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Unit 5. OFFICIAL CORRESPONDENCE IN GREAT BRITAIN AND THE USA
MAKE-UP OF A BUSINESS LETTER
Lead-in
Nowadays it is impossible to imagine the world without business correspondence. Official letters are considered to be important means of communication for many organisations and enterprises. Making-up of a business letter requires certain rules including subject field terms, set phrases, stable structures and grammatical peculiarities. Mastering business correspondence is a great success for business activity in the future.
Lesson 1 A neatly arranged letter will certainly make a better impression on the reader. The layout of business letters is more or less common in all countries. There are eight parts in a letter: 1. the letterhead; 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
American office workers prefer to arrange the elements of a letter in the so called FULL BLOCK STYLE. Here is an example:
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 mid 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, 2010
Date
The date is placed under the heading of the sender's address, usually one of two spaces. In Great Britain and in many countries the date at the head of the letter may be written in the following way:
In the USA the date is written so:
March 12, 2010
This style of writing the date is becoming adopted in Great Britain and other countries. 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:
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. A complete inside address for letters written to companies includes either of the following:
A full recipient's address on the letter and envelope should consist of not more than six lines.
5. Opening salutation
The salutation, or greeting, is typed at the left margin a double space below the inside address or attention line. Usually, a colon follows the salutation (if written in the USA).
Mrs. Janet K. LaCroix 1427 North Broadway Lincoln, NE 68529 Dear Mrs. LaCroix:
The following salutations meet the majority of letter writing needs:
The salutation GENTLEMEN is used when a letter is addressed company with an attention line to an individual or department. If GENTLEMEN seems awkward or inappropriate because the letter is addressed to the attention of a woman, it is best to eliminate the attention line and address the letter to the woman, rather than the company.
Closing salutation
The complimentary, or formal, closing of a letter is typed: double space below the last line of the body. Depending on a style it may be typed either at the left margin or beginning at the center of the page. The following closings are customarily used in business correspondence:
Signature
Sufficient space should be left after the complimentary closing or typed company name to allow for the writer's signature. Three or four blank lines is usually ample space, but more space can be left if the writer has a large handwriting.
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