5. Formal letters

Usually a formal letter consists of:

1. the name of the company and its address (sender);

2. the date ( miss 5 lines);

3. the address of the recipient;

4. the name of the recipient;

5. the salutation;

6. the theme of the letter;

7. the body of the letter;

8. the closing paragraph;

9. the complimentary closing;

10. the signature;

11. the name of the sender, his position;

12. the initials of the author and of the writer of the letter;

13. P.S.;

14. the enclosure (the name of the document, which is enclosed and the amount of copies).

Cliches for business letters:

— We are most interested in increasing/ developing/ extending …

— We wonder if you could help us/ advise us / send us/ let us have …

— What we require is …

— What we have in mind is …

— We would like your comments/ thoughts on the possibility of …

— We would be most grateful, if you could send/ give …

— We would like to have further details about …

— Your prompt answer will be appreciated.

The following letter is written in a blocked way, which is the most usable in business.

Example.

Roughsons Electronics

21 Mead road

swansea, Glamorgan 3ST 1DR

January 15, 2005

Mr. R. Brown

Homemakers Ltd.

54-59 Riverside

Cardiff CF 1 1JW

Dear Mr. Brown,

Thank you for inquiry about our new tape-recorder. I am enclosing our brochure, which gives general information about the product.

In answer to your specific questions:

1. It costs J300 +VAT at 13.5 %.

2. We offer a discount of 5 % on orders of 5 units or more.

3. We will be able to deliver your order within 10 days of receiving it.

4. Unless you already have an account with us, we will require payment with your order.

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely Yours,

Robert Roughson

General Manager

RR/lc

Enc. Brochure

Exercise 15. Here are 2 jumbled letters. One of them is to the hotel, the other one is to a friend. Divide the sentences into 2 letters and organize them in the right order. Both letters are written by one author. Imagine the beginning and the end for both letters. Make the answers to them, taking into consideration the following information:

— the price of the room;

— fizzy drinks(alcoholic beverages) in the room;

— your friend’s last news;

— agreement(disagreement) with the explanation of the reason.

a) I would like a single room with a shower.

b) I`m writing to ask you a favour.

c) I do not mind where you put me. I`ll sleep anywhere!

d) I have a further request.

e) I would like to make a reservation for the nights of 22^nd, 23d and 24^th

January.

f) I hope the above is convenient.

g) Write soon and let me know.

h) I`m coming down to London at the end of the month to go to a conference.

i) Could I have a bite to eat when I arrive ?

j) I hope you are all well, and that you’ve recovered from the busy Christmas period.

k) I would be extremely grateful.

l) Could I possibly have a room at the back, as I find the front rooms rather noisy?

m) Could you put me up for a few days?

n) Just a sandwich will do.

o) I look forward to your reply.

p) It’s the 22^{nd —} 24^th January.

q) As I will be arriving quite late, could you possibly put a cold buffet in my room on the 22^nd.

r) I hope that’s all right.

s) There’s something else I’d like to ask you.

Chris Bright. His address is 47, Angel Road, Blaby, Leicestershire.

The hotel is Hotel Regent, 107 Carston Square, London.

His friend is called Jan Price. Her address is 33 Alma Crescent, London.

The scheme:

— salutation;

— address;

— ending.

Exercise 16. Here is a jumbled letter of complaint. Reorganize the sentences, taking into consideration the structure (introduction, body of the letter, conclusion)

— Since then I have written to you twice, and have tried to phone on several occasions, but I have had no reply.

— Naturally I took them back to the shop.

— They cost $4.99, which I do not think is cheap.

— This organization often prosecutes shops that sell faulty goods.

— However, after only three weeks I had to have them re-heeled.

— If I do not hear from you in the next two weeks, I will get in touch with the Consumer Advice Bureau.

— I bought a pair of shoes from your Oxford Street branch on 17 September.

— I said that I didn’t want to choose another style, and that I wanted my money back.

— For a pair of shoes at this price, one would expect them to last several years.

— There I was told that I could have another pair of shoes, but that particular style was out of stock.

— Not only that, but they began to leak in rainy weather.

— The shop assistant informed me that she could not do this, and that if I wanted a refund I had to write to your office.

Yours sincerely,

Jeremy Foster.

Exercise 17. Here are 2 letters to a bank manager. One contains mistakes of style. Compare them.

Write a letter to a bank, requesting a loan to buy a new car.

a) Dear Mr. Henderson,

I have been working as a librarian for two years at the General Records Office, but I do not feel that I wish to make this my career.

A friend recently told me about the course that the Oxford business School offers, and it sounds most interesting. I am told that employers respect this college and its diploma.

In order to follow this course I would need a loan of approximately $400. Could I make an appointment with you to discuss the possibility of this?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely,

Jeremy Foster.

b) Dear Mr. Henderson,

As you probably know, I have done about two years as a librarian at the Central Records Office, just round the corner from your bank, in fact, but I do not really think it is the sort of job I can do much longer.

Anyway, I was at this party the other day and I met a friend and he told me about a great course you can do at the Oxford Business School, and my brother thinks I would get a good job if I did it.

Do you think I could come and see you, and talk about a bank loan? About you’ll say yes.

Yours sincerely,

Jeremy Foster.

Trans Europe Tours

Bradley PETER