The structure of a business letter

Formal Letters

Ex.20. Read and translate the information given below.

Business letters are formal paper communications between, to or from businesses and usually sent through the Post Office or sometimes by courier. Business letters are sometimes called "snail-mail" (in contrast to email which is faster).

Most people who have an occupation have to write business letters. Some write many letters each day and others only write a few letters over the course of a career. Business people also read letters on a daily basis. Letters are written from a person/group, known as the sender to a person/group, known in business as the recipient. Here are some examples of senders and recipients:

· business «» business

· business «» consumer

· job applicant «» company

· citizen «» government official

· employer «» employee

· staff member «» staff member

There are many reasons why you may need to write business letters or other correspondence:

· to persuade

· to inform

· to request

· to express thanks

· to remind

· to recommend

· to apologize

· to congratulate

· to reject a proposal or offer

· to introduce a person or policy

· to invite or welcome

· to follow up

· to formalize decisions.

Business letters may be subdivided into such groups as: inquiries, offers, orders, sales contracts, complaints and so on.

In business letters it is essential to make a favorable first impression. Every letter that leaves the office is a representative of a firm. The layout of the letter should make it look like a well-framed picture.

“Golden Rules” for writing letters   1. Give your letter a heading. It will help the reader to see what you’re writing about. 2. Decide what you are going to say before you start to write or dictate. Always try to plan ahead. 3. Use short sentences. 4. Put each separate idea in a separate paragraph. 5. Use short words that everyone can understand. 6. Think about your reader. Your letter should be CLEAR, COMPLETE, must be addressed in a sincere polite tone.

A standard UK or USA business letter has a particular layout, though there may be slight variations. The outline below is typical of a standard business letter.

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Business Information Centre Nesson House, Newell Street, Birmingham B3 3EL Telephone No: 021 236 6571 Fax: [phone] Telex: 436572     Our ref.: LB/DS Your ref.: SK/1061 Foreign Trade Enterprise POVEX 12 Zelena Street 29006 Lviv Ukraine 17 May, 2010     Dear Mr. Wilby,   Price list Due to worsening rates of exchange, we produce a new price-list.   Therefore, may we ask you if your enterprise is planning any price increase in the nearest future, please inform us.   Yours sincerely,   Diana Sinclair   Diana Sinclair, Secretary   Enc. Price list    

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1. The Letterhead or Heading. Шапка листа.

This is normally printed on the paper. It includes the name and address of the company, the telephone number, fax and telex. If the printed heading is absent the company’s address (NOT name) is typed on the right side.

2. The References. Індекс.

This consists of the initials of the person who signs the letter and those of the typist. It may be digital, verbal and digital-verbal:

Ref.: 104, Ref.: DA, Ref.: DA/104, Ref.: DA/SP/104, де

"Reference" (Ref) - індекс (вихідний номер);

"DA" - ініціали автора – the author’s initials;

"SP" - ініціали секретаря – the secretary’s initials;

104 - порядковий номер документа – the ordinal number of the document.

If it is a reply-letter the customer’s number is also present:

Якщо лист становить відповідь, то зазначається вихід­ний номер ініціативного листа:

Your ref.: SK/231

3. The Date. Дата.

The generally accepted way of writing the date is as follows:

October 17, 20___

17 October, 20___

17^th Oct., 20___

17^th October, 20___

October 17^th, 20___

4. Receiver’s Address. Адреса одержувача.

This is typed on the left. Messrs is used to address in general to the members of the firm. When we write to a man, we use Mr. before his name. When we write to a married woman, we use Mrs. before her name, Miss – to an unmarried woman and Ms – either for a married or an unmarried one. If we don’t know the name of the person we’re writing to, we can write: The Personnel Manager.

The address includes:

a. the customer’s name;

b. his/her position (if necessary);

c. the company’s name;

d. the building number and the name of the street;

e. the name of the city and state (for the USA), and county (for the UK);

f. the name of the country.

5. The Salutation. Вступне звертання.

If you know your reader’s name, you should always use it. This should be followed by a comma, but in American English a colon is used.

	British	American
Formal or Routine   Informal	Dear Sir, Dear Sirs, Dear Madame,   Dear Mr. Brown, Dear Miss Smith,	Gentlemen:, Dear Mr. Brown: Dear Miss Smith:, Dear Mrs. Brown:   Dear Mr. Brown: Dear Miss Smith:

6. The Subject Line. Заголовок до тексту.

The subject line summarizes what the letter is about.

7. The Body of the Letter. Текст листа.

The body of the letter should be clear and polite. Business letters are usually quite formal. Try to use short sentences and short paragraphs. Extra spacing is used between paragraphs to separate different points more effectively.

8. The Complimentary Close. Заключна форма ввічливості.

The complimentary close depends on how well you know the reader. Letters that begin with a name (Dear Mr…/Mrs…/Ms…) end Yours sincerely (Sincerely yours – in the USA). Letters that don’t begin with a name (Dear Sir/Madam/Customer) end Yours faithfully (in the USA – Truly yours).

9. The Signature. Підпис.

Always sign the letter by hand and in ink. Write your mane and title under your signature:

10. The Enclosures. Додаток

Enc. Refers to anything that you Send with the letter.

Enc: Catalogue

Enc: Drawings.

Ex.21. Set out the following dates and addresses according to the sample:

DATE	THE NAME OF THE COMPANY	THE NAME OF THE COUNTRY	THE NAME OF THE CITY	THE NAME OF THE STREET	HOUSE NUMBER
5/V.2008	JOHNSON & Co., Ltd.	Great Britain	London	Leadenhall Street
22/П.2007	John Brown & Co., Ltd.	Great Britain	London	Conduit Street
1/Ш.2008	The Sheffield Engineering Co., Ltd	Great Britain	Sheffield	Park Street
3/VI.2008	Alford & Son., Ltd	Great Britain	Bristol	Carter Lane
15/I.1999	Smith & Co., Ltd.	Great Britain	Liverpool	Exchange Street
23/Х.2005	Parker & Co., Ltd	the USA (Pennsylvania)	Philadelphia	Chestnut Street
18/VI.2008	S.K.O. Forum	Ukraine	Kyiv	Volodymyrska Street
4/IV.2009	Brain Sourse International Ltd	Ukraine	Dnipropetrovsk	Khlibna Street
12/IX.2008	Leo Burnett Ukraine Ltd	Ukraine	Kyiv	Pochaynynska Street

Ex.22. Read and translate into Ukrainian the following samples of business letters.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-24