3. The types of business letters.

Business letter is an old form of official correspondence. A business letter is written by an individual to an organization or by an organization to another organization. There are various kinds of business letters, used for various purposes. They are divided into two types: the business to business type and the business to client type. One writes a letter to enquire information, apply for a job, acknowledge someone's work, and appreciate one’s job done, etc.

As the motive of writing the letter is different, the style of the letter changes and you get different types of business letters. The various types of business letters are used by different people to serve the purpose of sending the message across.

Business-to-business types are intended for company to company communication. Examples are:

• Appreciation letter – a letter of gratitude and appreciation for help extended, or a good business deal.

• Thank you – is a letter of gratitude.

• Congratulations – is a letter that praises the recipient for a job well done.

• Letter of recognition – a written statement of recognized efforts similar to an appreciation letter.

• Letter of reference – is a character reference letter. It is a letter building up the character of a person to be accepted in a job.

• Recommendation – is an endorsement letter to hire a certain person.

• Sympathy letter – is a letter of condolences to a person or a family.

• Invitation letter – is a letter persuading a person or a company to join an event or an occasion.

• Letter of credit – is a way of endorsing a certain business to be considered a credit loan.

• Letter of interest – a reply to an invitation that confirms presence on the event/occasion.

• Business memorandum – notices that are distributed to the staff. They are reminders of company activities, or imminent changes in the company.

• Business introduction – is done to introduce a new business to the readers.

• Business letter – a letter that talks about the plans for the business.

• Donation letter – a letter asking for donations.

• Termination letter – more popularly known as a resignation letter. It signifies someone's desire to leave a job permanently.

Business-to-Client letters are:

• Welcome letter – welcomes the client and thanks him for choosing the company.

• Letter of appreciation – thanks the client for having business with the company.

• Apology letter – asks the client for reconsideration, and apologizes for failing to deliver.

• Collection letter – notices outstanding payments due.

• Invoice letter template – this is asking the clients to state the invoice number of their transactions.

• Letter of invitation – invites a client to join a certain gathering.

• Marketing letter – is stating the newest products that the company will provide soon or is presently providing.

• Rejection letter – is stating the rejection of the client's request.

Business letters are more formal in writing. Follow the formats strictly. Be concise, clear and direct to the point.

Task 15. Read the samples of business letters. Identify their types.

Letter 1

Sundsonic Ltd., Warwick House, Warwick Street, Forest Hill, London SE23 1JF United Kingdom 15 Aug., 2013

For the attention of the Sales Manager

Dear Sir or Madam,

Please would you send me details of your quadraphonic sound systems which were advertised in the April edition of Sound Monthly? I am particularly interested in the Omega range of equipment that you specialize in.

Yours faithfully,

B.Kaasen

Letter 2

D. Clark,

Sales Manager,

Priston & Co Ltd,

28 Kolas Court,

North Middletown, NJ

07734 USA

                                                                                      March 5, 2012    

Our ref: MP/NK

 

Dear Mr. Clark,

Thank you for your offer of 3^rd March.

We are favourably impressed by the quality of your commodity, but feel that the price is rather high. The prices quoted by other suppliers are, on the average, 10% lower. However, in view of the high quality of your commodity, we are ready to make a deal with you if you re-examine your prices. If you reduce your price by 5% we will place an order for some 10.000 items. We trust that in view of the size of the order you will see your way of making this concession.

Your early reply will be appreciated.

Yours sincerely,

Mike Parson

Sales Manager

Letter 3

HOWARD & PRATT

Ladies' Clothing

306, 3d Avenue

Chicago, 111. 60602

USA

Oct. 28, 2013

      Dear Sirs,

      We are pleased to make you a firm offer regarding our products in the size you require. Nearly all the models are obtainable and can be delivered to you by the end of November. All other models of dresses can be supplied by the middle of December 2000, subject to our receiving your order by 15th of November. If you prefer the goods to be shipped by air freight, this kind of shipment will be charged extra at cost.

Yours faithfully,

D.A.Leary

Manager

Export Department

Sellers

Letter 4

To Whom It May Concern:

I highly recommend Jane Doe as a candidate for employment. Jane was employed by Company Name as an Administrative Assistant from 2012 – 2015. Jane was responsible for office support including word processing, scheduling appointments and creating brochures, newsletters, and other office literature.

Jane has excellent communication skills. In addition, she is extremely organized, reliable and computer literate. Jane can work independently and is able to follow through to ensure that the job gets done. She is flexible and willing to work on any project that is assigned to her. Jane was quick to volunteer to assist in other areas of company operations, as well.

Jane would be a tremendous asset for your company and has my highest recommendation. If you have any further questions with regard to her background or qualifications, please do not hesitate to call me.

Sincerely,

John Smith

Title

Company

Letter 5

Dear Mr. Chandler,

Sir, I would like to send to you my sincere apology for losing our bid against the other company in line with our services offered. I know how much you want this project and I gave my best shot to win the bid unfortunately it was not enough.

I really feel that the failure of our bid is attributable to me and that the only time to feel good again is to ask for an apology. During the bidding process I thought we are going to win it and I took my time not knowing that our rival company had prepared something during the lunch time. I feel that it’s my fault why we lost our bid to this big project.

I do hope that you would accept my apology and I promise not to take things for granted again and instead give the entire best to win all our biddings for more projects.

Yours faithfully,

K.Miller

Task 16. Guess what types of business letters are taken into consideration.

1. There are several situations that require a _______ after an employment interview: when someone gives you job search assistance and after a company visit or other career exploration activity.

2. The reasons for writing a _______ can be various: to obtain information, to make reservations (at hotels, restaurants, theatres), to ask for special favours (permission, assistance, financial support, appointment), to receive booklets, catalogues, price lists, sample products etc.

3. The occasions for _______ are numerous: promotions, appointments, and elections; achievements, awards and honours; marriages and births; holidays, anniversaries and retirements.

4. Formal events, such as receptions, banquets, and other formal social gatherings usually require _______, and they should be cordial and sincere, designed as a usual letter; a formal one is less personal, centred, written in the third person.

Task 17. Imagine that you are a young scientist. You have been studying abroad for several years and now you have returned to Ukraine. Write a letter of request to your scientific supervisor and ask him / her about the changes occurred and the current state in your sphere of science. Mind the useful language given below.

Useful language for letters of request
Opening remarks	Formal	Informal
	I am writing to inquire about / in connection with / could you possibly / I would be grateful if you could / would it possible for you / I would appreciate some information about / another matter I need / I wondered if you could possibly do me a favour / I would be most grateful if you could	I want you to tell me / can you let me know / can you also find out / could you do something for me
Closing remarks	I look forward to receiving / I would appreciate it if you could inform me as soon as possible / I hope it is not so much trouble / thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter	Please let me know / tell me soon / I hope you can help me out

Task 18. Choose one of the following situations a) or b) to write a letter of apology. Mind the useful language given below.

a) Imagine that you are a young scientist. You conduct a scientific experiment with a senior colleague, your scientific adviser, who asked you to process the results of the experiment to present them at the international conference. You were terribly short of time and interpreted some data incorrectly. You discovered your mistake when your boss had already left for the conference. Write a letter of apology to him.

b) Imagine that you are a member of international research team. You have a detailed plan of work, but due to some reason you can’t complete your part of the work in time. Write a letter of apology to the manager of the project explaining the reason for being behind the schedule and negotiate a new deadline.

Useful language for letters of apology
Opening remarks	Formal	Informal
	I am writing to apology for / I must apology for / please accept my sincerest apologies for / how can I apology enough for / I must apologise profusely for	I hope you will understand when I say that / what can I say, except I’m sorry that / I’m sorry for / I owe you an apology / I’m sorry if I upset you in any way / I can’t describe how sorry I am and how guilty I feel
Closing remarks	Once again, my sincerest apologies for / I hope you will accept my apologies / I hope my apologies will be / are accepted	I hope you believe me when I say how sorry I am / I can’t tell you how sorry I am / I beg you to forgive me for / there is no excuse for… and I hope you’ll forgive me