Business letter layout

Introduction

Writing a business letter requires nothing more than basic knowledge of general English and familiarity with special words to describe business terms. Much more attention should be paid to the ability to write in plain and natural style.

With an advent of e-mail written communication is becoming more and more vital for personal and business purposes. The messages are short and less formal than they used to be, but otherwise the rules that governed letter writing in the past have remained practically unchanged. The old principle of 3 C’s – clearness, conciseness and courtesy – has been replaced by the KISS:

Keep

It
Simple and
Short.

NB Since faxes and e-mails should be written, in most cases, in the same way as business letters are, while learning business writing skills, we will keep that in our minds.

Business letter layout

There are two main types of business letter writing styles: indented and block.

►Compare two letters, the first written in an indented style and the second, written in a block style. What are the differences?

The Association of Russian Bankers

Leninskiy prospect, 1, Moscow, 849390, Russia,

Tel.: +7 495 387 99 40, Fax +7 495 387 99 41

15 April, 2007

Mr. John Smith

The Managing Director

The West Bank,

877, Picadilly,

London, W1R 7GL

England

Dear Mr Smith,

In order to keep our files updated, I would appreciate if you could send me your latest Annual Report and at the same time put our Association on your mailing list.

Would you please send us your full Annual Report and not a condensed one?

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

(signature)

Nina Zarechnaya

(title)

The Association of Russian Bankers

Leninskiy prospect 1 Moscow 849390 Russia

Tel. +7 495 387 99 40 Fax +7 495 387 99 41

15 April, 2007

Mr. John Smith

The Managing Director

The West Bank,

877, Picadilly,

London, W1R 7GL

England

Dear Mr Smith,

In order to keep our files updated, I would appreciate if you could send me your latest Annual Report and at the same time put our Association on your mailing list.

Would you please send us your full Annual Report and not a condensed one?

I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Yours faithfully

(signature)

Nina Zarechnaya

(title)

Now let’s consider the parts of a business letter.

1. Letterhead or heading and sender’s address
2. Date

There are two ways of writing the date:

17 May 2007 (British style)

May 17, 2007 (American style)

The International Standards Organization recommends writing the date as follows, especially for computer use:

2007-05-17

1. Inside name and address

The name of the person to whom the letter is written should be preceded by an appropriate courtesy line. The following are in general use:
Mr – for a man

Mrs [misiz] – for a married woman

Miss [mis] – for an unmarried woman

Ms [miz] – both for married and unmarried woman

Mr and Mrs J. Smith – for a married couple, where the letter J stands for the man’s first name

1. Attention line

If attention line is used it should be typed above the salutation. It indicates the name of the person or the post of a person to whom the letter is addressed.

The Chamber of Commerce

95 Berry Blvd.

Los Angeles, CA 700385

For the Attention of the Marketing Manager

1. Salutation

If you know the name of the person to whom you are writing a letter, then you should use it in salutation:

Dear Mr Jones, (British style)

Dear Mr Jones: (American style)

Dear Mr Jones (no punctuation at all)

If you do not know the name you should begin your letter with Dear Sir or Dear Madam. When addressing more than one person the salutation is Dear Sirs (Br.) or Gentlemen (Am.).

1. Subject line or subject heading

This helps to ensure that the letter is passed without delay to the right person. It is typed below the salutation, over the body of the letter:

Dear Sir

Subject: Our Order No. 883/09.

1. Body of the letter

A typical business letter consists of 3 paragraphs:

· Intro or acknowledgement, in case there has been any previous correspondence

· Giving info and stating the facts

· Referring to future action.

1. Complimentary Close

1. Signature
2. Enclosures and Copies

If there are any documents or papers enclosed with the letter, you should always indicate it by writing ‘Encl.’ or ‘Encls’ at the bottom left-hand corner:

Encl.: Invoice

‘c.c.’ indicates that a copy of the letter has been sent to those whose names are put against this abbreviation:

c.c. John Smith

Lisa Grace

Useful phrases

When replying to a letter:

1. Thank you for your letter of [date] concerning [subject].
2. This is to acknowledge the receipt of you e-mail dated [date].
3. With reference to you e-mail of [date] I would like to send you the necessary information.
4. In reply to your letter of [date] I wish to inform you that [subject].
5. It was a great pleasure to learn from your letter that [subject].

When writing from your own initiative:

1. I am writing this letter to ask you for some information about [subject].
2. I am pleased to notify you that [subject].
3. This is just a note to tell you that [subject].
4. I am sorry to have to inform you that [subject].

When apologizing for delay:

1. I am sorry for not answering your e-mail at once but [reason].
2. Please accept my apologies for the delay in answering your letter.

When concluding:

1. I hope to hear from you soon.
2. I am looking forward to [your reply/hearing from you].
3. I would appreciate a prompt reply.
4. I will be grateful if you could reply as soon as possible.

►Write short letters/e-mails using the following suggestions:

1. Express thanks for getting a postcard from your business partner, who is spending holidays in Japan.
2. Inform your friend from LA (Los-Angeles) that you will be shortly visiting CA (California) and would like to meet him. Say you will get in touch when you arrive in LA.
3. Apologize to your friend for not answering his letter/e-mail at once. Give reasons why.
4. Express delight at the news of a visit of Mr. L.Stratton in Moscow. He is planning a short stay in Moscow around 10 April and would like to see you. He is not sure of the date of his visit.
5. Express joy at the news that your friend is coming to Moscow for a Business Fair. Ask for details concerning his travel arrangements, and suggest meeting him at the airport and having dinner or lunch some time during his visit.
6. Express regret that you cannot provide any information about advanced leadership training courses for senior management in Moscow. Advise your foreign business partner to get in touch with the American Chamber of Commerce (Moscow).

Date: 2016-01-14; view: 1884