Making Letters Uniform in Appearance

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 pass 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 spaces below the lowest printed matter on letterhead, as follows: Chicago, date single space 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 space and follow with city and state (do not give street address) except where window envelope is to be used; double space and address as "Dear Sir" or "Madam." Also double space between this salutation and first paragraph.

Paragraphs must begin ten points from margin on a line with city. Use single space, with double space 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 space, with beginning of name, street address, city and state on marginal line, as per sample attached.