Business Correspondence Part 20

_Business stationery should reflect the house that sends it out but unless specific rules are adopted there will be a lack of uniformity in arrangement, in style, in spelling, infolding--all the little mechanical details that contribute to an impression of_ CHARACTER _and_ INDIVIDUALITY. _Definite instructions should be given to correspondents and stenographers so that letters, although written in a dozen different departments, will have a uniformity in appearance. What a book of instructions should contain and how rules can be adopted is described in this chapter_

Just as progressive business houses now aim to have their correspondence uniform in policy and quality, so too, they aim at uniformity in letter appearance--the mechanical production. It is obvious that if the letters sent out by a house are to have character, one style must be adopted and definite rules must be formulated for the guidance of the stenographers. The authorities differ on many points such as the use of capital letters, abbreviations, the use of figures, and so forth, and it is not to be expected that stenographers, trained at different schools and working in different departments, could produce uniformity unless they all follow specific instructions.

And so the more progressive firms have adopted a fixed style and codified certain rules for the guidance of stenographers and typists. In the writing of a letter there are so many points that are entirely a matter of personal taste that a comprehensive rule book touches an almost infinite number of subjects, ranging from an important question of house policy to the proper way of folding the sheet on which the letter is written.

It is not the purpose of this chapter to give a summary of the rules for punctuation and capitalization or to pa.s.s judgment on questions of style, but to emphasize the necessity for uniformity in all correspondence that a house sends out, and to call attention to a few of the more common errors that are inexcusable.

As far as the impression created by an individual letter is concerned, it really makes very little difference whether the paragraphs are indented or begin flush with the line margin. But it is important that all the letters sent out by a house follow the same style. A stenographer should not be permitted to use the abbreviation "Co." in one part of her letter and spell out the word "company" in the following paragraph.

In formulating the rules, two things should be kept in mind-- clearness, to make the meaning of the writer plain; and a pleasing appearance that will make a favorable impression upon the reader.

The sole purpose of punctuation marks is to help convey a thought so clearly that it cannot be misunderstood and experienced writers learn to use the proper marks almost intuitively. The rules are applied unconsciously. Many correspondents in dictating designate the beginning and the close of each sentence but others leave this to the intelligence of the stenographer, and there is no better rule for those to whom such matters are left than to be liberal in the use of periods. Avoid long, involved sentences. There is little danger of misunderstanding in short sentences.

Most of the rules can be made hard and fast--a simple regulation to do this or to avoid that. They should begin with the date line.

Instructions should be given as to the place for the date line: whether it should be written on one or two lines and whether the month should be expressed in figures or should be spelled out, and whether the year should be printed in full or abbreviated. There is a growing tendency to use figures, such as 10-15-10, and supplementary letters, such as "rd," "th," and so forth, are being eliminated. Some firms are placing the date at the bottom of the letter at the left hand margin, although for convenience in making a quick reference the date line at the top of the letter is much to be preferred.

A Page of Instructions to Stenographers:

_City and date must be written about three s.p.a.ces below the lowest printed matter on letterhead, as follows: Chicago, date single s.p.a.ce below, regulated so that it will precede and extend beyond "Chicago"

an equal distance, the end of date being in line with margin of body of letter; spell the month in full, followed by the date in figures, after which use comma; add year in figures and end with period.

Commence letter by addressing customer, then double s.p.a.ce and follow with city and state (do not give street address) except where window envelope is to be used; double s.p.a.ce and address as "Dear Sir" or "Madam." Also double s.p.a.ce between this salutation and first paragraph.

Paragraphs must begin ten points from margin on a line with city.

Use single s.p.a.ce, with double s.p.a.ce between paragraphs.

In closing use the phrase "Yours very truly" and sign "The Wilson-Graham Company." Have correspondent's and stenographer's initials on line with margin on left hand side of sheet. Margins must be regulated by length of letter to be written, using your judgment in this respect.

The half size letterhead should be used for very short letters.

Envelopes must be addressed double s.p.a.ce, with beginning of name, street address, city and state on marginal line, as per sample attached._

The points that are suggested here, however, are entirely a matter of taste. There is no court of last resort to which appeal can be made as to the better method. Each house must use its own judgment.

The important thing is to secure uniformity.

Rules should govern the name of the addressee, whether it should be prefaced by such t.i.tles as "Mr." or "Messrs." The form of the salutation, the size of the margin, the s.p.a.cing between lines and between paragraphs, the indentation of paragraphs, if any--all of these points should be covered by rules. The subscription, the placing of the dictator's and the stenographer's initials are all proper subjects for the instruction book.

The use of capital letters is a disputed question with writers, printers and proofreaders. But there is a growing tendency to use the small letters wherever possible. One large firm in the east has this rule:

"When in doubt regarding the use of a capital letter, don't.

Use a small letter."

A great many business houses, for the sake of emphasis, capitalize the names of their own products. For instance:

"In this Catalogue you will find listed a very complete line of Countershafts, Magnetos, Induction Coils, Lubricators, m.u.f.flers, Spark Coils, and a complete line of automobile accessories."

There is no rule that justifies such capitalization but it is a common practice in business correspondence.

There are some correspondents who write a word or a sentence in capital letters for emphasis. Occasionally this may be done to advantage but the tendency is to overwork the scheme. At best it is a lazy man's way of trying to secure emphasis without the mental exertion of thinking up some figure of speech or some original expression that will give force to his thought.

The rule book should help out the stenographer in the use of numbers and prices. Usage and a practical viewpoint both commend the use of figures for expressing sums of money. "Twelve hundred dollars" may be understood but it takes longer to write and does not make such a sharp image in the mind of the reader as $1,200. A common rule for figures is to spell out numbers under one hundred and to use numerals for larger amounts.

The use of abbreviations should be restricted and an inflexible rule should be never to use a man's initials or abbreviate his given name if he spells it out. If you find by a letterhead that the one to whom you are writing spells out the name of his state it is wise to follow the trail.

The errors in punctuation found in business correspondence are of infinite variety, although a surprising number of stenographers make similar errors in using hyphens for dashes and in misplacing quotation marks. Here is a common error:

"A model No. 8,--the one we exhibited at the Business Show last week,--has been sold to a customer in New Zealand."

There is no excuse for the comma used in connection with the dash and yet this construction is found in letters every day.

Unfortunately most typewriters do not have a dash and so the hyphen is used, but stenographers should be instructed to use two or, better yet, three hyphens without s.p.a.cing (---), rather than a single hyphen as is so frequently seen. Here is a sentence in which the girl was versatile enough to combine two styles in one sentence:

"The auto---although it was completely overhauled a few days ago---could not be started."

In the first place, the single hyphen gives the appearance of a compound word, and placing a s.p.a.ce on each side is scarcely less objectionable. Insist upon two or three hyphens without s.p.a.ces when a dash is wanted.

Quotation marks are another stumbling block. There is no occasion to put the name of well-known books, magazines, and newspapers in quotation marks. If you refer to Harper's Monthly the reader will get your meaning just as well without the quotation marks. Many stenographers in writing a sentence that ends with a quoted word place the quotation mark first and the period or question mark following, as:

Johnson's last words to me were: "I will accept your terms".

Put the period inside the fence where it belongs. This is a rule that is violated more often than it is observed, the confusion coming from an occasional exception where a punctuation mark has nothing to do with the quotation, as in the sentence:

"May we not send you a trial order of our "X Brand"?

Here it is plain that the question mark should follow the quotation mark. There is no excuse for the frequent misplacing of these marks, for the quoted part of a sentence invariably shows the proper position for each mark.

A chapter could be filled with errors to be avoided--only a few of the most common ones are mentioned here. This reference to them may suggest to the heads of correspondence departments the range of points to be covered in a rule book.