Business Letter Style

BUSINESS LETTER WRITING: GENERAL OUTLINE

(А) Dear Kate, I want to tell you how sorry I am about what hap­pened yesterday. I didn V mean to hurt you and I'm really sorry I made you feel sad. Why don't we meet next Sunday just to have a good friendly talk? I hope you'll forgive me. I want to say again how sor­ry I am. Love, Max

(B) Dear Mr Dawson: I am writing to you with refer­ence to our last meeting. I wish to apologize for my behaviour. As you know, I was most disap­pointed by the rejection of my ap­plication to the educational programme last September, and that was the reason of my rude behav­iour last week. Please, accept my most sincere apologies. I hope we can get togeth­er again in the near future. Yours sincerely, Laura Smith

1. Look at the sample letters (A) and (B), and identify which is formal and which is informal. Why?

2. Think of possible reasons for writing a business (for­mal} letter.

Writing Strategies

Writing an effective business letter is an important skill not only for experi­enced managers and businessmen, but also for every educated person who wants to be successful in formal commu­nication. There are five main steps in creating an effective business letter: 1. Identify^1your aims^2 Establish what you want to achieve^3from the letter. Create your letter based on these aims. 2. Establish^4the facts Make sure you have all necessary relevant^5 and accurate^6facts. For exam­ple, if you are a job applicant^7,you might include some resume facts, interview im­pressions or references. 3. Know the recipient^8of the letter It works better if you write in the lan­guage of your recipient. Try to imagine yourself in the place of your recipient. Read your letter from this point of view. It will help you to get your desired response^9. 4. Create a sample copy Having established your aims and thought of the relevant facts with a view of the recipient — write down the main parts of your letter. 5. Decide on the layout^10of the letter The physical appearance of a letter consists of the paper and the envelope. It is essential that the name and address should be spelt correctly. Design your letter following the formal elements of business letters.

1.recognize 2. purpose of doing some­ thing 3. get success in reaching a goal by making an effort 4. discover or prove 5. closely connected 6. correct and true in every detail 7. a person who makes a formal request 8. a person who receives a letter 9. an answer 10. the way in which the parts of a letter are arranged

1. Match the steps and their functions.

1. Identifying the aims means	A. thinking of the meaningful facts combined together
2. Establishing the facts means	B. knowing his/her language, inter­ests, knowledge
3. Knowing the recipient means	C. thinking of envelope and letter style design
4. Creating a sample copy means	D. writing the main elements of the letter
5. Deciding on the physical layout of the letter means	E. realizing what you want to get from the letter

Business Letter Style

The business letter style is usually considered in four aspects: 1. Format: There are three main formats, ac­cepted in formal written communica­tion: a) blocked -- all the elements of a letter are left oriented; b) modified blocked — the parts are left oriented except the date and closing which are placed in the center; c) semi-blocked - looks like the modified blocked style, only each para­graph is indented^1. 2. Prose: Clarity^2of communication is the primary^3 goal^4.Don't use any jargon or slang if your recipient doesn't under­stand or share it. Short sentences are preferrable, because they are easier to understand and interpret in the right way. Don't ramble^5,give precise^6and relevant information. 3. Manner: Personalize your letters, be polite and friendly in all cases, whatever the subject of your writing is. Your letter should leave an impression that much effort^7and thought has been put into writing it. 4. Accuracy: The final copy of your letter is to be polished and checked for spelling and punctuation.

1.a line started further away from the edge of the page than the other lines 2. the quality of being ex­pressed clearly 3. main, most important, ba­sic 4. what you hope to achieve 5. talk in a confused way 6. clear and accurate 7. an attempt to do some­thing difficult

Identify the functions, ticking the right columns.

	Format	Prose	Manner	Accuracy
Spelling and pronunciation check­ing
Using short, laconic sentences
Using modified blocks
Personalizing the letter
Using semi-blocks
Polishing the grammar and vocabu­lary of the letter
Using proper vocabulary
Being precise, avoiding non-mean­ingful phrases
Trying to be friendly in all cases
Using blocks
Giving impressions of hard and meaningful work over the letter
Checking sentences for their rele­vance

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31