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COURSE INTRODUCTION
Instructor: Nguyn Mai Hng, M.A. Faculty of English for Specific Purposes, FTU Handphone: 0912 726 217 Email: nguyenmaihuong_ftu@yahoo.com Duration: 10 weeks (09 Jan 06 Apr 2012) Workload: 2 classes/week
CoURSE INTRODUCTION Materials 1. Oxford Handbook of Commercial Correspondence A. Ashley 2. The Language of Business Correspondence in English Nguyn Trng n
COURSE INTRODUCTION
Objectives To provide practical help for students of business and commerce in writing commercial correspondence, mainly letters and emails. To explain how to write clearly and effectively, and point out the dos and donts within the specific areas of business writing.
COURSE INTRODUCTION
Areas covered Letter layout, content and style Emails Enquiries Replies to enquiries Quotations and Offers
COURSE INTRODUCTION
Assessment
Letter Layout
1.
2. 3. 4. 5. 6.
Subject title 8. Body of the letter 9. Complimentary close 10. Senders identification 11. Enclosures 12. Copies
7.
1 Senders address
Usually: top righthand corner Less common : top left-hand corner No punctuation
1 Senders address
Compuvision Ltd
In companys letterhead
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2 References
At least one blank line below the senders address or letterhead Right-hand side or left-hand side of the page
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2 References
ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD 29-31 Broad Street Birmingham B1 2HE Tel. 0121-542 6614
Can show: Initials of writer and PA/secretary DS/MR or DS/mr Number of the letter or dept. 134/17 or DR 306 The date or the order number
DS/MR
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3 Date
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3 Date
ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD 29-31 Broad Street Birmingham B1 2HE Tel. 0121-542 6614
DS/MR
12 November 20__
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4 Inside address
One to ten blank lines below the date and always on the left-hand side Should be on separate lines as it would appear on the envelope
ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD 29-31 Broad Street Birmingham B1 2HE Tel. 0121-542 6614
DS/MR
12 November 20__
Mr Gordon Wood G Wood & Sons 36 Castle Street Bristol BS1 2BQ
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4 Inside address
Surname known
Write it as first line of the inside address Include:
Courtesy title: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Dr, Prof. The persons full name (or with initials for given names):
Mr John Smith or Mr J.E. Smith NOT: Mr Smith (without initials or first name)
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4 Inside address
If you only know the persons job title, you can use that in the inside address, e.g. The Sales Manager, or The Finance Director Alternatively, you can address to a particular department: The Accounts Department Or you can address to the company itself: Compuvision Ltd, or Messrs Collier
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5 Attention line
Alternative to the recipients name or job title
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6 Salutation
Dear Sir Dear Madam Dear Sir or Madam (or Dear Sir / Madam) Dear Sirs
(to address a company, not a specific person)
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6 Salutation
Addressing people you know their names: but do not know them well, use title & surname, do not include initials or first names:
Dear Mr Smith / Dear Miss Tan NOT Dear Mr J. Smith or Dear Mr John Smith
and you know them well, use just first name: Dear John / Dear Mary Note: A comma after the salutation is optional. In American English, a colon is used instead.
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7 Subject title
Directly after the salutation and separate from
it by a blank line. Can be on the left-hand side or in the middle Can begin with or without Re: or Subject: Should be underlined or printed in bold or CAPITALS Dear Mrs Marshall
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 24 AUGUST 2011 or Re: ORDER NO. 8901/6
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9 Complimentary close
Yours sincerely
10 Senders identification
Type name and job title below handwritten
10 Senders identification
Write your job title or department directly
beneath your name When signing a letter on behalf of the sender, write pp or p.p. or for in front of the senders printed name, e.g.
Yours faithfully
Shirley Johnson
pp Edward Nathan Chairman
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11 Enclosures
A line space below the senders identification Consisting of the word: Enc. or Encl.
followed by a list of the enclosed items, e.g. Enc. Bill of Lading (3 copies) Insurance certificate (1 copy)
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12 Copies
At least a blank line below the senders
identification or the Enclosures Consisting of the word: C.C. or Copy followed by the name/s and designation/s of the copy recipient/s, e.g. C.C. Ravi Gopal, General Manager Candice Reeves, Accountant
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Continuation pages
Page number Date Name of addressee Leave 3 or 4 blank lines before continuing Take at least 3 or 4 lines of typing over to a continuation page.
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Letter Layout
Arrangement styles
Full-blocked Blocked Semi-blocked
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discussed.
Further to our telephone conversation today, I am interested in holiday No. J/M/3, the South Vietnam tour.
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details provided
involved. If payment is not received within seven days, this matter will be placed in the hands of our solicitor.
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Usually, a simple one-line closing sentence E.g. I look forward to meeting you soon.
A prompt reply would be appreciated. Please let me know if you need any further information.
Incomplete sentences like these should not be used:
Hope to hear from you soon. Looking forward to hearing from you.
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5.
Remember your ABC Be courteous and considerate Include all relevant details Use active, not passive voice, when possible Be consistent
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Accurate
Check facts carefully (titles, names, dates,
references, prices, measurements) Proofread thoroughly (tenses, spelling, grammar, punctuation, enclosures)
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Brief
We would like to ask you to Please I have pleasure in informing you I am pleased to tell you
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Brief
o
We do not anticipate any increase in prices We do not expect prices to rise I should be grateful if you would be good enough to advise us Please let me know We would like to express our regret at being unable to fulfill your requirements. We are sorry we cannot meet your requirements.
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Clear Plan before you start writing. Make sure you say everything you want to say, and in a clear sequence. Use simple English. Avoid formality and familiarity. Do not use abbreviations that your reader may not understand. Write numbers in words as well as in figures.
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view. If you feel some comments are unfair, be tactful and try not to cause offence. Reply promptly to all communications. If you cannot, write a brief note and explain why.
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Your televisions guarantee Your televisions guarantee has is up, so you will have to ended, so unfortunately you must pay for it to be fixed. bear the cost of any repairs. youll get your money back the loan will be repaid prices have gone through the roof prices have increased rapidly
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My flight BA121 from London Heathrow should arrive at Singapore Changi Airport at 1530 on Wednesday 12 June. Mr John Matthews, our Sales Manager, will contact you soon.
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Active voice: more personal, natural and focused: more interesting and clearer. Passive voice: creates a distance
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Arrangements have been made for a repeat order to be despatched to you immediately. The cause of the complaint has been investigated. Sales of the X101 have exceeded all expectations.
I have arranged for a repeat order to be sent to you today. I have looked into this matter.
4 Use active, not passive voice Passive voice, however, would be more appropriate in some occasions as follows.
Giving extra emphasis to a particularly
important noun.
4 Use active, not passive voice Passive voice, however, would be more appropriate in some occasions as follows.
Placing focus on the action not the actor.
important.
5 Be consistent
In layout In style In details
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