How to write business letters Authors: a group of students of 9 B form
The purposes of the investigation: to study the peculiarities of a business letter, to understand the structure of a business letter, to analize the vocabulary of a business letter.
The gypothesis If you don’t know how to write business letters you won’t be able to run your business successfully
Procedure Read some letters and choose the expressions of greeting and complimentary close Analize the structure of these letters and try to formulate the steps of writing letters Think and formulate the rules of writing business letters
I. Title 1. Messrs means Gentlemen, sirs (used in the address before the name of the firm). 2. Note: a limited company must not be given the title of “Messrs” II. Greeting The normal form of greeting in the letters addressed to organisations is “Dear Sirs”. “Dear Mr.Smith” has tended to replace “Dear Sir” III. How to sign letters The ending “Yours faithfully” is used after “Dear Sir”. The ending “Yours sincerely” is used after “Dear Mr.Smith”. Follow with the name of the company, the name of the person and his position. If the letter is written on behalf of someone but not signed by him it is written for the Sales Manager or for Chief Engineer, and so on.
The structure of a business letter Title Address Date Greeting Reference Complimentary Close Sign, position, department Sending initials Enclosing Copies
Rules of writing a business letter Make clear the purpose why the letter is being written Express your ideas in short sentences Use words everybody understands Avoid unnecessary words and phrases Do not use shortenings
Conclusion It is very important to write business letters correctly because your success in business depends on how people understand your wishes and needs. Your first letter is an impression you make on your new partner. To be successful in business one must make contacts in the written form in a right way. “A correct letter makes a wise head” (vs. “A still tongue makes a wise head”)
Information resources: A. M. Semyonova . Elective course “English for business communication” I.S. Bogatsky “English business course”. “Slavyansky dom knigi”. – Moscow, 2004 L.V. Sanikova “ English for managers”. “Metod”, 1992 www.businessvoc.ru www.megabook.ru