Components of a business letter

Business letters are usually written on printed company forms (letter-paper). They comprise the following components.

The Letterhead

The heading bears the mane of a company, its post address, telephone, fax, telex number, e-mail address as well as some other information: names of directors, the particular official to whom all correspondence to be addressed, spaces for letter indexes (references).

Sender’s address

In business correspondence that does not have a printed letterhead; the sender’s address is written on the top right-hand side of the page. The address comprises the number of the building, street, city or town, state (USA) or county (GB), post/zip code and country.

The date

The date is printed in the right-hand side below the sender’s address, sometimes separated from it by a spice. The month in the date is not recommended to write in figures which can be confusing, e.g. in G.B. and Europe: day, month, year; in the USA: month, day, year.

References

References are noted to indicate what a piece of correspondence refers to ‘Your ref.’ and the correspondence to refer to when replying ‘Our ref.’. References are written below the letterhead at the left margin of the letter.

The addressee’s name, job title, company name and address

The addressee’s name, job title, company name and address of a company are usually written below the references at the left margin of the letter. After the addressee’s name his position is written, separated by a comma, e.g.: Mr. G. Wright, Vice-President. If the addressee’s name is known, it is written as follows: ‘The Vice-President’.

The Salutation

‘Dear Sir or Madam’ is more widely used today instead of ‘Dear Sirs’. The comma after salutation is optional.

The subject title

‘Re:’ is an abbreviation of the Latin ‘in re’ which means ‘the subject title’ and is used after the salutation. This provides a further reference, saves introducing the subject on the first paragraph, and allows referring to it throughout the letter.

The body of the letter

A business letter usually sticks to one problem and is very specific. The point discussed depends on the type of a letter. It usually consists of three main parts: the opening in which the sender gives the reason for writing, tells what sort of firm he represents (if necessary); the main part where he discusses the matter and gives details; and the closing in which he tells what further steps will be taken.

The parting

The parting formula ‘Yours sincerely’, ‘Yours faithfully’ or ‘Very truly yours’ depends on the form of salutation.

The signature

Business letters are signed by hand in ink, clearly and legibly. The sender’s name and title are typed below the signature. If the sender signs the letter on behalf of a company or another person, ‘per pro/p. pro/p.p.’ (from Lain: per procurationem) means ‘for and behalf of’ is used before the name. It means that the letter is ‘by warrant’. The person signing is empowered by a legal document (a power of attorney) to sign letters and other documents. Otherwise ‘For’ is used before the name of the firm or person.

JP/rs

The capitalized initials belong to the writer of the letter, non-capitalized initials – to the typist.

The enclosure

If there are enclosures, e.g. leaflets, brochures, etc. with the letter they are mentioned at the bottom.

c.c.

This abbreviation originally meant ‘carbon copy’, today it tells who else receives a copy of the letter.

I. Answer the questions:

1. What is the purpose of a business letters today?

2. Is there any difference between the layout of an application letter and a business letter?

3. What does the letterhead of a business letter consist of?

4. Why is the month in the date not recommended to write in figures?

5. What salutation is the most frequent in business letters at present?

6. What is the purpose of using ‘Re’ in business letters?

7. What information is enclosed in the body of a business letters?

8. What does ‘by warrant’ mean?

9. Whose initials are written at the bottom of the letter?

10. What does the abbreviation ‘c.c.’ mean in business letter writing?

a) carbon copy; b) current cost; c) copies to

II. What types of a business letters do the following abstracts belong to?

1. I am, today, sending you some of our brochures in a separate package. With these, I have included details of our new pocket portable telephone, which you may be interested in.

2. Further to our telephone discussion on Thursday, I am delighted to tell that we are now able to reduce the price of our computers by 10%.

3. Unfortunately, we have not received the filing cabinets which were a part of the order. We would be grateful if you could deliver these as soon as possible or refund our money.

4. We would like to book 25 places on Sun Express holiday №5210, departing 14^th July.

5. Payment on the above order is now overdue. We would be grateful if you could send us your check without delay.

6. Our company is considering leasing 12 automobiles rather than buying them outright. Because it is important for us to present a favorable (and prosperous) image to our clients, we are interested in luxury cars only.

III. Read about business letter style.

Because the main goal of business correspondence is to reach an agreement between partners, its style is strictly official or formal. That means that words are to be used in their primary, not figurative, meaning. It is recommended to keep words to a minimum, to compose clear sentences, to use facts, not vague description, and keep to the point. On the other hand, business correspondence is characterized by more sophisticated language comparing with informal style, like everyday spoken speech, and has its own terminology, phraseology, and standard abbreviations. Here belong some traditional obsolete words and foreign borrowings (primary of Latin and French origin) like: per capita, per pro, a priori, per annum, appendix, index, curriculum vitae, and memorandum. In general the formal style is characterized by:

- more complex sentences;

- abstract nouns;

- frequent use of impersonal sentences;

- bookish vocabulary;

- avoiding contractions, colloquial words and slang.

IV. Compare two columns of synonyms; refer to them in the next task.

V. Complete the table of synonyms with the words in the box.

VI. Rewrite the sentences in formal business style:

1. We want you to give us your answer immediately.

2. We’ve got none of the items in stock.

3. Please don’t change the supplier.

4. We can’t tell you about delivery because we don’t know.

5. Your cheque is wrong.

6. We have been waiting too long for payment.

7. Your order will be fortnight late.

8. You still owe us $ 1000.

VII. Study the business letter; compose your own inquiry letter accordingly. Look for advertisements in local newspapers, TV or radio commercial as a course of information about attractive goods or services. Refer for help to the Functional Language.