business letter how to

How to:•Sender’s Address•Date•Recipient’s Address•Salutation•Subject•Body•Greeting•Enclosure

Sender's Address in a Business Letter• Don't write your address if you use paper with a

ready-printed sender's address.• If you write your own address, only give the following

information: house number, street, area code, place, country, telephone. (Don't include your name here; in English the name is only put at the end of the letter.)

• Note: The order for sender's addresses in English is: house number, street, area code, place. If the order is different in your culture, keep to the structure used in your country, don't adopt the English way.

• British English• Position: In British English, the sender's address is

usually placed in the top right corner of the letter.

American EnglishPosition: In American English the sender's address is usually placed in the top left corner, below the date, or at the end of the letter, below the signature..Sender's address below the date:

Sender's address below the signature:

Date in a Business LetterWrite: 30 October 2010Position: on the right, one line below the

sender's address (in letters with a ready-printed sender's address, the date can also be put in the top left corner)

American EnglishWrite: October 30, 2010Position: top left corner (sometimes centred)

Salutation in a Business Letter• If you know the person's name:• Dear Ms/Miss/Mrs/Mr/Dr + surname• Dear Mr Miller• You can also write the person's full name. In this case, leave out the

title (Mr/Mrs). This way of writing the salutation is very handy if you don't know the gender of the person.

• Dear Chris Miller• If you don't know the person's name:• There are several possibilities to address people that you don't know

by name:salutation when to use

Dear Sir / Dear Sirs male addressee (esp. in British English)

Gentlemen male addressee (esp. in American English)

Dear Madam female addressee (esp. in British English)

Ladies female addressee (esp. in American English)

Dear Sir or Madam gender unknown (esp. in British English)

Ladies and Gentlemen gender unknown (esp. in American English)

To whom it may concern gender unknown (esp. in American English)

Salutation in a Business Letter

• Business partners often call each other by their first names. In this case, write the salutation as follows:

• Dear Sue• Punctuation• In British English, don't use any punctuation mark or use a comma.• Dear Mr Miller or Dear Mr Miller,• In American English, use a colon:• Dear Mr. Miller:• For examples see → Subject.• Ms, Miss or Mrs?• Mrs – to address a married woman• Miss – to address an unmarried woman (rarely used now)• Ms – to address a woman whose marital status you don't know; also

used to address an unmarried woman• Note: The abrreviations Mr, Mrs etc. are usually written without

full stops (Mr) in British English and with full stops (Mr.) in American English.

Subject Line in a Business Letter• A subject line is not really necessary. You may want to use

one, however, so that the reader immediately knows what your letter is about. There are three common methods to distinguish the subject line from the body of the letter:

• Use "Subject:" or "Re:"• Type the subject in bold letters• Type the subject in capital letters• British English• The subject line is usually placed between the salutation

and the body of the letter (with a blank line in between).

Subject Line in a Business Letter

American EnglishIn American English, the subject line can also

be placed between the recipient's address and the salutation (with a blank line in between).

Body of a Business Letter

• Capitalise the first word of the text (even if the salutation ends with a comma). The text is left-justified and a blank line is put after each paragraph. It is not common to indent the first line of a paragraph.

• Content• first paragraph: introduction and reason for writing• following paragraphs: explain your reasons for writing

in more detail, provide background information etc.• last paragraph: summarise your reason for writing again

and make clear what you want the recipient to do• Note: Your text should be positive and well structured.

Greeting in a Business Letter• British English• If you used the recipient's name in the salutation,

use 'sincerely'.• If you did not use the recipient's name in the

salutation, use 'faithfully'.• American English• Use 'sincerely', no matter if you used the recipient's

name in the salutation or not ('faithfully' is not common in American English).

• Salutation - Greeting• British EnglishSalutation Greeting

Dear Ms WexleyDear Jane WexleyDear Jane

Yours sincerely / Sincerely yours

Dear SirDear SirsDear MadamDear Sir or Madam

Yours faithfully / Faithfully yours

Greeting in a Business LetterAmerican English

Salutation Greeting

Dear Ms. Wexley:Dear Jane Wexley:Dear Jane:

Sincerely, / Sincerely yours,

Gentlemen:Ladies:Ladies and Gentlemen:To whom it may concern:

Sincerely, / Sincerely yours,

In emails you could also write:Regards

Kind regards

Best wishes

Note: If you end the salutation with a comma or colon, use a comma after the greeting. If you didn't punctuate the salutation, don't punctuate the greeting.

Position: Write the greeting two lines below the last paragraph and left-justify it. If the date is centre-justified, however, do also centre-justify the greeting.

Leave 4 blank lines after the greeting (space for the signature) and write the sender's name below that space.

Enclosure in a Business Letter

If you wish to enclose documents, you can either list all enclosed documents separately or just write the word 'Enclosure' below the signature.

General Information on Writing English Texts

The ideal English text is easy to read and understand. Even scientific texts are usually written in plain English words. So try to keep your sentences plain, clear and well structured.

When writing in English, keep the following rules in mind:use simple languagekeep subordinate clauses shortprefer verbs to nouns (not: The meaning of this is that …,

but: This means that …)avoid slang and techy language

SentenceMake your texts interesting by using various types of

clauses, e.g.:participle clausesrelative clausesconditional sentences infinitive constructions, introductory clauses with infinitive

or gerundprepositional clausespassive voiceNote, however:

•Always use main clauses for important statements – use subordinate clauses only for additional information•Use passive voice sparingly – prefer active voice.•Avoid long introductory clauses – always try to put the subject close to the beginning of a sentence.•Avoid long subordinate clauses – a subordinate clause in the middle of a sentence should have no more than 12 syllables


Paragraph

As to paragraphs, keep the following rules in mind:

Concentrate on one main point per paragraph. Summarize this point in the first sentence.

All sentences that follow support the main point or limit its scope.

The last sentence is used as a transition to the next paragraph. Use a criteria that applies for both paragraphs.


TextThe typical structure of a text is as follows:(title)introductionmain partconclusion


Text Make your texts interesting. You can achieve this for example

by varying the lengths of your sentences. An important statement is best emphasised in a short sentence, especially if that sentence is between two longer sentences. Do also vary the lenghts of your paragraphs and avoid one-sentence paragraphs.

There are various possibilities on how to structure your texts, e.g.:

General to Specificgeneral statement followed by details and examples

Specific to Generaldetails and examples followed by a generalization

Known to Unknownprovide new information based on what readers already know

Least Important to Most Importantcatch and keep readers' attention

Chronology (ordering by time)e.g. in biographies


General Information on Spoken Texts

Differences between spoken and written texts In general, the same rules apply for spoken texts as for written

ones: use simple language keep subordinate clauses short prefer verbs to nouns (not: The meaning of this is that …,

but: This means that …) avoid slang and techy language As listeners cannot take up as many information as readers, do

also keep the following rules in mind when preparing a text that is to be presented orally:

Keep your sentences short and simple. Avoid participal constructions. (In written texts they are often

used to increase the density of information in a sentence. In spoken texts, however, they make it more difficult for the listeners to follow.)

Listeners' attention You surely know that it is not always easy to follow a lecture or

presentation. On the other hand, imagine how a speaker must feel if nobody is listening. With just a few tricks, however, you can win your audience's attention:

Speak clearly and slowly. Use simple words and short sentences. Have little breaks in between the sentences to allow your audience to

reflect on what has been said. Communicate freely (don't read the whole text from a piece of paper). Outline to the audience how your paper is structured. (e.g. I will first

explain … / Then I will … / After that … / Finally …) and indicate when you come to another sub-topic (I will now talk about …). This way your audience can follow your presentation more easily.

Use pictures and graphics as an illustration. Use a rhetorical question or hypophora from time to time. Your

listeners will think that you've asked them a question and thus listen more attentively.

Use enumerations starting first / second / third. This also draws your audience's attention.


Tip: Depending on the topic or your audience, you can also hand out questions that your listeners have to answer during the presentation, or you announce that there will be a quiz in the end. That will definitely make your audience listen very attentively.


For an even more sophisticated presentation, use some of the stylistic devices typical for spoken texts, e.g.:

•alliteration•Allusion•anaphoraantithesis•Hyperbole•Hypophora•metaphor•rhetorical question•simile

A joke or a quotation might also help you keep your listeners' attention. Don't overdo it, however. Using stylistic devices, jokes or quotations where they don't fit in might not have the effect you want.Very important: Don't try to show off your knowledge of English using complex sentences or difficult words. Always keep your audience in mind: they need to follow your presentation and will therefore appreciate simple language and sentence structure.

Summarynoun /ˈsʌm·ər·i/ ( plural summaries) › a short description that gives the main facts

or ideas about somethingI.e:He gave a brief summary of what happened.

Summary ReasonThere is so much information today that it is not easy to keep up to

date. We therefore trust in others to summarize the most important facts for us.

Try to recall how often you summarize something, e.g. when you're telling your friends the plot of the latest movie, when you are asked to give in brief the main points of a text you've read.

PreparationFirst of all, you should have read the text / watched the film (of

course). Make notes of the most important facts. Structure and ContentIntroduction - Give a brief overview.Content - Tell the main points of the plot / content in your own

words. Important TensesThe most important tense for a summary is the simple present.

Actions happening one after the other are in simple present. Note, however, that you have to use different tenses for everything happening at the same time or before.Some summaries are written in simple past. This is the case for example when summarizing newspaper

articles.Note

Leave out unimportant details. Always check your notes and only use details in your summary that are really essential for the plot.

Comments (Stating your Opinion)

Reason There are many real-life situations where you have to state your opinion,

e.g. a friend asks you for advice, your boss wants to hear your opinion on a business matter. In English lessons, this is also a popular way of testing your English writing skills.

Preparation Think about the topic first. What's your opinion? What arguments can you

use to support your ideas? Structure and Content Introduction: defining the problem

Use the introduction to get the reader's attention and interest in the topic. Define the problem you are going to discuss and provide a short overview on what you think and why.

Opinion and ReasonsGive reasons for your opinion. Concentrate on one main point per paragraph. What to write exactly, depends on the task (see below)

ConclusionSummarize the most important arguments that best support your opinion.

Comments Important TensesSimple Present

Typical Tasks Comment (stating your own opinion)

state your opinion and give examples and arguments that support your opinionstatement – reason – example

Comparefind common and distinct featuresdraw conclusions

Criticizefind advantages and disadvantagescomment on somebody's opinion (usually in a negative way)

Discussanalyse all aspects of a problem (What is …? / Is it okay to …?)weighing the pros and cons

Evaluateanalyse a problemshow advantages and disadvantages

Justifysupport an opinionshow advantages

Stating your Opinion Comments

•It seems to me that ...•In my opinion, ...•I am of the opinion that .../ I take the view that ..•My personal view is that ...•In my experience ...•As far as I understand / can see, ...•As I see it, ... / From my point of view ...•As far as I know ... / From what I know ...•I might be wrong but ...•If I am not mistaken ...•I believe one can (safely) say ...•It is claimed that ...•I must admit that ...•I cannot deny that ...•I can imagine that ...•I think/believe/suppose ...

•Personally, I think ...•That is why I think ...•I am sure/certain/convinced that ...•I am not sure/certain, but ...•I am not sure, because I don't know the situation exactly.•I am not convinced that ...•I have read that ...•I am of mixed opinions (about / on) ...•I am of mixed opinions about / on this.•I have no opinion in this matter.

Outlining Facts

The fact is thatThe (main) point is that ...This proves that ...What it comes down to is that ...It is obvious that ...It is certain that ...One can say that ...It is clear that ...There is no doubt that ...

Comments

Linking Arguments•First of all, I think ...•Not only that, but I also think that ...•Not only are they ..., they are also ...•They are not ..., nor are they ...•There are various/several/many reasons for this.•First, ... / Firstly, ...•Second, ... / Secondly, ...•Moreover, ... / Furthermore, ... / In addition, ...•Another significant point is that ...•Finally, ...•On the one hand, ... On the other hand, ...•In contrast to this is ...•Because of ...

•That is why ...•After all, ...•The reason is that ...•In that respect ...•The result of this is that ...•Another aspect/point is that ...•It is because ...•Although it is true that ... it would be wrong to claim that ...•That may sometimes be true, but ...•One could argue that ..., but ...

Comments

Providing Examples

Take for example (the case of) ...Look at ...For instance ... / For example ...Let me give you an example.

Comments

Additions and ConclusionMost probably ...It appears to be ...It is important to mention that...As I already indicated ...In other words, ...I am most concerned about ...I should like to repeat once again that ...I should like to emphasise that ...I would (just) like to add ...So all in all I believe that...(In) summing up it can be said that ...Weighing the pros and cons, I come to the

conclusion that ...

Comments

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