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Chapter 5 - Civilian Letter

This document provides information on writing civilian letters, including: 1) The parts of a civilian letter such as the heading, date, salutation, body, signature. 2) Types of civilian letters like invitation, request, and adjustment letters. 3) General rules on spacing, margins, and formatting for civilian letters. 4) How to write continuation pages and fold correspondence for mailing.

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kim ryan uchi
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26K views9 pages

Chapter 5 - Civilian Letter

This document provides information on writing civilian letters, including: 1) The parts of a civilian letter such as the heading, date, salutation, body, signature. 2) Types of civilian letters like invitation, request, and adjustment letters. 3) General rules on spacing, margins, and formatting for civilian letters. 4) How to write continuation pages and fold correspondence for mailing.

Uploaded by

kim ryan uchi
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Module TECHNICAL ENGLISH 1 (Investigative Report Writing and Presentation)

CHAPTER V
Civilian Letter

At the end of this module, the learner should be able to:

▪ Recognize the essential part of Civilian Letter,


▪ Illustrate the importance uses of Civilian Leter

CIVILIAN LETTER

Misconceptions can arise out of the word “civilian.” The police


organization is civilian in character, and even if it is civilian-para
military, the police makes use of the civilian letter when writing to
those outside the police organization.
The police use a purely civilian letter when communicating with
the President of the Philippines, Department Secretaries, Provincial
Governors, City or Municipal Mayors, owners and managers of private
companies, and the like.
A civilian letter, unlike the radiographic message, memorandum,
and endorsement has a different form, because it is concerned with
symmetry or a well-balanced appearance. Also, a civilian letter uses a
different phraseology while its paragraphs are not numbered, unless when
tabulating.

PARTS OF ACIVILIAN LETTER

1. Heading

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Module TECHNICAL ENGLISH 1 (Investigative Report Writing and Presentation)

A type or a printed letterhead may be used. It includes the writer’s


office and office address. Abbreviations shall not be made for the city,
municipality and province.

2. File Reference
The use of identifying file reference is optional on the
instructions issued by the chief or head of office. If ever used, it is
placed at the left margin two spaces below the letterhead, and in line
with, and below, the current date.

3. Dateline

4. Inside Address
The addressee’s name should be written fully. It should always be
preceded by a courtesy title, except in cases of M.D., Ph.D., and a few
others.

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Module TECHNICAL ENGLISH 1 (Investigative Report Writing and Presentation)

5. Attention Line
To speed up handling of the letter, the attention line is used when
the letter is addressed to a company or to a particular department of a
company or to an individual aside from the addressee.

6. Salutation
The salutation greets the reader and the greeting may be formal or
informal, cordial or personal.

7. Subject Line
The subject line is the gist of the message. It helps a very busy
person find out in a split second what the letter is all about.

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Module TECHNICAL ENGLISH 1 (Investigative Report Writing and Presentation)

8. Body
The body is the message itself. In it, one of the problems that
may confront a correspondent is paragraphing. This, however, does not
pertain to the appearance of the message; but rather, to its contents.
A correspondent gets focused on how to end and how to begin another
paragraph.
9. Complimentary Clause
A complimentary clause is usually followed by a comma, and comes
immediately after the last line of the message. The first word starts
with a capital letter.

10. Company Signature


In civilian letter, a company signature may be shown immediately
above the writer’s signature, based on the theory that the company, not
the writer, is the legal entity. In other words, the company assumes a
greater responsibility than the individual; otherwise, the company

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Module TECHNICAL ENGLISH 1 (Investigative Report Writing and Presentation)

signature is omitted, especially if including it is not a standard policy


of the firm.
11. Reference Initials

Initials of the writer and his typist or secretary appear at the


left of the stationary, about two spaces below the writer’s
identification. These initials are aligned with the left margin of the
letter.

12. Enclosure Notation


This notation refers to anything sent with the basic communication.

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Module TECHNICAL ENGLISH 1 (Investigative Report Writing and Presentation)

13. Postscript (P.S.)


If a writer has forgotten something in the message, he adds a P.S.
it is intended to attract attention. The postscript may be flushed with
the letter margins or may be intended fives spaces from both margins.
14. Copy Furnished
When one or two copies are furnished, a carbon copy (cc) notation
is indicated on the original and all copies of the letter.

TYPES OF CIVILIAN LETTERS

✓ Information Letter
✓ Invitation Letter
✓ Invitation Refusal
✓ Claim Letter
✓ Adjustment Letter
✓ Request Letter
✓ Transmittal Letter
✓ Credit Application Letter
✓ Order Letter
✓ Letter of Inquiry
✓ Recommendation Letter
✓ Reference Letter
✓ Application Letter
✓ Condolence Letter
✓ Appointment Letter

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Module TECHNICAL ENGLISH 1 (Investigative Report Writing and Presentation)

QUALIFICATION SUMMARY
The qualification summary, sometimes called a resume’, a personal
record, or even a data sheet, states in brief the qualifications of the
applicant. This usually contains the position applied for, experience,
educational attainment and references. These four items when
systematically arranged should attract the reader’s attention.

GENERAL RULES ON SPACING


1. On standard 8.5 by 11-inch stationary, the date is usually typed
on line 15 with the inside address typed five lines below.
2. One blank line is left before the salutation, each paragraph, the
complimentary close, the company signature, if used.
3. If an attention line or a subject line is included, one blank line
precedes and follows these parts.
4. The writer’s identification should be preceded by at least three
blank lines to allow room for the signature.
5. At least one blank line usually separates the writer’s
identification from the reference initials.
6. Generally, no blank line separates the reference initials from
enclosure and carbon notations.
7. A postscript, if used is preceded by one blank line.

GENERAL RULES ON MARGINAL SPACES


1. The left margin of a letter should be straight whether it is pen-
written or typewritten.
2. Because it is impossible to achieve a straight line for the right
margin, the writer must exercise care and good judgment in driving
words at the ends of the lines to prevent the page from having a
ragged appearance.
3. When the letter is very short, the margin should increase, and the
letter placed far enough from the top of the page to allow it to
occupy the middle of the page.
4. For an average-length letter, from 100-150 words, it may be written
on a page when double-spacing is used and the marginal stops are
set so as to make the lines fifty spaces in length.
5. In a 200-300-word or more letter, the same length line may be used,
but single-spaced. Double- spacing between paragraphs should be
used if the desire is to accommodate the whole message on one page.

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Module TECHNICAL ENGLISH 1 (Investigative Report Writing and Presentation)

6. If a message cannot be accommodated on one page, a second page may


be used, having the same side margins as the first page.
7. In a continuation page, the top margin should be one inch, the
first line to be typed on line 7, and approximately the same length,
if not more at the bottom margin.

CONTINUATION PAGE
A very modern treatment of a continuation page notation in civilian
letters is best illustrated in “English for Business.” This book shows
the addressee’s name, with initiated first name, (but definitely not the
surname), page number, and date, that appear on the first page – all
types toward the top margin. These items may be typed vertically or
horizontally.

Just like memorandums, civilian letters use plain stationery, not


printed letterhead for the second and succeeding pages. They also follow
the same rules regarding division of paragraphs.

FOLDING CORRESPONDENCE
For an 8.5 by 11-inch stationery to be folded in a short envelope,
here are some accepted procedures:
1. Place the sheet flat on the desk, with its face up and its bottom
toward the writer.
2. Fold the bottom toward top, bringing the lower edge to within one-
half inch of the top.
3. Fold the bottom right to left a little more than one-third of the
within of the sheet.
4. Finally, fold the remaining from left to right.

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Module TECHNICAL ENGLISH 1 (Investigative Report Writing and Presentation)

ARRANGEMENT AND STYLE


The study committee on police correspondence and issuance, under
the Directorate for Plans and Programs, National headquarters,
Philippine National Police, has chosen the Blocked Letter and Semi-
Blocked Letter styles. These two styles are very similar in appearance,
except in the paragraphing portion. Typist use the blocked letter if the
text is composed of more than nine lines, and the semi-blocked letter,
if less than nine lines.

THE ENVELOPE
1. The mailing address is begun half way down and half way across.
2. Two-line addresses must be avoided by typing the province and ZIP
code number, if any, on a separate line from the city or
municipality, or a street from a municipality or city.

3. A three-line addresses is double-spaced; if more than three lines,


single-spaced.
4. The attention line is type on the lower left corner of the
enveloped.
5. A special mailing service, i.e., “Airmail,” “Special Delivery,”
etc. is indicated below the stamp.
6. A return address is typed on the upper left corner, not on the back
of the envelope, if there is no printed return address.

References:
Basic Police Report Writing
By
Oscar Gatchalian Soriano
BSCrim, MSBA, MACrim, PhDCrim

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