Commercial Correspondence

COURSE INTRODUCTION

 Instructor: Nguyễn Mai Hương, M.A.

Faculty of English for Specific Purposes, FTU
Handphone: 0912 726 217
Email: [email protected]
 Duration: 13 Jan – 14 March 2012
 Workload: 3 classes/week
 Exam date: 16 March 2012
 CoURSE INTRODUCTION

Materials
The Language of Business
Correspondence in English
Nguyễn Trọng Đàn
Oxford Handbook of Commercial
Correspondence – A. Ashley
 COURSE INTRODUCTION

Areas covered
 Letter layout, content and style
 Enquiries and replies to enquiries
 Quotations /Offers
 Orders
 Complaints and adjustments
Commercial Correspondence
Unit 1

Letter Layout, Content and

Style
 Letter Layout
1. Sender’s address 7. Subject title
2. References 8. Body of the letter
3. Date 9. Complimentary close
4. Inside address 10. Sender’s identification
5. Attention line 11. Enclosures
6. Salutation 12. Copies

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 Bredgade 51
1 Sender’s
address DK 1260
Copenhagen K
DENMARK

 Usually: top right-

hand corner
 Less common :
top left-hand
corner
 No punctuation

7
 Compuvision Ltd Warwick House
1 Sender’s Warwick Street
address Forest Hill
London SE23 1JF

Telephone +44 (0) 20 8566 1861

Facsimile +44 (0) 20 8566 1385
Email [email protected]
www.comvis.co.uk
 In company’s
letterhead

8
 Bredgade 51
2 References DK 1260
Copenhagen K
DENMARK

 At least one blank Your ref. 6 May 20__

line below the Our ref. DS/MR
sender’s address or
letterhead
 Right-hand side or
left-hand side of
the page

9
 ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD
2 References 29-31 Broad Street
Birmingham B1 2HE
Tel. 0121-542 6614
 Can show: DS/MR
• Initials of writer

and PA/secretary
DS/MR or DS/mr
• Number of the
letter or dept.
134/17 or DR 306
• The date or the

order number
10
 Bredgade 51
3 Date DK 1260
Copenhagen K
DENMARK

 At least one blank Your ref. 6 May 20__

line below the Our ref. DS/MR
sender’s address or
reference Date 11 May 20__

11
 ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD
3 Date 29-31 Broad Street
Birmingham B1 2HE
Tel. 0121-542 6614

 Right-hand side or DS/MR

left-hand side
12 November 20__
 Always be shown in
full:
14 August 20__; or
August 14, 20__

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 ELECTRICAL SUPPLIES LTD
4 Inside 29-31 Broad Street
address Birmingham B1 2HE
Tel. 0121-542 6614

 One to ten blank

DS/MR
lines below the
date and always 12 November 20__
on the left-hand
side Mr Gordon Wood
 Should be on G Wood & Sons
36 Castle Street
separate lines as it Bristol BS1 2BQ
would appear on
the envelope

13
 4 Inside address

Surname known
 Write it as first line of the inside address
 Include:
• Courtesy title: Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Dr, Prof.
• The person’s full name (or with initials for
given names):
Mr John Smith or Mr J.E. Smith
NOT: Mr Smith (without initials or first name)
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 4 Inside address

Name not known

 If you only know the person’s job title, you
can use that in the inside address, e.g.
The Sales Manager, or The Finance Director
 Alternatively, you can address to a particular
department: The Accounts Department
 Or you can address to the company itself:
Compuvision Ltd, or Messrs Collier
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 5 Attention line

 Alternative to the recipient’s name or job title

in the inside address.
 Should be underlined or printed in bold or
CAPITALS, e.g.
For the attention of the Sales Manager
ATTENTION: MS TERRY ROBERTS
 A blank line below the inside address.
 Left-hand side or in the middle of the page.

16
 6 Salutation

Addressing people you do not know their names:

Dear Sir
Dear Madam
Dear Sir or Madam (or Dear Sir / Madam)
Dear Sirs
(to address a company, not a specific person)

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 6 Salutation

Addressing people you know their names:

 but do not know them well, use title & surname,

do not include initials or first names:

Dear Mr Smith / Dear Miss Brown
NOT Dear Mr J. Smith or Dear Mr John Smith
 and you know them well, use just first name:
Dear John / Dear Mary
Note: A comma after the salutation is optional.
In American English, a colon is used instead.
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 7 Subject title

 A blank line below the salutation.

 Left-hand side or in the middle
 Can begin with or without “Re:” or “Subject:”
 Should be underlined or printed in bold or
CAPITALS
Dear Mrs Marshall

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE – 24 AUGUST 2011

or Re: ORDER NO. 8901/6

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 8 Body of the Letter

 The actual message of your letter

 Leave a line space between paragraphs

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 9 Complimentary close

Two most common closes: when letter begins:

 Yours faithfully Dear Sir
Dear Sirs
Dear Madam
Dear Sir or Madam

 Yours sincerely Dear Mr Smith

Dear Mrs Bolan
Note: A comma after the Dear Caroline
complimentary close Dear Sam
is optional. 21
 10 Sender’s identification

 Type name and job title below handwritten

signature.
 Can give either your initials or full name
DAVID JENKINS D. Jenkins
Chairman General Manager
 Add a title for a female in brackets before
or after her name
Lesley Bolan (Mrs) (Ms) B. Kaasen
Sales Manager Director
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 10 Sender’s identification

 Job title or department directly beneath name

 When signing a letter on behalf of the sender,
write “pp” or “p.p.” or “for” in front of the
sender’s printed name, e.g.
Yours faithfully
Shirley Johnson
pp Edward Nathan
Chairman
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 11 Enclosures

 A line space below the sender’s identification

 Consisting of the word: “Enc.” or “Encl.”
followed by a list of the enclosed items, e.g.
Enc. Bill of Lading (3 copies)
Insurance certificate (1 copy)

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 12 Copies

 At least a blank line below the sender’s

identification or the Enclosures
 Consisting of the word: “C.C.” or “Copy”
followed by the name/s and designation/s of
the copy recipient/s, e.g.
C.C. Ravi Gopal, General Manager
Candice Reeves, Accountant

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 Continuation
pages Page no. 2

 Page number 12 November 20__

 Date
Mr Gordon Wood
 Name of addressee
 Leave 3 or 4 blank
lines before
continuing
 Take at least 3 or 4
lines of typing over to
a continuation page.

26
Letter Layout
Arrangement styles
 Full-blocked
 Blocked
 Semi-blocked

27
Structuring the body
4 Point Plan
1. Opening or Introduction
2. Central section (details)
3. Conclusion (Action or Response)
4. Close

28
 Structuring the body
1. Opening or Introduction (state the reason)
• acknowledge previous correspondence
• refer to a meeting or contact
• provide an introduction to the matter being
discussed.
E.g. Thank you for your letter of …
Further to our telephone conversation today,…
I am interested in holiday No. J/M/3, the
South Vietnam tour.
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 Structuring the body
2. Central section (details)
• Give information to the recipient
• Request information

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 Structuring the body
3. Conclusion (Action or Response)
• State the action expected from the recipient
• State the action you will take as a result of the
details provided
E.g. Please let me have full details of the costs
involved.
If payment is not received within seven days,
this matter will be placed in the hands of our
solicitor.
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 Structuring the body
4. Close
Usually, a simple one-line closing sentence
E.g. I look forward to meeting you soon.
A prompt reply would be appreciated.
Please let me know if you need any further
information.
Incomplete sentences like these should not be used:
Hope to hear from you soon.
Looking forward to hearing from you.
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 Content and Style
1. Remember your ABC
2. Be courteous and considerate
3. Include all relevant details
4. Use active, not passive voice, when
possible
5. Be consistent

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 1 Remember your ABC

Accurate
 Check facts carefully (titles, names, dates,
references, prices, measurements…)
 Proofread thoroughly (tenses, spelling,
grammar, punctuation, enclosures…)

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 1 Remember your ABC

Brief
Keep sentences short and use simple
expressions.
Use the second way of expression in the
following examples.
o We would like to ask you to…
 Please

o I have pleasure in informing you

 I am pleased to tell you
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 1 Remember your ABC

Brief
o We do not anticipate any increase in prices
 We do not expect prices to rise

o I should be grateful if you would be good

enough to advise us
 Please let me know

o We would like to express our regret at being

unable to fulfill your requirements.
 We are sorry we cannot meet your
requirements.
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 1 Remember your ABC

Clear
 Plan before you start writing. Make sure you
say everything you want to say, and in a
clear sequence.
 Use simple English.
 Avoid formality and familiarity.
 Do not use abbreviations that your reader
may not understand.
 Write numbers in words as well as in figures.
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 2 Be courteous and considerate

 Should not be so simple that it becomes rude.

 Avoid using short forms like “I’ll” or “don’t”
 Understand and respect the recipient’s point of
view.
 If you feel some comments are unfair, be tactful
and try not to cause offence.
 Reply promptly to all communications. If you
cannot, write a brief note and explain why.

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 2 Be courteous and considerate

Instead of Write
We cannot do anything Unfortunately we are unable to
about your problem. help you on this occasion.
Your television’s guarantee Your television’s guarantee has
is up, so you will have to ended, so unfortunately you must
pay for it to be fixed. bear the cost of any repairs.
you’ll get your money back the loan will be repaid
prices have gone through prices have increased rapidly
the roof

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 3 Include all relevant details

Instead of Write
My flight arrives at 3.30 My flight BA121 from London
on Wednesday. Heathrow should arrive at
Singapore Changi Airport at
1530 on Wednesday 12 June.

Our Sales Manager will Mr John Matthews, our Sales

contact you soon. Manager, will contact you
soon.

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4 Use active, not passive voice

Active voice: more personal, natural and

focused: more interesting and clearer.
Passive voice: creates a distance

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 4 Use active, not passive voice

Instead of Write
Arrangements have been I have arranged for a
made for a repeat order to repeat order to be sent to
be despatched to you you today.
immediately.
The cause of the complaint I have looked into this
has been investigated. matter.
Sales of the X101 have X101 sales have gone sky
exceeded all expectations. high.
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 4 Use active, not passive voice

Passive voice, however, would be more

appropriate in some occasions as follows.
 Giving extra emphasis to a particularly
important noun.
Instead of: All the leading hotels in Singapore
recommend our service.
Say: Our restaurant has been recommended by
all the leading hotels in Singapore.
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 4 Use active, not passive voice

Passive voice, however, would be more

appropriate in some occasions as follows.
 Placing focus on the action not the actor.
The noise was heard all over the island.
 When you want to hide something or tact is
important.
An unfortunate mistake was made.

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 5 Be consistent

 In layout
 In style
 In details
Instead of: I confirm my reservation of a single
room on 16/7 and a double room on 17 Oct.
Write: I confirm my reservation of a single
room on 16 July and a double room on 17
October.
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