BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE Based on A. Littlejohn: Company to Company, Fourth Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2005

LETTER LAYOUT (extra sheet: Letter of Application, T.Trappe: New Insights intoBusiness) LETTER (E-MAIL) WRITING CHECKLIST • Sender's address (letterhead?) • Recipient's (addressee’s) name and address • Date • Salutation: e.g.Dear ... • Subject line (heading) • Opening: e.g.I am writing to ..., Thank you for your letter ... • Main part (Body of the letter/e-mail) • Close: e.g.I look forward to ... • Ending: e.g.Yours sincerely / Yours faithfully, ... • Signature • Name in printed letters: John Smith • Job title (position): IT Department Manager

DATE*CC: ex. 4.3 (p.39) • CRO 06. 12. 2009. • UK 16 December 2009 • US June 12, 2009 • Say: the sixteenth of December two thousand and nine» «December the sixteenth two thousand and nine» • Prepositions: With reference to your letter ......... 6 December 2004; The order was received… a) ...........6 Dec 2008; b)........ December; c)....... 2008; d) ….... .the first week of December;

DATE • CRO 06. 12. 2009. • UK 16 December 2009 • US June 12, 2009 • Say: the sixteenth of December two thousand and nine» «December the sixteenth two thousand and nine» • Prepositions: With reference to your letter of 6 December 2008; The order was received… ... on 6 Dec 2008; ...in December; …in 2008; …in the first week of December; *Ex: C to C p.39 (4.3)

SALUTATION: Dear...? • to a company • to a man if you do not know his name • to a woman if you do not know her name • to a married or unmarried man • to a married or unmarried woman • to a married woman • to an unmarried woman • to a friend or someone you know well

SALUTATION (cont.) • Dear Ms Smith • Dear John • Dear Madam • Dear Sir or Madam • Dear Sir • Dear Miss Smith • Dear Mrs Smith • Dear Mr Smith

Dear Sir or Madam Dear Sir Dear Madam Dear Mr Smith Dear Ms Smith Dear Mrs Smith Dear Miss Smith Dear John US: Dear Ms Smith: UK: Dear Ms Smith NO! Dear Mr John to a company to a man if you do not know his name to a woman if you do not know her name to a married or unmarried man to a married or unmarried woman to a married woman to an unmarried woman to a friend or someone you know well SALUTATION (cont.)

Salutation and closing • Dear Sir or Madam /Yours faithfully • Dear Ms Jackson /Yours sincerely • Dear Mark/Best wishes(Best regards) • Dear Ms Gonzalez, Dear David, Dear Mrs Wilson, Dear Sir or Madam *CC: ex. 1.3 (p.9)

SUBJECT HEADING CC: ex.1.4, p.9-10, ex.3.2, p.28 • key word(s) • e-mail • letters Dear Mr Kane Dear Mr Kane Order ref.no.2345Re: Late Delivery I am writing to enquire about ... I am writing to complain about ...

PARTS OF A LETTER • beginning (opening) • main message (more paragraphs possible) • ending (close)

Beginning CC: ex.2.5, p.20 • We are writing in connection with... • We are writing to enquire about ... • Thank you for your letter of February 20 concerning … • Further to our telephone discussion …, we would like to inform you that ... • With reference toyour enquiry about…

Ending CC:ex. 2.7, p.21 • I look forward to receiving your reply. • I look forward to hearing fom you soon. • We look forward to seeing you soon. • Please feel free to contact us if necessary. + CLOSE

BLOCK STYLE • punctuation? • no indentation • paragraphing and line spacing

PARAGRAPHING EX. • I am writing to complain about a management motivation training course organised by your company that I attended on March 30th of this year. The main reason that I was not satisfied with the course is that the presenter was totally unprofessional. In the first place, he was fifteen minutes late and didn’t even apologise. Secondly, he was obviously unprepared and was unable to organise his graphics. On top of everything, he finished half an hour early and didn’t take any questions. I had spent a significant amount of money on this course and expected to gain some useful insight and tips on motivating my team. The only thing that I learned was how not to give a presentation. As a minimum, I expect a refund from your company to compensate me for the money and time I have wasted. If this is not forthcoming, I will take the matter up with the Professional Management Seminars Organisation.Source: courtesy of Mr Stephen Hindlaugh

PARAGRAPHING EX. (CC: ex.a-b, p.32.33) • I am writing to complain about a management motivation training course organised by your company that I attended on March 30th of this year. • The main reason that I was not satisfied with the course is that the presenter was totally unprofessional. In the first place, he was fifteen minutes late and didn’t even apologise. Secondly, he was obviously unprepared and was unable to organise his graphics. On top of everything, he finished half an hour early and didn’t take any questions. • I had spent a significant amount of money on this course and expected to gain some useful insight and tips on motivating my team. The only thing that I learned was how not to give a presentation. • As a minimum, I expect a refund from your company to compensate me for the money and time I have wasted. If this is not forthcoming, I will take the matter up with the Professional Management Seminars Organisation.

STYLE • formal but natural • avoid contracted forms (I’m → I am) • polite, clear, accurate, concise CC: ex.1.5,1.6, 1.7, p.10-11)

E-MAIL CC:ex. a-c, p.22-23 • expressions: cc, bcc, attach, forward,... • attachments: Please find attached the report. (I attach the report.) • Open and close your e-mails • Do not write in capital letters • Do not send the original message back to the sender (sometimes ok?) • Use paragraphs – easy to read!

Assessment (in testing) • layout (address, date, salutation, ...) • beginning/ending (and close) • paragraphing (no indentation) • appropriate language (words, expressions, prepositions, ...) • content

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE