CC unit 1, letter layout

4 Inside addressSurname known  Write it as first line of the inside address  Include: • Courtesy title: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Dr, Prof.. • The person’s full name or with initials for give

Commercial Correspondence

COURSE INTRODUCTION

 Instructor: Nguyễn Mai Hương, M.A.

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

Email: nguyenmaihuong_ftu@yahoo.com

 Duration: 10 weeks (09 Jan – 06 Apr 2012)

 Workload: 2 classes/week

COURSE INTRODUCTION

Objectives

 To provide practical help for students of

business and commerce in writing commercial correspondence, mainly letters and emails

 To explain how to write clearly and effectively, and point out the do’s and don’ts within the

specific areas of business writing

 Resumés

 Application letters

Commercial Correspondence

Unit 1

Letter Layout, Content and Style

1 Sender’s

address

 Usually: top

1 Sender’s

address

Compuvision Ltd Warwick House

Warwick Street Forest Hill

London SE23 1JF

Telephone +44 (0) 20 8566 1861 Facsimile +44 (0) 20 8566 1385 Email staff@comvis.co.uk

www.comvis.co.uk

 In company’s

letterhead

2 References DK 1260Bredgade 51

Copenhagen K DENMARK

Your ref 6 May 20 Our ref DS/MR

 At least one blank

line below the

2 References ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD29-31 Broad Street

Birmingham B1 2HE Tel 0121-542 6614 DS/MR

3 Date DK 1260Bredgade 51

Copenhagen K DENMARK

Your ref 6 May 20 Our ref DS/MR

Date 11 May 20

 At least one blank

line below the

sender’s address or

reference

3 Date ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD29-31 Broad Street

Birmingham B1 2HE Tel 0121-542 6614

4 Inside

address

ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD

29-31 Broad Street Birmingham B1 2HE Tel 0121-542 6614

 One to ten blank

lines below the

date and always

4 Inside address

Surname known

 Write it as first line of the inside address

 Include:

• Courtesy title: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Dr, Prof

• The person’s full name (or with initials for

given names):

Mr John Smith or Mr J.E Smith

NOT: Mr Smith (without initials or first name)

4 Inside address

Name not known

 If you only know the person’s 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

5 Attention line

 Alternative to the recipient’s name or job title

in the inside address

 Should be underlined or printed in bold or

CAPITALS, 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

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 Smith or Dear 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.

7 Subject title

 Directly after the salutation and separate from

it 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 bold or

CAPITALS

Dear Mrs Marshall

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE – 24 AUGUST 2011

8 Body of the Letter

 The actual message of your letter

 Leave a line space between paragraphs

Dear Mr Smith Dear Mrs Bolan Dear Caroline Dear Sam

10 Sender’s identification

 Type name and job title below handwritten signature

 Can give either your initials or full name

DAVID JENKINS D Jenkins

Chairman General Manager

 Add a title for a female in brackets before

or after her name

Lesley Bolan (Mrs) (Ms) B Kaasen

Sales Manager Director

10 Sender’s identification

 Write your job title or department directly

beneath your name

 When signing a letter on behalf of the

sender, write “pp” or “p.p.” or “for” in front

of the sender’s printed name, e.g

Yours faithfully

pp Edward Nathan

11 Enclosures

 A line space below the sender’s

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)

12 Copies

 At least a blank line below the sender’s

identification or the Enclosures

 Consisting of the word: “C.C.” or “Copy”

followed by the name/s and designation/s of the copy recipient/s, e.g

C.C Ravi Gopal, General Manager

Candice Reeves, Accountant

Structuring the body

4 Point Plan

1. Opening or Introduction

2. Central section (details)

3. Conclusion (Action or Response)

4. Close

Structuring the body

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, the South

Vietnam tour.

Structuring the body

2 Central section (details)

• Give information to the recipient

• Request information

Structuring the body

3 Conclusion (Action or Response)

• State the action expected from the recipient

• State the action you will take as a result of the

details provided

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

involved.

If payment is not received within seven days,

this matter will be placed in the hands of our

solicitor.

Structuring the body

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 further

information.

Incomplete sentences like these should not be used:

Hope to hear from you soon.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Content and Style

1. Remember your ABC

2. Be courteous and considerate

3. Include all relevant details

4. Use active, not passive voice, when

possible

5. Be consistent

1 Remember your ABC

Accurate

 Check facts carefully (titles, names, dates, references, prices, measurements…)

 Proofread thoroughly (tenses, spelling,

grammar, punctuation, enclosures…)

1 Remember your ABC

o I have pleasure in informing you

I am pleased to tell you

1 Remember your ABC

Brief

o We do not anticipate any increase in prices

 We do not expect prices to rise

o I should be grateful if you would be good

enough to advise us

 Please let me know

o We would like to express our regret at being

unable to fulfill your requirements.

 We are sorry we cannot meet your

requirements.

1 Remember your ABC

Clear

 Plan before you start writing Make sure you say everything you want to say, and in a clear

sequence.

 Use simple English.

 Avoid formality and familiarity.

 Do not use abbreviations that your reader may not understand.

 Write numbers in words as well as in figures.

2 Be courteous and considerate

 Should not be so simple that it becomes rude.

 Avoid using short forms like “I’ll” or “don’t”

 Understand and respect the recipient’s point of view.

 If you feel some comments are unfair, be tactful and try not to cause offence.

 Reply promptly to all communications If you

cannot, write a brief note and explain why.

2 Be courteous and considerate

Instead of

We cannot do anything

about your problem.

Your television’s guarantee

is up, so you will have to

pay for it to be fixed.

you’ll get your money back

prices have gone through

the loan will be repaid prices have increased rapidly

3 Include all relevant details

Instead of

My flight arrives at 3.30

on Wednesday.

Our Sales Manager will

contact you soon.

Write

My flight BA121 from London Heathrow should arrive at Singapore Changi Airport at

1530 on Wednesday 12 June.

Mr John Matthews, our Sales Manager, will contact you soon.

4 Use active, not passive voice

Active voice: more personal, natural and

focused: more interesting and clearer

Passive voice: creates a distance

4 Use active, not passive voice

Instead of

Arrangements have been

made for a repeat order

to be despatched to you

immediately.

The cause of the complaint

has been investigated.

Sales of the X101 have

4 Use active, not passive voice

Passive voice, however, would be more

appropriate in some occasions as follows.

 Giving extra emphasis to a particularly important 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.

4 Use active, not passive voice

Passive voice, however, would be more

appropriate 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

Write: I confirm my reservation of a single room

on 16 July and a double room on 17 October.