Presentation and structure

The layout of business letters often varies slightly from company to company. All the letters in this appendix follow a style which is acceptable for all kinds of business letter and may safely be used as models for your future

correspondence.

TaskDecide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). Then read the

text which follows to check your answers.

1 On unheaded notepaper, you should always write your name above your address.

2On unheaded notepaper, the address of the sender is on the right.

3 ❑Our ref. refers to the writer's filing system.

4In the UK, the date 2/4/93 means February 4th, 1993.

5 ❑You should always write the name and position of the person you are writing to above his/her company address.

6You use the salutation Dear Sir or Dear Madam when you know that the person you are writing to is older or more senior than you.

7If you begin with Dear Sir, you end with Yours faithfully.

8The initials p.p. indicate that the person signing the letter is doing so on behalf of someone else.

9It is unusual for the writer to put his/her company position at the end of the letter.

10 In business letters, dates should appear as numbers separated by full points (.) or obliques (/).

The abbreviation Ms can refer to both married and unmarried women. lf you are writing to Mrs Anne Swanson, you open with Dear Anne

Swanson.

Short business letters are regarded as impolite.

Americans may begin a business letter with the salutation Gentlemen, followed by a colon.

The letters Enc. mean that something else has been sent with the letter.

Points to note

n Most company notepaper is headed. However, if you are writing on unheaded paper, put your address (but not your name) in the top right-hand corner. The address of the company you are writing to should appear on the left so that it can be seen through an envelope with a window. If you are writing to a specific individual in the company, his/ her name and position goes above the address.

§ Dates can cause some confusion. 2/3/9_ means 'the second of March'

in English letters, but `February third' in American ones. Confusion can be avoided by writing dates as follows: .2 March (or March 2 in the USA) 199_. The names of the months should not he abbreviated in formal letters.

a When you receive a business letter, there is usually a reference number at the top following the words Our ref. This is designed to help the sender to file related correspondence, and you should quote this reference when you reply.

a. If you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, or you are not sure if you are writing to a man or woman, you should begin Dear Sir or Madam (Gentlemen: in the USA) and end Yours faithfully (Yours truly in the USA). If you know the person's surname, begin (for example) Dear Mrs Jones and end Yours sincerely. If the person is more of a friend, begin (for example) Dear Peter, and end Best wishes. In opening and closing salutations and in addresses, it is common not to use full stops and commas.

a Refer to men as Mr. Refer to women as Ms, unless in previous correspondence from them they have indicated that they use the title Mrs (for married women) or Miss (for unmarried women). Women will often indicate their preferred title by writing it in brackets after their signature, for example: Catherine Honey (Mrs). Most correspondents will assume you are a man unless told otherwise, so if you sign a letter H Jones, most people will reply beginning Dear Mr Jones.

■ When you sign your name, it is common practice to type it out as well and to put your position in the company below it. If someone in a company signs a letter on behalf of someone else, the initials p.p. (per pro) should be used before the name to indicate this,

■ If something is being sent with a letter, Enc, or Encl.(enclosure) should appear in the bottom left-hand corner of the page,

aState your message clearly, concisely, and politely.

2 Enquiries and replies

The content of a letter of enquiry will depend on how well you know the person or company you are writing to. If you are writing to a company for the first time — whether asking for a catalogue or requesting details about a particular product or service — you should start your letter by giving information about your own company. Then state your reason for writing and make your request.

Task 1, when completed, provides a model for a letter of enquiry. Task 2, when completed, provides a model for a reply to an enquiry.

asend dProject g attention j graphics

btogether eMadam h pRamonièreskfaithfully

cforward fbased sell

Our refAN/JS Your ref:

1 July 19___

Discpro SA

251, rue des Ramonieres F-86256 POITIERS CEDEX France

For the ¹ of the Sales Manager

Dear Sir or ²

We are a software company ³in London and are

currently developing a Windows-based scientific ⁴ package for use in universities and research laboratories. We are interested in ⁵the programs we ⁶from
unauthorized copying and duplication.

Could you please ⁷us more technical information about

your RSP-11 software protection system ^ogcath your
current brochure and price list?

We look ⁹to hearing from you.

Yours ¹⁰

Complete this reply to the letter of enquiry in Task 1 using the prepositions given. You will have to use some prepositions more than once.

for from in to

on of with

251, rue des Ramonières F-86256 POITIERS CEDEX

Ref PV/KH

5 July 19___

Ms Anne Newson Project Director Physiologica

17 Princes Street London EC1 7D0

UK

Dear Ms Newson

Thank you ¹ your letter ²1 July ³which you

expressed an interest ⁴the RSP 11 software protection system. Please find enclosed our latest brochure and price list.

5 the information in your letter, I can confirm that

the range of products we supply would be ideal ⁶your
needs.In particular, I would like to draw your attention

7 the RSP 11W ⁸page 3 which is designed for
software protection in both Windows and 0/S 2 environments.

As you will see, our protection systems are tailored ⁹ individual programs. Please let me know whether you would like to arrange a meeting ¹⁰ our Technical Director, Mr

Michel Gerard, to prepare a more detailed report ¹¹ your program and particular requirements. He will be in London during the week beginning 15 July.

I look forward to hearing 12 youTélécopie

Yours sincerely

In each of the following sentences, choose the correct word to fill the gap.

I would be_________ if you could send me details of your PS/2 range.

athankful bplease c content dgrateful

You were__________ to us by our associates.

aadvised bsuggest c recommended dinformed

We were given your__________ by The Chamber of Commerce.

aidentity bcompany cname dplacing

Thank you for your letter__________ 19 June.

ain bon cof dfrom

Please__________ enclosed our current catalogue and price list.

afind blook creceive dexamine

We would appreciate__________ you could send us further information on

your range of non-impact printers.

ait that bthis c when dit if

7I would be grateful if you could arrange for your Technical Director
__________ on me.

awill call bis calling cto call dcalls

8We look forward___________ from you.

ahear bto hear chearing dto hearing

9We would be grateful____________ an early reply.

ato bof cfor dwith

10Should you require anything further at this time, please do not contact me.

avoid bhesitate cdelay dprevent

Task 4Match each section of the letter of enquiry on the following page with the

appropriate gap on the blank below.

1 We are currently using 15 Procom 211 Premier PCs in our mail-order department. We have been pleased with their performance, but now

require machines that will run faster.

2M H Jansen Publicity Manager

3I look forward to hearing from you.

4Could you please let me know whether it is possible to upgrade the PCs to 486s and what the likely cost would be?

5Dear Mr Barnard

6Mr J Barnard

Corporate Sales Department Procom Ltd

58 Edison Street

Robin's Lane Industrial Estate Canterbury

Kent CT19 3TE

7Yours sincerely

812 May 19____

9The Red Box

54 Streamside Road Cardiff CF1 1JW

10Our ref: CUG/PL

Follow the instructions on the memo below. Write out the letter of enquiry in full, including names, addresses, etc.

Mark Walton is the Senior Programmer of Inlogic, Morley House, 18-22 Wolves Road, London SW1 7ND.

Memorandum

To Laura Hayward Date 27 March 19

From Mark Walton Ref

Please send a letter to ASD Computer Products who advertised in the March 23 edition of 'Info Globe'.

Say where you saw the advertisement and ask them for their catalogue.

Quotations and orders

In reply to an enquiry you may want to provide a potential customer with a quotation. This will, of course, quote the price for the requested goods or services, but it will also give some or all of the following information:

1 details of any applicable discounts (a trade discount may be offered to companies in the same line of business while a quantity discount may apply to orders over a certain amount).

2 details of what costs (if any) are included in the price, such as transport and insurance*.

3 the preferred method and terms of payment (for example, a letter of credit payable within 30 days*).

4 some indication of how long it will take for the goods to reach the customer.

Task 1, when completed, provides a model for this type of letter.

The order itself is likely to be written on an official order form, but it will normally be accompanied by a covering letter confirming the terms that have been agreed. The letter in Task 2, when corrected, provides a model for a covering letter to an order.

The following letter gives a quotation. Read it and choose the best word from the options in brackets.

Dear Mr Gianelli

Thank you for your fax of 18 May in which you request a quotation for 5 EMC18O flat-bed scanners.

We can offer a gross price of £3,425.00 — unit price: £685.00 — c.i.f. Genoa. This includes a ( batch, quantity, multiple) discount of 10%.

Payment may be (done, made, spent) by irrevocable letter of credit or by banker's draft. On all ( starting,

initial, prime) orders we usually require payment ( on

by, of) delivery, and for all subsequent orders we ( make, let, allow) a 30-day credit period. Please let us know how you would like to arrange payment.

We have the items in stock and can ( persuade, assure, console) you that your order will be dealt with promptly. Please allow six weeks for delivery.

We look forward to hearing from you again soon. Yours sincerely

Dear Mr P J Wilson

Thank you for you fax of 19 May Please found enclosed our 3O-dayno 88694 for five EMC180 Scanners.

We would like confirming that payment for this initial order will make by banker's draft on delivery. We will take advantage of the 30-day credit, period for any subsequent orders.

We would appreciate if, you could arrange for the scanners to be shipped as soon as possible.

I look forward to hear from you in short. Yours faithfully

cheque or credit card.

with you for 2,000 units. we can expect delivery. discounts you can offer.

for f395.95.

place further orders with you. list and order form.

form on Page 26.

orders of over f50.00.

VAT at 17.5%.

1We would like to place an initial order with you for 500 RSP 11W plugs and enclose your official order form. We normally make payments by banker's draft. Could you please confirm that this is acceptable to you?

2Further to your letter of 1 July and your meeting with Mr Gerard in London on 18 July, I am pleased to be able to give you a quotation for the software protection plugs you discussed.

3P Varenne Sales Manager

4Thank you for your letter of 23 July.

5We hope that this highly competitive price will meet with your approval, and I look forward to receiving your order.

6Dear Mr Varenne

7Anne Newson Project Director

Enc.

8Mr P Varenne

Discpro SA

251, rue des Ramonieres F-86256 POITIERS CEDEX France

9I would like to point out that delivery before the end of November, as agreed with Mr Gerard, is a firm condition of this order as we hope to have the program ready for sale by then.

10Dear Ms Newson

11Ms Anne Newson Project Director Physiologica

17 Princes Street London EC1 7D0 UK

12We would be able to supply 500 RSP 11W plugs at a unit cost of E17.86, including transportation costs. On any additional orders, we would be able to offer a 20% discount on the unit price.

Look at the examples below and note how the original questions change when they become part of a longer question or statement. Then change the questions which follow in the same way.

1 When/Where/How will the consignment arrive?

Could you please let us know when/where/how the consignment will arrive%

2 Do you offer discounts on large orders?

Could you tell us whether you offer discounts on large orders?

3 Are you interested in this offer?

Please let us know whether you are interested in this offer.

1How would you like us to pay?

Could you please let us know -

2 How many items would you like to order?

7 Where would you like us to send the order?