Topic 3: Business Letter

Read, translate and discuss the text of the Unit. Make use of the vocabulary notes.

Developments in technology have made a great impact on business communication as they have made it possible to have instant communication all over the world. Speed has become the key to successful business communications. Fax messages and electronic mail superseded telex messages and letters. But the importance of the first impression of your printed communication is as essential as it was 50 years ago. High communication standards are vitally important in today's competitive business. By setting high standard in the important area of printed communication you will be helping to create the corporate image of your organization.

This section of the textbook will help you learn how to compose good business communications.

Nowadays companies use printed stationery with their own letterhead which comprises:

• The company's name

• The full postal address

• Contact numbers - telephone, fax, e-mail address

The printed letterhead of the company also gives information about the type от the company: abbreviation Ltd. is used for private limited companies with limited liability whose shares are not available to the public. I the USA the term Incorporated (Inc.) is used.

The abbreviation PLC (Public Limited Company) shows that the company’s shares can be bought by the public.

The fully blocked layout is now the most widely used method of display for all business documents. The style is considered to have a businesslike appearance. Open punctuation is often used with the fully blocked style. However some companies may prefer the indented style, but whichever layout you use for your business documents, the most important is consistency, i.e. ensuring all the documents are displayed in the same format.

Blocked style	Indented Style
Arnett House Hawks Lane Canterbury Kent CT 1 2NU UK	Friedenstrasse 30-32, 81671 Munich, Germany

A neatly arranged letter will certainly make a better impression on the reader.

The layout of business and private letters are more or less common in all countries.

There are eight parts in a letter: /. the letterhead; запомнить названия!

2. the return address;

3. the date;

4. the inside address (i.e., the recipient's name and address);

5. the opening salutation;

6. the body of the letter;

7. the closing salutation;

8. the signature.

LAYOUT OF A LETTER

Letterhead

Sender's address

Date

Inside address

Opening salutation

Body of the letter

Closing salutation

Signature

Enclosure

American office workers prefer to arrange the elements letter in so called FULL BLOCK STYLE. Here is an example:

Sender's address:

[Company Name]

[Street Address]

[City, State/Province Zip/Postal Code]

Date: August 26,2005

Inside address:

[Recipient Name]

[Address]

[City, Stdte/Province Zip/Postal Code]

Opening salutation:

Dear [Recipient]:

Body of the letter:

[Type the body of your letter here] Closing salutation:

Sincerely,

Signature:

[your name]

[your position]

[Typist's initials]

Enclosure: [Number]

cc: [Name]

1. Letterhead

Letterhead refers both to the high-grade paper used for business letters and to the company insignia, trade name or product name printed at the top of each sheet. The printed information also includes the company name, address and the telephone number. More detailed letterheads may list the name and title of an executive officer, the name of a department, or the company's cable address.

2. Sender's (return) address

When business letters are written on plain paper, the writer's address must be typed in place of the printed letterhead. The return address includes the writer's street address, city, state, and ZIP code. This information is typed immediately above the date of the letter in block style, single space:

371 Woodbine Boulevard Spokane, Washington 99212

October 10, 1997

3. Date

The date is placed under the heading of the sender's address, usually one or two spaces.

In Great Britain and in many countries the date at the head of the letter may be written in the following way:

12th March, 1997 or March 12th, 1997 or 12 March, 1997

In the USA the date is written so:

March 12, 1997

This style of writing the date is becoming adopted in Great Britain and other countries.

4. Inside address

The complete name and address of the intended recipient is called the INSIDE ADDRESS. It is typed at the left margin.

A complete inside address written to individuals includes either of the following:

name of individual Mr. James C. Garven

title or department Vice President

name of company Fairchild Business Products

street address 82303 Kensington Road

city, state, ZIP code WA 98412

An appropriate title, such as Dr., Miss, Mr., Mrs. or Ms. should precede the names of individuals. Ms. should be used when the marital status of a woman is not known or when she indicates that she prefers it, as by signing a letter Ms. Jane Thomas. Mr. should be used when the addressee's name could be that of a man or woman.

A complete inside address for letters written to companies includes either of the following:

name of company International Biscuits Corp.

department name Advertising Department

street address 201 North Main Street Baton Rouge

city, state, ZIP code LA 70807

A full recipient's address on the letter and envelope should consist of not more than six lines.