Describe the various types of form letters

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Executives often find that they are repeatedly writing the same content in response to
frequently occurring—almost identical—writing situations. When this happens, they should
invest some time and effort in developing general responses that can be used and reused.
These general responses fall into the following three main categories:
• Form letters: Form letters are used when you must respond to identical situations. The entire
body of the letter remains the same; the date, inside address, salutation, and reference initials
are the only changes.
• Form letters with variables: Form letters with variables are used when similar, but not
identical, responses are needed. In addition to the date, inside address, and salutation, other
details are changed throughout the body of the letter. These changes are called variables.
• Letters with form paragraphs: For similar writing situations that occur frequently but vary in
content, experienced business communicators use form, or boilerplate, paragraphs. Using the
word processing program on a computer makes writing letters with form paragraphs even
easier. Boilerplate paragraphs and complete letters can be stored on disk and retrieved and
altered as necessary. Only the variables need to be typed. As a result, routine letters can be
prepared quickly and efficiently.