BUSINESS LETTERS

Business letters are one of the most predominant instruments for initiating, establishing, negotiating,
maintaining, and terminating business relationships.

Business letters are essentially interactional as most of them are written in response to earlier letters,
and hence they often form a pair, and rarely exist on their own.

They need to be analysed as interactional constructs of which some of the typical ones include the
following types:

1. Order letters
2. Acceptance letters
3. Enquiry and reply letters
4. Complaints and adjustment letters
5. Sales letters
6. Application and acknowledgement letters
7. Invitation for interview and acceptance of invitation letters
8. Credit inquiry and credit reference letters

CHAIN OF DISCURSIVE PRACTICES

Most of the typical business letters also form a chain of discursive practices (=moves), such as
initiating the first contact, and often leading to establishing a business relation, sustaining it over a
period of time, often negotiating difficult and problematic aspects of business relations while always
making an attempt to maintain cordial and polite interpersonal business relations.

1. Order and acceptance letters

MOVES:

- Acknowledging the previous reference

- Placing and accepting the order, ordering and confirming product details: details have to be
specified in the email so we don’t encour in misunderstanding.
- Giving and confirming delivery specifications
- Ending politely

Examples of chains from order and acceptance letters:

ORDER LETTER: Thank you for your letter of 10 July sending us a catalogue of the photographs
available at your library.

MOVE STRUCTURE: Acknowledging the previous reference (può essere usata sia per poter fare un
ordine sia per le lettere in cui si accetta l’ordine ma viene espresso in due modi diversi)

ACCEPTANCE LETTER: We are pleased to receive your order of 14 July for photographs.

---------------
ORDER LETTER: I would be pleased if you could send me portraits and skylines of some of the cities. I
need suitable photographs for the front and back covers of 15 books entitled the City Guide series.

MOVE STRUCTURE: Placing and accepting the order. Ordering and confirming product details.

ACCEPTANCE LETTER: I am happy to confirm that we can offer you 30 photographs from our library.
These photographs will be suitable for the front and back covers of the 15 books you wrote us about.

---------------

ORDER LETTER: I would like to receive the last batch no later than August 25, 2020. Could you also
inform me about your terms and conditions?

MOVE STRUCTURE: giving and confirming delivery specifications.

ACCEPTANCE LETTER: The photographs will be delivered to you by August 25. All the photographs will
be under our usual terms and conditions ...

---------------

ORDER LETTER: Thank you very much for all your help.

MOVE STRUCTURE: Ending politely

ACCEPTANCE LETTER: I look forward to mutually beneficial cooperation and wish you success in your
work.

GIMENEZ

As a result of the pressing exigencies of the business context (e.g. time and efficiency, which include
ease of reference) and due to questions of accountability, business emails now tend to have
embedded in them the chain of messages which were generated in response to the original message.

Apart from the conversational tone created by the message chain, there are at least three other
features which are stable parts of the generic structure of embedded messages.

1) Increasing use of the carbon copy (CC) facility: this allows users not only to copy messages to
all participants in the communication event but also to bring other people involved in the
communication event to act as witnesses.
2) The second typical feature of embedded messages is the legend ‘original message’ as part of
the body text and which serves to separate ‘new’ from ‘previous’. This generic feature,
together with the carbon copy facility, seems to add more legality to email messages.
3) Finally, the presence of ‘RE’ for ‘reference’ and ‘FW’ for ‘forwarded’ in the subject line are
distinctive features of chain messages. It goes without saying that these generic features are
not present at all in one-way messages.
MOVES AND LEXICAL FEATURES OF ORDER LETTERS

Orders and execution of orders:

- If the seller’s offer is right, an order may be expected to follow.

- The supplier must however maintain the friendly, helpful attitude of his earlier letters in all
later correspondence.
- Difficulties may arise at any time: unforeseen problems may occur and misunderstandings
ensue.
All these things will need action and explanation, so that careful wording may be required in a letter to
keep a customer in the right frame of mind.

First of all, accuracy is essential in the placing of an order. An error in quoting a catalogue number, or
a mistyped figure in the quantity column can cause trouble which may impossible to put right later.

Clarity is also essential (details on method of payment and shipping & handling)

Ordering goods:

1) Acknowledging the previous reference: a reference to a visit by the supplier’s representative,

or to an advertisement or catalogue, or to a sample, or to a previous correspondence. This
applies particularly to a first order. In subsequent orders the buyer may begin his letter in a
different way;
2) Placing the order: details of the goods required: quantity, quality, catalogue number, packing,
etc.; alternatives which are acceptable if the goods ordered are not available;
3) Giving and confirming delivery specifications;
4) Ending politely with a closing sentence, perhaps encouraging the supplier to execute the order
promptly and with care.

* item -> nell’inglese commerciale si riferisce al prodotto

MOVES AND LEXICAL FEATURES OF ACCEPTANCE OF ORDERS

Acceptance of orders: moves

1) Acknowledgment
2) Assuring the customer your attention
3) Execution of orders/ Delays in execution of orders/ Refusing an order
4) Payment and delivery specifications
5) Ending
2. Acceptance letters

3. Enquiry letters

THE ENQUIRY

Objects of an enquiry may be:

- Special price for regular orders;

- Selling rights in the area (diventare gli esclusivisti di un certo prodotto all’interno della nostra
area).

A first enquiry should include:

1) A brief mention of how you obtained your potential supplier’s name:

 from an embassy, consulate, or chamber of commerce;
  you may have seen the goods in questions at an exhibition or trade fair;
 recommendation from a business associate, on the basis of an advertisement in the daily
weekly or trade press;
2) Indications of the demand in your area for the goods which the supplier deals in;
3) Details of what you would like your prospective supplier to send you (catalogue, price list,
discounts, method of payment, delivery times, samples, ...);
4) A closing sentence to round off the enquiry.

ABBREVIATIONS USED TO INDICATE TO WHAT EXTENT CHARGES FOR FREIGHT, INSURANCE, ETC.
ARE INCLUDED IN THE PRICE QUOTED

ex-works / ex-factory / price without any transport

ex-mill(s)

f.a.s (port named) price includes delivery to loading point ‘alongside’ ship

c.&.f (destination named)
ex-ship (import port named)
Franco domicilium /
free delivered
price includes all costs up to the named destination but not
insurance
price includes delivery to the named port of destination; the seller
is responsible for the goods until the ship arrives
price includes delivery to the premises of the buyer or consignee,
customs duties paid by seller or consignor

f.o.r. (free on rail) / price includes delivery to the railway and loading on a truck
f.o.t. (free on truck)
f.o.b. (export port named) price includes delivery to docks and loading onto a ship

c.i.f. (destination named) price includes all costs including insurance, up to the named
destination
franco quay / price includes all costs, unloading, customs duties, etc.
ex-dock (import port named)

ABBREVIATIONS FOR HOME TRADE

Carriage paid home all transport paid by sender

Carriage forward transport to be paid by buyer
franco, free delivered all costs paid by sender
C.O.D. goods to be paid for by buyer on delivery

OTHER TYPES OF ENQUIRY

Another very common type of enquiry is one in which a customer asks a supplier for a special product
line which the supplier may not already be producing.

When writing letters of this type it is essential to explain exactly what is wanted and in what
quantities. A supplier will also need to know whether there are long-term prospects for his article on
your market, since otherwise it might not be worth his while manufacturing it.

SOME COLLOCATIONS: the adjective competitive, which means favourably comparable with rival
offers, occurs very frequently in enquiries and letters replying to them, as do the verb to compete and
the nouns competition and competitor.

4. Complaint and adjustment letters

MOVES:

1) Polite way of requesting action

2) Firm request
3) Demanding action
4) Threatening legal action

5. Sales letters

The purpose of sales letters is selling some products or service to a selected group of prospective
customers.

The standard pattern of moves is:

1) Establishing credentials;
2) Introducing the offer;
3) Offering incentives;
4) Enclosing documents;
5) Soliciting response;
6) Using pressure tactics;
7) Ending politely.

Without a discourse community there is no genre; every text is embedded not only in a
communicative situation, but also in a cultural environment because it belongs to a certain genre, i.e.
it is recognizable as an appropriate answer to a certain demand.

For the sales letter the context is business. The cultural focus is on a return on investment. Companies
or institutions approach their clients with the intent to persuade them to invest in their organisation,
either by selling products or services or by levying taxes for their continuation.

THE BUSINESS LETTERS CORPUS

http://www.someya-net.com/concordancer/

SOME COLLOCATES FOR DEMAND FOR: considerable, steady, some, little, no

SOME COLLOCATES FOR REQUIREMENTS FOR: these goods, increase, goods

FURTHER DETAILS ON BUSINESS LETTERS

ADDRESSES

1) Your Address: the return address should be written in the top right-hand corner of the letter.
2) The Address of the person you are writing to: the inside address should be written on the left,
starting below your address.

DATE

Different people put the date on different sides of the page. You can write this on the right or the left
on the line after the address you are writing to. Write the month as a word.

SALUTATION OR GREETING
 1) Dear Sir or Madam: if you do not know the name of the person you are writing to, use this. It
is always advisable to try to find out a name.
2) Dear Mr Jenkins: if you know the name, use the title (Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms, Dr, etc.) and the
surname only. If you are writing to a woman and do not know if she uses Mrs or Miss, you can
use Ms, which is for married and single women.

*Dr. = is not given to people with a BA degree (=bachelor degree, what you get after 3 years of
university in Italy) but not in other countries. ‘Magistrale’ corresponds to MA course (=masters of
arts), but in the UK and other european countries to be a doctor you have to have a PhD (=dottorato
di ricerca) or a degree in medicine.

ENDING

1) Yours faithfully: if you do not know the name of the person, end the letter this way.
2) Yours sincerely: if you know the name of the person, end the letter this way.

SIGNATURE

Sign your name, then print it underneath the signature. If you think the person you are writing to
might not know whether you are male or female, put you title in brackets after your name.

STYLE IN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

State the main business, purpose, or subject matter right away. Let the reader know from the very
first sentence what your letter is about. Remember that when business people open a letter, their first
concern is to know what the letter is about, what its purpose is, and why they must spend their time
reading it.

Typically british -> facts first

- Avoid round-about beginnings: if you are writing to apply for a job, begin with something like
this: "I am writing to apply for the position you currently have open...." If you have bad news
for someone, you need not spill all of it in the first sentence. Here is an example of how to
avoid negative phrasing: "I am writing in response to your letter of July 24, 1997 in which you
discuss problems you have had with an electronic spreadsheet purchased from our company."
- If you are responding to a letter, identify that letter by its subject and date in the first
paragraph or sentence. Busy recipients who write many letters themselves may not remember
their letters to you. To avoid problems, identify the date and subject of the letter to which you
respond.
- Keep the paragraphs of most business letters short. The paragraphs of business letters tend to
be short, some only a sentence long. Business letters are not read the same way as articles,
reports, or books. Usually, they are read rapidly. Big, thick, dense paragraphs over ten lines,
which require much concentration, may not be read carefully or read at all.
To enable the recipient to read your letters more rapidly and to comprehend and remember
the important facts or ideas, create relatively short paragraphs of between three and eight
lines long. In business letters, paragraphs that are made up of only a single sentence are
common and perfectly acceptable.
- "Compartmentalize" the contents of your letter: when you "compartmentalize" the contents of
a business letter, you place each different segment of the discussion (each different topic of
the letter) in its own paragraph. If you were writing a complaint letter concerning problems
with the system unit of your personal computer, you might have these paragraphs:
 A description of the problems you've had with it;
  The ineffective repair jobs you've had
 The compensation you think you deserve and why
- Study each paragraph of your letters for its purpose, content, or function: when you locate a
paragraph that does more than one thing, consider splitting it into two paragraphs. If you
discover two short separate paragraphs that do the same thing, consider joining them into
one.
- List or itemize whenever possible in a business letter: listing spreads out the text of the letter,
making it easier to pick up the important points rapidly.
- Place important information strategically in business letters: information in the first and last
lines of paragraphs tends to be read and remembered better. Information buried in the middle
of long paragraphs is easily overlooked or forgotten. Therefore, place important information in
high-visibility points.
 For example, in application letters which must convince potential employers that you are
right for a job, locate information on appealing qualities at the beginning or end of
paragraphs for greater emphasis. Place less positive or detrimental information in less
highly visible points in your business letters. If you have some difficult things to say, a
good (and honest) strategy is to de-emphasize by placing them in areas of less emphasis.
If a job requires three years of experience and you only have one, bury this fact in the
middle or the lower half of a body paragraph of the application letter. The resulting letter
will be honest and complete; it just won't emphasize weak points unnecessarily.
- Find positive ways to express bad news in your business letters: often, business letters must
convey bad news. Such bad news can be conveyed in a tactful way. Doing so reduces the
chances that business relations with the recipient of the bad news will end.
To convey bad news positively, avoid such words as "cannot," "forbid," "fail," "impossible,"
"refuse," "prohibit," "restrict," and "deny" as much as possible.
* La questione dello stile è molto importante. Il risultato che ottengo dal modo in cui si dice
qualcosa può essere molto diverso. Adottare il giusto stile con la giusta prospettiva fa
acquisire altri significati ai contenuto che stiamo veicolando.
Es. la prima risposta non fa intravedere nessuna possibilità di compromesso. La seconda si
spiega il perchè non si può risolvere il problema. Uno stile appropriato fa ottenere più risultati.
- Focus on the recipient's needs, purposes, or interests instead of your own. Avoid a self-
centered focusing on your own concerns rather than those of the recipient. Even if you must
talk about yourself in a business letter a great deal, do so in a way that relates your concerns
to those of the recipient. This recipient-oriented style is often called the "you-attitude", which
does not mean using more you's but making the recipient the main focus of the letter.
- Avoid pompous, inflated, legal-sounding phrasing. This kind of language may seem business-
like at first but it's actually ridiculous. When you write a business letter, picture yourself as a
plain-talking, common-sense, down-to-earth person (but avoid slang).
- Give your business letter an "action ending" whenever appropriate. An "action-ending" makes
clear what the writer of the letter expects the recipient to do and when. Ineffective conclusions
to business letters often end with rather limp, noncommittal statements such as "Hope to hear
from you soon" or "Let me know if I can be of any further assistance." Instead, or in addition,
specify the action the recipient should take and the schedule for that action.
Es. if you are writing a query letter, ask the editor politely to let you know of his decision if at
all possible, in a month. If you are writing an application letter, subtlely try to set up a date
and time for an interview.
🔻 Moves dell’articolo scientifico:

- introduction: presenti la tematica di cui si sta parlando in maniera generale;

- literature review: andare a leggere tutti gli articoli e i libri scritti dagli altri studiosi che hanno
affrontato la tematica e riassumere questi studi effettuati e le metodologie sfruttate in una
sezione che si chiama ‘literature review’;
- data and methodology: dati su cui mi baso per analizzare questo studio (‘case study’);
- analisi dei dati;
- interpretazione dei dati;
- conclusione.

🔻 Tipologia di genere testuale (=mezzo attraverso cui una determinata comunità di discorso comunica
e scambia significati). Articolo scientifico (-> caratterizzato da moves, che appartiene alla comunità
degli scienziati e dei ricercatori), business letters (appartiene alla comunità di chi si occupa di scambi
interculturali), discorso accademico, sito di promozione turistica (moves: 1) homepage 2) descrizione
della struttura 3) accommodation 4) surroundings e attività che si possono fare nei paraggi 5)
directions 6) contacts) e le loro caratteristiche, le strutture, le moves.

THE FOUR MOVES:

Moves di un abstract (=riassunto dell’articolo, sorta di articolo condensato):

1. Introducing the purpose

2. Review of the literature: non lo troviamo nell’abstract ma nell’articolo scientifico/tesi;
caratteristiche lessicali e stilistiche di queste note degustative (sia in inglese che in italiano);
3. Describing the methodology: descrivo i dati che ho analizzato e la metodologia che ho
utilizzato;
4. Summarizing results
5. Presenting conclusions: collocazioni delle varie parole che costituiscono le ‘wine tasting notes’;
interpretazione dei dati nelle loro differenze.

STRUTTURA TESI:

1. review of literature
2. data and methodology
3. analysis
4. conclusion
5. introduction