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English business letters

Letter writing is an essential part of business com­munication and is very important for normal commercial ac­tivity. 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. In spite of the development of telephone, telex and 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. It is a typical business letter called “rou­tine".

So every good businessman should be competent in writing effective business letters in English. It is not just the mat­ter of translating Russian business phrases literally into English because each language has its own characteris­tic forms and phrases. A well arranged letter will make a better impres­sion on the reader, thus good letters make good busi­ness partners.

Nowadays more and more agreements are made in English, for English is a universal business language. Joint ventures, bank loans, and trademark licenses are frequently written in English.

There are three stages of transactions involving business contracts: first — negotiation of terms, sec­ond — drafting documents reflecting these terms, and third — litigation (cпор) to enforce or to avoid exe­cuting of these terms.

Business letters may be divided into official and semi-official. The first kind of letters is characteris­tic of those people working in business: an executive, a department manager, a salesman, a secretary or a specialist in business and technology. But also many people may want to buy something, to accept an invi­tation or to congratulate somebody — this is a kind of semi-official letters. The first kind of letters may in turn be subdivided into such groups as: inquiries, of­fers, orders, and so on.

It is also useful to remember that the subject of the routine business letters in export-import trade lacks variety. Therefore, first, certain accepted standard phrases are in general use and secondly, form letters (=standard let­ters) may be used: it facilitates the communication because the repetitive nature of many business transactions and situations makes the use of stan­dard letters a time-saving device.

However, whether you write a special letter or make use of a standard let­ter, you should know the main parts of any business letter and its layout.

Business letters are usually written on printed company-forms (letter-paper). The letterhead (the heading) gives the name of the company, the postal and telegraphic addresses, the telephone number(s), the number of the telex (-es) and when telefaxes appear­ed, their number, too. Sometimes some other information such as: the names of important officials (e.g. directors), the particular official, to whom the company may wish to have all communications addressed, spaces for letter indexes (references) and the date.