Style and layout

Letters
Formal business correspondence is usually done by letter as this leaves a written record which can be kept for reference. Business letters can be of different types with different purposes: to apply for a job, to inform people of developments, to request action, to propose a service, to complain, etc. To write a successful business letter you need to use the right tone and to communicate your message to the reader using straightforward language. The way a letter is written reveals a lot about the person who is writing it and it also sends a message about the organisation that he or she is working for. It is, therefore, very important to make sure that the information, layout, style and spelling are all correct before you send it. as this will make your letter more dynamic. You should also avoid writing sentences that are too long and that include complicated or unnecessary language. A straightforward letter will get your message across more effectively than a long wordy one. There are certain conventions concerning the correct way to address people and to close your letter. Opening Letters always start with Dear... followed by the correct form of address. If the letter is going to someone whose name you do not know, it starts with Dear Sir, or Dear Madam, or Dear Sir or Madam,.... But if you do know the name, then you can begin with Dear Mr / Ms Taylor, or Dear Greg Taylor,....

Layout

Closing Letters are usually closed in standard When writing a business letter, you should ways. At the end of your letter you should include a short sentence like I look forward to follow the standard format. The letter opposite hearing from you. or Please do not hesitate to shows where the following different contact me if you need further information. components should appear on the page. Below that, you should put a closing phrase: Yours sincerely, (formal, for letters a letterhead /address (but not name) of beginning Dear + name) writer Yours faithfully, (formal, for letters b name and address of recipient beginning Dear Sir /Madam) c references Yours truly, / Best regards, / Best wishes, d date (less formal) e opening f subject heading Useful phrases and notations g body of the letter h closing With reference to your letter of the 15th of this i signature month,... j name and job title It was very kind of you to agree ... k enclosures As I mentioned in my last letter to you...

Language styles
Business letters are usually quite formal in style. A conversational style is therefore not appropriate and you should avoid contractions, for example. Try to use verbs in the active and not in the passive form
Style and layout

Thank you for taking the time to... Regarding the question of... I will arrange for my secretary to forward the minutes to you for your approval. I am enclosing a copy of our latest proposal. cc (copy sent to another person) PS (for additional sentence(s) included after the signature)

Style and layout

Sample letter
a

TechStart
Karelstraat 137 1051 Amsterdam Netherlands

00 31 20 98 74 63 35
b Carl Mays, Robert Ingram, Maria Ibanez Graduate Research Centre Stanfield Business School Rochester RC5 7JY United Kingdom Our ref: TSBA/DK/136 September 15th 200_ Dear Carl, Robert and Maria, Confirmation of award I am very pleased to announce that the project that your team presented to the annual TechStart business award committee has been selected as this year's winner. Congratulations to you all for your excellent Rainbow Systems project, which we hope will now have the opportunity to develop into a viable business venture. It is a great pleasure for me to be able to confirm this award and to know that your team will now be able to benefit from the financial and material assistance that TechStart will put at your disposal. We will be arranging a meeting in late October with you and all of those who will be involved in the Startup programme. In the meantime I am enclosing three invitations for the press conference and award ceremony, which will be held atTechStart's head office on the 7th October. Both the local and national media have been invited to attend. Once again, congratulations to you all for your hard work and for the innovative approach that you took throughout this project. I look forward to seeing you on the 7th October and to having the pleasure of presenting you with the award in person.

c d e f g

h i j k

Yours sincerely,

Dave Kloren
Dave Kloren Chief Executive enc.

Style and layout

Style and layout

BUSINESS ENGLISH by Howard Middle, HM ELT Services COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE in a business context often requires a more formal style than when writing to friends and family. Business letters typically avoid spoken language, and include the use of full forms instead of contractions (e.g. I am writing not I'm writing) and a number of set phrases, some of which are suggested below. Similarly, CVs often follow a standard layout and make use of a different group of set phrases and headings. Again, some suggestions are listed here. In the 21st century, the most common form of communication between colleagues is almost certainly email. Because emails are designed for speed, they usually avoid the formal expressions used in letters, relying more heavily on the use of incomplete sentences and abbreviations.

Business letters
1 The name of the company and its address, phone, and fax details generally appear at the top of the page, together with any Internet and email details. 2 Put the address of the recipient on the left-hand side. If you know the name of the person and his/her title, add these above the address too. 3 The date can appear on the left- or righthand side of the letter; though the most usual style is to have everything aligned to the left. 4 Add the recipinet's and your own file references if needed. Ref is short for 'reference'. 5 You can start your letter in one of the following ways: 1 If you don't know the name of the person you are writing to, put: Dear Sir/Madam, or Dear Sir or Madam 2 If you know the name of the person, put: Dear Mr [surname] (for a man), Dear Ms [surname] (for a woman. Avoid using Mrs or Miss unless the person you are writing to has already used the title themselves in a previous letter.) Dear [first name and surname] is less formal but is becoming more common, for example Dear Jennifer Marsh 6 Write the subject of your letter here. Re comes from Latin, and means 'with reference to.' 7 You can also start your letter in a number of other ways: Thank you for your letter of ..., I am writing in response to.../regarding.../too inform you that/of.../to complain about... Further to my letter of 16th July... I Would like to enquire about/whether... 8 Give further details abouth the purpose of your letter here. 9 You can also close your letter in the following ways: Thank you in advance for your help. I would be most grateful if you could inform me... Please lem me know if... Please phone to confirm the details. I look forward to hearing from you/receiving your reply.

P. COOK & CO. LTD.

123 King's Crescent, Brighton, BR3 6JF Tel: 0222 123 456, Fax: 0222 123 555 www.Cookcatering.com

2 Brown & Brown (Luxury Foods) Ltd

100 South Road London SE1 3PL

3 17th August 2002 4 Your ref: FT/rf

Our ref: CC/mt/08/02

5 Dear Sir/Madam 6 Re: Franchise agreement 7 I am writing to enquire about the franchise opportunities you
are offering, as detailed in yesterday's Financial Mail.

8 P. Cook is a medium-size company with 10 years' experience

in the catering business. We believe we have much to offer your organization because of our specialized services and established clientele, and wish to explore a mutually beneficial franchise arrangement. I enclose a prospectus for your information.

9 I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

10
Yours faithfully Mandy Taylor

11 12 13

pp Christina Cook Managing Director cc P. Cook, T. A. Cook Enc

10 You can write the following expressions before your name. 1 If you don't know the person: Yours faithfully, Yours truly 2 If you know the person you are writing to: Yours sincerely, Sincerely, 3 Other, less formal, ways of ending your letter: With best wishes, Best wishes, Regards

11 pp means that the letter was signed by Mandy Taylor on behalf of Christina Cook 12 cc means that a copy of the letter is being sent to the people mentioned. 13 Enc means that documents are being enclosed with the letter.

Style and layout

Style and layout

Informal and personal letters

When writing to someone you know well, you would use an informal style close to conversational English. Other features include: first names are used, shortened names like 'Bob' or 'Liz', and informal forms of address such as 'Mom' or 'Dad' the name and address of the person who receives the letter are not given a comma (,) is put at the end of the first lines of an address, after the opening greeting and after the closing phrase the date might be given in a short form informal greetings are used when writing to family, people you love or good friends: Dearest..., My dear..., Darling... informal closing phrases are used, for example: All the best, Best wishes, Love, Regards

An example of an informal letter 4th Feb 2003 Dear Jo, Just a quick word to thank you for a brilliant weekend. It was lovely to see you again, and the kids really enjoyed going round London- hope we didn't tire you out too much! It would be great to see you up in Liverpool some time- it's ages since you've been. We'll be celebrating Jim's fortieth (!) in September, and it would be great if you could come. Anyway, let me know nearer the time if you can make it. Take care, hope to see you soon. Love, Clare XXX

Notes: In an informal letter usually do not write your address but you write the data. The style is very much like speech. You can use short forms each as didn't. In a formal letter you would not use these.

Style and layout