one essential portion of a memo Is the task statement where you should describe If your memo is longer than a page, you may want to include a separate summary segment.
However, this section not necessary for short memos and should not take up a significant amount of space. Discussion Segments The discussion segments are the longest portions of the memo, and are the parts in which you include all the details that support your ideas. Begin with the information that is most important. Closing Segment After the reader has absorbed all of your information, you want to close with a courteous ending that states what action you want your reader to take.