Business letter

If you are going to devote your life to business, you have to know how to write both business and social letters. Business letter is usually quite formal in style. A conversational style is therefore not appropriate and you should avoid contractions, for example. Try to use verbs in the active and not in the passive form as this will make your letter more dynamic. You should also avoid writing sentences that are too ling and that include complicated or unnecessary language. A straightforward letter will get your message across more effectively than a long wordy one. The social letter varies from the informal letter of friendship to the most formal note. A letter, of course, may be a combination of the two classes.

A good business letter has:

Ø an effective sentence construction

Ø proper paragraphing

Ø proper spelling of appropriate words

Ø no colloquial phrases of everyday English or slang.

5. Match the words that go into a phrase:

1. with 2. make 3. write 4. meet 5. learn 6. look 7. take 8. tell

a) forward b) deadlines c) responsibility d) a memo e) reference to f) the difference g) a suggestion h) something new

6.Divide these words into two groups and give each one the title:

Quite formal, the passive form, unnecessary language, straightforward letter, friendship, the active form, “Dear Sirs”, indented lines, dynamic, “Sincerely”.

7.Remember the following structure of a Business Letter:

The main parts of a business letter are:

1. the letterhead / дані про відправника листа;

2. the date / дата;

3. inside name and address / дані про одержувача листа;

4. salutation / привітання;

5. the message / повідомлення, інформація;

6. complimentary closure / заключна частина;

7. the writer`s signature and official position / підпис відправника та його

посада.

Lesson 7. Business letter.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________ _____________________ ______________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _____________________________ ______________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ ________ _________ _________

letterhead

date

inside address

salutation

body/message

complimentary closure

signature and official position

1. The letterhead expresses the firm`s personality. It gives the first impression of the firm. It is placed at the upper right-hand side, on blank paper, and consists of the exact address of the writer, including the name and address of the firm, its telephone numbers, telegraphic address, e-mail, telegraphic (zip) codes used.

2. The date is always typed in full not in figures in the following order: day, month, year (UK); month, day, year (USA).

e.g. 12^th October 2002 12 October 2002 (UA) October 12^th 2002 October 12, 2002 (USA)

Lesson 7. Business letter..

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1. Inside name and address are set out at the head of the letter at the left-hand corner in official correspondence. The official title of the person is used.

e.g. The Sales Manager

The Hercules Engineering Co Ltd.

Brazennose Street

M60 8AS

4. The salutation is the usual greeting with which the letter begins:

Dear Sir

Dear Madam

Dear Sirs (when partnership of men and women is addressed in the UK)

Gentlemen (in the USA)

Mesdames (when the partnership consists of women only)

5. The message (body) is the part that really matters. Before you begin to write ask yourself the following questions:

Ø What is the aim in writing this letter?

Ø What do I hope to achieve by it?

Ø What is the best way to do it?

Keep your sentences and paragraphs short and start a new paragraph for each new point you wish to stress.

Some letters consist of only one paragraph. The others usually have a three-paragraph plan:

1) introduction or acknowledgement (if there has been previous correspondence);

2) information and statement of the facts;

3) future actions.

The closing sentence has to leave an impression of cordial and friendly communication.

Lesson 7. Business letter.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In business letters use `we`/`our` instead of `I`/`my`. Don`t use the short forms `we`ll`/`we`ve`.

6. Complimentary closure depends on how well you know the reader: formal, semi-formal, informal.

Respectfully yours.

Respectfully. Formal

Very respectfully.

Very truly yours.

Yours very truly. Semi-formal

Yours truly.

Most sincerely.

Very sincerely.

Sincerely yours. Informal

Yours sincerely.

Sincerely.

8. Name each part of the letter below:

  Cray Electronics Company Limited 36 Dover Street, London WIX 3RB Telephone: [phone] Fax: [phone] Our Ref: BS/MB II Geneen. 105 Packard Road, Thamesbank London NW. 22 5HX 19^th 19^th October, 2008 Thank you for your letter of the 14^th October 2008, in which you requested a brochure on our latest stereo cassette/radio Model ECR/10.   We do not supply brochures ourselves, as this can be done more cheaply and conveniently by our distributors. We have looked at our list of distributors, and find that the nearest to your address is Scott`s of 123 High Street. Thamesbank. You may know it.   They stock copies of the brochure you require, and they will give you a copy on demand, free of charge.   We trust that they can be of assistance.   Yours faithfully, M.R.Collins M.R.Collins Sales Department Cray Electronics Co. Ltd.  

9. Read and discuss the letter:

D. Clark, Sales Manager, Priston &Co Ltd, 28 Kolas Court, North Middletown, NJ 04476 USA 5^th March Our ref: MP/NK   Dear Mr. Clark, Thank you for your offer of 3d March. We are favourably impressed by the quality of your commodity, but feel that the price is rather high. The prices quoted by other suppliers are, on the average, 10% lower. However, in view of the high quality of your commodity, we are ready to make a deal with you if you re-examine your prices. If you reduce your price by 5% we will place an order for some 10.000 items. We trust that in view of the size of the order you will see your way of making this concession. Your early reply will be appreciated.   Yours sincerely, Mike Parson m. Parson Sales Manager

10.Answer the questions:

1. Who is sending the letter?

2. Who is receiving it?

3. What is the opening phrase?

4. The company is ready to purchase the commodity, isn`t it?

5. What is its requirement?

6. What quantity is it ready to buy?

7. Do you think it is worth to make this concession?

What is the closing phrase?

Lesson 7. Business letter.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31