Text II. BUSINESS LETTER, FAX MESSAGE

The lay-out of the business letter differs in some respects from that of the personal letter.

Not only the sender’s address is given (as in personal letter) but also the name and address of the person or organization to which the letter is being sent. This is written on the left-hand side of the page against the margin slightly lower than the date (which is on the opposite side). It should be the same as the name and address on the envelope.

A letter written to a man should be addressed to, for example, Mr. D. Smith or to D. Smith Esq. (Esquire). A letter to a woman should be addressed to, for example, Mrs. C. Jones or Miss C. Jones. If you do not know the name of the person for whom your letter is intended you may address it directly to the company, e.g.:

     The Branded Boot Co. Ltd.,

     5 Rubberheel Road,

     Wellingborough,

     Northants,

     England.

Co. and Ltd. are the usual abbreviations for Company and Limited. However it’s better to address your letter to some individual – The Managing Director, The Personnel Manager, The Secretary, The Branch Manager, The Export Manager – followed by the name of the company.

If the person you are writing to is known to you, you should begin with, for example, Dear Mr. Thompson, Dear Mrs. Warren, etc. Otherwise you should begin Dear (Sir), Dear Madam, or Gentlemen: (Am.). Note that Gentlemen is followed by a colon.

The body of the business letter usually includes: a) Reference, b) Information, c) Purpose, d) Conclusion.

You should begin your letter with a reference to a letter you have received, an advertisement you have seen, or an event which has prompted the writing of your letter.

e. g.: Thank you for your letter of May 3^rd. In your letter of January 13^th you inquire about…

It was a great pleasure to receive your letter of July 1^st that ….. I recently called your agent in this country to ask about …. but he was unable to help me.

It is sometimes necessary to add some detailed information related to the reference, in a subsequent paragraph.

Purpose is the most important part of the letter, where you are expected to state clearly and concisely what you want and answer carefully and clearly all the questions that you have been asked.

Conclusion usually consists of some polite remark to round the letter off.

 e. g.: I look (I am looking) forward to hearing from you soon.

I sincerely hope you will be able to help me in this matter.

I should greatly appreciate an early reply.

Please accept our sincere apologies for the trouble caused to you, and will take all possible steps to ensure that such a mistake does not occur.

Then usually follows the complimentary close. If you begin your letter with Dear Sir(s) or Dear Madam you may end it with the words “Yours faithfully”. If you address a person by name the words “Yours sincerely” are preferable. There is a modern tendency however to use “Yours sincerely” even to people you have never met.

The signature: sing you name clearly, in full, as it should appear on the envelope of the letter addressed to you.

The connectives play an outstanding role in writing a business letter. They are used for better comprehension of the contents.

e. g.: Owing to, Unfortunately, However, We should be pleased, We should be delighted, We do hope, It is possible that, For this reason, We regret about, Taking into account that, Hopefully.

Summarizing all the above said it should be stressed that any business letter can be written using the following general scheme:

1. Heading (writer’s address, date of the letter)

2. Inside address (name and address of the person or company receiving the letter)

3. Greeting (Dear Sir:)

4. Body of the letter (reference, information, purpose, conclusion)

5. Closing or complimentary close (saying good-bye)

6. Signature

 

  Vocabulary notes

margin – поле (страницы)

envelope – конверт

address – адресовать

intend – иметь намерение

otherwise – в противном случае

colon – двоеточие

prompt – заставлять

inquire – выяснять

be unable – быть не в состоянии

subsequent – последующий

polite – вежливый

accept apologies – принять извинение

cause trouble – вызвать неприятности

apologize – извиняться

take steps – принимать меры

occur ( about the mistake) – случаться (об ошибке)

Yours faithfully – Искренне Ваш

Yours sincerely – Искренне Ваш

owing to – благодаря

unfortunately – к сожалению

be delighted – быть в восхищении

regret – сожалеть

take into account – принимать во внимание

 

Ex. 1.  You have found different parts of many letters; choose what phrases you should use: a) at the beginning of a business letter, b) in the middle, c) at the end. Complete the phrases where it is necessary.

We have pleasure in informing you…………………………………………………….

Yours sincerely

In reply to your letter dated……………………………………………………………

We look forward to a visit of the President…………………………………………….

We wish to inform you…………………………………………………………………

Further to our telephone conversation………………………………………………….

Yours faithfully

We thank you for your letter dated 23^rd March, 1998.

We have to inform you…………………………………………………………………

I’m looking forward to meeting you soon

We enclose with the letter the design documents.

Best regards

We highly appreciate the work you have done for us.

It allows us to make a decision.

Please, contact us as soon as possible.

Regards

Your letter has been forwarded to us by DHL.

You are kindly requested to study this material and inform us about the decision at your earliest convenience.

I look forward to hearing from you

We are ready to assist you in this endeavor.

We have attached the payment documents to the letter.

We assure you that we shall fulfil our obligations.

In confirming our talk with your representative………………………………………

In connection with your inquiry………………………………………………………

We should like to stipulate the fact that………………………………………………

 

⇐ Предыдущая60616263646566676869Следующая ⇒

Поделиться: