Atkruse –
This is actually a fascinating issue, particularly in the days of
Internet and e-mail.
Many of us have guides on our shelves that pre-date the use of e-mail
addresses and URLs. "The Chicago Manual of Style," which was written
for book publishing, ducks the issue of letter writing and suggests
checking in the reference sections of the library:
The Chicago Manual of Style
FAQ (2002)
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/cmosfaq.CMS.html
If the University of Chicago won't touch the issue (nor do two other
well-known authorities on writing, the Modern Language Association and
the American Psychological Association), then we need a knowledgeable
trade group or business publisher.
The American Management Association (AMA) not only does seminars on
business letters but has published a book on the topic which includes
several hundred pre-formatted examples:
American Management Association
"The AMA Handbook of Business Letters, 3rd Edition" Jeffrey L. Seglin
and Edward Coleman,
http://www.amanet.org/books/catalog/0814406653.htm
McGraw-Hill's Professional Book division has concentrated on business
topics long enough to carry substantial authority. Their most-general
letter writing guide is:
McGraw-Hill/Contemporary
"The Business Style Handbook -- An A-to-Z Guide for Writing on the Job
with Tips from Communications Experts at the Fortune 500", Helen
Cunningham and Brenda Greene
http://books.mcgraw-hill.com/cgi-bin/pbg/searchresult.html?q=Business+Style+Handbook
A second well-known business publisher, John Wiley & Sons, has more
than a dozen letter writing titles offered. But one title: "Letter
Writing for Dummies" doesn't carry much authority. However, they do
suggest "Webster's New World Letter Writing Handbook," which covers
both business and personal letters:
John Wiley & Sons
http://www.wiley.com/cda/product/0,,0764525247,00.html
In checking several U.S. business school libraries, the first two
titles are most-commonly on the shelf.
AUTHORITIES IN THE U.K.
--------------------------------------
McGraw-Hill has sold more than 100,000 copies of "The McGraw-Hill
Handbook of Business Letters" by Anne Coe, giving it commercial
success if not academic authority:
McGraw-Hill Education European (2001)
http://www.mcgraw-hill.co.uk/html/0071166718.html
Oxford University Press, well-known for its dictionaries and
references, published a book in 2002 by Bertha Naterop on English and
American business letter writing, "Business Letters for All."
Unfortunately the Oxford Press website is impossible to navigate,
bumping U.S. users out to an "English as a Second Language" page and a
search engine that finds nothing.
It is available via Amazon.co.uk
AUSTRALIA, CANADA, INDIA, SOUTH AFRICA, NEW ZEALAND
----------------------------------------------------
A quick check of libraries in other countries shows each the AMA and
the two McGraw-Hill titles appearing repeatedly. There are several
Google researchers in each of these English-speaking countries that
may want to comment on what's commonly used.
Google search strategy:
"business letters" + "style guides" + U.S.
"business letters" + format + U.S.
For the U.K. search, the Google advanced search capability was used,
eliminating the country reference but limiting search to .uk domains
If anything is unclear in this answer, please let me know via a
clarification request before rating it.
Best regards,
Omnivorous-GA |
