Difference Between Business Letters & Reports

Types of business reports include lab and investigative reports, which often detail scientific experiments.

Both business letters and reports have vital but distinctive roles within corporate communication. Business letters, for example, may confirm an agreement or reject a request, while a business report may record everything from a business trip to a company meeting.

Function

Business letters often communicate positive or negative news and other business matters to an audience external to a company or organization, whereas business reports usually provide detailed factual information to a variety of audiences.

Types

Primary types of business letters include acknowledgment, adjustment, collection, complaint, inquiry, rejection and sales letters. Principal business reports are progress and activity reports, feasibility reports, investigative reports and incident reports.

Elements

Business letters have seven primary elements, such as the salutation and the closing, plus many additional features. Common elements for business reports include the title page, table of contents, abstract, appendixes and bibliography.

Formats

Both business letters and reports usually follow highly structured formats. Business letters are rarely more than one or two pages in length, while business reports may stretch from a few pages to a few hundred.

Considerations

Effective business letters and business reports are those that clearly and persuasively communicate the purpose of the writer, as well as adhere to the accepted standards for that medium of business communication.

References

• "Communicating at Work," Ronald B. Adler, Jeanne Marquardt Elmhorst, 2005.
• "The Business Writer's Companion," Gerald J. Alred, Charles T. Brusaw, Walter E. Oliu, 2005.

Resources

• The Owl at Purdue: Workplace Writers
• The Owl at Purdue: Handbook on Report Formats
• The Owl at Purdue: Writing the Basic Business Letter