Lesson 4. Structure and Parts of a Letter

Return address

Receiver’s address Date

Greeting

Body

Closing

Signature

Typed name

Enclosure

1. Return The return (or sender’s) address is usually in the top right

address corner or in the middle of the sheet, often printed

or typographically. The heading contains the name of organization

heading or firm, sending the letter, its address (number of house, street,

city, state /province, county/, ZIP Code and country), telephone,

fax, e-mail. A comma separates the city from the state or country.

Example: 18 Anderson Road, Madrid, Spain

DO NOT indicate your name here.

2. Date The date is usually below or above the return address. Dates are

abbreviated in business letters. A comma separates the month

and day from the year. In international correspondence dates

can be confusing if only numbers are used.

British form: day/month/year

9 January, 2007 or 9^th January, 2007

American form: month/day/year

January 9, 2007

Note: 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd.

3. Receiver’s The receiver’s address is on the left side of the sheet and

Address contains the addressee’s title (Mr., Ms., Dr., Mrs.), first name,

last name, job title, company name, street address, city, state

(province, county), ZIP Code, country.

Example: Mr. Bill Rubin

Vice President of Operations

Garnet Company

24 Dexter Road

San Francisco, California,

USA 92654.

3. Reference In many business letters or e-mails, there is a subject or a

or Subject reference that tells the reader what the focus of the letter is.

A common reference represents the initials of the person who

wrote the letter and those of the typist who typed it.

Example: Our Ref: MRE/JNK (the initials of the author of

the letter/the initials of the typist)

Subject: Invitation.

3. Greeting - When you do know the reader’s name:

salutation Dear Sir,

Dear Madam,

Dear Sir or Madam, (if you do not know the sex of the

receiver)

Dear Sirs, (if the letter is addressed to a firm)

• When you know the reader’s name:

Dear + (title) + Last Name Dear Mr. Maxwell,

Dear Ms. Smith,

Dear Miss,

Dear Dr. Robins,

American form: with semicolon:

Dear Sirs: or Dear Mr. Black:

3. Body There are generally three parts:

• opening: give your reason for writing:

I am applying for the position…, I am writing …

• purpose: provide the details of why you are writing:

I have enclosed my resume (a brochure, a list…)

• action: tell the reader what will happen next:

I will call you next month.

We will contact / send / correct / …

3. Closing The closing paragraph contains expectations about future

actions and polite expression – the writer thanks the reader:

Thank you for your attention (help / interest)

I look forward to your reply.

8. Salutation The complimentary closing is a polite way of ending letter.

If you are acquainted with the person you write:

Yours faithfully,

If you know a man (woman) at least by correspondence

you write: British form: Yours sincerely,

American form: Sincerely yours,

Yours very truly,

Best wishes,

Best regards, etc.

9. Signature The signature is written by hand above the typed name of

the author. It is not obligatory to indicate your position.

If near the signature there are two letters p.p. (per pro) it

means that the letter is “by warrant” or is signed by person

who has not made it, for example secretary or deputy.

10. Enclosure If some material is added to the letter the words Enclosure

(Enclosures) or the abbreviation Enc are written in the left

lower corner of the letter. You can also use the expression

We enclose…

Remember

Writing business letters make sure to tell people how

to contact you.

Parts of an Envelope

(Return address) Stamp

First Name (or initial)*Last Name

(or Company Name)

Building/House number* Street

Name

City, State * ZIP Code Country

(Receiver’s Address)

Title* First Name* Last Name

Job Title

Company Name

Street Number* Street Name

City, State* Zip Code

Country

Example

Mykola Shevchenko

fl. 51, 21, L. Tolstogo Sq.

Kyiv, 01114, Ukraine

Mr. John Wolf

Director of Marketing

Office Furniture Company

45 Sixth Avenue

Milwaukee, WI 53216, USA

Ex. 1. Read and remember:

In business letters, you should always be polite.

You should make requests rather than give commands:

Command: Tell me about your job conditions.

Request: Would you please tell me more about your job conditions?

Here are some suggestions used in polite requests:

Could you possibly… If possible, could you …

I would appreciate it if you would … If you have the time …

I would be grateful if you could … Would you please …

If it is not too much trouble … Would you possibly …

Ex. 2. Alter these commands into polite requests. Use a different expression for each sentence using the prompts above.

Example: Ask your office representative to call me. – I would appreciate if your office representative calls me.

1. Send me a brochure about your new car models.

2. Give me your most current prices.

3. Tell me when the tickets are available.

4. Fax me a list of our company’s clients.

5. Provide us the information and materials concerning last conference.

6. Submit the report on the fifteenth of every month.

Ex. 3. Complete the sentences in this letter. Use the words given in brackets (registration, interest, hesitate, enclose, brochure, forward, conference, City of London).

Dundee Police Constabulary

Principle Department

155 Entry Road, Dundee, SL371

Tel. 081-673-7754 Fax. 081-673 6679 e-mail: police @ dundee.net

Javier Perez 23^rd August, 2007

Police Staff College

40 Duke Street

London WIA 2DW

Thank you for your ______in our eight annual Measures to Combat Terrorism conference. Further to your recent inquiry, I am delighted to ______ the brochure for the conference, which will take place in Scottish Police College, Melrose, from October 2-5, 2007.

This year our guest speaker will be Sir Robin Creswell, MP, formerly Deputy Prime Minister and Commissioner of the ________ Police Force.

The enclosed ________ gives full details on the structure of the ________, however, if you would like to discuss your specific requirements, please do not __________ to contact me. So if you, or your colleagues, are considering attending, please complete the enclosed _________ form and send it to me, without delay, at the address above.

I hope that you will be able to join us. Look ________ to receiving your reply soon.

Yours sincerely,

Jane Blackmore

Jane Blackmore

Conference Coordinator.

Ex. 4. Decide which letter is of which style (blocked, semi-blocked or unblocked). Arrange the letters in order of formality. Which is the most formal and which is the least formal letter? Discuss what makes a letter more or less formal.

A).

Association of Attorneys

55 Lakeshore Drive

Chicago, IL 60683

Ms. Joanne Way

East Conference Center

412 Bellevue Lane

Los Angeles, CA 91335

22^nd September, 2007

Subject: Training seminar

Dear Ms. Way,

In our telephone conversation yesterday, we discussed our plans to conduct out training seminar at your conference center. I would like to confirm the following information.

The conference will take place November 3-4. We expect approximately 150 attorneys to attend the conference. We will need one large hall for the welcome speech and three break-out rooms.

I also look forward to receiving your price list by next Monday. Please call me if you need additional information.

Sincerely yours,

Frank Feder

Frank Feder

Events Manager

B).

Security Now. com

3145 Theatre Road, North RR4

Palm Coast, Florida 32145

Mr. John Stevens

Vista Prix Company

22 Park Ave. New York, NY 100075 27 November, 2007

Dear John,

Gratefully and sincerely I’d like to thank you in this day for your attention and help in establishing of our new agency in your city.

Thank you for referring us to MNG Systems Inc. It’s very interested in our security alarm systems and needs security not only in its Palm Coast warehouse but also in storage centers in Norton and Berkeley.

I hope to see you soon so I can thank you personally. I hope to cooperate with you in further. Send my greetings to Susan and children.

Best wishes,

Peter

Peter Long

Manager

C).

Ukrainian Lawyers Federation

12 Pecherska St., Kyiv, 01 209 Ukraine

Phone (044) 3457436 Fax (044) 34509945

Program Coordinator

Belgium Lawyers Association

1647 West Lake St.

Moorsele, Belgium

18 March, 2007

Dear Sir,

On behalf of the Ukrainian Lawyers Federation I would like to thank you very much for your invitation to take part in the Lawyers Association International Conference. After our conversation with Mr. Nair we send you this letter concerning our possible participation at your conference.

We should tell you that the Belgium Embassy requires the original invitation for our group. We would be grateful if you send it to pass through visa formalities.

We expect to hear from you in the near future.

Yours faithfully,

Serhiy Voloshyn

Serhiy Voloshyn

Vice-President

Ukrainian Lawyers Federation.

Ex. 5. Put the following phrases into three groups (opening phrases, binding phrases, closing phrases).

1. We confirm your fax message received this morning and we …

2. Apart from the above said …

3. We would like to inform you …

4. Looking forward to hearing from you.

5. Otherwise we will have …

6. With reference to your letter (advertisement) …

7. Please, don’t hesitate to contact me if you need further information.

8. In connection with your letter of (date) …

9. We wish to draw your attention to the fact that …

10. We look forward to seeing you next month.

11. We assure you that we are doing all we can to …

12. Thank you for your attention.

Ex. 6. Alter these sentences using the expression

I look forward to + -ing form of the verb.

Example: I want to work with your company. – I look forward to working with your company.

1. I’d like to talk to your manager next week.

2. I’d like to meet with you at upcoming conference.

3. I probably should discuss my interest in the firm with you.

4. I hope I can contribute to your team.

5. We hope to receive your answer soon.

6. I wait to hear from you as soon as possible.

7. Our company wants to thank you for your attention.

Ex. 7. Compose one of the following letters.

A) A letter to Professor J. Morris, a lecturer of Toronto University and well-known specialist on the International Humanitarian Law (address: 527 Grayston Street, North, Toronto, Ontario K9W4H7, Canada) asking him to deliver a lecture at your University.

B) A letter to the Hilton Hotel, Cleveland (Address: 69 Maple Road, Cleveland 48 3KL, Ohio, USA) asking for accommodation for you and your colleague. Indicate the date of arrival and departure, and facilities you want to have in your room. Ask about the price.

C) A letter to the legal agency “Wileman and Co” (address: 26 Harlow Street, Edinburgh CM13 &ER, UK) asking for legal advice to your grandfather in making his will.

Lesson 5. Business Calls

Ex. 1. Fill in the gaps with the appropriate words: position, notes, to spell, speakers, miss, quick, money, long-distance calls, receive.

Business Calls

If you don't have much experience of making phone calls in English,
making a business call can be a worrying experience. If you have to call
to someone you already know, you may actually enjoy making the call -
but remember that (1)___are expensive. You have to make a first-
time business call to a prospective client - it isn't easy in English!
Making a phone call to a stranger can be quite stressful, especially if he
speaks English better than you.

Most business people, unless they feel very confident, prepare for an

important phone call in a foreign language by making (2)____ in

advance. And during the call they make notes while they're talking to

help them to remember what was said. Although it's (3)_____ and

convenient to phone someone to give them information or to ask questions, the disadvantage is that there is nothing in writing to help you remember what was said. It's essential to make notes and often when an agreement is reached on the phone, one of the (4)____will send a fax or e-mail to confirm the main points that were made. As it's easy to be misunderstood when talking on the phone it's a good idea to repeat the important information (especially numbers, dates and names) slowly and carefully. If someone doesn't seem to understand you, choose simpler words or rephrase your sentence. Let other people finish what they want to say. You may (5)____something important. You'll also show a lack

of respect.

Always identify yourself and your (6)______in the company and

make sure you know the name of the person you're talking to. If

necessary, ask him (7)_____it out to you and try to use his/her name

during the call.

If possible, don't phone during the other person's lunch hour or just before they're about to stop work for the day. It's important to sound interested, helpful and alert when answering the phone. You may have to make or (8)_____calls to or from regular customers and prospective clients, so a good telephone manner not only makes an impression in business, but it also helps to make (9)_____. Speak in a friendly voice and smile.

Ex. 1. Read the following telephone numbers.

How to read the telephone numbers?

Remember

517 5890 – five-one-seven-five-eight-nine-o

223 7866 – double two-three-seven-eight-double six

1) 071 9746531 2) 067 4450178

3) 38044 576 8966 4) 38056 2999601

What is your (your friend’s, your parents’) phone number?

Practice reading numbers in pairs.

Ex. 2. Remember the following expressions.

Opening a call:

Hello. This is …/ This is … speaking.

Could/Can I speak to Ann, please? I’d like to speak to …

I’m afraid she’s at a meeting.

on holiday (until …).

not in the office.

out of the office

not available just now.

Is that (Mr. Roberts)?

Is it a good time to talk about this? / Do you have time right now?

Structuring a call:

I’m calling to (discuss) …/ I’m phoning about …

There are three things I would like to talk about.

Can I leave a message?

Would you like to leave a message? / Can I take a message?

Hold on. I’ll connect you / I’ll put you through to Mr. …

What’s your extension number (mobile number, fax number)?

Closing calls:

OK. I’ll send / post / phone / come …

Is there anything else?

I look forward to seeing (meeting, hearing) from you next week.

I’ll call later today.

Can I tell you back in ten minutes?

Can you confirm that by tax?

Thank you for your help. Thank you for calling (back).

Communication difficulties:

The line is engaged (busy).

There’s no answer.

We were cut off.

It’s very noisy here. Can you speak up?

Could you speak more slowly, please?

Shall I repeat that? – Yes, please?

I’m sorry, I didn’t hear what you said. Could you repeat that, please?

Could you spell that (your name, surname), please?

It’s bad line. Can you hear me?

I’m sorry, I think you’ve got the wrong number. Try again.

Ex. 3. Look at these telephoning expressions. Underline the correct word(s) to complete the sentences.

Example: Can I speak to / with Helen, please?

1. Can I give / leave a message, please?

2. I am / This is Dan speaking.

3. The line’s occupied / busy at the moment.

4. I’m afraid / frightened Mr. Jones isn’t in the office now.

5. I like / I’d like to speak to John, please.

6. I’m / It’s Georgia King speaking.

7. Hold on / Hold you on a minute, please.

8. Could you call back in / after ten minutes?

9. I’ll call late / later today.

Ex. 3. Make up questions corresponding to the following answers.

• …? – This is Fred speaking

• …? – He’s not here.

• …? – Well. I’ll tell him you called.

• …? – You can call again this afternoon.

• …? – Just a moment. Let me get a pen.

• …? – I think you’ve got the wrong number. It isn’t 718 5433.

Ex. 4. Work in groups. Discuss.

1. What do you enjoy about using the phone?

2. What do you dislike about making phone calls?

3. What is difficult about making a first-time call to a stranger?

4. What can you do to make such calls easier?

5. What can you do to establish a relationship with a stranger more quickly?

Ex. 5. What do you say (or do) if,

• the person wanted on the phone is out;

• someone rings you up by mistake;

• you can’t hear the person’s name on the phone;

• you want to book a long-distance call;

• you hear the telephone ringing when you are staying at your friends;

• you hear a frequent high-pitched buzzing;

• you hear someone answering your telephone call at the other end of the line;

• you don’t know by the voice who is ringing you up;

• you are busy at the moment and can’t have a talk on the phone;

• something is wrong with your telephone.

Ex. 6. When do you say or hear:

• hold the line;

• you’re through;

• could I leave a message for him?

• could he ring back as soon as he returns?

• you are wanted on the phone;

• you’ve got a wrong number;

• go ahead, please;

• who is that speaking?

• who shall I say is calling?

• hold on a moment, please;

• I’ll call back later;

• could you speak up, please;

• are you there?

• ask Mr. N. to call me;

• sorry to have troubled you.

Ex. 7. Make up dialogues:

Situation 1. A business partner calls you to inform about his visit to your company. You would like to meet the caller at the airport. Find out flight number, arrival time, his mobile phone number.

Situation 2. Someone calls you to talk to your boss. Ask the caller to spell his/her name and company name so you can write it down. Your boss is at a meeting and can’t be disturbed. Offer to leave a message or say your boss will call back later today. Get a phone number.

Situation 3. Your business partner calls you. The line is bad. Explain it and ask him/her to try again or speak up.