CHAMBERS CHAMBERS — : © your ltr ofa word- BAe Oe ih iGUIDE TO EET EER WRITING edited by Kay Cullen CHAMBERS(CHAMBERS ‘An imprint of Chambers Harrap Publishers Lad ‘THopetoun Croscent ainburgh EH7 4AY Copyright © Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd 1099 Allright reserved, No part of tis publication may be reproduce, stored ina retrieval system, o transmitted by any means latrone, mechan ‘cal, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher ACIP catalogue rood fortis book asilale from the British Library. We have made every effort to marks sch ll words which we beieve to be trademark ‘We should also like to make it lear that the presence of a word inthis ook, whothor marked or unmarked n'no way aflets ts lea satus trademark ISBN 0550 141308 ‘The British National Corpus is collaborsive initative carried out by Oxford University Pres, Longman, Chambers Harrap, Oxford Univer Gompatng Services, Lancaster Universiy"s Unit for Computer Research in the English Language andthe Beta Library The project received Funding fom the UK departentof Tro and Industry and the Selon sand Engineering Rescarch Counc, and was supported by adi ‘esearch grants from the British Acadomy andthe British Library. Series etor Penny Hands ‘Typeset by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd Printed and bound in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman Ld, Reading, Berkshire Introduction Weting materials Layout Gremmar and punctuation Spelling and vocabulary Beginnings, endings and correet forms of address Writing laters to other countries Formal and informal style Business letters ‘Complaints and responses Employment ‘Travel and holidays Invitations and replies ‘Thank-you letters ‘Sympathy and condolence Elgctronie mail (e-mail) and fax Word-provessingIntroduction [Nowadays people tend to write fewer personal letters indeed a fair number of people would rather use any other method of ‘communication than be obliged to put pen to paper! Te telephone is convenient and immediate, but a letter is sometimes more appropriate and is often better appreciated than a quick phone call. To gt a personal letter, whether itis alove leter, a thank- you letter, a letter of condolence, or simply a chatty one full of news, canbe a cheering and heart-warming experience. Letters can be kept and reread again and agai. They give an insight into the lives and personalities of those that have gone before us, and are important sources for biographers and historians. The rst contact between ob applicant and employers i almost invariably In letes and it is always avinbl to make an fer or a complaint, inmue a formal warning, oF confirm a booking, in writing ‘Aside from the telephone, technological advances in the past couple of decades have produced some important developments in ‘communication between businesses, edueatona insittions and Private individuals, Px and emma for example, are so rapid and ficient that they can make contact by letter seem rather slow ‘and laborious, particulary in business context and acros national and international borders. However, as long as only a relatively ‘mall proportion of private individuals and smaller businesees ‘make se ofthese high-ech alternative, the traditional postal service and the telephone will continue tobe the principal means by which we ge in touch with each other. “This book i designed to help anyone who wants to develop their letter-writing alls. The Srat fee chapters discuss writing ma- terials and give general guidance on layout, grammar and panc- tation Later chapters deal with broad subject areas, such as employment, business correspondence, complaints and travel. In theve later chapters there are many sample letters desisned toblp you make a tart when you sit down to write oa prospective emplover, complain about goods or service, o ingle abst sccommevation Tes perhape worth enting ot thatthe saaple letters are intended sa guide only, and should not be coped exactly Although they contain many standard pace tat a te pt to god use in spec contents, what you wit shoul general ben your own vice and no in borrowed or formule Tengu ‘good dictionary such as The Chambers Dictionary or Chambers 21” Century Distonary san eset tol for urvene especial ifyou have doubts about any aspect of eling mca Or how a word is ued in contort A thesaurus te anotier sal "ation to your booahal iting alternatives when yout ‘void repetition or well-worn exresons Wehipe his ok wl spo ommunite efiyana uty and enable you to develop conden In our er: brodtvs nd enable you to dv our ee Ctr gues inthe same sero ince ide o Common Errors, Gude to Bifctve Grammar and Gude lo Punctuation Writing materials ‘When you are writing any letter, it is advisable to give some ‘thought to the materials you use. The overall is almost ‘as important as the content. A neat, well-lad-out letter will not ‘nly make a good impression, but is a courtesy to the person you. fare writing to, This is important for letters generally, and for job ‘applications and other formal letters in particular. A letter scrawled jn blotchy green ink on grubby or cheap lined paper is likely to be treated much less seriously than one that is written or typed neatly ‘on decent quality paper. Also, the act of writing can be made more pleasurable when you use good quality paper that won't crease or ‘ear easily and will take ink without smudging or blotching. Unless you are corresponding with a close friend or relative, use dark blue ‘r black ink, Avoid thick marker pens, coloured ink (other than, biue or black) and pencil. If typing your letter on a typewriter, ‘make sure the ribbon or ink cartridge in your machine will produce clear and even print Pape ‘Most ofthe paper we buy for writing, printing and photocopying is supplied in standard ‘A’ sizes. One of the advantages of this, international standard for paper sizes ~ from the paper manufae- turers’ as well as their customers’ point of view is that each A size is half the area of the previous one, in a descending scale from ‘AO to AT, Thus, an A2 sheet folded and cut in half will produce ‘wo A3 sheets, an A3 sheet will produce two Ad sheets, and soon, ‘Annote of eaution here: ifyou are folding and cutting paper, itis ‘advisable to use a guillotine, which will give a straight cut edge, ‘Ragged or uneven edges will etract from the overall appearance of your letterat a7 a8 a2 ‘AO: 841 x 189 mm ‘AX: 594 841 mm ‘82: 420 x 594 mm ‘A8: 287 420 mm 4: 210 « 297 mm ‘AS: 148 x 210 mm ‘86: 105 x 148 mm (87:74 105 mm a0 ‘Ads the most popular site for business correspondence these days. AB is alio widely used, especialy for shorter business letters {End inemos, and personal letters, Most office Bling systems are ‘designed to take At shoots, co it makes sense to stick o this size for correspondence that i ily to be kept for future reference. ‘Choose the pape size that best uits the sort of letter you are going to write Ifyou are writing a short nove or just a couple of Fines of acknowledgement, for example, use a smaller sheet siz. ‘While the text of your letter should nat look eramped, neither should i oat about in aces of white space! This s both wasteful and unnocussary Yor personal and less formal letersi is perfectly acceptable to write on both sides of the sheet. If your handwritten letter strvichos to more than three sides, is # good idea to number the second and subsequent sheet, ‘Business and oficial letters should be typed or written on one side ony using continuation sheets forthe second and subeequent ages Paper types and weights ‘The general advices: use the best quality, thickest paper you can. afford. Bond ‘A.good quality paper that will nt tear or crease easly, recom- ‘mended forall types of lottor and for continuation sheets, Bank ‘A flimsy paper that is fine for drafts, carbon copies and file copies, but because itis more transparent and will tear easly, is not rom mended for the letter itself. Alrmait ‘Athin paper whote light weight keeps down the cost of postage {or letters sent by air. ‘Should the paper be plain or fancy, white or coloured, lined or unlined? The best advice isto stick to plain white or cream for, business, official and more formal types of personal correspon: dence, Notepaper with a deckle edge (a rough or wavy edge in imitation of handmade paper), in bright or fluorescent colours,swith fancy serolls printed along the edges, or with pictures of fufly ‘bunnies gambolling across the top of the sheet, should be reserved {fr letters to family members or your most intimate friends (who, itis hoped, will share your taste and be suitably appreciative), Personalized notepaper with your name and address should, ‘ideally, be printed by a professional printer. Be careful of using ‘pre-printed adhesive-backed addres labels or of attempting to rodluce a fancy design on your word-prooessar. Both are, of ourse, lose costly alternatives tothe there is a certain amount of snobbery associated with personal- iting notepaper and, ifyour aim is to impress people with your smart stationery itis probably worth doing it properly. Unlined paper should always be used for typed correspondence and is also recommended for handwritten letters. If you find i Aifficult to write by hand in evenly-spaced horizontal lines, uso a ‘guide sheet ruled up with heavy black lines under the sheet you are writing on. Pads of writing paper sold in high-street stationers often include such a guide sheet. Envelopes —— For most letters, expecially socal ones, the envelope should match the paper used for the letter itsel— Brown envelopes are really only appropriate for business letters (invoicing, payment of bills, et) brown paper is cheaper and so helps to keep costs down. Manila, ‘padded envelopes may be used when extra strength or protec. ‘tion is required, for example when sending multiple sheets, Envelope sizes and types Envelopes are available in a wide variety of sizes. Choose an envel- ope size that allows you to insert the letter comfortably into the ‘envelope, with the minimum of folds. Ifyou don’t want to fold an A4 sheet, use a CA size envelope. ‘The C5 size will take an A4 sheet folded once, or an AB sheet unfolded; the C6 size wil take an A5 shevt folded once, or an AB sheet unfolded. ‘Many business lettors are sent in envelopes measuring 100mm. by 220mm. These take an AA sheet folded neatly twice over. When ‘using this sizeof envelope, make sure the folds in the Ad sheet are nade with the corners ofthe sheet precisely aligned —theefen’t hf asp alowans an sling ra extras ld a ract from the appearance of your letter. “wipe Raya Mal te arone grate wp ttn right and within a estain ize range, The envelope aes whi eh thin ths renge are inown an FOP (ont Ofte reared envelopes shou be no smaller than 9mm by 4m an hho larger than 120mm by 236mm and, with contents, should treigh no more than 60 grams ne Window and pera eneops ar sometine el fo oi Teter A window envelope ax square or bong panel i Sor and emored witha transparent material hough which the {Address ean be viewed, In an aperture envelope therein trans- rent protective covering over the extout ston. Th leter Fide mun be fold and inserted correc otha headrest ‘pears in tho corel polon under th window or aperture atest pal pied htt tn ing paper and envelop, with ih portage pro tar are pnd on he shot nating how shouldbe folded afore veins2 Layout ‘Having given some thought to the type and size of (and equally important) aspect of letter- iting enna ete aly inprtan pect of arwrings nee he portant to achiev a god balance between the size shes paper and what stab ttn one Tell ee gs he overall gpearance these is carey cease ei ne or wo hort ines rer on tain eae hast hy ae, leer more generously that mor tn appar on hes Remember that a drt wil make cairo. = rine and {he content before you begin to wie or pe your lees ee = whether its handwritten or eter, whether iten or typed, should be free of correc @ you use « word processor ~ especially ono ewer wordprecesting programs valle for tne on orsonal computers, and incorporating some of the features of dak op publishing" much athe sting out and frmatting can be done automaticaly by hs ‘machine, Word processing i discussed in reaer ated ‘The text of you eter should be posi ; positioned on the pag wi snproprat spacing. The print or handwriting shld Rese, cramped nr io widely space, Use a two line space het Paragraphs or individual linc if his will geet appearance. Ifthe liters short, the ext should ot eect 6 ‘upto the top ofthe sheot with a large area loft blank at the bottom “Tfeave some space at the top to halance that at the bottom of the sheet. Blocked and indented styles Letters ean be presented in one of two styles: blocked style or indented style. Nowadays, the majority of business letters and most other typed or word:-procossed letters are in blocked style. ‘The indented style is a more traditional format and is now rarely used for business letters. However, some people still prefer the Jndented syle for both formal and informal letters, especially those ‘that are handwritten In blocked style, tho sendors address is writen or typed on the right hand side ofthe first sheet with the first letter of each new line of the address coming immediately below the first letter or ‘number on the line above, The recipient's address, the opening. greeting, the heading, the text of the letter, the complimentary lose and the sender's name are all aligned to the left margin of the sheet. Note that at least one line space must be inserted between euch ofthese elements as well as between each paragraph of the main text In indented style, the sender's address is typed or written on the right hand side ofthe sheet but with the second and subsequent lines of the address beginning one or two characters tothe right of the first letter of the preceding line. Ifthe recipient's address is included itis aligned to the left of the sheet as for blocked syle. The salutation is aligned tothe let hand margin, any heading following ‘the salutation is centred above the main text ofthe letter, and the first line ofeach paragraph of the main text is indented. Line spaces between the paragraphs of the main text are optional in indented style. The indent does the work of distinguishing the paragraphs but some formal typed letters in indented style also inchude a line space between the paragraphs so that the tex s evenly distributed on the page. The complimentary close can be indented from the let ‘margin, centred under the main text or (in some formal typed letters) placed near the right hand margin of the sheet. Note also ‘that punctuation is used in the indented style where it is omitted in blocked style there are usually commas at the line ends of the addresses and after the saluation and complimentary close. > See also section on punctuation in Chapter 3Layout of a formal letter (blocked style) 25 Julian Way Broomloa GLASGOW Gas azz, ‘let December 1900 The Me Glasgow and Scottish Bank ple 800 Great Seot Street GLASGOW. Gooiyy Dear Sit Account No, XXOOXKXX J D Haddington This is to confirm my telephone call to the branch this morning ‘aking thal you stop payment ofa cheque issued by mein fav of Breakneck Builders Lid. Ii cheque number 145678, written {or the sum of 895.50, and dated 21st December 198 Breakneck Builders have informed me that they have not received the cheque and Ihave therefore concluded that it has ‘ben lost in the poet. 1 would be grateful if you would confirm that the original cheque thas been stopped, so chat T may issue a new one ‘Yours futhfuly ames Haddington James D Haddington Layout of an informal letter (in indented style) ‘ABERDEEN Satara. Apt was dlged touring ere yest hd expe neat rm you 0 econ er our rena 6 (aban thing yale tro bnyovanging your ame and eting te crn no etc lad na aly Le fit ured the move ntact and shee nthingt sig hope yas Fe nee igre om and Gice mate end qc Ofcourse he wl mi te ld ached Fen eho anyon msi ar {heya oon belong 0 a9 rary bs as hey des, and nat aS perce saspasniiraning atten Mie a rie yo, an eoperialy ie ar daly hat We must area ch iter ents ne od ad of care oo mi yh Tn sony ever tatcur nother nevi snag her “gen can och ope rer her poe yo eee net wk Derare—>—— Layout of a business/official letter (blocked style) PHOTOTECH ple ‘416 Plougbstare Road ‘NORWICH DOS 017885850 Pe 178968510 Our Ref: SNA-TIKEMMP Your Ret PBMC Date: 10:h July 1969 IM Butterworth Lid 25 Middlefarm Road incor OXON oxizen Attention: Mr P Brandon Dea Sir ‘Thank you for your eta of Sr July aking for copy of our product catalogue, steams ‘As requested, [al enclne our eurent pie ist. Thi gives deta ofthe canted or bulk order and ou ema tendons or pagan When you hav had an opportunity to sty the catalogve seetng canbe arrange wth one of ur reesei wh ‘be abl to daca your roulements in mae deta 1G nthe meantime, you have any gener] queries, plese donot ‘hesitate to get in touch with us, ema Yours faithfully Konsth Evans ‘Kenneth Evans Marketing Manager ee RMD, LDW nce 10 ‘Abusiness/officiallettor ‘hn offical leter or a business letter is always written on the firm's ‘y organization's headed notepaper. The name, address, telephone ‘humber, ete printed atthe top ofthe page is known as the letter- hed: If the firm or organization has a log this will printed as part ofthe ‘Addressing the envelope Dr Henry Fothringay-Hunt fa 12 Juniper Avenue Winds KETTERING KT6SAB NetiNes J Bram Beccheaee 1 Chester Avene NeWCASTIE Rozz ‘The address should be aligned with the longer sides ofthe envel- ope. It should be positioned slightly to the left of the mid point between the two shortest sides, with the firs lin of the address, about two thirds of the way down from the top edge of the envel- ope. This allows plenty of room for the stamp and postmark. "The address on the envelope should include: the name and title ofthe recipient; the house/building name or strect number + street ‘name; locality name (area of town or city); post town (in block capitals); country name or region (this is not required when the ‘ost town is a large town or ity); and post code (always in bloc‘capitals with a space betwoen the two parts of the code). Each ‘element should be on a new line. Note thatthe post office prefers that no punctuation be used in the name and address on the ‘envelope. This is so that the letter can be seanned and sorted clectronically ‘Sender's address on the envelope ‘Many businesses use address labels with their own name and adress printed along the top or bottom edge, or use envelopes printed with their logo and address. This helps the post office if the letter or package has to be returned to the sender for any reason. Ifyou are concerned that your letter may not reach its destination, or that the post office will not be able to deliver it, ‘you should write or print your own name and address on the back. ‘of the envelope, making it clear that you are the sender. This is standard practice in most EU countries and in North America. Stamps Postage stamps should be affixed to the top right hand corner of the letter above and to the right of the address. The stamp or stamps should be stuck on the right way round, with the top edge aligned tothe top edge ofthe envelope It in't necessary to emulate the overly-particular charactor ina well-known British TV comedy series, who uses a ruler to align the stamp perfoctly ~ postal sorting offices use laser technology to sean, locate and frank the stamp on ‘the envelope and their machines are quite capable of dealing with slight misalignments. However, for the sake of a neat appearance, don't stick the stamp on any old way! Ifyour letter is heavier than the maximum weight allowed for a standard first or socond clas stamp, make sure you affix stamps of the correct value. Abbreviated forms on the envelope In addresses, there are several conventional abbreviations tsed in customary titles (eg Dr, Prof, The Rev, The Right Hon) and in the street names (eg St, Ave, Bled, Ra). There should be no full stops in these abbreviations when written on the envelope 3 Grammar and punctuation ‘The odd instance of bad grammar or poor punctuation may go unnoticed in a personal letter. However, in formal and business Jetters your aim should be to get your message across clearly and ‘unambiguously, and the structure of your sentences should reflect this aim. Grammar and style Tt sa good idea to vary the length of sentences within paragraphs. ‘This will give your letter @ more natural flow. Short paragraphs (cach dealing with a single central point or idea) are preferable to Tong ones, which may cause the reader to skip over important details : “Here are some grammar rules that you might want to keep in ‘mind as you write: (0 Use active rather than passive verbs and try to keep to the same tense, ‘0 Verbs should agree with their subject in person (Igo, he goes) ‘and number (She goes, they go). (0 Where a verb like be, seem, appear is used to link a singular subject with a plural complement, the verb should be in the singular: Our main concern is our expenses. When the subject is plural and the complement is singular the verb should be in the plaral: Our expenses are our main worry. © Avoid double negatives: [never knew no greater joy © Avoid double eomparatives: It was much more quicker than I ‘expected. And, double superlatives: Isat the most furthest point ‘away from the centre. © Ikis advisable to avoid splitting too many infinitives (ie inserting‘awword between ¢o and a following verb), though this is not strictly ungrammatical: He started to gradually realise his mistake. 1 The words even and only should be placed as closely as possible to the word or words they are intended to emphasize. © Take care not to use a dangling participle: Driving along a country road last week, a tree fell on our ear. This wording ‘suggests that the tree was drivin. © Aword or words may be wrongly omitted (the omission of words in sentence construction is known as clips). Avoid, in partic= ‘ular, the omission of the proposition that always accompanies ‘a particular verb: Iwas dreaming (of) and hoping fora long break Punctuation Letters are nowadays usually typed in blocked style with ‘open punctuation’ that is, with the minimum punctuation required for Clarity This applies in the addresses, the main text of the letter land other elements inthe letter, such as the salutation, heading ‘and complimentary close Addresses on the letter Tn blocked style no punctuation is required inthe sender's address or the recipionts address. There should be no commas after the hhouse number, no inverted commas around a house name. Nor should there be any full stope after abbreviations of any kind. Mandalay 14 Phumtree Rd GREENSWARD Kent GW2 AJP Dr AJ Thorne 445 Greenview Ave SOHNSVILLE lance JV57 6M ‘When writing or typing letters in indented style, many people prefer to insert coma after the house number and atthe end {reach line ofboth the ‘sloping’ senders address andthe recip. nt's address. However, commas are not obligatory in indented style and may equally correctly be left out. As in blocked styl, {here should be no inverted commas around a house name, Full stops may be used ater abbreviations of customary titles (eg Dr, ‘Mrs, Mr) and street names (eg Rd, St, Ave), o, equally corrects, say be omitted. A fll sop is often used (though may also be ‘omitted after the type of abbreviation that does not include the frst and last letter ofthe full form (eg Prof, The Rev., Lancs. Bucks) Initialiams (eg UR, USA) should have no fll stops Mandalay 14, Pham Ra, ‘GREENSWARD, ‘Kent GW 4IP DrAJ Tuer, 45 Greenview Gardens, SOHNSVILLE, janes, JV BMH Address on the envelope ‘Whether the letter itself is typed or written in blocked or indented ‘syle, there should be no punctuation in the adress on the envel- ‘ope. The postcode should be on a separate line with no full stops DeAJ Thome 45 Greenview Gardent SOHNSVILLE rfPunctuation in the date [No punctuation i required in the date when itis written in the Onder day (in figures), followed by month (written out in full), followed by year (in figures): ‘29 November 1989 ‘yon choose to include the name ofthe day as wel sits number, ‘te usual to ingert a comma between the name and number: ‘Sunday, 29 November 1989 Other styles used in waiting dates do have punctuation of one sort for another, There may be hyphens between the elements, a in: 28.Nov98 Or, slashes between the elements, asin: zane 29/1/1999 (0x, stops between one or more of the elements, asin: 20.1199 29 Now. 98 D Won writing dats vsngfqres or al the cements (arin 12709) remem hatte de of the dy and Stonthieeveaed inthe US and neous Cat have ‘adopted the US system. In the US 12/7/99 means 7 ‘December 1999, while in Britain it means 12 July 1999. ‘The punctuation of other elements in a letter In blocked style there is no comma after the salutation or the complimentary close, In indented style a comma after these lements is usual in both typed and handwritten letters, though {snot obligatory Tn busines and official letters, a clon is used in various conven ‘ional elements that are outside the main text ofthe letter. These jnelude the reference line or lines, the attention line, and in a Subject heading made up of two parts ‘Our reference: LWOAKMC ‘Your reference: KB/MM ‘Astention: Mr K Barnos For the Atention of Drisabel Stewart ‘Expenses: new claim forms ‘Account number: X00000 Punctuation in the main text of the letter ‘The punctuation ofthe main text of your letter should follow the rules that apply to any piece of writing. These rules can be ‘summarized as follows: Full sentences ‘Begin each sentence with a capital otter and end it witha full stop, a question mark or an exclamation mark. full stop is used at the end of a sentence that isa statement, a question mark at the end of a sentence that is a question, and an exclamation marke at the end ofan interjection, an exclamation or a command. Apostrophe ‘An apostrophe is used: © to create the poscessve form of nouns: the man’s hat, Niall’s pala, the children's names. © in contracted forms atthe point where one letter is, or several letters are, omittd: they've, he's, we're, hadn't @ Nove that t's with an apostrophe) is the shor form of itis, The possessive form, eg its back bumper, has no ‘postrophe, Comma ‘A.comma is used! © toseparate tems in a list: the cu, the dog and the guinea pig © between two co-ordinated main clauses linked by ‘but’ or ‘r' Toul like to wisi you, but can't get any time of work © after a subordinate clause that comes before the main clause in ‘sentence: When it did star to rain, it didn't stop for « week. © after an adverb that links the sentence to the previous or twas very tired. However, we had to heep walking.© before or after a ‘commenting’ word or phrase at the end (or beginning) ofa sentence: Regrettably, I shall not be abl o attend ‘the conference in Cairo, A pair of commas is used: > to enclose the type of relative clause that adds information. ‘Commas are only required where the sentence would still make sense i the relative clause were removed: The bus, which must Ihave Ben atleast fifty years old, groaned and creaked under the weight of so many passengers. 9 to enclose a commenting word or phrase in the middle of a sentence: Then he fook off all his clothes, I hid you not, and sprinted offdown the high street. @ emember onde tho second encsng comma Tie ‘common ror oom i mpecaly the awe tobe teclsed sa ong one Colon ‘Acolon is used to indicate that what follows explains expands on ‘or completes the part that has gone before, What follows the eolon ‘may bea complete sentence, a list or even a single word: There's ‘new film on at the focal cinema: Hamlet, I think. ‘Semicolon A semicolon is used instoad of « word like ‘and’ or ‘but’ to separ- ‘ate two clauses of equal importance: He made another dive for the ball; he missed again. ‘A semicolon is also used to soparate groups of items in alist, ‘often one where individual items are separated hy commas: He ‘made a wonderful curry withthe lover chicken, few mushrooms and some chopped tomatoes; saffron rice with coconut, sultanas and chopped parsley; and a sweet dish using honey and nuts Brackets or parentheses Brackets are used to enclose an extra piece of information inserted into a sentence and which defines, illustrates, explains or comments: The plane (a 747) was unable to land. 4 Spelling and vocabulary ‘This chapter includes some guidance on spelling and appropriate vocabulary. Spelling [fyou are unsure ofthe spelling of a word, always check it first in ‘dictionary. Bad spelling will not only distract the reader from, the content of your letter, but will give the clear message that you hhave not taken the trouble to get it right. Ifyou are having your letter typed by someone else, always check it for typographical «errors before you sign it. A word processor with a spellchecking facility is helpful, bt remember that spellcheckers are not infal [blo and are unlikely to recognize proper names or technical terms. [Nor do they help if you have used the wrong word, but have spelt it properly, It is important, for courtesy’s sake, to spell the name of the recipient correctly, and to get their job title right. If necessary, ‘check the spelling of their name inthe telephone book, or make & ‘ick telephone call to the company they work for to make sure all the details you have are correct. Spelling checklists ‘Words that have the endings able or ble are 90 often misspelled that itis worth including a lst of the commonest ones, for eany reference. Note that some words can be spelt with either ending, accoesible capable compatible advisable changeable ‘contemptible recabl collapsible creditable smicable collectabelcllectble culpable applicable ‘communicable despicable »detachable inftoxibie knowledgeable lamentable fashionable gible falible memorable feasible negligible flexible ‘noticeable forcible payable formidable peaceable foreseeable perceptible gullible Permissible horrible plausible hospitable pliable indelible Indefensible indestructible inevitable inexcusable inexhaustible inflammable reliable reprehensible susceptible tangible terible transferable unforgetable unforgivable unmistakable unstoppable usobleuseable variable viable viibie vulnerable Here are some more words that are frequently misspelled or whose spellings ean be confused. abandoned affect (verbetect absence (noun) (oun! absent (verb) amatour accept ‘newer ‘ccidentally ‘spology ‘eecommodtion apologize ‘apparently ‘appearance ‘sppreciate acknowledge argument foquaintance assess acquire sat dress assistant ‘vice (noun) ‘attach ‘advise verb) ‘auturnn » awful awfully bagage Doautful beginner beginning behaviour believe bresath Britain brochure cancellation careful Carefully catalogue category Colleague ‘commitment Committed ‘commiting comparative ‘concede dette detintely deter opondart oun) dependent ‘esjecive) deserve ‘develop developed developing ‘Storence disappost Sizappoint ieapprove siscrepancy tiapaten or despatch tlesatistied ean embers embarassment envelope eipped especially fot extra) ‘exaggeration excellent exeting exhibition experience fextreordinary fxtremely favour February financial finish foreign foreigner forty friend fu gauge ‘government ‘ratotul ‘riot ‘grieve ‘usrantes guard uess guidance guide happened happening height honorary honourable humorous humour hhygiono hnygienic immediately incidentally independent insta instalation instalment licence (noun license verb} smarioge medicine message messenger mortgage necessary neither rine ‘occasionally ecured becuing omit ‘opportunity opposite ordinary passenger permanent permit permitted permiting personal personnel Dersuade piece planning possess possibiltypractice (noun) sympathy pesos oma cna a en cect principal (Beenie an 2 ree ve Ed =e Srna i sone = = oe i sont = See cr" SET Sater wa = = ee Vocabulary ‘Check that all the words you have used mean what you intend them to mean. Think carefully whether they will be understood by the reader and whether they are suitable forthe type of letter ‘you are eriting (not too informal and ‘slangy’, nor on the other hand too formal and pretentious). Avoid, if you can, jargon, clichés and repetition. ‘Writers of business lotters, in particular, often fall into the trap of using formulaic or highfalutin expressions soas to create what they imagine is a suitably detached and business-like tone However, many of these expressions are nowadays regarded as relies ofa bygone age or just plain pompous It is always better to trron the side of simplicity and clarity - don’t use twenty long. words where three or four short ones will do, ‘Try to get your message across using plain English: most ‘everyday word are a appropriate informal contexts asin informal tones, Ask yourself fit ie necessary to use, for example, purchase Instead of buy, proceed instead of go, cease instead of stop, ‘endeavour instead of try, or eammence instead of sat. More often than no, the more familiar word wil do the job just as well ‘Try to avoid using combinations of words and phrases that are tautological: that is, whore a second word or phrase is used that a ‘repeats the meaning of one used earlier in the same sentence, a8 fn the rather extreme example: We must insiet that immediate poyment ofall oustanding sums is made “lre are some examples of well-worn expressions that should ‘be avoided if poseble or even at all costs!) with comments in ‘rackets: > Assuring you of our best stenton a al times. {unnecessary - this is taken as read, a least ifyou want to get for keep my custom!) 0 a copy of same [arop the ‘of same’ or recast the sentence] © at this moment in time Ta cliché ~ ‘now’ i shorter and simpler] © at your earliest convonionce [as soon as posible! or ‘as soon as is convenient is simpler] 9 consequent upon [old-fashioned/eyalese ~ ‘afer is clearer and simpler] 2 duo tothe fact that. [unnecessarily wordy "because will do the job] o enclosed herewith [enclosed or enclose is quite sufficient] O inst, prox. ul {Latin abbreviations used to refer to the current, noxt or previous month: now very old-fashioned ~ instead, name the ‘month 9 in esrly course [pomponi as wells being too vague to serve any usefil purpose: ‘be more specific or use “son or "a soon as possible’ if you want ‘to keep your options open] 2 in the course of [during’is more straightforward) © Re your later of [HLWe refer to your letter of.."is preferable] © yours to hand [This is only used by writers who are caught in a time warp saround the middle ofthe nineteenth century]5 Beginnings, endings and correct forms of address The opening greeting or salutation In busines letters, the urual opening greeting sould begin with ‘Dear’ Conventionally a letr addressed oa company or organ: ization (but without specifying a partealar person orjob title) Should begin ‘Dear Sis Ite etter is odrested wo, for example, “The Human Resources Manager, or marked for someone's atten: ‘ton, the greting shold be Dear St” or ‘Dear Madam or formal letters addressed to an individual, the ‘Dear’ is followed hy the customary tite (eg Mr, Mis, Mr, Ms) and name ‘ofthat individual eg Dear Mr Jones, Dear Dr Smit Cores forms of adres for people of rank and tite are dealt with lta in this eater "The opening greeting for informal eters can be in any form you think appropriate, Dear Peter’, ‘My dear Anne, My dearest Bunny, ‘Darling Bil The complimentary close For business and formal eters, use the form ofthe compliment: ary close that matches the opening greeting. ‘Thus, if your letter begins ‘Dear Sirs, ‘Dear Sir’ or ‘Dear ‘Madam, the complimentary close should be ‘Yours faithfully’. D Never we Yours very fathflly ) If the person is named in the opening greeting, the compli- mentary cose should be Yours sincerely’ or (lightly more friendly intone) "Yours very sincerely’. Fora business letter and other formal letters where you are well known ta your correspondent, the complimentary close used tay be less formal and might include ‘Best wishes’ before the ‘Yours sincerely For informal letters, the complimentary close ean, like the opening, be in ay form you think appropriate, Love, Much lve’, ‘With all my love’, Yours ever’ te In the United States, the Your sineoray’ and "Yours faithfully {formulae are routinely reversed, as ‘Sincerely yours’ (or simply ‘Sincerely, and ‘Faithflly yours’. Similar the rarely used "Yours respectfully” (only appropriate in certain types of busines letter) ‘would be ‘Respectfully yours’ or ‘Respectfully’ in the US. Correct forms of address ‘You may have occasion to write to someone who holds an official title or rank, such asa member of the dengy oa poer ofthe realm. ‘The correct forms to use in the address and opening greeting are shovn below Archbishop (Anglican) 9 Address on letter and envelope: Tho Most Reverend the “Archbishop of — > Open letter with: My Lard Archbishop © Close letter with: Youre faithfully Archbishop (of Canterbury and York) © Address on letter and envelope: The Most Reverend and Rt Hon ‘The Lord Archbishop of — © Open letter with: My Lard Archbishop > Close letter with: Yours faithfully Archbishop (Catholic) > Address on eter and envelope: His Grace the Archbishop of — 5 Open letter with: My Lord Archbishop or (less formally) Dear Archbishop > Close letter with: Yours faithfully »Baron © Address on letter and envelope: The Right Hon Lord [surname] 2 Open letter with: My Lord or (less formally) Dear Lord (surname) Baroness (wite of baron) © Address on letter and envelope: The Right Hon Lady [surname] (9 Open letter with: Dear Madam or (less formally) Dear Lady (surname) Baroness (in own right) © Address on letter and envelope: The Right Hon Lady (surname) ‘or The Right Hon the Baroness of [surname] © Open letter with: Dear Madam or (less formally) Dear Lady (surname) Baronet > Address on letter and envelope: Sir foruname} {surname}, Bt © Open letter with: Dear Sir or (ess formally) Dear Sir forename) Bishop (Anglican) © Address on letter and envelope: The Right Reverend The Lord Bishop of — © Open letter with: My Lord Bishop or My Lord © Close letter with: Yours faithlly Bishop (Roman Catholic) © Adéreas on letter and envelope: His Lordship the Bishop of — > Open letter with: My Lord © Close letter with: Yours faithfully Cardinal O Address on letter and envelope: His Eminence Cardinal (surname) > Open letter with: Your Eminence © Close letter with: Yours faithfully Chiet Rabbi © Address on etter and envelope: The Very Reverend the Chia Rabbi 2 Open leter with: Dear Chief Rabbi or Dear Sir © Cloge letter with: Yours faithfully Christian Clorgy (Anglican and Protestant Churches) > Adres on lar and envelope: The Revered (forename {surname} 2 Open letter with: Dear Sir/Madam or Dear MriMrs [surname] (Christian Clergy (Roman Catholic) 9 Address on lotter and envelope: The Reverend {forename} {sumame] (ia member of a religious order, the initials ofthe ‘order should follow the name) 9 Open letter with: Dear Reverend Father Councilor 0 Address on letter and envelope: (for a man) Councillor fore- ‘name] (surname); (for a woman) Councillor Mra/Miss (fore- name] [surname] > Open letter with: Dear Councillor (surname); Dear Councillor ‘Mrw/Miss [eurname] or Dear Mr/MrsiMiss Countess O Address on letter and envelope: The Right Hon the Countess or 2 Open letter with: Madam or (less formally) Dear Lady — Dame > Address on letter and envelope: Dame [forename] surname) (lowed by letters of the order) o Open letter with: Dear Madam or (less formally) Dear Dame (forename) Doctor (of medicine) > Address on letter and envelope: Doctor or Dr [forename] (surname] (9 Open leter with: Dear Doctor or Dr (surname) > See also Surgeon Doctorate, holder of © Address on letter and envelope: the initials DD, LLD, MD, Mus, ‘etc may be placed ater the ordinary form of address © Open later with: Dear Si Madam or Dear Dr {surname} Duchess © Address on letter and envelope: Her Grace the Duchess of — © Open letter with: Dear Madam or (less formally) Dear DuchessDuke © Address on letter and envelope: His Grace the Duke of — ‘© Open leter with: My Lord Duke or (less formally) Dear Duke Earl © Address on letter and envelope: His Right Hon the Earl of — © Open letter with: My Lord or less formally) Dear Lord — Governor (US) 9 Address on letter and envelope: ‘The Honorable [forename] [surname] Governar of [state] © Open letter with: Dear Governor [surname] Judge High Court) 5 Address on letter and envelope: The Hon Mr/Mrs Justice [surname] (note that Mra is used even to an unmarried woman) or Sir‘Dame [forename] [surname] 2 Open letter with: Dear Sir/Madam or (less formally) Dear Judge or Dear Sir/Dame [forename] [surname] Judge (Circuit) Address on letter and envelope: His/Her Honour Judge surname) ‘9 Open letter with: Dear SirfMadam or (less formally) Doar Judge night 9 Address on letter and envelope: Sir [forename) (surname] {followed by the initials of the order, e KCB (ofthe Bath), KCMG (of St Michael and St Goorge), KG (of the Garter), KT (ofthe Thistle) 2 Open letter with: Dear Sir or according to person’s rank Lite Poor > Address on letter and envelope: The Right Hon the Lord {surname} © Open letter with: Dear Lord [surname] {note that the full title, eg Lord Holden of Hazeldean, should not be used on letters, Use only Lord Holden) Life Peeress © Address on letter and envelope: ‘The Right Hon the Baroness {surname} 0 Open letter with: Dear Baroness [surname] or Baroness (a with a ie poer use only the tile and surname inthe adress) Mayor UKand Ireland 9 Address on letter and envelope: ‘The Worshipful the Mayor of| {town or city] or (for some cities and towns) The Right Worshipful the Mayor of — 9 Open letter with: Mr Mayor (even if woman, though some ‘women prefer Madam Mayor) or Dear Mr/Madam Mayor @ Note thatthe Lord Mayors of London, York, Bf, Gardffand Dublin are addressed as Phe Rght Hon the Lard Mayor of ith th atation My Lord Mayor ot ‘Dear Lord Mayor; for other Lard Mayors use The Right Worshipful the Lord Mayor of —in the address and My Lord Mayor for the salutation United States (Address: The Honorable (ull name), Mayor of (ity) © Begin leter: Dear Sir/Madam or Dear Mr/Madam Mayor Member of Parliament (© Address on letter and envelope: the usual form of address, followed by MP (0 Open lotter with: Dear {title} [surname] Officers (serving in the Armed Forces) (Address on letter and envelope: The professional rank precedes any other rank or ttle © Open letter with: Dear [rank] [surname] Offcors (retired) (© Naval officers above the rank of Lieutenant, army officers above the rank of Captain, and arforee officers above the rank of light Lieutenant may continue to tse and be addressed by their armed frees rank ater being placed on the retired list Pope 9 Address on letter and envelope: His Holiness the Pope © Open letter with: Your Holiness or Most Holy Father © Close letter with: (for Roman Catholics) I have the honour to be, your Holines’s most humble (or devoted and obedient) child; (non-Catholies) I have the honour to be (or remain), Your Holiness obedient servantPresident of the United States > Address on letter and envelope: The President > Open letter with: Sir/Madam or Dear Mr’Madam President Prime Ministor 9 Address on letter and envelope: The Right Hon [forename] [surname], MP (unless holding another rank that takes precedence) 2 Open letter with: Dear Sir/Madam or (less formally) Dear Prime Minister (or address according to any other rank held that takes precedence) Prince 9 Address on letter and envelope: ifa duke) His Royal Highness the Duke of —; Gf the son of the sovereign, but nota duke) His Highness, the Prince [forename]; (otherwise) His Royal Highness Prince [forename] 9 Open letter with: Sir 5 Close letter with: have the honour tobe (or remain), Sir, Your Royal Highnese’s most humble and obedient servant (Note that for royalty itis more unual to adres any correspondence to a private secretary, equerry, or lady in-waiting, Princess 9 Address on letter and envelope: (if a duchess) Her Royal Highness the Duchess of —; (if the daughter of the sovereign, ‘but not a duchess) Her Royal Highness, the Princes [forename]; (if a princess by marriage) HTH Princess [husband's forename] of — (otherwise) Her Royal Highness Princess [forename] 0 Open letter with: Madam 9 Clove letter with: [have the honour tobe (or romain), Madam, ‘Your Royal Highness’s most humble and obedient servant Professor 2 Adress on letter and envelope: Professor [forename] [surname] 2 Open lettor with: Doar Sir/Madam ‘Queen o Address on letter and envelope: Her Majesty the Queen Open leter with: Madam, with my humble duty (9 Close letter with: Thave the honour to be (or remain), Madam, ‘Your Majesty's most humble and obedient servant (Dove that for royalty ie more usual to address any ‘crrespondencs toa frrae secretary equery or ay inewating If writing tothe Queens private tocretary ‘the address on the letter and envelope should read The ‘Private Secretary to Her Majesty the Queen and the letter ‘should begin Dear Sir. Representative (US Federal) 0 Ades ter and envelope: The Honorable (forename) [surname] 9 Open letter with: Sir/Madam or Dear Congressman/Congress- ‘woman (surname) ‘Senator (Federal) © Adrete om etter and envelope: The Honorable forename] [surname] © Open letter with: Sir/Madam or Dear Senator [surname] ‘Surgeon 9 Address on letter and envelope: Mr/Mrs/Miss [forename] {surname] > Open letier with: Dear Mr/MirwMs (surname) (tn ngland and Wales, obstetricians and gynsesogte tearoom fore sorgeon; in Scotland, rland and elsewhere as for a doctor of medicine. Viscount 9 Adress on letter and envelope: The Right Hon the Viscount — 2 Open letter with: My Lord or (less formally) Dear Lord — Viscountess © Address on letter and envelope: The Right Hon the Viseountess 9 Open leter with: Madam or Class formally) Lady — a6 Writing letters to other countries Writing to European (Union) countries ‘A word of warning for people writing from Britain or Irvland to ‘continental European eatintres: unless you are fluent in the language of the country you are writing to (or are practising the language by writing to a pen pal who will in turn practise their “English when writing to you), you should write in English (keeping {oUF message as short and simple as possible). Alternatively, you ‘can have your letter translated into the appropriate language by professional translator For most EU countries (except France and Greece), the street ‘pumber is written on the envelope after the street name, and the ‘postal code eomes before (and on the same line as) the post district fo town, For France and Greece, the street number is written before the street name, and the postal code comes before (and on, the same line as) the post district or town, When sending letters to the United Kingdom, you shoul specify the country: England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. UK” can he added after the country name. Do not address letters simply ‘Ireland’: write instead “The Republic of Ireland” (not ‘Eire’ or ‘Northern Ireland’ Addressing mail to the USA "The following guidelines are those issued by the United States, postal authorities to ensure that addresses on envelopes ean be processed by the postal service's automated equipment ‘The adress should be entirely in capital letters, Firstline: ADDRESSEE'S NAME ‘Second line: NUMBER, STREET, APARTMENT NUMBER or POST OFFICE BOX NUMBER Third line: CITY, STATE, ZIP CODE (POSTAL CODE) Fourth line: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Below isa list ofthe oficial postal abbreviations of American stato, tobe used when addressing envelopes bound for America, ‘Alabams AL. Montana MT ‘Alaske AK Nebraska NE ‘Avizona Az Nevada nv ‘Arkansas AR New Hampshire NH California cA NewJersey NU Colorado co NewiMexico NM. Connecticut. CT NewYork Ny Delaware De North Carolina NC Florida FL North Dakota ND. Goria Ga Ohio on Hawaii HI ‘Oklahoma ok Idaho 1D Oregon on Minois 1 Pennsylvania PA Indiana IN Rhode Island tows a South Carolina SC Kansas Ks South Dakota SD Kentucky ky Tennessee TN Louisiana la Texas ™ Maine Me utah ur Maryland MD Vermont wr Massachusots = MA Virginia va. Michigan Mi Washington WA Minnesota MN WestVirginia = WW Mississippi = MS Wisconsin w Missouri MO Wyoming wea Formal and informal style Formal letters Formal letters are written to, for example, your local councillor, ‘your member of parliament, or a prospective employer. ‘The formal letters written hy private individuals on social and personal matters ae similar in layout to the busines letters sent ut by commercial companies and other organization (se Chapter 2 for the basic layout of formal and business letters, and Chapter 8 for business letters), However, business letters are only one type of formal letter, and they tend to be more heavily structured, with abbreviated reference lines, date lines, ete and various other ‘conventional forms that are not roquied in other types of formal letter Here are some points to remember when you are writing any formal letter that is not a business letter © You must, ofcourse, include your name and address, the date, and the name and address of the person or organization you are ‘writing to, © Begin your letter with the appropriate opening greeting and ‘end it with a corresponding complimentary close. © Give your letter @ heading. Ths wil help the recipient to soe at 1 glance what your letter is about, The heading should follow the opening greoting and be typed or written on anew line with atleast one line space above and below it.The heading ina typed or handwritten letter is usually underlined or typed/printed ‘entirely in eapital letters to make it stand out, Ifyou are using ‘a word processor you have the option of using bold type or type ‘ofa larger size forthe heading. © Por non-business formal letters, avoid using the conventions abbreviations found in busines letters, such a¢'Ene’ for enelos- | | | ‘ure and 'e for ‘copied to. The person you are writing to may ‘not be familia with these abbreviations It is therefore prefer- able to write out such points within the letter itself, eT enclose ‘,and'Tam sending a copy ofthis letter to Organizing and structuring the content of a formal letter [Always be polite and suecinet. Rambling explanations with too ‘much information in one paragraph will make i dificult for your reader to extract the point you are tying to make. tis good idea to structure your leter so that there isa short introductory paragraph, which may be used to acknowledge any previous letter you have received and to state the subject of your letter This can he followed bya longer paragraph o series of para- graphs developing oF expanding the various points you want to ‘make in a logial sequence and providing relevant details where required, ‘End with a shor final paragraph (the conclusion) > For examples of formal letters on various eubjocts see Chapters Bld. Informal letters When writing to friends and relatives, vou are, of eourse, free to ‘write in any way you se fit, using «relaxed conversational style ‘The letter may be handwritten, typed or written on a word processor People whose handwriting is very difficult to read should ‘consider using a typewriter or word processor If you are writing ‘to for example, an elderly relative whose eyesight isn't very good, use black or dark blue ink on white paper to give good contrast Using a word processor allows you to increase the size of type ~ ‘this will also help a reader with poor eyesightLotter to a close friend ‘iia in infornalconveratioal language racer After he ae Mu sic crate aro, 25s nate een do ty pare ow were your exams? Nin mee prety ough. od ot of synthe gic hae fied By, tre Li and Hetory wee ‘hay thou adm hp tos ats Mesh gt ou oo {201201 et yu tne haw geton rary of on oy sume Wee ing to ermal Ter sfogh usu fu wehaver? Seo abet gt he coteae we suly et St Aas. wl be otrang gig soe le toh Bont cua dost cae were says mong a he cana ai ot siting Brothers Tani forthe photos The anes us ga up Son ca ost realy nel Myon gt sore gana th to te wa vs estan Wt soon an tal me youn at ayo your Mar ad Da frome aie ‘ew paragraph I new mb | 8 Business letters ‘This chapter loks at business correspondence: the types of letters ‘that businesses and othor organizations send out to, and receive ‘rom, external sources. Businoss letters are, inthe main, formal in tone and should be bret, tothe point, accurate and polite. They ‘are always typed and are nowadays usualy in blocked style (soe Chapter 2) with the minimum of punctuation. There should, for ‘example, be no fll stops in abbreviations. "Nearly all commercial companies and large organizations use pre-printed headed stationery for their letters, invoices and order forms. Customarilya letter from a business, or an organization sch asthe Inland Revenue, will have an internal reference, which ‘usually includes the initials ofthe person who has signed it. Reference lines (internal and external) and date lines may be pre printed on the firm's or organization's stationery with the letter- ‘head, The firm's internal reference (usually beginning with ‘Our zoference” or ‘Our ref’) should always be quoted in any reply to the lettr using the formula Your reference or Your rf “A letter or order from the outside should be acknowledged within a matter of two or three days ofthe date it was received, ‘that the sender knows that the matter is being dealt with. An acknowledgement may be in the form of short letter ora post- ‘ard It sould state when the leterardor was received and confirm ‘that the matter is being dealt with.Letter/card of acknowledgement for order Letter placing an order aa = ly 25 1998 ‘Our roé T13007-99R Your re: PREGW (G Wendl, Bg NewPark Motae Supplies Lid 800 Depot Road cricaco, mus ear Customer ‘This to acknowede rei of our onder 5558 dated Jly 20 ‘The order is rocciving our immediate attention and will be spaced to you by ly 30 1098, "hope we may continue to recive your valued custom. Payer Pral Ryder Daepetch Omicer Coster Service Manager Midcemareh Dares {Consort Way TUNBRIDGE WELLS Kent NT 6G {th tober 2000 Dear Sir 2001 Diary Order refer to your leter of 30th Septem enclxing your ealalague ‘of diaries fr 2001 woul Hee place an order for some of the Prodcts vert, ence completed order for, assume that he amaunt payable val be subject to the usual trode dinount. Paso avs i hss tthe cate Pleas elso adie ofthe prefered method of payment, "ook forward to resin yur onfrmation of my order and ‘woul bee ity would advise me in adn ofthe planned Alive aus that I can reorganize my sack according: Since want odplay nxt year's ay’ from early Noversber, would be gett f yu would ge this matter your urgent ours itll Ca Hts Wats Chel Barer ce BJonesLetter from supplier requesting reference woice Maygold ple Watts Once Supplies 456-460 Quen ons ‘hie fondo anon ete Our ref NASON Your re DSSS D George Mr R Fleck ELPACK Lad NoriBast Paper Products Li ‘14 Wethrae Steet 73 hip Road ‘BIRMINGHAM NEWCASTLE BI OS Nua. 21d October 2000 25th Jy 1990 Dear Me George Doar Me Fle Payment of Invoice no BD767 "Thank yu for your order of 20th July 1999, which ie rcsving cour prompt attention Asyouare a now customer, we would be grateful ifyou would ‘appl us with standard banker's rfrenct fr our rand Alternatively we would be please to recive your remitance before your order i dispatched Yours sincerely Menge Mead ‘Marjorie Mead ‘Accounts “Thank you forthe prompt dlvery of eu order no, CO0185 lose find elon chaque for £327.50 in payrent of our voice, BDVGT of 20 September 2000 ‘ours sincerely Bonide DWatlace Buying AssistantResponse to a complaint about goods damaged in transit Me J Ritchie Carlton Cartons Ltd ‘44 Merrfoet Way PLYMOUTH Pisa 14th dane 1998 Dear Me Ritchie [refer to your lett ted 11th June 1999 which arrived this ‘morning wth the consignment of damage boos you advised ‘you would be returning tous apologize moe sncrely for the inconvenience this bs asd ound have dispatched this morning «replacement ‘onsignmentof bores which will rach you on 1th June, (Once more please accept my sincere apologies. Yours sincerely hoe Sith ‘Theo Sith Customer Services Manager Sales promotion letter |MADDOCK PUBLISHING Ld Soutien se 30th July 2000 ‘Simon Software Inc 3 Landmark Square ‘ATLANTA Georgia 80908, Dear Sir Madam Publishing Opportunities in Europe Weare an established publisher of Buopean trade and business Journals with high visit throughout the Beonomie CCommnity, Central and Easter Europe, Current we re offering epcil advertising rates and benefit to now custome ‘Thais an excollont opportunity for your eompany to inerwas its share ofthe TT market in the dynamie European market pace, lease find enclosed two copes of our journals, with our compli- ‘ments. Ifyou wis to pursue ou offer attached) or require any ‘ther information, plage contact our enquiry Line on Preefone ano 9763. ‘oo forwardto hearing from you and to our posible future partnership Yours fitful, AC Mitchion 4.6 Mitehion Sales DirectorCAF costand tight Memos ce carbon copy (copies to) Memos (or memorandums) are used for sending messages to CEO Chief Executive Officer Crip nasa oar rpton ash Ge dove notre nth me ing Mase fron et En Sigmon oe nt ern esrintel oth on rp meen Go creed orca er Sov carol sneer erin wha aonrene ae Go camry coun “ial sero rence int ene anos oop conan rr fonlmenieperrrare ‘uns pre Ses ton ae | ‘str cred ca dont ote ace errors and omissions excepted sumecr. for example (Latin exempli gratia) a Sele torte on of vnrnto| ‘rather an ont sna ner a cts dng imi meron : ran mon Some abbreviations and acronyms found letter of credit in business correspondence limited company a 26 sunt re an ta oe easier coda verses ‘ch tol en mea caren ‘et Sl erage re ee seven pron corse ep isons pera oh yor postage and packing pay 38 you earn public limited company postal order ‘on behalf of (Latin post procurationem) additional postscript bid banker's draft (banking) | eld copy (ofa mem eter) ee | be, BE billof exchange | | | © circa (approximately)Pres. red ef read) 0 vp president postscript please turn over received with reference to recommend reference quired rotted stamped addressed envelope seltaddressed stamped envelope ‘standing order sale or return ‘namely Vice-president 9 Complaints and responses Letters of complaint Avoid writing a letter of complaint in a white heat of rage or indig- ‘ation, While it may relieve you feelings, the result i ely to be Father incoherent and, in the long i, wil probably be loss off tive than a letter that is polite but firm and sticks to the facts. This applies equally when you are writing to complain about something that as offended you and when you are complaining about goods and sorvics. Complaints about goods and services ‘When making complaint about goods and services, frst muster all the relevant facta, check that they are accurate, and then set ‘them out coolly and clearly in a logical sequence. In claims for a refund or compensation, have clear gol in mind and stale what you want by way of redress. Knowing your rights asa consumer is always an advantage. You ean, if necessary, quote the relevant legislation in your correspondence Give your letter a heading. I'you are complaining about faulty sods, include in the heading any details that wil help to identity the tem in question, such aa the order number or the model or product number. For other services, quote any reference number Printed on the invoice or agreement Koop copies of al the letters you send and a note of the time and date of any phone calls made. I'you are making a aim of any ‘ort, documentary evidence may be needed inthe event thatthe {lim is contested ‘there is no named individual to whom you can address your complaint, dro your later in the fist instance to the Customer Services Manager or for smaller companies and family businesses,the owner or managing director (he or she isthe person who will, be concerned about the firm’s image and therefore most likely to take prompt action) ‘Make sure you make a claim for a refund or compensation within any time limit defined under the relevant Act. Also set a ‘time limit (ofa reasonable period) for when you expect to receive ‘ response from the company or organization, and state this in, ‘your letter. Ifyou do not receive, at the very Teast, an acknow- ‘edgement within the time limit you have st, write again Its «good idea to send your letor by recorded delivery: signa- ture is required for the lettor when itis delivered, and the other ‘party will not therofare be able to claim they have not received it Usoful phrases © Twish to draw your attention to, > Lwish to complain aout, > Iwish to complain, strongly, about © Lam extremely concerned that. 9 When the goods arrived I found the following defects! damage. > experienced the following problems, © The service was unsatisfaetory in the following ways, © Under the terms of your guarantee, © twas implied in the contract between us. © T look forward to receiving, within the next 14 days, a reasonable offe'your weitten proposal Responding to a complaint Large commercial organizations receive sacklonds of letters every ‘year from people who have put pen to paper ~ often on the spur ‘of the moment ~ to complain. No matter how abusive the weiter ‘may be, no matter how wild their views are, a polite and meas lured response isthe only appropriate one. ‘Commercial organizations should always respond to customer complaints about goods and services, and inthe shortest possible ‘ime, Entering into a dialogue with the customer at an early stage ‘smuch more likely to achieve a satisfactory result for both parties >» Seo also sample letters in Chapter 8 Business Letters [ Letter complaining about faulty goods ‘The Customer Services Manager Whitegoods ple Lowhurm Initial Park EDINBURGH BH39 166 th August 1999 Dear ior Madam ‘Heanqui Automatic Washing Machine. Model number 957. | purchased the shove model of washing machine from your Wallace Street store on 15th July 1009. was dalivered and Installed by your service engingor on 1th July 1998, ‘On 30th July 1989, only elven daye after the machine was Installed, it dveloped seriou ful, easing water ts Mood out ‘tthe front af the machine. Immediately telephoned the store {dd informed then of thi They advied me Ua an engineer ‘would cal on Tuesday 2nd August at 11am. [vated at home forthe whale of 2nd August, but no enginor cal, Ihave tole ‘honed the stare repetedl and each time was informed that omenne would eal me back. No one di 1 mast throne init tha ou inform me in writing of your proposle to remody tis itation by providing me inthe rst Instance witha firm date and time when your engineer wil all ‘Wiile Tam prepared to give yu further opportunity to honour sour guarantee andthe terms of Ue nrviceagroement that. ‘xis between us, reserve my right to claim compensation for the inconvenionos alread eaused to me and to reject the gods astunalintctory under the terms the Sale of Goods Act 1978,Letter complaining about defective workmanship [ Rastrow Cottages NEWPORT NPsapD [RECORDED DELIVERY John Carpenter & Sons [8 Cardiff Road NEWPORT NPLOFF 4h August 1999 Daa Si | wish to complain about one ofthe nev lacks you fim fied on ty front door on 2nd August 198 after my home had been broken into the previous evening. paid you £197.50 choi of VAT forthe work. I eelos a copy of your recited invoice for that amount ‘The defective Ick has two lose acrews on the interior side of the oor, which were obviously not anchored wfcenty Firmly ‘the wood. Ara rem the lock in ler properly lied with ‘the dooe jamb, makingit dif to urn the key 1am offering you the opporsunity to cary ont the necessary work to rectify the deft. Please confirm tt You wil do so asa ‘matter of urgency. at no additonal cost tom. must emphasize that ie is ofthe sence. IFche neeseary work a no carried ‘ut within tho next 7 ays shall ave no alternative bat to ‘ermploy another frm, and am lgally entitled to reoover the conta inured fom you, Youre sincerely 48 Saunton AS Swinton (ies) Letter complaining about unsatisfactory service "The Customer Soricos Manayor at Coast Mainline ‘King’s ras Station LONDON" Noosa ed Aust 1909 ar Sir or Madam ‘am writing to complain sboxt the incanveienceeaused to me last week hy your company's inadequate performance {wea booked to travel onthe 08.0 tran rom York to London on 19th Aust. Tie was due to arrive in London a 1-0. 1 had then aur okey kt, hat thie wou give me Blentyof imo to change platforms and extch the 1135 train to Bator, where {haan important sppintment. However ‘rived in London at 1:87, ore than three-quarors ofa hour late therefore mined my connection. 1am more than dsappinte with the service Lrecved and fea am enti ts compensation which reflects adaquatoly tho Inconveniencesuflered ook frwad to eciving your reponse within the next 14 aay ‘Your faithfully 8 Ardoion AndersonLetter responding to a complaint NPLOFF Mrs A$ Swinton {5 Bastrow Cottages NEWPORT Nps4DD, 6h August 1090 Dear rs Sinton ‘Thank yu or your let of 4th Augustin which you avin that one ofthe new lok which wene Eid at your property reconly by one of ou joiners ist working satisfactory ‘Tam very concerned that ther i any quetion of eulty work- ‘manship oF a defect with Use lock ts that this shouldbe put "ight athe carlos: opportunity and theretore sug that eal round on Friday moring a.m mht Tea xi the personally any neces reper carried out imme italy: You may be assured thot ithe elt ee with hat any ‘opaior replacement wil bo ntl ou at no ational cost Pheaetlophone me dry if the suggested arrangomen isnot to your eanvenione, ‘Yours faithfally Abn Corpor Robert Carpenter Diretor 10 Employment “This chapter gives guidance on letters to prospective employers, how to present your CV (or, in American English, résumé’) and ‘lotr of resignation. Job applications Letters of application should be written with great care. A well- ‘written lett could lead to an interview, whereas a badly written ‘one will almost certainly lead to your application being rejected, "The person or organization to which you cond your application {is likely to have many others to read and consider, and itis there= fore important that your application conveys the necessary in- formation neatly and wuccinctly Unless the advertisement forthe ‘post you are applying for specifies thatthe application should be Inyour own handwriting, the letter should be typed or written on word processor. You should, of eourse, sign the letter in your own hand. Letter of application (without CV/résumé) ‘Your leter of application should include the following details: > your home address and telephone number; © a heading stating clearly which post you are applying fo, > where you heard about the post or saw it advertised, > your age, edueation and training, 2 your present job (if you have one) and any previous employ~ ‘ment; > any other experience, qualifications or interests relevant to the letters of recommendation you are enclosing,Flat {4 Plockondon Road Ishington LONDON iz ‘Tek 01294 567 8910 Alexander Maxwell Pereonnel Manage Kingaway Shopping Centro Walford LONDON Na 12th October 1999, Dear Me Maxwell ‘Shopping Centre Supervisar {am writing n response to your advertisement inthis week's "etal News for hoping eons supervise [am twenty yous oli and havo ant eompleted a yet's raining ‘in business tudes at Thames Cllge [lef sche! las sumer svth 5 GCSts and tro A Levels (agish and Matho) During holiday and at wesends, Thave worked in cathe shop os & tales assistant, and ala ina ownage where Twas often et In charge am hoon to allow carer in the retell ndustry, and ‘hin this post wil giv me de responsibility Tam ooking oe ‘Should you conser mo suitable forthe pot, can provide the ‘nun f thee rferes. ook forward to hearing fom yo, an shoul ou wish io, plas donot hatte to contact me a hae athe above nua ‘Yours sincerely Pech Lie Jonathan Lee (CV/résumé and covering letter {tis now common for job advertisements to state that applicants ‘should write, inthe frst instance, a bref letter enclosing their CV (carriculum vitae) or ‘résumé’ (in Ameriean English), Because ‘your CVréaumé will include all your personal details and work History it snot necessary to duplicate al this information inthe Jetter which accompanies it. Keep in mind that the aim of the covering leter is to give only enough information to engender {Interest and to encourage your reader to offer you an interview. Here are some useful points to remember when writing the covering letter. o The covering letter should be handwritten if this is specified in the advertisement. Otherwise it may be typed or produced on ‘word processor. o Ik should be on a single sheet of good quality white paper. Ideally, the paper used for the eovering ltt should be ofthe same ize as that used for your CVirésumé. © Remember to include your home address, telephone number, and the date. 9 Take care to got the name and title of the person or onganiza- tion you are writing to exactly right, © Bogin the letter with a short parsgraph saying where you saw the post advertised and mentioning that you are enclosing your CVirésumé, 2 The first paragraph may be followed by a single sentence or short paragraph draving attention to qualifications or experi- tence that you consider are particularly relevant, or giving any ‘other reason why you believe you are a suitable candidate for the post. 9 Conclude witha short paragraph offering availability for inter- © Remember to sgn a typed or word-procussed letter in your ov hand,Covering letter to accompany CV/résumé 200 Bairdore Blvd WINNIPEG. Manitoba RaT GHZ September 161909 Ms A Dairymple (Chit Analyt Longthorn Investments 400 Akron Rood ‘VANCOUVER Bish Columbia St 2NP- ar Ma Daleymple Financial Analyst ould ike to apply fo heave post which wae advertise in today’s Financial Pet, and T endice my current rum or yout {am an experienced Financial anal, conmltant and presenter, ‘having worked extensively inthis ser bots im Toronto and [New York: Tam currently looking or «position which wl allow ‘mo to dovalap my alls and experience in sll, dynamic ‘commercial team such as Longton Investnens,Uboioe that ny financial and arademicbackgroind would be f beni to ‘your ratgi nancial planing, and the building of partner- ‘hips with nsectent houses thrghout North Americ and the Par Bat ‘Thank you fr consieving this application, Hook forward to liscusing mattrs further with you at. ute interview Sincerely yours Pabst oss Robert Jones Financial investment Analyst Unsolicited application (with CV/résumé) 45 Forest Way ‘CARDIFF CABONN ‘re 1204 57 8010 1. Haan Personnel Oar Gebetach (UR) Lad ‘5 Bindery Stet SWANSEA Sstaze 15th July 1999) Dea Mr Hamilton {wish to enquire about any vaeaney you may hav in your Sales Department our customer verve manage, Dew iii, who ‘longs to sports club af which Tam alo a mambo, euggoeed 1 its oye He ul me that your rm is expanding. ae wl thee Tore he rersiting new people in the very near future. ‘An you will ce fram the enclacod CY, Ihave 1 god education bekground und twelve yeary experience in tales, both a ales ‘epresentative and sles exceutve, ‘My present employers, Clearview Intrnationa, are losing their (Carl factory atthe end of Aust and Tam to be made redun- dant at that tm, Lm anxious not to rain without work for Tong, and am willing to consider any suitable post thet becomes vale, ‘Shaul ou consider my application favours, toattend an interview stay time. shoul be pleas Youre sincerely Sela Pasion William Preston «CV/résumé (recent graduate) STEPHEN EDWARD FORBES Adres: 81 Linoln Wal, Stevenage, Herts SE9 20N “el 01388 689 omail: sforbertanserorgle Date of tire th October 1977 ‘Nationality: Bish ‘Maria statue sngle EDUCATION 1995-1099 University of Swansc, Wales BSe Applied Mathematics (22) 1995 (A Levels) Matha A), Chemistry (8), Biology) 1994 {GSH English Languago (A, Maths A, Chemistry (A, Biology 1), Computer Stade (A), Preach (8), Hitry (3) 1988-1095 Whitton Comprehensive, Bristol ASIP 8UF WORK EXPERIENCE Ceober 1998 8 weak placement as wsistan tecnica with ond Reseach, ‘Swansea Summer 1996 Wiitr ot Hersichoc Hoa, Swansea Full, clan rivingHisoneo Computer iterate Word fr Windows, Exel, Pageaker) eTERESTS [At schol Iwas Prefect anda founding member ofthe Drama ‘Chub, At university I wana member of the Debating Society slo wrote artic or the Student Union newsletter am a keen hillwalker and enjy competitive sling. Refer: veilabl on request CV/résumé (experienced candidate) ‘MARY GRANT. Addrese198 France Avenue, Lelestor LEA 9PQ ‘Tels 01493-767-3596 email: mgrantl USA not Date of birth: 6th October 1966 ‘WORK EXPERIENCE 1992 to present onset UK Lid, Greenwich, Landon ~ Corporate Training ‘Manager » Delegation snd implementation of training ‘throughout enrprstion + Marketing and Sales of traning materials to Prench and UK market » Delegate to Baropean Training Council + Design af new courses end presentation to new 1989-1002 Simon & Co ple, Leicester~ Training Consultant Designed and managed technical training programmes + Daler workshops, sminars and group poets + Organizod international cafarencos EDUCATION 1984-1988 MA. in Busnes Sitios with French ainburgh Univers, Bdinburgh 1092-1986 HNC Baines and Boonies ‘Stavenson College, BainbarshReply to offer to attend an interview ‘An offer to attend an interview should always be responded to in writing 45 Fret Way CARDIFF CALONN ‘Te 124.567 8010 {Hamilton Personnel Oficer Glatetech (UR) Lad 15 Enderey Strot SWANSEA sstuzz 2st July 1990 Dear Me Hamiton "Thank yu very much for our eta 20th Ju 1 woul be happy twattond an inervew on 25¢h July a 10. a, and wl rg ‘ith me the two rfrences you request Youre sincerely Letter of resignation 148 Kennedy Drive SHELTON Connecticut 0469, September 14 1909 ‘son Fasmer| Foalhy Poods Ld Unit? ‘Westcots Business Prk ‘SHELTON ‘Connoeticut 0884 Dene Ms Farmer ‘As Lexplained to you cover this aRerncon, That, fo some ime ow; beon concerned thet Ihave nat been gen ade ‘resoaroes to develop new product ins, whieh I elee wil be ‘sential if Healthy Foods ito maintain its eurent potion in ‘he market end compet effective ‘ou made clear tha this moult not be a priya the fore: eoble tre, and therefore think would be bese sought ‘position elsewhere. Iam wating to give you one month's nice ofthe termination of my contrac eectve fom today’s date { would ho grate if you would acknowl this eter. Sincerely yours Ce Scion Oliver Smoston11 Travel and holidays ‘Making travel arrangements and booking accommodation soften done by telephone or through an agent. However iis a good idea toconfirm any telephone enquiry or booking in writing eo that fesch party clear about what is roquired or expected from the other ‘When writing to enquire about accommodation itis important to include in your letter all the relevant details, as well as Aeseribing any specific requirements you may have. Similarly, if you are confirming a telephone booking in writing, all the details you have discussed and agreed with the hotel or guesthouse should be included in your letter of confirmation. The same applia when you are booking a package holiday ~ send a letter togother with {te booking form describing any special requirements you may Ihave and ask that the tour operator confirm in writing that the holiday wil conform to all your requirements. ‘When enquiring about or confirming accommodation include the following details © the numberof rooms and bed; be specific about details such a8 ‘ensuite shower and we, sea view, or facilities for the disabled; o the period of time; give departure and arrival timea where possible and days and dates; 2 say whethor itis to be bed and breakfast, half board or full board; 2 ask about the price or confirm the price agreed: 2 ask that your booking be confirmed in writing. ‘The Internet is playing an inereasingly important role in| providing travel information. Net users can browse travel guides ‘and assess what is available in most parts ofthe world without ‘having to wade thrcugh brochures or make repeated vist o their travel agent. In many cass iis possible to arrange your itinerary, ‘book flights and accommodation, and arrange car rental online. ‘As the numberof sites increases, and more and more people gain ‘access to the Net, a greater proportion of the business of getting {rom Ato B, and arranging fora place to stay when you gt there, 5a likely to be conducted over the Internet. Booking a hotel room ‘The Manager Harkers Lge HIGH RIVER Alberta ‘4G 7x Doar Sir or Madam ‘saw your dvertisment in thia month's Country Pursuit. My ‘wife aa I wll be cravling round Alberta in August end September, en: posbl, would like to recorve arom for ‘thre ight rm Sep 16019 nlaive Healy Two ‘prafra room with amen aus baoom, Since my wit has di. lly libing stair, we wll ned a room situated ether onthe ‘iat ocr or ara. | would ho grate if you cout me know you have ast ble room re on thove dates, Ho, please advie me ofthe total ‘eke include breakfast. Tt would aon be very helpful oust ‘you would forward deta of oa events and intersting places ‘ovis in your area. "ook forward io hearing from you son, thy yours, Als Nese ‘Alan NixonConfirming a holiday booking ‘Asking your employer for holiday entitlement 1 Adelaide Street BOSTON MA 06743 Jone 201999 Mrs F McLeod arkers Lodge HIGH RIVER Alberta MG TNX Dea Mrs MeLood ‘Tee to confirm the slphone booing I made onthe evening ‘of June 181988 My wie and I require double rom onthe is loo frm, ‘Seplomber 16 19 inlaw; the room to have ensuite ath root with shower Theallnckave pric for bed and breakfast for thee night, with diner on the erening of September 17, swillbe $975.0 a agree Tenelase my ceck or $85.00 ax deposit. Sincerely yours Al Nese ‘Alan Nizon ‘Telephone Sales Dept CGrend Floor 15 February 1998 1 would lik to take one wook of my holiday etitlmont from 27 [Api at May, wo wok Ant (17Us to 28h incl) a ‘ho rmaining two wos fom 2iet December to at Janay nck ope this ia mata, ours sincerely Mary Glondors Mary Gilanders12 Invitations and replies ‘There are two types of formal invitation: a printed eard and a formal leter Formal invitations on printed cards are always written in the third person and are traditionally printed in black. A standard cand may be sent to all the prospective guests, or the cards may ‘be personalized, with the guest's name written or printed on the card. There shouldbe no date, opening greeting or complimentary close. The letters RSVP (an abbreviation of the French phrase ‘repondes «il vous plate) mean ‘Please reply’. When receiving & formal invitation in eithor form, itis in the third person, you ‘must also reply inthe thi person. Printed card (standard form to all quests) Mr apd Mrs Kenneth Jones request the pleasure of your company ‘at the marrage of thal daughter zat Me Bain Forsyth 28 Glangon Catedral on Sararday 1605 une ‘290 pm and ster tthe ruption at Tho Craiguré Hote, Glagow Rove 116 Clevaden Crescent (Gaggow GG az Printed card (naming individual guests) Mr and Mrs Kenneth Jones request the pleasure of the company of [name(s of guests} she marin oftheir dager sabe ‘Me Bain Forsyth st Glasgow Cathedral on Saturday 16th June 202.30 pm an afterward atthe reception at “he Craigard Hot, Glasgow RSVP 116 Cleve Crescent Claegow GG azz ‘When replying to a formal invitation, whether aceepting or declining the invitation, your reply should be handwritten Remember that if the original invitation was inthe third person ‘you should also reply in the third person. Thore is no need ta date {or aign the reps: Note also that if you are declining a formalin vitation you need only state that you are unable to attend ~ you ‘are not required to give a reason. ‘A formal invitation inthe form of letter may be in the third person, of slighty less formal, n the first and socand persons. It should, of eotrse, inchide an opening greeting and a compli- ‘mentary close, but otherwise te information will be the same as forthe printedeard version, Replies to informal invitations can be inthe form ofa short handwritten note o letter Courtesy demands that any invitation, whether formal or informal, be replied to as quickly as possible {An informal invitation (to an event sich as a wedding) may be (eatly) handwritten, typed or written on a word processor. typed or printed, the names of the invited guests should be added by hand.Informal invitation ‘Aunt Carol and Unee Wi) James and {hop tbat you wll be able Lo come to our wedding st Breedale Chueh Blacksburg on Saturday 20h June a 130 pm. ‘The reception Inst The Horses Hound n Beedle Rood. Pass lotus now ifyou wil be abet come ove from iva 91 Victoria Road irene Gnsentersire GuiswD Acceptance of an invitation (formal) [Mr and Mra Armitage thank Mr and Mrs Fowler for their kind invitation to thar date’ welding. ano the reception alterwards Thay have much pleasure in accepting Dectining an invitation (formal) ase ‘Me and Mrs Armitago thank Mand Ms Fowler for their kind Invitation to Uni daughters wedding, and tothe rxepion| orwards but reget at epi engngrment prevents them from mending Acceptance of an invitation (informal) emi 88 uy 208 Dear “Thanks so much the eatin to sourbarbecut he deghtad to come ely godt ee al again. Sees ee aha pene en13 Thank-you letters ‘Thankyou letters should be handwritten, and in most situations ‘tis quite appropriate to use an informal conversational style of ‘When the thank-you letter is for a wedding, birthday, or (Christmas present don't just write ‘Thank yo forthe lovely present ‘You should mention what the present was, as in ‘Thank you forthe beautiful silver serving spoons/fabulous diamond neck lace/postal odor fer £2.50... This wil show that you know which ‘present has heen given by which person and avoid the iy {that you are dashing off a whole series of standard thank-you letters simply because this is what is expocted of you. Remember that the aim should be to convey your appreciation to the indi- vidal concerned, so personalize these letters as much as possible and try to use your own words rather than formulaic expressions. Although children nowadays often prefer to phone the people who have given them presents, and this is becoming more and ‘more acceptable, encouraging them to write letters is no had thing, ‘especially when thanking older relatives who are more likely to ‘garda short letter as more appropriate than a phone call. Agin, ‘letter in their own words will probably be enjoyed much mare than one which has obviously been dictated by an adult, Letters to work colleagues thanking thom, for example, for a leaving gift or party should be written from your home adress. ‘The envelope should be addressed to the most senior member of staff and the letter itself to all the staf eoncerned. Tis obligatory to write a thank-you note when you have been ‘to someone's house for a formal dinner, or have been to stay with ‘them, Similarly, ifa business contactor acquaintance has enter- tained you to lunch or trip to the theatre, this should be acknowl- ‘edged in writing with your thanks. The thank-you letter should, of course, be santas soon after the event as possible. Thanks for a wedding present (before the event) ‘The Poplars 88'Skye ocd ae AHL XX, 180 Apel 1998 eat Chritne and Sanity, “Thankyou very moeh forthe beatiful crystal glassy sent usasa wedding prsent. They wil lok wonderful on our inner table, and you must ame or meal and try thet aut, when we sot bie fom France tis lowly that you ean both como to the wedding and we are ‘very muh looking forward to sing yon the Bia 1 dont tink John an have ever beon so busy with al the organizing to do. Thore alway seomsto be mmnthing tat ei ‘neds tobe tended to! Wo lok forward to seeing yu, nd many thanks gai, With ove fon ad foe Jenny and JohnThanks for a wedding present (after the event) ret View 1008 White Lakes REDMOND (Oregon 0970 April 18 1999 Dear Kristy and Max, ‘Wo are writing to thank yu fr the beautiful umbrella stand you ‘ought usasa wedding prson. looks fantasti the hall and Infuse the ight vse forthe hones. Te was really nie to ao you atthe wedding we had a wonder ay and it al sored to Fun smo Uhanks manly to Bett. snd my Mum We ha a lovely honeymoon in Hawai and are etlingin wel othe new hose You must come and ae ut non, nd many thanks gain, ‘With much love, Any al Bat Naney and Brett ‘Thanks for hospitality 14 Woatmorland Cresent Whitecoute Bedfordshire SGLe7GB, 12th October 1999, Dar Anne and Nie, ‘We've just got bck and I wanted to write to you immediately to {ellyou what a great weekend we had with you. Thanks efor Inviting us it wa ara break for oth 1 dot relze before that you lived lose to the ease was realy rlasing going for walks long the beach. We especially “xjyed the mea nthe pub on Sunday I was ogee le lace and the oer wan ad ether 1 do hope we can come bac and vist you win soon Remember, you're always welome tome and stay with ws any time. We have plenty of rom hee, and dere are sme itor ‘ting place we cold ist ‘Thanks agin for patting ue yp, and keepin touch! All hobs, Colant Mike (Carl and MikeThanks for a dinner party 12h Noe 909 Teas nent med you gave sigh! Tank yo 6 mc lew oly 0 see Louse ar Marth aga and ha aout line ‘You mun llcome tous next tine an wel arcange someting before Omstnan bre one gon oo ny Da ar ack 14 Sympathy and condolence Illness: letters of sympathy ‘The tone and content ofa letter expressing sympathy for an illness ‘ill depend very much on your relationship withthe person and ‘whether or not the lines is serious. When the cndition, disease ‘or injury is one from which the sufferer i likely to recover the letter ean be light and cheerful, even humorous. Ifthe illness is ‘more serious and it is known or suspected that recovery i unlikely, ‘the approach needs to be somewhat different: misplaced optimism, Subject: Comper Teing OTP Ge: Bec Atoched: Thing sessions nD" un by ConguDret re being ananged or “Tues Wed ond Tau 10 June he Trang Care Foam 17), Con youletme know he name lary tf member tom your dt wh has net asendcsreous Computer course acho wl be ‘vadatle lo atondheso cestions? Esch ssi noe Beare rn 1030em t02 30pm men ou’sErosk or neh Thanks Arca Gormley “ing ng you type more than one destination address in the first box, ‘the addresses should be separated either by @ comma ora semi colon, depending on the software program being used. Ifyou are tusing an address book, you ean seloct multiple recipients in the ‘To: box, the Ce: box and the Bee: box, simply by licking on each name in turn, ‘The Ce: (carbon copy) box and Bec: (blind earbon copy) boxes are used for sending copies of the message. The hind copy box is used to send a copy ofthe message to someone whose name you donot want to be shown on the message received by those named in the To: and Ce- boxes. Include a subject or heading in the appropriate box ~this will help both you and the recipients) to file the message so that its easier to find and refer to later. It isn't strictly necessary to use a complimentary opening in ‘e-mail though many people prefer to start their messages with a ‘erecting of some sort. Where a greeting is used it soften more conversational in style than the conventional ‘Dear. Its also possible to add a ‘signature’ automatically to each ‘email you send. Your signature might include such details as your ‘ame, title, company name, address, telephone number and fax ‘number. To create a signature elck on your e-mail package's Tole ‘menu and the Mail Format option, or its equivalent. E-mails are usually sent in plain text. Plain text has no format- ting, lke this: ‘The quick brown fox juaped over the lazy dog. ‘Some newer e-mail programs also allow you to send messages in HTML format and/or Rich Text format. HTML (Hypertext, Markup Language) is used to create Web pages on the World Wide Web and offers the variety of type faces and sizes normally only available in word-processing programs; bold, talie and under= Tining; bullets end numbering in various styles; alignment and horizantal lines; and background styles. The Rich Text format has text formatting options Bullets and alignment. However, even if your e-mail program offers the options of HTML format and Rich ‘Text format, you should always use plain text unos you ar sure thatthe recipient of your message also has them as part oftheir software Another great advantage of using e-mails that it allows you to attach graphics, word processed, spreadsheet and even programm files to the message and send them through eyberspace with your ‘message. This means that there is no need to printout or load ‘these files onto diskiCD-ROM and send them separately through ‘the conventional postal system. Again, you shoul frst check with the person to whom you are sending an attached file that they hhave appropriate software that will allow them to open and read ‘the attachment. Ifyou receive e-mail with attachments, there i aris that an attachment may contain a computer virus. Attached les should only be saved to your hard disk i you trust the person sending it andior you run a virus check on the file attachment before saving I you want to reply to a message received, there is no need to create a new message, Just click on the Reply icon and type your return message in the space that appears above the original The ‘oply wil be sent automatically tothe original sender and a copy oftheir message together with your reply is thus kept together under the same subject heading.E-mail etiquette Because e-mail is @ new medium for rapid communication, the writing style is generally informal, making frequent tse of abbre- viations and acronyms. This informality and the tendency to Use shortened forms, eause some problems Tis worth putting a little ‘thought into the composition of your message, especially if tis ‘being sent in plain text format. While you may intend it to be read ina particular way, this may not alway’ come over. Use only abbre- viations and acronyms that you are confident the person you are ‘messaging will understand. Avoid sarcasm and irony unless the recipient is familiar with your atyle. Alo, do not make defamat- 01, libellous a offensive comments about people, groups oF organ nations in email messages: you may find yourself onthe wrong. end of lawsuit, ‘The early users of e-mail developed various methods for conveying emotion in their messages. For example, typing entire words or strings of wordsin capita eters is the written equivale ‘ent of shouting, and should therefore be used with eaton, or not tall A coding system also evolved to represent various emotions, ‘such as happiness, sadness, ete, The combination of characters used to represent « particular emotion is known a8 an emoticon, ‘Many emoticons are made up of combinations of keyboard char- acters that create facos when viewed sideways on ~ these are Jnown as smileys, Here are some examples: = happy (280d = winking 0 = shocked Ie = frowning ‘The use of emoticons is only really appropriate in personal ‘messages or those exchanged by like-minded people in a news- roup. As has already been mentioned, abbreviations and contractions are very common in e-mail. New ones appear daily, but here are some examples that you might eome across: [AFAICT = as far 3 ca tll AFAIK a8 fra | know |AFK = away from keyboard ‘doc = document EOF = endot fle foll= following oro follow FYI= for your information GRE = great HTH = hope this helps 1OW= in other words ISTM =itooms to me OTT= over the top PD= public domain ips = perhaps TaD =to be discusses TIA=Thanks in advance TNX =Thanks ‘TVM Thanks very much \VR= virtual realty WRT = with regard 12 Security Upeto-date software programs have beyun to tackle the question ‘of e-mail security. E-mails can be encrypted so that they cannot,be read by anyone other than the recipient. The use ofa digital signature or ‘digital ID’ means that you can check tha the person ‘sending an e-mail to you is who they eay they are. Some of the latest word-processing and spreadsheet programs allow you to protect files using passwords so that the fle is secure when you ‘send it over the Intemnet attached to an email Bach of these sceur- ty measures requires that both you andthe recipient have compat- ible software andior knowledge of the password used. Fax (facsimile) Faxcis another quick and convenient way of sending documents (both handwaitten and printed) using telephone Hines. Faxes are sent and received using a special machine which photographs the ‘document and converts this image into digital form for transmis son via the tlaphone network to another fx machine, which then prints it out, Fax ie widely used in business and is useful for sending ‘messages and documents that for one reason or another must ‘each their destination quickly, but cannot be sent via the Internet. ‘Howover, scanners linked to computers can convert documents {nto computer files which may then be sent via the Interne, and it is likely that fax machines will decrease in popularity as ‘computer technology advances and hecomes more affordable. Many ‘personal computers now include a facility fr fax, and this has an ‘added advantage in that you can read the fax and stare it on your ‘computer hard disk, without ever having to print it out. ‘A faxed document should always be accompanied by @ cover sheet that includes details ofthe sender, how many pages are being: sent, and who the message is intended for. ‘As with e-mail, the language of fax messages tends to be more informal, and itis not necessary to include a greeting ine or complimentary close. 16 Word-processing ‘Word processors have all but replaced typewriters in both office and home, As each year passes, new features are added to the popular word-processing software packages, making them relat- ively easy to use with a litle practice. In the future itis likely ‘that more of us will bypass the keyboard altogether and dictate directly vo our personal eomputers using voice recognition soft- ‘ware, Meanvhile, word-processing programs enable even those of us who are ‘two-finger’ typists to produce professional-looking letters relatively quickly and easily. With a word processor, text ‘an be moved around edited, formatted, and checkod for spelling land grammar errors. If you are going to use your personal ‘computer to ereate letters, you will also have to own or have acoass toa printer But, word-processing on a computer does sway with ‘the need for carbon copies -the letter can be saved to your hard disk, oan extra copy printed for your files. Computersivord-procestors are a positive boon forthe blind ‘and partiallysighted or anyone who has difficulty writing by hand, Prodictive software ean save the disabled typist time by guessing ‘what the word being typed is, saving on the keystrokes that would usualy be required to complete it. ‘Word processors often come as part ofthe software ‘suite’ supplied ‘with now personal eomputar. Th software can alo be bought sopa- "ately in computer shops or by mailorder. Computer magazines are ged souree of advie. The’often have articles or special setions ‘comparing the merits of te produets available on the markt ‘Spelling and grammar checking ‘Most word processors have some sort of spell checking facility, ‘Which will operate as you type or will search the completed docu: ‘ment for any spelling errors‘Spell checkers use dictionary databases, and their efficiency is ‘therefore dependent on the number and range of words included in the dictionary. Spell checkers may only recognize a limited ‘number of proper names, or they may be stumped by technical or scientific terms, (@ Awor ofcatons iti st worth roraiing your lear tte th pel chck hasten done Ifyou ave ed the ‘rong word but hve pelt comet te pel eck Wilner pick tu. Paula care shoulibe akon ith ‘words whose spellings are frequently confused, ike proc: tise and practice, affect and effect, dependant and dependent. ‘Your word processor may also include a grammar checker, which will identify errorsin grammar and usage. ‘Some word-processing programs allow you to customize the spelling and grammar check to suit the style of language used in the document, og standard, informal, formal or technical Help with vocabulary and content Other useful features that may come with your word processor ‘are a thesaurus and a summarizing tool (which will highlight the ‘main points in your letter and help in paragraphing). Office software packages ‘The ‘office’ software packages now widely available (and which hhave a word-processing program as part of the package) include ‘some useful features that help in letter-writing: Letter templates ‘You can choose one ofthe letter templates that come with the soft- ware package or you can design your own, save it and use it for each new letter that you write, Address book ‘The electronic address book is useful feature that can be shared. by the various applications in your computer: word processor, ‘email program, etc. You need only type a person's details (name, Job title, company name, postal address, e-mail address, fax "umber telephane number into the address book ance. Thereaer, select a name in the address book using the mouse, and the ‘computer wil extract appropriate details for whichever means of ‘communication you are using: name and address to be added to a letter, e-mail address for a new message, fax number for the fax ‘cover page, or telephone number for automatic dialling. Letter wizard ‘Wizards are short-cut features that bring together all the stan- dard commands required to perform a series of tasks. As the name implies, the letter wizard will do much of the formatting of your letter ‘by magic’, as well as allowing you to add, with a couple of ‘mocse clicks, certain specific elements, such asthe date ora refer- ‘ence line. It can format an entre letter automaticaly and minim- izes the number of keystrokes the writer has to make. You ean also ‘opt to structure your lefter as you type using whichever letter syle ‘you have select, eg blocked oF indented, business letter, formal letter or informal letter You can alzo select, from variows menus ‘offered by the wizard, the date, a salutation, anda complimentary ‘losing. ‘Automatic formatting and correction ‘An alternative to the letter wizard is the automatic formatting ‘command. By selecting this function in the Tools menu and ‘choosing Later’ from the menu of decument types, you are able to automatically format as you type, or when the typing is completed. Automate correction ia used to correct typing errors a they’ are made, such as teh for the or aslo for also. It will also correct accidental ue of egpital letters and various other common typing‘Standard or form letters ‘Ifyou regularly use standard letters to sond to client, customers or suppliers, this feature enables you to produce multiple enpies ofa letter (each with a different addressee and any other detail that may be required to personalize it) without laboriously having to type a copy for each recipient, Form letters use the faclity ‘known as ‘mail merge’. Mail merge makes use of data sources like ‘mailing lists or your own computer address book. The machine will automatically insert into the form letter the relevant data from the mailing list, profucing a personalized copy for each person. ‘or company on thelist Other titles available in this series are: Chambers Guide to Common Errors ISBN: 0550 14150 2 Price: £4.99 Chambers Guide to Punctuation ISBN: 0580 141405 Price: £4.99 Chambers Guide to Effective Grammar ISBN: 0550 14160X Price: £4.99