II. Retell the text. Business letter

I. Read and translate the text.

Letter-writing is an essential part of business. In spite of the development of telephone, telex and telegraphic communication the writing of letters continues. In fact most telephoned and telegraphed messages have to be confirmed by letters.

So every good businessman should be competent in writing effective business letters in English. Business letters are usually typed on notepaper bearing a specially designed heading which provides the reader of the letter with essential information about the organization sending it.

The ordinary business letter consists of the following principle parts:

1. the heading which includes: the company's name and address, its telephone numbers and telegraphic addresses, the type of business it is engaged in, its telex code etc.;

2. the date (day, month and уear) in English business letters is typed on the right-hand side. It is customary to type the date in full, not just in figures e.g.2nd Apr, 2006which is pronounced, "the second of April twenty zero six".

3. the inside address is the name and address of the company you write to. They are typed on the left-hand side against the margin. The order is following:

• the name of the addressee or his position

• the name of the company

• the number of the house and the name of the street

• the name of the city (town)

• the name of the country

The use of the code as a part of the address speeds delivery.

4. the salutation is below the address the words "Dear Sirs" are typed when a letter is addressed to a company. If the letter is addressed to an individual, the most usual forms are: "Dear Sir" for a man and "Dear Madam" for a woman (it includes both married and single women). These are the usual greetings in English business letters. Americans prefer "Gentlemen" and if they use "Dear Sirs" or "Dear Madam", they use them with a colon instead of a comma.

If this correspondent is known to you personally, or if your firm has traded with his firm for some time, you may use a warmer and more friendly greeting "Dear Mr. Brown".

5. the subject heading indicates the subject-matter of the letter (its topic), thus enabling the reader to see immediately what the letter is about.

6. the opening paragraph will often state the subject-matter of the letter by giving the date of the letter, which is being answered, and the writers feelings on the subject: pleasure, regret, surprise or gratitude. A short opening sentence will often attract attention more successfully than a longer one.

e.g.: a) In reply to your letter of2^nd Mar. this year vie would like to inform you...

b) With reference to your Order No. 256...

7. the body of the letter it is text, its message. A letter should only deal with one specific subject. Business letters should be simple, clear, polite and brief. That means using simple, natural, short words and sentences, avoiding repetition or needless words and information. To make a letter easier to read, divide it into paragraphs, each paragraph dealing with one aspect of the subject. If the letter is lengthy, the paragraphs may be given hedings. If more pages than one are written, they should be numbered.

8. the dosing paragraph serves as a summary of what has been discussed before and what is going to be the next step.

e.g.: a) We hope to establish fruitful business relations with your company,

b) We look forward to hearing from you soon.

9. the complimentary dose it is a polite way of ending a letter.

10.the signature. Business letters are signed by hand in ink, clearly and legibly. The same style must always be adopted. The writer's name and title are typed below the signature.

11. Enclosure (Enc., Encl.,) If there is an enclosure to the letter, it should be indicated by typing the word "Enclosure" or its abbreviation "Enc." in the bottom left-hand corner of the page below the Signature. You should write the number of enclosures if there is more than one, and the names of the documents in them, and the number of pages.