Business Correspondence

In a letter, the emphasis is on a high quality appearance. Letters have to be typed or word-processed accurately on the company`s headed paper with a smart, clear lay-out. International mail tends to be slow and in some countries the post is unreliable. Important documents can be sent by registered mail – or they can be sent by courier. People have to write business letters on daily basis. There are numerous reasons to write a letter. Some of them are enumerated below. So, you may need to write a letter when:

· When you are looking for a job, and after finding a suitable job advertisement you apply to a company with a letter;

· When you confirm that the order has been received and that it will be executed in accordance with what was stipulated in the order;

· You want information from a company;

· If you pay by cheque, this kind of letter should accompany the cheque;

· You regret having given the buyer cause for complaint.

· When payments are outstanding;

· When you write a reply to an inquiry giving prices and other information that has been requested;

· When the goods are ready for dispatch, and you (as a seller) confirm this;

· The goods did not correspond the expected quality, they arrived too late or were damaged; etc.

According to the purpose of the letter there may be quite a number of different kinds of letters, specimen of some kinds will be presented further on to be translated and analyzed. The following kinds of business letters can be regarded as the main ones: letters of request, notification letters, memo letters, letters of advice, information letters, lettersof complaint, letters of adjustment, letters of apology, covering letters, letters of confirmation, letters of guarantee, enquiry letters and replies to such letters (or letters-offers), letters-orders and letters acknowledging orders, letters of guarantee, advertising letters, etc.

E-mail (electronic mail) is a way of sending messages between computers. The message appears on the screen and can be printed out if necessary.

Internal mail within a company or between branches of the same firm is usually in the form of memos: these can be brief handwritten notes or longer, word-processed letters. Most firms use special memo pads for internal messages. A memo to a senior English-speaking member of staff may need as much care as a letter to a client. The style that is used depends on the practice within the company and on the relationship between the people involved.

Questions:

1. What is considered to be very important in a letter?

2. Is there only one kind of letters?

3. What are the reasons for you to write a business letter?

4. What kinds of letters can be regarded as the main ones?

5. In what form is internal mail within a company?

6. What does the style used in memos depend on?

Below there are several business letters for you to study and translate into Russian:

(1)