II. Read and translate the text:

No matter what kind of letter you write, you should remember to do these things:

1. Use the proper form of your letter. It depends on the type of letter you are writing.

2. Make the letter clear. Remember that your letter is read, you will not be there to explain what you mean. Plan what you are going to say and how you are going to say it.

3. Make your letter attractive. A letter represents you. If you write to people you have never met, they must judge the writer entirely by the letter.

4. Use the correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. A letter filled with grammar errors will not only lead the reader to assume that you are uneducated person, mistakes in usage, and misspelled words will not make a good impression.

5. Be yourself. Make your letters natural, write them in your own style. It will reflect your personality better than model letters taken from textbooks.

The friendly letter differs from the business one. It is informal, casual and personal. It is the kind of letter you write to your family and friends. There no rigid, inflexible rules for writing friendly letters.

3. Read the information about business correspondence:

Business correspondence includes all kinds of commercial letters, inquiries, replies to inquiries, Letters of Credit (L/C), Bills of Lading (B/L), Bills of Exchange, letters of insurance, explanatory letters, orders, letters of packing, letters of shipment, letters of delivery, offers, letters of complaint, replies to those mentioned above, etc.

A good business letter must be:

- prompting (той, що спонукає);

- accurate;

- polite;

- laconic;

- complete;

- correct;

- neat;

- friendly.

A good business letter has:

- an effective sentence construction;

- proper paragraphing;

- proper spelling of appropriate words:

- no colloquial phrases of everyday English or slang.

Structure of a Business Letter

letterhead ____________

____________

date ____________

___________________

___________________ inside adress

___________________

__________________________ salutation

__________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

body

___________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

complimentary closure ___________________

signature and official position ___________________

The main parts of a business letter are:

1. the letterhead;

2. the date;

3. inside name and address;

4. salutation;

5. the message (the body);

6. complimentary closure;

7. the writer’s signature and official position.

1. The letterhead expresses the firm’s personality. It gives the first impression of the firm. It is placed at the upper right-hand side, on blank paper, and consists of the exact address of the writer, including the name and address of the firm, its telephone numbers, telegraphic address, e-mail, telegraphic (zip) codes used.

2. The date is always typed in full not in figures in the following order: day, month, year (UK); month, day, year (USA).

e.g. 12^th October 2013 (UK)

October 12^th 2013 (USA)

3. Inside name and address are set out at the head of the letter at the left-hand corner in official correspondence. The official title of the person is used.

e.g. The Sales Manager

The Hercules Engineering Co Ltd.

Brazennose Street

Manchester

M60 8AS

4. The salutation is the usual greeting with which the letter begins:

e.g. Dear Sir

Dear Madam

Gentlemen (in the USA)

5. The message (body) is the part that really matters. Before you begin to write ask yourself the following questions:

• What is the aim in writing this letter?

• What do I hope to achieve by it?

• What is the best way to do it?

Keep your sentences and paragraphs short and start a new paragraph for each new point you wish to stress.

Some letters consist of only one paragraph. The others usually have a three-paragraph plan:

1. introduction or acknowledgement (if there has been previous correspondence);

2. information and statement of the facts;

3. future actions.

6. Complimentary closure depends on how well you know the reader: formal, semi-formal, informal.

Formal: Respectfully.

Very respectfully.

Semi-formal: Very truly yours.

Yours very truly.

Yours truly.

Informal: Most sincerely.

Sincerely yours.

Sincerely.

Most informal: As ever.

Best wishes.

Best regards.

7. The writer’s signature and official position. The signature must be written by hand and in ink and plainly. It is placed just below the close.

e.g. Henry J. Gray

Henry J. Gray

President

American Building Company