People have been writing letters for centuries. Before the telephone and the Internet, sending a letter (by a messenger, and later by post) was the only way to communicate with someone who was geographically distant. Even with all our modern technology, letters haven’t become obsolete. Most of us will write many letters during our business life: to order a product, to provide or request information, to complain about something, to apply for a job, to thank for something etc.
To write a successful business letter you need to use the right tone and straightforward language. The way a letter is written reveals a lot about the person who is writing it and it also sends a message about the organization that he or she is working for. Therefore, it is very important to make sure that the information, layout, spelling and style are all correct before you send it.
Most companies have models or templates of standard letters for all common situations: texts giving standard information, with spaces or blanks to be filled in depending on the details. This saves time, allows the company to control the quality of what goes out to customers and business partners.
When you need to write a business letter without a template you should:
• Establish a clear purpose: why are you writing? (to inform, persuade, request, etc.)
• Know your audience: who are you writing for? The audience will determine the style and language you use.
• Plan a logical sequence, and organize your ideas into paragraphs.
• Be brief and precise.
• Use plain language: avoid jargon, complex words and abbreviations your reader might not understand.
• Use a formal (or at least neutral) business tone.
• Always be courteous and polite.
• When you’ve finished writing, check everything: the content, the format, the language (grammar, punctuation and spelling) and the style. For very important letters you might want to get someone else with perfect English to check for you.
The format of business letters has slowly changed over time with the culture of business getting less and less formal. The components of a traditional full block business letters are shown below.
1. The Heading of a business letter usually contains the name and the postal address of the business, e-mail address, web-site address, telephone number, fax number, trade mark or logo of the business (if any).
When writing an address you may use standard abbreviations, such as the names of states (Corn – Cornwall, Minn. – Minnesota). While translating a Russian address into English you should observe some rules. Do not translate street and city names into English. You should write “Prospect Shahtyorov” not “Miners’ avenue”, “Ulitsa Krasnaya” not “Red street”.
The address can also begin with a job title or a department (if you do not know the name): The Sales Manager, The Accounts Department.
The items that follow are:
1. the name of the house or building
2. the number of the building and the name of the street
3. the name of the town and the postcode
4. the name of the country.
For example:
Mr T Glover
Glover Menswear Ltd
12 Browns Lane
Rugeley
Staffordshire WS15 IDR
UK
Global Insurance Group, Inc
54322 Valles Avenue
Riverdale
N.Y. 10471
USA
Mrs E. Morozova
Dean of Economics faculty
Kemerovo State University
Krasnaya Str. 6
650043 Kemerovo 43
Russia
The date is normally written on the right hand side corner after the heading. Write out the month in full, because 5/10/10 means 5 October 2010 in Britain and 10 May 2010 in the US. Some examples are: 28th February, 2010 or February 28, 2010.
2. The Inside address is the recipient’s address. It includes the name and full address of the person or firm to whom the letter is to be sent. Include a personal title such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr. Follow a woman's preference in being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms. If you are unsure of a woman's preference in being addressed, use Ms. If there is a possibility that the person to whom you are writing is a Dr. or has some other title, use that title.
3. The Subject. It is a statement in brief that indicates the matter to which the letter relates. It attracts the attention of the receiver immediately and helps him to know quickly what the letter is about. For example:
Subject: Your order No. C317/8 dated 12 March 2009/
Subject: Enquiry about Sony television
Subject: Fire Insurance policy
4. The salutations are as follows:
- Dear Sir – to a man whose name you do not know
- Dear Sirs/Gentlemen – to a company
- Dear Madam – to a woman whose name you do not know
- Dear Sir or Madam – to a person whose name and sex you do not know
- Dear Mr Smith – to a person whose name you know, but you do not know the person very well
- Dear John – to a person you know well.
The British like to use the comma after the salutation: e.g. Dear Mrs Jones, but the Americans prefer a colon (:) e.g. Dear Gentlemen:
5. The Body of the letter is usually written in the blocked style. Leave a blank line between each paragraph. When writing a business letter, be careful to remember that conciseness is very important.
In the introductory paragraph, attention of the reader should be drawn to the previous contact (a letter or telephone conversation) and aim of your letter. E.g. I am writing to apologize for my delay in replying to your letter of 10 April 2009 or Further to our telephone conversation of 5 May 2009, I am writing to accept your offer.
The main part usually contains the subject matter of the letter and supporting details.
The closing paragraph contains a statement of the sender’s intentions, hopes or expectations concerning the next step to be taken. E.g. I would be very grateful if you sent me an appli-cation form or If you do not pay a refund for… I shall be obliged to take legal action. Further the sender should always look forward to getting a positive response. E.g. I look forward to hearing from you soon or We would be grateful to receive a prompt reply.
Useful phrases of beginning and finishing the letter
Introductory paragraph
(reference)
1. In reply to your letter of 14 February 2010…
2. Thank you for your letter dated 14 February 2010…
3. We were delighted to receive your letter of 14 February 2010…
4. Further to our telephone conversation last month…
5. We have heard from… that you…
6. We have noticed your job advertisement in… dated…
7. We were pleased to know about your interest in…
(reason for writing)
1. We are writing to confirm our wish to take part in…
2. I am writing to confirm our wish to apply for the position of…
3. Would you please inform us as soon as possible if…
4. We would like to have further details about…
5. We are attaching some information about…
Concluding paragraph
1. We look forward to your early reply.
2. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
3. Your prompt answer would be appreciated.
4. Thank you for your time and trouble.
5. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
6. Please do not hesitate to write if you require any additional information.
6. The Complimentary close. It is merely polite way of ending a letter. It must be in accordance with the salutation. For example:
Salutation Complimentary close
Dear Sir/Dear Madam Yours faithfully
Dear Mr. Angel Yours sincerely
7. The Signature. Always type your name and possibly your job title below your handwritten signature.
8. Enclosures. This is required when some documents like cheque, draft, bills, receipts, lists, invoices etc are attached with the letter. These enclosures are listed one by one in serial numbers. For example:
Encl:(i) The list of goods received
(ii) A cheque for Rs. One thousand dollars. 27 February, 2009 (Cheque No 895663) towards payment for goods supplied.
Ken's Cheese House
34 Chatley Avenue
Seattle, WA 98765
Tel:
Email: kenny@cheese.com
October 23, 2014
Fred Flintstone
Sales Manager
Cheese Specialists Inc.
456 Rubble Road
Rockville, IL
Dear Mr Flintstone:
With reference to our telephone conversation today, I am writing to confirm your order for: 120 x Cheddar Deluxe Ref. No. 856
The order will be shipped within three days via UPS and should arrive at your store in about 10 days.
Please contact us again if we can help in any way.
Yours sincerely,
Kenneth Beare
Director of Ken's Cheese House
To write a successful business letter you need to use the right tone and straightforward language. The way a letter is written reveals a lot about the person who is writing it and it also sends a message about the organization that he or she is working for. Therefore, it is very important to make sure that the information, layout, spelling and style are all correct before you send it.
Most companies have models or templates of standard letters for all common situations: texts giving standard information, with spaces or blanks to be filled in depending on the details. This saves time, allows the company to control the quality of what goes out to customers and business partners.
When you need to write a business letter without a template you should:
• Establish a clear purpose: why are you writing? (to inform, persuade, request, etc.)
• Know your audience: who are you writing for? The audience will determine the style and language you use.
• Plan a logical sequence, and organize your ideas into paragraphs.
• Be brief and precise.
• Use plain language: avoid jargon, complex words and abbreviations your reader might not understand.
• Use a formal (or at least neutral) business tone.
• Always be courteous and polite.
• When you’ve finished writing, check everything: the content, the format, the language (grammar, punctuation and spelling) and the style. For very important letters you might want to get someone else with perfect English to check for you.
The format of business letters has slowly changed over time with the culture of business getting less and less formal. The components of a traditional full block business letters are shown below.
- The Heading with the Date
- The Inside address or recipient’s address
- The Subject
- The Salutation
- The Body of the letter
- The Complimentary close
- The Signature
- Enclosures
1. The Heading of a business letter usually contains the name and the postal address of the business, e-mail address, web-site address, telephone number, fax number, trade mark or logo of the business (if any).
When writing an address you may use standard abbreviations, such as the names of states (Corn – Cornwall, Minn. – Minnesota). While translating a Russian address into English you should observe some rules. Do not translate street and city names into English. You should write “Prospect Shahtyorov” not “Miners’ avenue”, “Ulitsa Krasnaya” not “Red street”.
The address can also begin with a job title or a department (if you do not know the name): The Sales Manager, The Accounts Department.
The items that follow are:
1. the name of the house or building
2. the number of the building and the name of the street
3. the name of the town and the postcode
4. the name of the country.
For example:
Mr T Glover
Glover Menswear Ltd
12 Browns Lane
Rugeley
Staffordshire WS15 IDR
UK
Global Insurance Group, Inc
54322 Valles Avenue
Riverdale
N.Y. 10471
USA
Mrs E. Morozova
Dean of Economics faculty
Kemerovo State University
Krasnaya Str. 6
650043 Kemerovo 43
Russia
The date is normally written on the right hand side corner after the heading. Write out the month in full, because 5/10/10 means 5 October 2010 in Britain and 10 May 2010 in the US. Some examples are: 28th February, 2010 or February 28, 2010.
2. The Inside address is the recipient’s address. It includes the name and full address of the person or firm to whom the letter is to be sent. Include a personal title such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr. Follow a woman's preference in being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms. If you are unsure of a woman's preference in being addressed, use Ms. If there is a possibility that the person to whom you are writing is a Dr. or has some other title, use that title.
3. The Subject. It is a statement in brief that indicates the matter to which the letter relates. It attracts the attention of the receiver immediately and helps him to know quickly what the letter is about. For example:
Subject: Your order No. C317/8 dated 12 March 2009/
Subject: Enquiry about Sony television
Subject: Fire Insurance policy
4. The salutations are as follows:
- Dear Sir – to a man whose name you do not know
- Dear Sirs/Gentlemen – to a company
- Dear Madam – to a woman whose name you do not know
- Dear Sir or Madam – to a person whose name and sex you do not know
- Dear Mr Smith – to a person whose name you know, but you do not know the person very well
- Dear John – to a person you know well.
The British like to use the comma after the salutation: e.g. Dear Mrs Jones, but the Americans prefer a colon (:) e.g. Dear Gentlemen:
5. The Body of the letter is usually written in the blocked style. Leave a blank line between each paragraph. When writing a business letter, be careful to remember that conciseness is very important.
In the introductory paragraph, attention of the reader should be drawn to the previous contact (a letter or telephone conversation) and aim of your letter. E.g. I am writing to apologize for my delay in replying to your letter of 10 April 2009 or Further to our telephone conversation of 5 May 2009, I am writing to accept your offer.
The main part usually contains the subject matter of the letter and supporting details.
The closing paragraph contains a statement of the sender’s intentions, hopes or expectations concerning the next step to be taken. E.g. I would be very grateful if you sent me an appli-cation form or If you do not pay a refund for… I shall be obliged to take legal action. Further the sender should always look forward to getting a positive response. E.g. I look forward to hearing from you soon or We would be grateful to receive a prompt reply.
Useful phrases of beginning and finishing the letter
Introductory paragraph
(reference)
1. In reply to your letter of 14 February 2010…
2. Thank you for your letter dated 14 February 2010…
3. We were delighted to receive your letter of 14 February 2010…
4. Further to our telephone conversation last month…
5. We have heard from… that you…
6. We have noticed your job advertisement in… dated…
7. We were pleased to know about your interest in…
(reason for writing)
1. We are writing to confirm our wish to take part in…
2. I am writing to confirm our wish to apply for the position of…
3. Would you please inform us as soon as possible if…
4. We would like to have further details about…
5. We are attaching some information about…
Concluding paragraph
1. We look forward to your early reply.
2. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
3. Your prompt answer would be appreciated.
4. Thank you for your time and trouble.
5. If you have any questions, feel free to contact us.
6. Please do not hesitate to write if you require any additional information.
6. The Complimentary close. It is merely polite way of ending a letter. It must be in accordance with the salutation. For example:
Salutation Complimentary close
Dear Sir/Dear Madam Yours faithfully
Dear Mr. Angel Yours sincerely
7. The Signature. Always type your name and possibly your job title below your handwritten signature.
8. Enclosures. This is required when some documents like cheque, draft, bills, receipts, lists, invoices etc are attached with the letter. These enclosures are listed one by one in serial numbers. For example:
Encl:(i) The list of goods received
(ii) A cheque for Rs. One thousand dollars. 27 February, 2009 (Cheque No 895663) towards payment for goods supplied.
Sample Letter
Ken's Cheese House
34 Chatley Avenue
Seattle, WA 98765
Tel:
Email: kenny@cheese.com
October 23, 2014
Fred Flintstone
Sales Manager
Cheese Specialists Inc.
456 Rubble Road
Rockville, IL
Dear Mr Flintstone:
With reference to our telephone conversation today, I am writing to confirm your order for: 120 x Cheddar Deluxe Ref. No. 856
The order will be shipped within three days via UPS and should arrive at your store in about 10 days.
Please contact us again if we can help in any way.
Yours sincerely,
Kenneth Beare
Director of Ken's Cheese House
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