COMMERCIAL CORRESPONDENCE

GENERAL
COMMERCIAL CORRESPONDENCE
 Communication of information on matters of
trade and commerce.
 Correspondence is vital to the life of any business
and if defective it slows down the business, even
bring it to a standstill.
ORGANIZATION OF TRADE AND COMMERCE
 Compared to the human body:
 Money = life-blood

 Material = food

 Labour = digestive tract

 Correspondence = respiration
A GOOD BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT
 Experience and practice
 Knowledge of the technical vocabulary employed

 Both commercial and technical terms

 State his meaning with clarity and precision

(legally enforcable)
IN BUSINESS, TIME IS MONEY
 Avoid: errors, omissions and ambiguities which
could lead to dissatisfaction and loss of business
even costly claims for compensation.
 Carelessness

 Customer’s opinion should be valued, his wishes

respected – tone of letter is important
ALL BUSINESS LETTERS MUST BE:
 Clear, concise, accurate and courteous
 Special commercial correspondence formulas
have been preserved – in documents – due to
legal precedents created by different courts of law
 Undue repetition should be avoided unless
avoiding repetition may cause ambiguity.
IN COMMERCIAL CORRESPONDENCE:
 Ideas must be clearly thought out
 Each paragraph deals with a single idea or aspect
of business
 Superfluous detail and comments are to be
avoided
 Punctuation can be vital:

 A comma in the wrong place can cost a fortune in

legal wrangles.
IN COMMERCIAL CORRESPONDENCE:
 Spelling is important in English
 Carelessness = breach of good manners

 Vocabulary is perhaps most important of all in

English
 Wrong word = discourteous (unintentionally
funny)
 Careful attention to the tone of the letter
IN COMMERCIAL CORRESPONDENCE:
 Tact is necessary to maintain an impression of
firmness, courtesy, responsibility and high
standard of moral principles.
 No letter should ever be sent with errors in it,
whether corrected or not.
 If errors are found the letter must be retyped
STRUCTURES IN CORRESPONDENCE

 Any form of correspondence must be clear,

concise and complete, whether it is a formal
letter, a letter to a friend, a Curriculum Vitae or
a report, with the correct choice of words,
grammar, spelling and punctuation.
STRUCTURES IN CORRESPONDENCE

 Sentences should be made short, and difficult

words should be avoided where simple words will
do.
 The best letters and reports will be written when
the writer puts himself in the reader’s place.
OPENING OF A LETTER
 Dear Mr Clark
 Dear Sir
 Dear Sirs
 Messrs
 Dear John
 Dear Mrs de Vries /
 Dear Miss de Vries (unmarried)
 Dear Madam
 Mesdames
 Dear Mary
 Dear all
CLOSING A LETTER
 Awaiting your reply, we remain,
 Yours truly / Yours sincerely / Yours faithfully,
………………..
 Meanwhile we remain,

 Yours truly / Yours sincerely / Yours faithfully,

………………..
 Sincerely yours, / Faithfully yours,

 With kind regards,

FORMAL LETTER
 Name + address of the writer
 Name + address of receiver
 Place + date
 Reference number
 Subject

 Opening

 Content
 ● introduction (reason for writing the letter / general
information)
 ● body (chronological order of information, names, specific data
etc.)
 ● conclusion(s)
 ● closing.

 Sender’s name (function) and signature

 References to enclosures.
LETTER OF APPLICANT: COVER LETTER
AND CURRICULUM VITAE

 The cover letter introduces you to the employer

and describes your interest in the company.
 It should attract the employer’s attention and
should “persuade” the employer to hire you.
 The letter should cover your job-talents and
should contain a request for an interview.
 Express enthusiasm, but keep your letter short.
LETTER OF APPLICANT: COVER LETTER
AND CURRICULUM VITAE

 Learn as much as possible about the company

before sending your letter.
 Demonstrating your knowledge of the company
and its line of business is always very helpful.
 Keep a copy of your letter for future reference.

 The cover letter should be accompanied by a

Curriculum Vitae
 Cover letter
 Name + address of the writer
 Name + address of the receiver


Place + date
 Reference number
 Subject

 Opening

 Content

 short introduction (How did you learn about the

job that is offered? Why are you interested?)
 reference to the enclosed CV

 closing.

 Sender’s name (function) and signature.

NOTES:
 1 – Do not go into details too much when writing
your CV. Remember: there will be an interview in
which you will be able to present yourself and
talk about aspects and details of your plans and
ideas.
 2 – Use dynamic action verbs such as:
accomplished, collaborated, encouraged,
established, facilitated, founded, managed etc.
 3 – Do NOT use the subject “I”. Example:
Conducted routine inspections in engine room.
 Curriculum Vitae

 • Family name:
 • First name (s):
 • Address, telephone number, E-mail address:
 • Date and place of birth:
 • Nationality:
 • Civil status:
 • Education and training (where and when; mention
degree (s) and certificates that you have acquired):
 • Present position and employer (with details about
work, time of entry etc.):
 • Professional experience-record (include
companies, dates and important aspects):
 • Key qualifications:
 Transferable skills (skills similar to the job you are
applying for):
 • Language skills:
 • Additional skills (e.g. computer skills):
 • Membership of organizations:
 • “References available on request”.
REPORTS
 Title
 Subtitle
 Date
 Author
 Organization
 List of contents
 Explanation of terms
 Preface and purposes (reason why the report was written)
 Summary of main points
 Body (divided into chapters and paragraphs)
 • introduction
 • relevant data and information about methods and
procedures; statistics, graphs, tables, drawings etc.
 • causes and consequences
 Summary: conclusions, final opinion, judgements and
recommendations
 References and bibliography
 Appendix
 The most important part of any report is its final summary
that contains conclusions, final opinion, judgements and
recommendations!