Answer the questions:
1. What are the main types of business correspondence? 2. What is a
business letter? What ways of sending letters do you know? 3. What way of sending a letter do you prefer? Why? 4. Can you give the examples of senders and recipients? 5. Why do people write business letters?
Let’s read more details about business letters. Translate the text into
Russian:
Business Letters
To contact the customers business people often write letters. They write them to confirm telephone calls, orders, previous meetings etc. All elements of the letter must conjoin to produce a tangible reflection on paper not only of the writer’s ability and knowledge and the typist’s competence, but also of an organization’s total image. For example, a corporation may spend considerable sums on advertising to promote its products and services and to advance a positive image; yet, this image may be seriously eroded and negated altogether by massive output of carelessly prepared letters, especially when produced over a long time span. A few letters of that kind may create such negative impressions on their recipients. The letter is actually an exponent of overall organizational style, regardless of the size of the firm.
Time spent on correspondence cost money. There are simple aids to good letter production, the time and money involved will have been well spent:
1. Stationery should be of high- quality paper having excellent correcting or erasing properties.
2. Typing should be neat and accurate with any corrections or erasures rendered invisible.
3. The essential elements of a letter( such of a date-line, inside address, message, and signature block)and any other included parts should conform in page placement and format with one of the generally acceptable, up- to -date business- letter stylings, the Block Letter and the Full Block Letter stylings being the most popular.
4. The language of the letter should be clear, concise, grammatically correct, and devoid of padding and clichés.
5. The ideas in the message should be logically oriented, with the writer always keeping in mind the reader’s reaction.
6. All statistical data should be accurate and complete and the spelling of all names checked for accuracy.
6.
There are eight important parts in a typical “standard” business letter.
Look at the example:
Technology in Engineering Conference
45 Broughton Street, Brighton
Sender’s address
(printed at the top
or in the right-hand corner)
J. Higgins
3. Receiver’s Purchasing Manager
name, title Zacron Engineering
and address Hempstead Industrial Estate
Hemel Hempstead
Our Ref.: HD/1.2.3. 12th July, 1992
Dear Mr. Higgins, 2. Date