Section 15. Read and discuss

В данном разделе приводятся аутентичные материалы и статьи, посвященные проблемам и стилистике английской коммерческой корреспонденции, а также особенностям и этикету общения по телефону в бизнесе.

Данные тексты предназначены для обсуждения в аудиторное время после предварительного изучения. Беседа может не ограничиваться предлагаемыми вопросами.

Авторы подчеркивают, что они не всегда разделяют точку зрения на проблемы, содержащуюся в приведенных в данном разделе текстах.

SUBJECT 1: BUSINESS LETTER LAYOUT

• Pre-Reading Questions

1.Why is the layout so important?

2.What are the main parts of any business letter?

3.What is the order of the address?

4.Why shouldn't the date be written in figures?

BUSINESS LETTER LAYOUT

Any business letter contains the following major parts:

1 Letterhead

2 Sender's address

3 Date

4 Reference(s)

5 Inside address

6 Salutation

7 Subject-heading

8 Body of letter

9 Complimentary ending

10 Signature and conclusion

11 Enclosure(s)

(1) Letterheads. The printed letterhead of a company gives a great deal of information about it (type of company; its phone number and address, etc).

(2) Sender's address. In correspondence that does not have a printed letterhead, the sender's address is written on the top right-hand side of the page.

(3) Date. The date is written below the sender's address, sometimes separated from it by a space. In the case of correspondence with a printed letterhead; it is also usually written on the right-hand side of the page. This should be written in full, normally in the order of day, month, year, as in: 15 November 200...

Commas should be omitted. The day of the week is not generally included as it takes up extra typing space. The order can be free as well:

November 15 20...

November 15th 20...

15th November 20...

But using "th" is supposed rather old-fashioned. Many firms leave out the abbreviation "th" after the date; other firms transpose the date and the month, e.g. October 24 instead of 24 October.

Attention! Whichever you choose you should be consistent throughout your correspondence.

The month in the date should not be written in figures as they can be confusing. For example, 11.1.98 means 11th January 1998 in the UK but 1st November 1998 in the USA.

(4) Reference(s). References are a way of identifying a letter. They vary from the very simple to the complex. In basic form they are the initials of the person who dictated the letter and the typist, e.g. Our ref: WPM/OP Sometimes a file number is added, as in: WPM/OP/69

There are two points to remember when using references:

-be sure that your own references give the necessary

information for locating the letter at a later date;

-in reply, always quote the other party's letter reference.

(5) Inside (or receiver's) address. This is the name and address of the person to whom the letter is being sent. It is written below the sender's address and on the opposite side of the page. After the name of the person and/or company receiving the letter, the order and style of addresses in the UK is as follows:

-name of house or building;

-number of building and name of street, road, avenue, etc.;

-name of town or city and postcode;

-name of country.

(6) Salutation. This is the opening words of greeting in a letter. The normal form in business correspondence is:

Dear Sir(s)

Dear Madam (Mesdames)

The comma after the salutation is optional.

Note that in the USA a letter to a company usually opens with Gentlemen, followed by a colon, not with Dear Sirs.

(7) Subject-heading. In business letters this is used to give prominence to the subject matter.

(8) Body of letter. This is obviously the most important section of any business letter. The basic guidelines are: use concise and clear English; uncomplicated words; accurate spelling; considered punctuation; sensible paragraphing. Beware of too many short paragraphs since they tend to spoil the appearance of a letter. Note also that a letter, unless very short, should never be written in one paragraph.

(9) Complimentary ending (close). The point to remember here is that your ending must conform to your salutation. Here are some examples:

Dear Sir / Madam	Yours faithfully
Dear Mr Paignton Dear Mrs Wilson Dear Oscar	Yours sincerely

Avoid closing with old-fashioned phrases such as We remain yours faithfully, Respectfully yours, etc. The comma after the complimentary close is optional. Note that Americans tend to close even formal letters with Yours truly or Truly yours, which is unusual in the UK in commercial correspondence.

(10) Signature and conclusion. The name of the firm or position held is normally typed immediately below the complimentary ending, allowing sufficient space for signature. Per pro or pp is an abbreviation for the Latin per procurationem, indicating that the signatory has signed for and on behalf of the company with full authority.

(11) Enclosure(s). These are shown by the abbreviation Enc(l) or Enc(l)s (if more than one), entered at the bottom left-hand margin.

SUBJECT 2: WRITE TO EXPRESS, NOT TO IMPRESS

• Pre-Reading Questions

1.What is the aim of writing a letter?

2.What is the difference between speaking and writing?

3.Do you agree that bad writing can be cured? Prove your point.

4.What style in writing do you prefer?

5.Pay your special attention to point 6 that is disputable. What is your attitude? Why?