Goethe Hotel

197, Goethestrabe

Berlin 107136

Telephone (030) 875 97 19 Fax: (030) 875 01 36

Your ref: DK/LD

Our ref: Conf. A204

Ms S. Adams 11 May 200…

Ledbrand 71

Vienna N1 1ST

AUSTRIA

Private and confidential

Dear Ms Adams,

Notification in the fulfillment of the order 117/3

I am glad to inform you that everything is ready for your coming. All your requests are acquitted.

We will be happy to welcoming you in our hotel

Yours sincerely,

p.p. M. Althaus

Sales manager

c.c. Messrs. Hetfield & McMilan Ltd., Security agents

P rivate and confidential

S ubject title

C opies

It is not necessary to begin the subject title with Re:

Copies

c.c. (= carbon copies) is written, usually at the end of the letter, when copies are sent to people other than the named recipient.

Sometimes you will not want the named recipient to know that other people have received copies. In this case, b.c.c. (= blind carbon copies) is written on the copies themselves, though not, of course, on the top copy

Addressing envelopes

Envelope addresses are written in a similar way to inside addresses but, for letters in or going to the UK, the postcode is usually written on a line by itself at the end of the address, and the name of both the town and the country are written in capital letters.

Mr G. Penter

49 Memorial Road

ORPINGTON

Kent

BR6 9UA

Messrs W. Brownlow & Co

600 Grand Street

London

WIN 9UZ

UNITED KINGDOM

1 The layout and presentation of your letter are important as they give the reader the first impression of the firm's efficiency.

2 There are two styles of letter, blocked and indented. Both are acceptable, but the blocked style will probably save time.

3 Write both addresses in as much detail as possible and in the correct order.

4 Make sure you use the recipient's correct title in the address and salutation. If in doubt as to whether a woman is single or married, use Ms.

5 Do not abbreviate dates.

6 Choose the correct salutation and complimentary close. When you begin with Dear Sir or Dear Sirs or Dear Madam or Dear Sir or Madam, end with Yours faithfully. But if you use a personal name in the salutation, then close with Yours sincerely.

7 Make sure your references are correct.

8 Make sure your signature tells your reader what he/she needs to know about you.

addressee

attention line

blocked style

b.c.c. (blind carbon copy)

cable/telegram address

c.c. (carbon copy)

complimentary close

courtesy title

Enc./Encl. (enclosure)

fax/ telefax

for the attention of

head office

indented style

inside (receiver's) address

joint stock company

letterhead

locality

open punctuation

p.p. (per pro)

postcode

postal district

position

private and confidential

references

salutation

sender's address

signature

sole trader

subject title

telex number

registered number

VAT number

Dear Sir/Sirs/Madam/Sir or Madam

Dear Mr…/Mr…/Miss…/Ms…

USA: Gentlemen:

Yours faithfully/sincerely

USA: Yours truly

Your Ref:

Our Ref:

Ltd. (limited liability)

PLC (public limited company

USA: Inc. (incorporated)

& Co. (and company)

Board of directors

Chairman, USA: President

Managing Director, USA: Chief

Executive (CEO)

Sales Manager

Finance Director

Chief Accountant

UNIT 2

Content and style

When writing for a business audience, you have one chance to reach your readers. They are busy people who won't bother spending lime decoding your communications. That is why it is imperative that you say exactly what you mean as clearly and as quickly as you can.

Remember that your goal is to convey information. That goal won't be achieved if your readers don't understand your first few sentences or paragraphs, and slop reading, or if they finish read­ing but fail lo grasp your message.

This unit gives you some general ideas on how to write business letters: how much information to give, how to plan your letter, what sort of style to use, how to make your letters as clear, informative and accurate as possible. They are, however, only general ideas, your real appreciation of what to do and what not to do in commercial correspondence will only come as you read through and study the following units.

Length

Students often ask how long their letter should be. The answer is, as long as necessary, and this will depend on the subject of the letter; it may be a simple subject, e.g. thanking a customer for a cheque, or quite complicated, e.g. explaining how a group insurance policy works. It is a question of how much information you put in the letter: you may give too little (even for a brief subject), in which case your letter will be too short, or too much (even for a complicated subject), in which case it will be too long. Your style and the kind of language you use can also affect the length. The right length includes the right amount of information.