Business activities cannot be conducted without information exchange. Nowadays the most used kind of information exchange is a fax message. Your fax message should be well spaced and organized.
To make your fax message more readable and inviting bear in mind the following:
– leave wide margins;
– keep your sentences and paragraphs short;
– use a new paragraph for each new thought or idea, and express that thought as simply and briefly as you can;
– your message should not contain misspelled words, grammatical errors or poorly constructed sentences.
Any fax message should be written according to a special form.
The Form of a Fax Message
Layout: British Style
1. Fax head
2. Reference
3. Date
4. Pages
5. Addressee’s name and position:
6. Address: (of a company)
7. Attention:
8. Salutation
9. Subject
(regarding)
10. Body of a message
11. Complimentary
12. Signature
Includes the name, address, telephone number, fax number, E-mail of the sender (company) and may contain a description of the business, trade-mark, etc. (In the top right-hand corner).
Initials of the writer and of the typist (or numbers of the file where the correspondence is stored). The writer’s initials are separated from the typist’s initials or file numbers by an oblique line: HD/RP or HD/1,3. The reference is typed on the same line as the date on the left side of the fax paper. Addressee’s reference, where known, is typed first.
Abbreviations may be used for Jan. Feb. Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec.
Total number of pages you are sending, so the receiver knows if there is any problem with the transmission.
(may be omitted)
Starts with a capital letter and is usually followed by a comma.
May be omitted
Firs paragraph stars with a capital letter.
Starts with a capital letter, and is usually followed by a comma.
13. Sender’s position or status in the company (or only the name of a company or a department).
14. Enclosure (if any)
Note: Point 7 (Attention) may be omitted if an addressee’s name (and position) is indicated after the name and address of his/her company in point 5.
Exercise 207
Memorize the following layout peculiarities of a fax message.
A Layout Peculiarities
The fax head (1), date (3), number of pages (4), signature (12), sender’s position or status in the company (13) are written in the top or bottom (12, 13) right-hand corner. The name of the company which sends a fax may be also written at the top middle side. References (2), addressee’s (company’s) name (5), addressee’s address (6), attention (7), the word “subject” (8) are written in the top left-hand corner. A salutation is written on the left side or in the middle of the page. The body of the message is always written in the middle of the page.
Exercise 208
Answer the questions.
1. What is usually indicated in a fax head?
2. Where is the fax head usually written?
3. What else is written in the top right-hand corner?
4. What is written in the top left-hand corner?
5. What should you bear in mind to make your fax message more readable and inviting?
6. What comes first after a complimentary close: a signature or a sender’s position or his/her status in the company?
7. Is it always necessary to fill in the “attention point”?
8. What would you write in point 5 if you address your message to a particular person?
9. What does a referent indicate?
10. What is typed in the same line as the date?
Exercise 209
Read and translate this sample of a fax message.
1. A.B.C. FINANCE GROUP
P.Organization. Box 040
N-0070 Slemmestad
Norway
Tel.: +00 31 88 12 00
Fax: +00 31 88 03 00
E-mail:
2. Your Ref.: HD/1.3.4. 3. 24th April, 1998
Our Ref.: HCD/RP 4. Total Pages: 1
5.
6. AO ENERGOPROJECT
02, Teatralnaya St.
000042 Moscow
Russian Federation
7. Attention: Members of Working Group 2
8. Dear Sirs,
9. Re: Contract Documents
10. According to the protocol, dated 04.12.97, we have prepared the Contract Documents for signing by the presidents of our companies.
11. Yours faithfully,
12. /signature/
13. Project Manager
14.
Exercise 210
This is a fax giving conformation of a booking.
25/03/2000 MON 09.56 FAX 01291 236236
FAX MESSAGE
]
Hotel Excelsior
To: Toni King Fax No: 0207 346346
Marketing Manager, Big Corp
From: Kate Murdoch Our Fax No: 01291 236236
Date: 25 March Pages (inc. this one) 1
Re:Booking Confirmation
If you do not receive all the pages, please telephone us on 01291 236236.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Following our telephone conversation, this is to confirm that the “Greenwich” conference room is booked in the name of Toni King for Thursday 8 April.
The room seats 15 people and the booking includes a sandwich lunch.
Conference participants may use the hotel’s facilities.
Thank you.
KM
Notes:
1. The information about the sender and the receiver appears at the top, so the writer does not use traditional greetings (Dear Sir etc.).
2. The date of the transmission is printed by the machine when the fax is sent.
3. The fax ends with the sender’s name or initials.
Exercise 211
You are going on a business trip to Australia. Send a fax to your Australian colleague, Sally Jones, to tell her about the arrangements. Ask her to make hotel booking and hire a car for you. use the notes below.
Exercise 212 Email
Email is electronic mail. You can send an email to someone, or email them. They will reply to your email or email you back.
reply to all: send an answer to the person who sent an email, and everyone who received a copy of it
reply: send an answer to the person who sent an email
delete: get rid of an email you don't want
cc: send a copy to ...
bcc: send a blind copy to ... (the other people don't know you're sending this copy)
forward: send an email you have received to someone else
attach: send a document, for example a picture, with an email
send and receive: send all the emails you've written
and receive all the ones that are waiting for you
You can end with:
• Best wishes
• All best wishes
• Regards
• Best regards
To people you know
well, you can end with:
• All the best
or even just:
• Best
Exercise 213
Which of the commands from ex.204 would you use in each of these situations?
1 You are sending an email to Antonio and you want to send a copy to Bella without Antonio knowing.
2 You receive a reply from Antonio, and you want Carlos to see it.
3 You get an email from Delia, who has also sent copies to Edgar and Fenela, and you want to send the same answer to all three of them.
4 With the email to Giorgio, you want to send another document.
5 You've written three emails. You want to send them, and read any that are waiting for you.
6 You receive two emails, but you don't want to keep them.
Exercise 214
Complete this email using the correct form of expressions from ex. 204 that mean the same as the underlined expressions.