How to write a letter of transmittal – Shortcut approach

A letter of transmittal in a report refers to a document that is typically attached at the beginning of a report or any other formal document.

It serves as a cover letter, providing an overview of the report’s contents, purpose, and any necessary background information. The letter of transmittal is often used to introduce the report to the intended recipient and guide them through the document.

Letter of Transmittal vs Executive Summary

It is almost confusing for students and academic writers to distinguish between a letter of transmittal, an executive summary, and an introduction while writing any report.

I am going to discuss some clear-cut differences between the three terms.

First of all, it should be made very clear that the letter of transmittal and executive summary have nothing to do with the actual topic you are going to write about. Only the introduction part deals with the actual topic of the report.

The purpose of the executive summary is to tell the reader of the report what your report is about. What sections deal with what aspect of the report? For example, your report deals with the assessment of network security, it is good to write, “this particular section deals with weaknesses in the network security, that section deals with recommendations.” In a nutshell, it narrates the story in very limited words.

Now comes the Letter of Transmittal. The letter of transmittal is actually written from the perspective of a person who has delegated the task of report writing as per the case scenario to the authority or person who gave the report writing work according to the case scenario.

Here, case scenario means the case study. If in the case study, you are assigned the role of security analyst and you have been delegated the task of assessing the security position from the Board of Directors, your letter of transmittal typically should be written as follows (just an example):

Letter of Transmittal

To

The Board of Directors

ABC Company

Dated: DD-MM-YYYY

Subject: Assessment of network security

Dear/Respected Sir/Madam/Members

The attached report presents and discusses the current state of the network security position of our company ABC. In this report, I have outlined the limitations of existing tools and techniques as well as recommended tools and methods to be used. I hope you will find the report useful for further action.

Yours Sincerely,

Mr A (Network Analyst)