Acceptance Letters - Writing@CSU

An acceptance letter is a positive response to either an invitation or a job offer. Its objective is to notify the reader of an affirmative decision. MyPage Writing Teaching Community WritingCenter SignInorCreateanAccount Home WritingGuides AcceptanceLetters Contents Introduction AcceptanceLetters AcknowledgementLetters AdjustmentLetters ApplicationLetters ComplaintLetters CoverLetters CreditLetters InquiryLetters OrderLetters RefusalLetters ResponseLetters SalesLetters Resources Print-FriendlyFormat AboutthisGuide Contributors Citation BusinessLetters AcceptanceLetters Anacceptanceletterisapositiveresponsetoeitheraninvitationorajoboffer.Itsobjectiveistonotifythereaderofanaffirmativedecision.Thelettershouldbekeptfairlyshort.Itsscopeneedonlyincludeinformationthatrelatestothelogisticaldetailsofacceptingtheoffer. Ifyouhavebeenofferedajobthatyouintendtoaccept,writeyourletterimmediately.Remember,youarenottheonlypersonthatwasinterviewed.Theofferonlyindicatesthatyouaretheemployer's"firstchoice."Delayonyourpartwillcommunicatealackofinterestandwillresultinaprospectiveemployerturningtohisorher"secondchoice." Identifyyourreader Anacceptancelettershouldbeaddressedtoapersonwhohasextendedyouaninvitationorajoboffer.Youwillhavemostlikelymetthispersonduringajobinterviewandshouldplacehisorhernameinthesalutationandtheinsideheadingofyouracceptance.Itshouldalsobeincludedonthetoplineofyourenvelope. Keepinmindthatpeopledobusinesswithpeople.Whenyoupersonalizeyourletter,addressingthereaderbyname,yourecognizethatperson'sindividualimportanceandtheirvalueasahumanbeing. Establishyourobjective Theobjectiveofanacceptanceletteristosay"yes"toaninvitationorajoboffer.Itnotifiesthereaderofthisdecisionandaffirmsthewriter'scommitment. Youracceptanceshouldbeconveyedinthefirstsentence,especiallywhenyouareacceptingajoboffer.Includeasimple"thankyou"asyoubegintheletter.Courtesynevergoesoutofstyleandyourreaderwillappreciateyourattentioninthatregard. Determineyourscope Thescopeofyouracceptancelettershouldbebriefandupbeat,addressinganyformalitiesorcontingenciesthatrelatetothecommitmentyouaremaking. Inacceptingajoboffer,restatethetitleofthepositionandtheexpectedcompensation.Doingsoreaffirmstheessentialdetailsoftheoffer,eliminatesthepotentialforerror,andensuresthatyourobjectiveisnotmisunderstood. Informyourreaderofanylogisticaldetailsthatmayimpactyouravailability,suchasagraduationdate,relocationissuesthatmayeffectyourstartingdateortheexistenceofacompetingoffer.Whennecessary,addressanycontingenciesthatrelatetoyouracceptance,suchasfinalizingasalarynegotiationoranemploymentpackage. Beforthrightwiththeemployer.Heorsheunderstandsthatyouaremakingadifficultdecisionandwillnormallyextendashortgraceperiodinwhichyoumayconsideryouroptions. Organizeyourletter Organizingyouracceptanceletterbeforeyoubegintowriteitwillestablishalogicalorderinwhichtopresentyourinformation.Youhavealreadybegunthistaskbyestablishinganobjectiveanddeterminingyourscope.Referbacktothem.Togethertheyincludemuchofthecontentthatwillbecomethebodyofyourletter. Asimpleoutlinewillgetyouorganized.Beginbycreatingalistofrelevantpointsandplacetheminthesequentialorderthatwillbesthelpyourreadercomprehendyouracceptance.Thesepointswillbecomethebackboneofyourworkingdraft. Draftyourletter Workingfromanoutlineisthesimplestwaytodraftanacceptanceletter.Youhavealreadyorganizedyourselfbycreatingalist.Referbacktoitandturneachfragmentintoafullandcompletesentenceexpressingasinglethoughtoridea Inorderthatyourthoughtsandideasareconveyedinacohesivemanner,writeinasnaturalasoundingvoiceaspossible.Trywritingyourdraftquicklyandthenreaditoutloud.Concentrateoncommunicatingyourobjectivetoyourreader.Makesurethatthescopeofyourlettercontainsalltherelevantinformationincludedinyourorganizationallist. Keepinmindthatyouarewritingaroughdraft.Forthemomentyoucanignorespelling,grammar,punctuation,sentenceandparagraphstructure.Thosearetechnicaldetailsthatyouwillpayattentiontointhefinalstepwhenyoureviewandreviseyourwork. CloseYourLetter Anacceptancelettershouldcloseinaprofessionalmanner.Onceyourlastparagraphiswritten,signoffbetweenacomplimentaryclosesuchas"Sincerely,"or"Thankyou,"andyourprintedname. Ifyouarewritinginconjunctionwithanofficialduty,placeyourtitlebelowyourprintedname.Additionalinformationsuchasdictationremarks,notificationofattachments,enclosuresandcopiessenttootherindividualsshouldbeplacedbeneaththetitleline. ReviewandReviseYourLetter Reviewingandrevisingthedraftofyouracceptanceletterisafinalinspection,alastchecktoseewhetheryourobjectiveisclearlystatedandyourscopeconciselydefined.Putyourselfinthereader'sshoesandaskwhetherthedetailsareaccurateandcomplete. Lookforobviouserrors.Checkforspelling,sentencestructureandgrammarmistakes.Yourcomplaintshouldbedirectandtothepoint,somakesurethatyouhaveusedastrongactivevoice. Keepinmindtheoverallcohesivenessofyourletter.Lookforaccuracy,clarityandasenseofcompleteness.Askyourselfifthetransitionsbetweenparagraphsareworkingandifyourpointofview,toneandstyleareconsistentthroughoutthetext. Examineyourwordchoicescarefully.Ambiguouswordsleadtoconfusion.Jargonandabstracttermsmaynotbeunderstoodatallandaffectations,clichesandtritelanguageservenorealpurposeandwillobscureyourobjective. Ifyouhavenotwrittenanopeningoraclosingnowisthetime.Leadintotheacceptancewithanaffirmativestatementregardingyourcommitment.Concludewithanenthusiasticforward-lookingcomment. «Previous Continue» Introduction