Unit 1, Letter Layout

8/13/2019 Unit 1, Letter Layout

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Commercial Correspondence


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COURSE INTRODUCTION

Instructor: NguynMai Hng, M.A.

Faculty of English for Specific Purposes, FTUHandphone: 0912 726 217

Email:[email protected]

Duration: 10 weeks (09 Jan06 Apr 2012) Workload: 2 classes/week


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CoURSE INTRODUCTION

Materials

1. Oxford Handbook of CommercialCorrespondenceA. Ashley

2. The Language of Business

Correspondence in EnglishNguynTrngn


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COURSE INTRODUCTION

Objectives

To provide practical help for students ofbusiness and commerce in writing commercialcorrespondence, mainly letters and emails.

To explain how to write clearly and effectively,

and point out the dos and donts within thespecific areas of business writing.


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COURSE INTRODUCTION

Areas covered

Letter layout, content

and style Emails

Enquiries

Replies to enquiries

Quotations and Offers

Orders

Transportation

Complaints andadjustments

Resums

Application letters


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COURSE INTRODUCTION

Assessment

Attendance, homework: 10%

Mid-term test: 20%

End-of-term test: 70%


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Commercial CorrespondenceUnit 1

Letter Layout, Content and

Style


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Letter Layout1. Senders address2. References

3. Date

4. Inside address

5. Attention line

6. Salutation

7. Subject title

8. Body of the letter

9. Complimentary close

10. Senders identification11. Enclosures

12. Copies

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1 Senders

address

Usually: top right-

hand corner Less common :

top left-handcorner

No punctuation

9

Bredgade 51DK 1260

Copenhagen KDENMARK


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1 Senders

address

Compuvision Ltd Warwick HouseWarwick StreetForest HillLondon SE23 1JF

Telephone +44 (0) 20 8566 1861

Facsimile +44 (0) 20 8566 1385Email [email protected]

In companys

letterhead

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mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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2 ReferencesBredgade 51DK 1260Copenhagen K

DENMARK

Your ref. 6 May 20__Our ref. DS/MR

At least one blankline below the

senders address orletterhead

Right-hand side orleft-hand side ofthe page

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2 ReferencesELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD

29-31 Broad StreetBirmingham B1 2HE

Tel. 0121-542 6614

DS/MR Can show:

Initials of writer

and PA/secretary

DS/MRor DS/mr

Number of the

letter or dept.134/17 orDR 306

The date or theorder number

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3 DateBredgade 51DK 1260Copenhagen K

DENMARK

Your ref. 6 May 20__Our ref. DS/MR

Date 11 May 20__

At least one blankline below the

senders address orreference

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3 DateELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD

29-31 Broad StreetBirmingham B1 2HE

Tel. 0121-542 6614

DS/MR

12 November 20__

Right-hand side orleft-hand side

Always be shown infull:

14 August 20__;or

August 14, 20__

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4 Insideaddress

ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD29-31 Broad StreetBirmingham B1 2HE

Tel. 0121-542 6614

DS/MR

12 November 20__

Mr Gordon WoodG Wood & Sons

36 Castle StreetBristol BS1 2BQ

One to ten blanklines below the

date and alwayson the left-handside

Should be onseparate lines as itwould appear onthe envelope

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4 Inside address

Surname known

Write it as first line of the inside address

Include: Courtesy title: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Dr, Prof.

The persons full name (or with initials for

given names):Mr John Smith or Mr J.E. Smith

NOT: Mr Smith (without initials or first name)

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4 Inside address

Name not known

If you only know the persons job title, you

can use that in the inside address, e.g.The Sales Manager, or The Finance Director

Alternatively, you can address to a particular

department: The Accounts Department Or you can address to the company itself:

Compuvision Ltd, or Messrs Collier

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5 Attention line

Alternative to the recipients name or job titlein the inside address.

Should be underlined or printed in boldorCAPITALS, e.g.

For the attention of the Sales Manager

ATTENTION: MS TERRY ROBERTS A blank line below the inside address.

Left-hand side or in the middle of the page.

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6 Salutation

Addressing people you do not know their names:

Dear Sir

Dear MadamDear Sir or Madam (or Dear Sir / Madam)

Dear Sirs

(to address a company, not a specific person)

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6 Salutation

Addressing people you know their names:

but do not know them well, use title & surname,

do not include initials or first names:Dear Mr Smith/ Dear Miss Tan

NOT Dear Mr J. SmithorDear Mr John Smith

and you know them well, use just first name:Dear John/ Dear Mary

Note: A comma after the salutation is optional.In American English, a colon is used instead.

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7 Subject title

Directly after the salutation and separate fromit by a blank line.

Can be on the left-hand side or in the middle

Can begin with or without Re: or Subject: Should be underlined or printed in boldor

CAPITALS

Dear Mrs Marshall

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE24 AUGUST 2011

or Re: ORDER NO. 8901/6

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8 Body of the Letter

The actual message of your letter

Leave a line space between paragraphs

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9 Complimentary close

Two most common closes:

Yours faithfully

Yours sincerelyNote: A comma after the

complimentary close

is optional.

when letter begins:Dear Sir

Dear SirsDear Madam

Dear Sir or Madam

Dear Mr SmithDear Mrs Bolan

Dear Caroline

Dear Sam

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10 Senders identification

Type name and job title below handwrittensignature.

Can give either your initials or full nameDAVID JENKINS D. JenkinsChairman General Manager

Add a title for a female in brackets beforeor after her name

Lesley Bolan (Mrs) (Ms) B. KaasenSales Manager Director

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10 Senders identification

Write your job title or department directlybeneath your name

When signing a letter on behalf of thesender, write pp or p.p. or for in frontof the senders printed name, e.g.

Yours faithfully

Shirley Johnson

pp Edward Nathan

Chairman 25


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11 Enclosures

A line space below the senders identification Consisting of the word: Enc. or Encl.

followed by a list of the enclosed items, e.g.

Enc. Bill of Lading (3 copies)

Insurance certificate (1 copy)

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12 Copies

At least a blank line below the sendersidentification or the Enclosures

Consisting of the word: C.C. or Copyfollowed by the name/s and designation/s ofthe copy recipient/s, e.g.

C.C. Ravi Gopal, General ManagerCandice Reeves, Accountant

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Continuationpages Page no. 2

12 November 20__

Mr Gordon Wood

Page number

Date

Name of addressee Leave 3 or 4 blank

lines beforecontinuing

Take at least 3 or 4lines of typing over toa continuation page.

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Letter Layout

Arrangement styles

Full-blocked

Blocked

Semi-blocked

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Structuring the body

4 Point Plan

1. Opening or Introduction

2. Central section (details)

3. Conclusion (Action or Response)

4. Close

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1. Opening or Introduction(state the reason)

acknowledge previous correspondence

refer to a meeting or contact provide an introduction to the matter being

discussed.

E.g. Thank you for your letter of

Further to our telephone conversation today,

I am interested in holiday No. J/M/3, theSouth Vietnam tour.

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2. Central section (details)

Give information to the recipient

Request information

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3. Conclusion (Action or Response)

State the action expected from the recipient

State the action you will take as a result of thedetails provided

E.g.Please let me have full details of the costsinvolved.

If payment is not received within seven days,this matter will be placed in the hands of oursolicitor.

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4. Close

Usually, a simple one-line closing sentence

E.g.I look forward to meeting you soon.A prompt reply would be appreciated.

Please let me know if you need any furtherinformation.

Incomplete sentences like these should notbe used:

Hopeto hear from you soon.

Lookingforward to hearing from you.34


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Content and Style

1. Remember your ABC

2. Be courteous and considerate

3. Include all relevant details

4. Use active, not passive voice, whenpossible

5. Be consistent

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1 Remember your ABC

Accurate

Check facts carefully (titles, names, dates,

references, prices, measurements) Proofread thoroughly (tenses, spelling,

grammar, punctuation, enclosures)

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1 Remember your ABC

Brief

Keep sentences short and use simple

expressions.Use the second way of expression in thefollowing examples.

o

We would like to ask you to Please

o I have pleasure in informing you I am pleased to tell you

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1 Remember your ABC

Briefo We do not anticipate any increase in prices

We do not expect prices to rise

o I should be grateful if you would be goodenough to advise us Please let me know

o We would like to express our regret at beingunable to fulfill your requirements. We are sorry we cannot meet your

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1 Remember your ABC

Clear

Plan before you start writing. Make sure you sayeverything you want to say, and in a clearsequence.

Use simple English.

Avoid formality and familiarity.

Do not use abbreviations that your reader maynot understand.

Write numbers in words as well as in figures.

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2 Be courteous and considerate

Should not be so simple that it becomes rude.

Avoid using short forms like Ill or dont

Understand and respect the recipients point ofview.

If you feel some comments are unfair, be tactfuland try not to cause offence.

Reply promptly to all communications. If youcannot, write a brief note and explain why.

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2 Be courteous and considerate

Instead of

We cannot do anythingabout your problem.

Your televisions guaranteeis up, so you will have topay for it to be fixed.

youll get your money back

prices have gone throughthe roof

Write

Unfortunately we are unable tohelp you on this occasion.

Your televisions guarantee hasended, so unfortunately you mustbear the cost of any repairs.

the loan will be repaid

prices have increased rapidly

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3 Include all relevant details

Instead of

My flight arrives at 3.30on Wednesday.

Our Sales Manager willcontact you soon.

Write

My flight BA121 from LondonHeathrow should arrive atSingapore Changi Airport at1530 on Wednesday 12 June.

Mr John Matthews, our SalesManager, will contact yousoon.

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4 Use active, not passive voice

Active voice: more personal, natural andfocused: more interesting and clearer.

Passive voice: creates a distance

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Instead of

Arrangements have beenmade for a repeat order tobe despatched to youimmediately.

The cause of the complaint

has been investigated.

Sales of the X101 haveexceeded all expectations.

Write

I have arranged for arepeat order to be sent toyou today.

I have looked into this

matter.

X101 sales have gone skyhigh.

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Passive voice, however, would be moreappropriate in some occasions as follows.

Giving extra emphasis to a particularlyimportant noun.

Instead of:All the leading hotels in Singapore

recommend our service.Say: Our restaurant has been recommended by

all the leading hotels in Singapore.

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Passive voice, however, would be moreappropriate in some occasions as follows.

Placing focus on the action not the actor.The noise was heard all over the island.

When you want to hide something or tact is

important.

An unfortunate mistake was made.

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5 Be consistent

In layout

In style

In details

Instead of: I confirm my reservation of a singleroom on 16/7 and a double room on 17 Oct.

Write: I confirm my reservation of a singleroom on 16 July and a double room on 17October.

Documents

Unit 1, Letter Layout