- •Introduction
- •1 Business letter writing
- •2The letter heading and the layout
- •2.1. The parts of the letter
- •2.2. Style of american firms
- •3. Structure and presentation
- •1. Read the following statements and decide which are true t and which are false
- •2. Put the verbs in brackets into either the present simple, (e.G. He works), or the present continuous, (e.G. He is working).
- •3. Put the following names and addresses in order.
- •5. Complete the following letter of enquiry with the correct prepositions.
- •Veto Sport ag
- •3.1. Content and Style
- •1. Read this letter from a computer company to a company trainer, and fill in the blanks with the correct verb taken from the list below.
- •2. Put the phrases below in the correct order to form a letter requesting information.
- •3. Rewrite the following request for payment in a more polite form.
- •4. Other methods of communication
- •4.1. Competition
- •Curriculum vitae
- •Interests/hobbies
- •4.2. Forms
- •4.4. Faxes
- •4.5. Notices
- •4.7. Memoranda
- •5 The enquiry
- •Requests for catalogues and price lists
- •General enquiries and replies
- •Enquiries cliches
- •Enquiries
- •1. Fill in the missing words:
- •3. Match these words from Exercise 2 with their definitions
- •4. Rewrite the following questions in a less direct form, beginning with the words given.
- •5. Make words from the jumbled letters and match them with the definitions in the sentences below.
- •6. John Phillips is telling his secretary what to write when she types out the day's letters. Change his instructions into an acceptable form for business correspondence.
- •7. Complete the following letter of enquiry with the correct prepositions.
- •8. Read this reply to a letter of enquiry. Underline the words in the letter which correspond to the words and phrases below.
- •Glaston potteries Ltd
- •Reply to an enquiries (offers)
- •Replies to enquiries cliches
- •Replies and quotations
- •1. Read the following reply to a letter of enquiry. Mr. Fest refers to specific questions asked by Mr Whang. Which of the items below did he request information about?
- •6. Invoices and adjustments
- •Inform the buyer of the amount due.
- •Invoice
- •Invoice
- •Debit and credit notes
- •Varying the terms of payment
- •Useful expressions
- •7. Letters requesting payment tone
- •Late payments
- •Collection letters
- •Second application letters
- •Third application letters
- •Final collection letters
- •Checklist
- •8. Complaints and adjustment
- •Complaints concerning goods
- •Complaints concerning delivery
- •Checklist
- •Useful expressions
- •Complaints and adjustments
- •In the following sentences, the word in italics is not very appropriate for formal correspondence. Choose a more suitable alternative from the list.
- •British Suppliers plc
- •9. Credit and status enquiries
- •Lending restrictions and bad trade
2The letter heading and the layout
Business letters are usually typed or notepaper bearing a specially designed heading which provides the reader of the letter with essential information about the organization sending it. Normally the heading 'will include the company's name and address, its telephone numbers and telegraphic addresses, the type of business it is engaged in, its telex code, and in many cases the names of the directors. It is becoming increasingly common for firms to print an emblem or trademark on their stationery.
Note the layout in the example. Currently there are several ways of setting out a business letter in Britain, and policy in this respect differs from company to company. The form in which a business letter appears has not been standardised in the United Kingdom to the extent it has in the U.S.A. and most European countries, and many British firms still indent the first line of each paragraph, and use more punctuation in the inside name and address and in the date than is the case in our example. Nevertheless there is a growing tendency in Britain, due largely to foreign influences and the widespread use of the electric typewriter, to use block paragraphing — in other words, to begin every line at the left-hand margin — and to dispense with unnecessary punctuation in the date and the name and address of the person or organisation written to. It is still considered necessary to put a full stop after abbreviations, as we have done in the case of Co. (Company), Ltd. (Limited) and St. (Street) in our example. However, it is becoming more and more common to type Mr. and Mrs. — i.e. without a stop — and this practice may well be extended to other abbreviations in the near future
Telegrams Telephone
(a) GRAJO LEEDS GRADEN AND JONES Leeds 978653
LIMITED
Home & Overseas Merchants
Upper Bridge Street
Leeds 2
(b) JAS / DS (c) 13 July 2004
(d) Oliver Green and Co. Ltd.
25 King Edward VII St.
MANCH ESTER M245BD
(e) Dear Sirs
We understand from several of our trade connections in Bolton that you are the British agents for Petrou and Galitopoulos AE of Athens.
Will you please send us price-lists and catalogues for all products manufactured by this company, together with details of trade discounts and terms of payment?
We look forward to hearing from you.
(f) Yours faithfully
GRADEN AND JONES LTD.
(g)
J.A. Stevens
Chief Buyer