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)

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 of 13 November...   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?

07/12/2015

12 July 2015?07 December 2015?

Date

07/12/2015

12 July 2015 (US)07 December 2015

(UK=CRO)

DATE *CC: ex. 4.3 (p.39)

CRO 07. 12. 2013., 7. prosinca, 2015.UK  7 December 2015 US  July 12, 2015

PREPOSITIONSWith reference to your letter ......... 7 December 2015;

The order was received…a)...........7 Dec 2015; b)........ December; c)....... 2015; d) ….... .the first week of December;

DATE - prepositions

With reference to your letter of 7 December 2015 …

The order was received…

... on 7 Dec 2015;

... in December;

… in 2015;

… 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

Salutation1. Dear Sir or Madam2. Dear Sir

3. Dear Madam

4. Dear Mr Smith

5. Dear Ms Smith

6. Dear Mrs Smith

7. Dear Miss Smith

8. Dear John

US: Dear Ms Smith:UK: Dear Ms Smith

1. to a company2. to a man if you do not

know his name

3. to a woman if you do not know her name

4. to a married or unmarried man

5. to a married or unmarried woman

6. to a married woman7. to an unmarried woman8. to a friend or someone

you know well

NO! Dear Mr John

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 vs. traditional letters

Dear Mr Kane Dear Mr Kane

Order ref.no.2345 Re: Late Delivery

I am writing to enquire about ... I am writing tocomplain about ...

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! Formal contacts – formal style!

STYLE CC: ex.1.5,1.6, 1.7, (p.10-11)

LANGUAGE polite, clear, accurate, concise(KISS

strategy), formal (but natural) avoid contracted forms (I’m → I am)

LAYOUT (BLOCK STYLE) beginning/ending – punctuation? no indentation paragraphing and line spacing

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.

Source: Courtesy of Stephen Hindlaugh)

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 did not 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 did not 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)

PARTS OF A LETTER

beginning (opening) main message (paragraphing!) ending (close)

Beginning CC: ex.2.5, p.20

We are writing ... connection ... We are writing to enquire ...

Thank you for your letter .... February 20 concerning (…)

Further ... our telephone discussion (…), we would like to inform you (...)

With reference ... your enquiry …

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 to your enquiry about…

Ending CC:ex. 2.7, p.21

I look forward to ... your reply. I look forward to ... from you soon. We look forward to ... you soon. Please feel ... to ... us if necessary. Please do not ... to contact me if

you have any ....+CLOSE (Yours ..., Best ...)

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. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you

have any questions.

+

CLOSE ( Yours sincerely/faithfully, Best regards/wishes, ...)

Dear Sir or ...........

I ................ to enquire about the capacity and the price of your water heaters.

We are interested in buying the heaters forour new facilities in Kensington.

I look forward to ............... your reply.

................................

Vincent HugoPurchasing Department

Dear Sir or Madam

I am writing to enquire about the capacity and the price of your water heaters.

We are interested in buying the heaters forour new facilities in Kensington.

I look forward to receiving your reply.

Yours faithfully

Vincent HugoPurchasing Department

Dear Mr Hugo

.................................................................................

We sell three different kinds of water heaters. The pricesare €1,600 (150 litres), €1,750 (200 litres) and €1,900(250 litres).

I enclose some brochures.

................................................................................

................................

Jan Van OssSales Department

Dear Mr Hugo

Thank you for your enquiry of April 15 asking about theprices of our water heaters.

We sell three different kinds of water heaters. The prices €1,600 (150 litres), €1,750 (200 litres) and 1,900 (250 litres). I enclose some brochures.

Please feel free to contact me if you need any furtherinformation.

Yours sincerely

Jan Van OssSales Department

TYPES OF LETTERS

job application sample letters: MK, RB

enquiries sample letter: RB

replies to enquiries sample letter: RB

good/bad news requesting action complaints sample letter: RB

(slides)

apology sample letter: RB

orders ...

Good news

We are HAPPY to inform you that... PLEASED

DELIGHTED ... you have been shortlisted for

interview for the position of ... ...we ARE ABLE TO deliver ...

Bad news +reason

We are SORRY to inform you that ..

We REGRET to inform you that ...

... we ARE UNABLE TO deliver ...

... we HAVE BEEN FORCED TO increase our prices.

This is DUE TO unforeseen circumstances. OWING TO ... AS A RESULT OF ...

BECAUSE OF ...

Bad news

We ... to inform you that we ... to cancel the meeting scheduled for 27 May. This is .... to staff illness.

Bad news

We regret to inform you that we have been forced to cancel the meeting scheduled for 27 May. This is due to staff illness.

Referring (beginning) + good news (CC:p.29)

.............. your application for a post as secretary, ........that we would like you to start work as soon as possible.

.............our telephone conversation last week, .................that your car is now ready for you to collect.

Good news (CC:p.29)

With reference to your application for a post as secretary, we are happy to inform you that we would like you to start work as soon as possible.

With regard to our telephone conversation last week, we are pleased to inform you that your car is now ready for you to collect.

Good/bad news + reason

We regret/are sorry/pleased/delighted to…….that we have been forced to.../we are

unable to.../...we are able to/intend to..., This is due to (the fact that)...

a)delay the delivery of the goods – strike by airline pilots

b)cut all salaries by 10% - fall in salesc)increase all salaries by 10% - rise in sales

Good news/bad news and giving reasons (cause-effect) With regard to your order of March 25, we regret to inform

you that we are unable to deliver the goods on time. This is due to the strike by airline pilots.

We are sorry to inform you that we have been forced to cut all salaries by 10%. This is as a result of a fall in sales of 12% in the last quarter.

We regret to inform you that tomorrow’s meeting has been cancelled. This is due to the fact that a lot of staff have been ill.

We are delighted to inform you that we have decided to increase all salaries by 10%. This is due to a rise in our sales last year.

Requesting action

PLEASE COULD YOU... We WOULD BE GRATEFUL IF you

could ... We WOULD APPRECIATE IT IF you

could ...Ex. You have moved your office and you

want the post office to forward your letters to your new address.

Requesting action CC: 5.2., p.50

Please / arrange / for ten o’clock / could / an appointment / you

we / send / asap / would / if you / the goods / be grateful / could

appreciate / arrange / would / for ten o’clock / could /it / an appointment / if/ you /We

Letters of complaint

complain (v.) - complaint (n.) He complained. He made a complaint.

mild complaint vs. strong complaint

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 did not 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 did not 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

MILD OR STRONG?

1.PROBLEMI am writing to complain about a management motivation training course organised by your company that I attended on March 30th of this year.2.GIVE REASONS FOR THE COMPLAINTThe 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 did not 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 did not take any questions. 3.MAKE A POINT (SUPPORT THE COMPLAINT)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. 4.REQUEST IMMEDIATE ACTION 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. (MAKE A THREAT?)

Source: Courtesy of Mr Stephen Hindlaugh

STRONG COMPLAINT

Mild complaints

Complaint (pg.1) UNFORTUNATELY, the invoice you

sent us is higher than we agreed. I AM AFRAID that the invoice you

sent me…  It SEEMS to me that… It APPEARS that …

Complaints

Reminder / making a point (pg.2) I should like to remind you that… I would like to draw your attention to

(the fact that)… I would like to point out that … Requesting action (pg.3) We would be grateful if you correct the

invoiced amount so as to keep to our agreement.

Complaints

RB:77: mild or strong complaints? Differences?

Letter correction, RB:p.111

Check the following: a)grammar/spelling, b)style, c)layout

d)phrases

APOLOGISING

apologise (v.)   apology (n.sg.), apologies (n.pl.)

We APOLOGISE FOR losing your order.

We are EXTREMELY SORRY FOR losing  your order.(We are extremely sorry that we have lost your order.)

Apologies (ending)

With apologies once again. Please accept our apologies once

again. We hope that this has not caused

you any inconvenience.