Writing a business letter

 
ORGANIZATION AND FORMAT

• appropriate format includes keyword phrases of profession
• presents strongest qualifications first
• appropriate length: l page for every 6-10 years of work experience

 

WRITING STYLE

• begins sentences or phrases with powerful action verbs
• short paragraphs mostly under five lines; short sentences
• brief, succinct language; no unnecessary words
• absolutely free from grammatical, spelling, punctuation, usage, and typographical errors

 

 

 

Formatting Envelopes for Business Letters

 

It is best to type an envelope for a business letter. Most word document programs contain an envelope labeling function to help you. Here are a few simple rules about the best way of addressing an envelope:

1. Use separate lines for the name or company, post box or house name, number and street, town and country or city, postcode.

2. The number precedes the street name. Words like Street, Square, Avenue are written separately, each word starting with a capital letter.

3. Commas may be placed at the end of each line (closed punctuation), or  only between city and state or county (open punctuation). Use the same form as in the letter.

4. The British post code is written below the address. The American zip code is on the same line as city and state.

5. The post code should always be the last item of information in the address, and in block capitals.

6. Whenever possible place the post code on a line by itself at the end of the address

7. When an address formerly included Postal District letters and/or numbers, these will usually be incorporated in the postcode.

8. Do not use full stops or any other punctuation marks between or at the end of characters of the postcode.

9. Always leave a clear space, at least equivalent to one character, between the two halves of the postcode.

10. Never underline the postcode.

11. No writing should appear below the postcode. ‘ For the attention of…’ And similar messages should be shown above the address, not below it. [6:1993]

 

All you need to do is indicate the size of envelope you are using and type the correct information in the appropriate fields, for example:

 

Sending company's name and address  is sometimes printed here Postage  stamp           Ms. Maggie Jones  Angel Cosmetics Inc.  110 East 25th Street  New York  NY 10021                ----------postcode  USA

 

Formatting Business Email

E-mail may be the quick and convenient way to relay daily business messages, but the printed business letter is still the preferred way to convey important information. A carefully crafted letter presented on attractive letterhead can be a powerful communication tool.

E-mail - it is commonly known and increasingly used instead of letters or faxes.

Advantages:

1. The message you send is a form of text. This means that your correspondent can include them in computer document of their own.

2. A typical mail message is short and informal.

3. Mail is in many ways even more convenient than phone.

4. You may attach computer files, different drafts and publishing pages.

5. You can use the automatic addition of a signature including your name, address and phone number.

6. You can keep all addresses useful for you.

Disadvantages:

Weak protection of important information, viruses, you have to pay for using.

 

When using email in business, most of the guidelines for standard formatting in business letters apply. Here are a few differences:

• Choose a subject line that is simple and straightforward. Refrain from using key words that might cause an email to go into another person's trash box.
• Repeat the subject line in the body of the email, beneath the salutation (as with a letter).
• Use the "cc" address line to copy more than one person with your correspondence.
• You can request a receipt for important letters. The system will automatically let you know when someone has opened your email.
• Instead of a signature, include your typed name, and below it include your email address, business name and address, phone and fax number, and website if appropriate.
• Remember that people often print out emails, so your own email address and the subject line would be lost if you had not included them in the body of the email.
• Internal electronic mail may be formatted more like a memo than a formal letter. [12:2004]

Fax

The fax was the 1^st of the electronic media to become widely available. It has such advantages like:

1. It is quick

2. it can contain pictures as well as words

3. it is generally cheaper than a phone call

4. recipient does not have to be there to receive it.

By fax you can send: price lists, advertisement materials, commercial offers, press releases and written Enquirer

But you can not send: original contracts, letter of credit (акредетивы), invoice, and other main documents.

Name of organization Their fax number Name of sender                                                                               number of pages_________ From whom                                                                                     date_________ Our company                                                                            number of our fax___________

 

CONCLUSION

 

The conclusion  that   suggests  itself is that writing of business letters is highly complicated science.  It is not  enough  for  a  good  business  letter writing to know rules of constructing a letter,  but you should comprehend the whole range of such things as: occasions on which the particular letter is written, the style of letter, useful expressions, and accepted idioms.

There are certain rules which not everybody  could  learn since they  have  to  be  felt by correspondents.  Letter writing requires long practice and experience.  Those who write letters should always remember,  that what makes the letter attractive and therefore  promotes  one's  business  is  not  always  the message of the letter, but it is the manner and style in which the message is written.

The "golden rule" that must be followed by every business correspondent is that the official letter  should  be  formal, courteous, tactful, concise, expressive, and to the point.

In today's society your professionally done business letter proves your effective communication abilities.

Writing a letter provides an opportunity to structure thoughts and clarify ideas to both writer and reader. Unlike literature, business writing should get straight to the point, conveying only the significant information in as few words as possible. Learning to write a business letter that works – one that achieves its purpose – is a first step toward developing and presenting your competitive job-related skills.

 Each culture has it’s own way of organizing a letter and arranging it on a page. There for you should know the correct rules to write a letter of some definite country, because even an American letter writing have difference in writing than British style.    

In our days letters are most popular way to correspond with each other. And with the time there are appearing different methods to send the letter, by  post office, by mail, faxes and etc.

A cheque, a contract or any other business paper sent by mail should always be accompanied by a letter. The letter says what is being  sent  so that the recipient should know exactly what you intended to send.  It is a typical business  letter  which some people  call "routine".  The letter may be short or long, it may contain some very important and much less  important information -  every  letter  requires  careful  planning  and thoughtful writing.

The language of business, professional and semi-official letters is formal, courteous,  tactful, concise, expressive, and to the point. A neatly arranged letter will certainly make a better impression on the reader, thus good letters make good business partners.

Proper business letter writing is very important for normal commercial activity. In spite of the development of telephone, telegraphic ways of communication and the increasing personal contacts in international trade, the writing of letters continues. In fact most telephoned and telegraphed messages have to be confirmed by letters.

 

 

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List of references

 

1.WINCOR, RICHARD (1990)

Contracts in plain English

2.БАСС Э.М. (1999)

Научная и деловая корреспонденция

3.GOWERS, ERNEST (1990)

The complete plain words

4.Основы деловой переписки (1880)

5.Naterop. (1998) Business Letters for All.

6.Lukianov (1993) “The Businessman’s companion”

 

7.Bogatskiy, Dukanova “Business kurs” 1997

 

8. A.B. Kench “Writing business letters” 1996

 

9. Cathy Rogers copyright © 2007     www.wisegeek.com

 

10 ^ Truss, Lynne (2005-10-31). Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. Profile Books Ltd. ISBN 978-1861976772. 

11 ^ Burchfield, R W (1998). The New Fowler's Modern English Usage. Clarendon Press Oxford. ISBN 0-19-860263-4. 

12. ^ Collins (2004 (Reprint 2005)). Collins Letter Writing: Communicate Effectively by letter or Email. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-00-720853-7. 

13. ^ Poe, Roy (1994). The McGraw-Hill Handbook of Business Letters, 3rd Edition. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-113589-8.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix

 

Business letter vocabulary

 

attachment	extra document or image that is added to an email
block format	most common business letter format, single spaced, all paragraphs begin at the left margin
body	the content of the letter; between the salutation and signature
bullets	small dark dots used to set off items in an unnumbered list
certified mail	important letters that sender pays extra postage for in order to receive a notice of receipt
coherent	logical; easy to understand
concise	gets to the point quickly
confidential, personal	private
diplomacy, diplomatic	demonstrating consideration and kindness
direct mail, junk mail	marketing letters addressed to a large audience
double space	format where one blank line is left between lines of text
enclosure	extra document or image included with a letter
formal	uses set formatting and business language, opposite of casual
format	the set up or organization of a document
heading	a word or phrase that indicates what the text below will be about
indent	extra spaces (usually 5) at the beginning of a paragraph
informal	casual
inside address	recipient's mailing information
justified margins	straight and even text, always begins at the same place
letterhead	specialized paper with a (company) logo or name printed at the top
logo	symbol or image that identifies a specific organization
margin	a blank space that borders the edge of the text
memorandum (memo)	document sent within a company (internal), presented in short form
modified block format	left justified as block format, but date and closing are centered
on arrival notation	notice to recipient that appears on an envelope (e.g. "confidential")
postage	the cost of sending a letter through the Post Office
proofread	read through a finished document to check for mistakes
punctuation	marks used within or after sentences and phrases (e.g. periods, commas)
reader-friendly	easy to read
recipient	the person who receives the letter
right ragged	format in which text on the right side of the document ends at slightly different points (not justified)
salutation	greeting in a letter (e.g. "Dear Mr Jones")
sensitive information	content in a letter that may cause the receiver to feel upset
semi-block format	paragraphs are indented, not left-justified
sincerely	term used before a name when formally closing a letter
single spaced	format where no blanks lines are left in-between lines of text
spacing	blank area between words or lines of text
tone	the feeling of the language (e.g. serious, enthusiastic)
transitions	words or phrases used to make a letter flow naturally (e.g. "furthermore", "on the other hand")

 

 

List of phrases and structures

 

I am writing…..                                                                     Я пишу

     to confirm                                                                              чтобы подтвердить

     to apologise for                                                                      чтобы извиниться

     to thank you for                                                                     чтобы поблагодарить вас

     to enquire about                  осведомиться о

     to inform you that             сообщить вам

     regarding                                                                                что касается

    with reference to                                                                     относительно

    

in answer to                                                                                   В ответ на

Please, find enclosed                                                 В приложении вы найдете

Please contact us                                                                 Oбращайтесь к нам

Please could you                                                                 Не могли бы вы

Plz, acknowledge receipt of                                                Пожалуйста, подтвердите получение

We looking forward to hearing from you                           Мы будем ждать от вас вестей

In near future                                                                       В ближайшем будущем