Official and Personal Communications : We are going to draw your attention to a point of procedure concerning letter writing.

Your workplace will have a supply of headed writing paper and it may well have a policy concerning who can use it and who can sign letters written on it. Two points arise from this:

1. The quality of the letter reflects the standards of the sender and his or her place of employment. Therefore, letters on headed paper should be typed and laid out correctly. Correct spelling, grammar and punctuation are equally important.

2. A typewritten letter on headed paper represents an official communication from an establishment, and whoever signs the letter must have authority to represent the establishment.

It is unlikely that you will send out official letters in your own right. It is more likely that you could be required to draft letters which are then typed and signed by one of your superiors. Bear this in mind when reading this section, and remember the distinction between official and personal communications.

For personal communications you can make your own draft and can send handwritten as well undersigned by you.

Incidentally, beware of signing letters with p.p. (per procuration) in  someone's absence, even if it is a letter that you have drafted. The use of p.p. implies a legal responsibility for the contents of the letter.