Are you considering writing a thank you business letter, but not sure when or how to write it? Here are some tips on how to help you write a letter of appreciation in a business setting.

There are many reasons why a business thank you letter should be written. Aside from saying thank you is good etiquette, this practice can also help in developing a closer working relationship with other business contacts such as clients, contractors, or vendors.

You can write this particular type of letter when you received products or services, or any help with regards to a project.

A business thank you letter should follow the traditional business letter. It should be typewritten and printed on a clean sheet of paper.

The business thank you letter need not be long. Simply include your appreciation for the product or services that you’ve received. Be specific about what you liked about it. For example, it can be the timely delivery, or the outstanding customer support. Don’t forget to say thank you.

Proofread for grammar and typographical errors. If you’re sending the letter through mail (and not electronic), don’t forget to personally sign it.

Here are some tips for students who wish to have an easier time writing as essay assignment:

Write down your topic. If your teacher gave you freedom to choose a topic on which to work on, then write down possible topics. To make it easier for you, why not write something that interests you.
Choose your topic.

Once you have your topic, write down key points about it. Don’t bother organizing it just yet. Just write down what you know about it and what you would like to know more about it. A bullet point list is perfect for this.

Now it’s time where you organize your thoughts.Choose a thesis statement.Group key points that go together. Then you can do your outline. Usually, it goes something like this:

I. Introduction

II.Body

A. Point A
1. Supporting detail 1
2. Supporting detail 2
3. Supporting detail 3

B. Point B
1. Supporting detail 1
2. Supporting detail 2
3. Supporting detail 3

C. Point C
1. Supporting detail 1
2. Supporting detail 2
3. Supporting detail 3

III. Conclusion

The thesis statement will be your introduction. Each group of keypoints will be your Points. Your keypoints will be the supporting details. The conclusion is re-stating your topic and summarizing your key points.

Research about your topic, keeping in mind your outline. Take note of your resources.You will need it when you need to cite your resources later on.

Now you can flesh out the outline into an essay. Write a paragraph or two for each part of the outline. Do this until you’ve written a whole essay.

Review your essay for inconsistencies, and grammar and typographical errors. Revise if needed. It is usually advised to do two drafts before writing a final one.

A good recommendation letter can do wonders to boost your chances for that job acquisition, or promotion, or getting in a scholarship program. Here are some things to consider when requesting someone for a recommendation letter:

Make a list of people who would be best to give you a good recommendation.

Consider your relationship to the person. How well does he or she know you professionally and  personally?  Is he or she credible? Your best bet would be a former employer, a former teacher, or someone of good standing in the community. Just be sure to look for someone who genuinely likes you.

Consider his or her communication skills. Most systems that request letters of recommendation require that the candidate does not see the actual letter. The letters might even be required to be sealed with the recommender’s signature placed on top of it. Therefore, you will not be able to proofread the letter for grammar and typographical errors.

When asking someone to write a recommendation letter for you, try to ask face-to-face. This shows your respect for the person. If distance is a problem, you may try using the phone. A letter, an e-mail, or heaven forbid, a text message, be your last resorts.

Be direct. You don’t need flattery.  Just be honest and you’ll not only get a, “yes,” but a well-written letter to boot.  Don’t forget to make the instructions regarding the writing and the delivery of the letter.

Don’t forget to thank the person for their time and effort in helping you.

E-mails might have replaced the paper memo in the office, but this doesn’t mean that correct language use and letter etiquette should be forgotten as well. Here are some tips on what and what not to write in an office e-mail.

Use the correct format. This means including a header, footer, and title. Informal salutations that could be appropriate to colleagues are, “Hello” or “Hi.” You may close the e-mail with “Thanks” or “Regards.” For more formal recipients, you can use “Dear Mr.” and end with “Sincerely yours.” Don’t forget to include your name and position at the end. You may also add contact details. Never leave the subject box blank. Write there the appropriate subject.

Always use proper capitalizations, punctuations, and correct grammar when writing an e-mail. Never type in all caps because it is the virtual equivalent of screaming. This is considered to be very impolite. Check your spelling. Most e-mail clients have spell check in them. Use it if you must.

Never use your work e-mail for personal correspondences. Even if you are e-mailing a good friend who is also a colleague, if the content is personal, use your own e-mail account. Never include chit-chat in a professional mail even if it is only a one-liner. Mind your language. Work e-mails can be reviewed by the higher ups on very special cases, especially if it’s a legal one.

Check before clicking send. See if you are e-mailing all the appropriate people. You might be sending confidential details to the wrong people.

E-mail clients have “out of office” options, wherein it sends an automatic reply to people who send you e-mails that you are out of the office and will not be able to check your inbox until so and so. Use this if you are taking a leave or out of town.

Business writing is a skill which can be a very effective tool in getting support for your project. Many business “battles” are won and lost due to ineffective communication. Be sure to bulletproof your writing with these tips.

In writing business letters, an important thing is to be direct-to-the-point. Businessmen don’t have the luxury of time to read a creatively written proposal; they need to know what you want from them as soon as they opened the envelope.

Introduce your company and/or affiliations. This should be brief to give the client enough idea of what your business is about.

Use your company’s letterhead for formality and look up business letter templates on the internet.

Research on the person’s full name and complete designation.

State your proposal clearly. Without being too lengthy, outline your proposal so that it becomes detailed.

State the advantages clearly. Your target sponsor should immediately recognize how his business can benefit by supporting yours.

Include your full name, designation and contact details so that if the person ever decides to call you, he can reach you right away.

Check your grammar and composition. A good business letter calls for good command of language.

Send the letter early. Some business proposals are good deals but they give their target sponsors too little time to decide. Send a letter as early as you can and spend the following weeks following up on the result.

In this time of digital age, the most convenient way of sending messages is through text or email. We seem to forget that handwritten messages will always be more special and more romantic. This Valentine’s Day, why not express your feelings by writing her a love letter?

Recall. A very good way to start a letter is to make a recollection of the moment which started your romance. It will set the mood for the things you’ll say later on.

Make it as vivid as you can, and include details which made the moment more memorable. Remembering what she wore on the day you first met is a sign that the memory is truly etched in your mind. Women like it when you remember little things. It makes you seem sensitive and attentive.

Talk about how your love has grown. Love is not stagnant. It has crescendo and a decrescendo. Expound on the crescendo and talk about how your love has blossomed over the years.

Enumerate her good traits. Remind her why she’s the most beautiful girl you’ve ever met–tell her how you love the way she looks when she sleeps, how she cooks, how she laughs and how much you love to talk to her.

Include selections from songs or poems you both like. You can be a little romantic by quoting the poem which reminds you of her.

Use a special paper and ink.

Put it somewhere unexpected. You can sneak it inside her bag, put it on your side of the bed after you leave while she’s still sleeping, on the breakfast table, or have it delivered to her by a messenger in the middle of the day.

Take her out to dinner. Tonight, no one should wash the dishes or tidy up the kitchen. Go out for a formal dinner and relive your first date. What a way to rekindle your romance!

Delivering a speech on weddings is always terrifying. So many expectant faces, waiting to hear some wisdom–the pressure is just too much! But you can’t back out now; not when you’re the groom’s best friend and the best man. Consider these tips before you bail out.

Do it for your friend. If it were your wedding and you asked him to be your best man, he wouldn’t refuse, would he? You should be proud you were chosen among his buddies.

What do you write in the speech? Of course you don’t do it on the spot, unless you’re a pro. Draft out the things you want to say, and think of happy thoughts as you make it. First of all you have to introduce yourself and tell the audience how you’re related to the groom. And then give an insightful message how you think your friend will make a good husband and family man. You can also give anecdotes of how you know the couple is “meant to be”.

Keep it brief. The best thing about delivering the best man speech is that you don’t even have to talk long. You’re only allowed a few minutes to say your kind words, lest you steal your friend’s thunder.

Let go of the bottle. Stay sober at least until you’ve finished speaking.

Remember the DON’Ts. Like recounting history which is best forgotten or inside jokes which the bride might not get, like digressing to a totally different story not about the couple, like reading your speech from a piece of paper.

Raise your glass to propose a toast. End your brief and sincere speech with a call for cheer to the newly-weds.

There are some of us who struggle with our writing. It’s not as easy to make a decent composition and to put together something brilliant enough for everyone to read and enjoy. And for a struggling writer, nothing is as intimidating as a blank screen or a blank piece of paper (for those who do it the old-fashioned way).

Among the most common problems one encounters with writing is establishing the a main idea. All paragraphs should have a main idea. If we cannot identify the main idea, our thoughts become chaotic and confusing. Always start with your main idea, and then elaborate through supporting sentences.

Use standard language. Brush up on your language skills and enrich your vocabulary. It’s easier and faster to write when you have the words for your thoughts. That also means that you have to revisit good grammar.

Map out your story with an outline. You may think you can work without it, but an outline can save you a lot of time and wrong turns. Mapping out your plots in a comprehensive outline will give you a reference and a guide which you can refer to every time you write your next paragraph.

Don’t use a style you’re not familiar with. You want to write in style but plain and simple composition has got you nose-bleeding. Take it one step at a time. Writing is an acquired skill. The more you practice the better you become. Complement your practice with reading good books of the same genre as your composition so you can familiarize yourself with the different styles you can use later on.

Proofread and revise. There’s always room for improvement. Read your work as if you didn’t write it and adopt your criticisms. It’s important that you can examine your work objectively so you can make necessary revisions.

Write about things you’re passionate about. Writing is a passion. Your creative juices will fail you if you’re working on a topic that bores you. Most successful writers write about their passion. They were able to build a career on writing because it makes them happy.

Not everyone is a born poet like Shakespeare or Byron or Shelley or Keats or even Bob Dylan or Grandmaster Flash, that’s for sure. You can’t just sit under a tree one lazy afternoon with your pen in hand, a notebook in the other, and produce a Shakespearean couplet before nighttime. (Believe me, I tried.) How does one become a poet? Let’s see if these pointers can help.

Read, read, read. The best way to initially engage poetry is to read good pieces of poetry. Get one of those poetry anthologies and just read to good pieces of literature. Pay attention to form, diction, tone, and imagery.

Write, write, write. Then try your hand out in actually writing them. You might be tempted to just go about it like many contemporary poets do with their postmodern styles. But engaging the discipline of writing poetry across forms will help you out with the basics.

Be inspired. A poem is the work of an artist so find your inspiration. The best poems are those of depression, happiness, anger, and of love. Find your passion and learn to express it verbally, in the most beautiful way you can.

Choose your style. Are you a fan of rhymes, or is free verse more like your style? Once you’ve chosen your style, you can look up poems which adhere to your preferred style. Analyze these poems and try to figure out what makes them great poems.

Read your poems aloud to your family and friends. Some beginner poets have an issue with having their poems read by others. But what are you afraid of? The feedback of your audience will tell you which part of your poem needs improvement. Reading your poems aloud will also give you an aural sense of what you just wrote. Is your poem pleasing to your ears?

Read Rainier Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. This book will give you insights on your struggles as an aspiring poet. See what Rilke thinks about your dream to write.

And I don’t mean being bought out by the company for pennies in the effort to downsize. Writing that previous post had me thinking a lot about how I approached my career. I’m relatively young, three years out of my undergraduate degree and 3/4 through my graduate degree. As far as my career is concerned, I’ve done 4 different jobs in the span of 3 years – something that many career planning advisers would frown upon. It creates the sense of transience that doesn’t spell too good about me as a worker. But let’s break that down in detail.

Right out of college, some trading firm hired me to manage their corporate communications and client liaisons. I was blinded by the compensation offer but two months into the job, I found out that the company culture was too stifling. And the boss’ temper was quite short to other employees (for some reason she never tried to take me on).

So I quit and found work with an IT firm where I spent almost two years. That’s where I quickly rose ranks getting a promotion every six months. But I really wanted to give time to work on my graduate degree and the 60-hour work week took its toll on my health. They still hire me as a consultant once in a while.

Then just a couple of weeks out of my old job, I found Bloggy Network where I’m happily blogging for more than a year now. That let me inch towards finishing my graduate degree (something that an 7am-7pm, Monday to Saturday job won’t give you). I even got invited by my professors to teach and and with my boss’ consent, I also taught a few classes in the university.

Career-wise, I might not be able to say that I’m no corporate bigshot. In fact, that’s one of the criticisms people give me when I say I pretty much love what I do right now – that blogging isn’t really a career. And that how could I have traded my lucrative desk job for working at home, writing. That’s where I create the argument that it’s writing that’s a career, blogging is a medium. And given the flexibility I get blogging, who wouldn’t want to trade a 60-hour workweek with a 40-hour workweek with flexible hours. Oh man, they’re missing a lot. What other job would let you stay for hours at a coffee shop sipping blends, blogging?

Well, yeah, I think it’s fair to say that my work doesn’t carry with it some fancy title nor does it have the fancy-schmancy benefits one can expect working for some swanky multi-national firm. But, most of the times, it’s those intangibles that count. The flexibility of hours. The almost non-existent office politics (you still have to acknowledge the boss, though :p).

As far as blogging is concerned, I’ve made it clear that I do intend to stick to it for as long as I can and that could be for a very long time. I could do some other endeavors like put up my own business eventually but hey, I enjoy writing. And why not earn from doing something that like doing, right?