Letters, faxes and memos Unit Two Letters, faxes and memos

Study objectives This unit introduces and practises the skills required to deal with the writing tasks in Units 5 to 15. It covers: ♥ How to lay out a business letter or memo ♥ Some ‘golden rules’ for writing letters, faxes and memos

Business Letters & Personal Letters Personal letters, also known as friendly letters, and social notes normally have five parts. 1) The Heading 2) The Greeting 3) The Body 4) The Complimentary Close 5) The Signature Line A business letter is more formal than a personal letter. There are six parts to a business letter : 1) The Heading 2) The Inside Address 3) The Greeting 4) The Body 5) The Complimentary Close 6) The Signature Line

Format for a Friendly or Personal Letter

1. The Heading(信头). This contains the sender’s address (usually two or three lines) with the date. 2. The Inside Address（内地址）. This is the address you are sending your letter to. Make it as complete as possible. Include titles and names if you know them. Skip a line after the heading before the inside address. Skip another line after the inside address before the greeting. 3. The Greeting. Also called the salutation. The greeting in a business letter is always formal. It normally begins with the word "Dear" and always includes the person's last name.

4. The Body. The body is written as text 4. The Body. The body is written as text. A business letter is never hand written. Depending on the letter style you choose, paragraphs may be indented. Regardless of format, skip a line between paragraphs. 5. The Complimentary Close. This short, polite closing ends with a comma. 6. The Signature Line. Skip two lines (unless you have unusually wide or narrow lines) and type out the name to be signed.

What is a memo? A memo is a short form of the Latin word memorandum. Today it is employed as a kind of communication form inside a company or group, in one word, for inner circulation. Generally speaking there are four types of memo: 1) Sent to upper management 2) Sent to divisions affiliated 3) Sent to all the staff 4) Sent to colleagues in or outside one’s own department

What a memo is like? The right layout of a memo is made of four lines and a body text. The four lines are To Line (indicating who reads the memo), From Line (indicating who writes the memo), Subject Line (indicating what the topic is for the memo), and Date Line (indicating when the memo is written). The body text is the message.

How to write a memo? Set a space line between each paragraph. By doing so your reader can make better sense about the idea carried in the memo. Put numbers before each matter. By doing so the message can result in better comprehension. Keep it in an informal tone as it is only travels inside a company. In order to do so just try to write as your are talking to someone.

How to send fax? 先把你要发的文件扣着放在传真机上，拨打要发传真的传真号码，如果是自动的，在你听到一声尖锐刺耳的声音后，按传真机面板上一个绿色的按钮，应该是比较醒目的，按完之后就可以挂断电话了，等文件发出之后，会有嘟的一声长响，这就说明发送成功，如果发出的是嘟嘟嘟嘟的连续短音，说明发送没成功，对方没有接收到。 如果对方的传真机不是自动的，你就要和他说请给信号，然后的步骤同上。 要是收传真，别人让你给信号，你就按一下那个绿色的键，然后挂断电话就行了。

2.1 Communicating in writing By contrasting the recorded conversation and the written memo in B, you can see how the different modes of communication are used and some of the limitations of both.

Step A The different forms of correspondence shown are: fax, airmail, first class post, handwritten letter, typed letter, internal memo, postcard, e-mail, Magazine, Post-it note.

Step B B.1. Read this memo. Decide who “HGW” is and what his or her job is.

B.1. Read this memo. Decide who “HGW” is and what his or her job is. MEMORANDUM From: HGW To: Department managers Date: 21/4/-- Subject: In-service English classes From Monday 8 May English classes will be held in the Training Centre (room 3.17). There will be two groups: intermediate level (8.30-10.00) and advanced level (10.30-12.00). Please encourage your staff to attend one of the sessions. All teaching materials will be provided but students will be expected to do homework and preparation outside working hours. Please send me the names of all interested staff by noon on Wednesday 26 April. They will be given an informal oral test during the first week in May so that we can decide which of the classes id best for them. The size of each class will be limited to 12 participants.

B.2. Listen to a conversation on the same subject as the memo. Note down the differences between the two ways of communicating the information. To spot which seemed the more efficient way of conveying the information.

Difference between memo and conversation: ☻In the memo a lot more information is given and it’s easier to follow---and you have a permanent record ☻In the conversation there is an opportunity for discussion and for questions to be answered---but the details would only be given if they were demanded.

Step C: what are the relative advantages of talking to someone face-to-face and writing to them? Face-to-face communication ♣ Advantages: more personal, more interaction and feedback possible, can make more impact, cheaper if no travel involved, you can smile…… ♣ Disadvantages: once you’ve said something it can’t be unsaid, saying something once may not be remembered… Writing ♣ Advantages: errors can be changed, you can write or read when you’re in the right mood, you can take your time over planning and how you’ll express complicated or delicate details… ♣ Disadvantages: writing takes longer, there is no feedback or the feedback is delayed, no ‘personal touch’, no smiles, no handshakes…

2.2 Names and addresses In this section we look at the way addresses are laid out in the UK and the USA, but the main emphasis is on S-P-E-L-L-I-N-G A-L-O-U-D. If you’re working in business you need to be able to use the alphabet fluently and understand other people when they spell words or names out loud to you. Incorrect spelling in a business letter gives a bad impression and can be confusing.

Step B You will hear four addresses being dictated to you. Write down each address as if you’re writing it on an envelope. Later, you can check your answers in File 57.

2.3 Layout and style Even business people who don’t actually have to type or word-process letters themselves still usually need to check them through before signing them---and as layout is something that can create a good (or bad) impression, they should be aware of the conventions used in British and American.

Business Letter Styles Indented Style (斜列式） 又称为缩进式，要求信头和信内地址左边每行都比上一行缩进一点儿，正文每段开始都向右缩进四个字母，斜列式用起来很麻烦，现在很少有人使用它。 Block Style （并列式） 又称为齐头式，要求信头、信内地址、称呼和正文（包括每段开始）左边上下对齐，这种格式便于打字，故常用于商业书信。 Modified Style （折衷式） 又称为混合式，要求信头、信内地址上下对齐，正文每段开始向右缩进几个字母。这种格式书写方便，人们比较喜欢使用它。

Format of an envelope Liu Changfong 80 Taishan Road West District Beijing, China Mr. George Shelby 46 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10012 U.S.A

Step B Typical American forms: Typical British forms: 1) Sincerely, Best regards 2) 22 May, 2005 22/05/2005 3) 美式信头门牌号码前没有“ No”字样，门牌号后也没有逗号 4）收信人的称呼后美式用冒号 Typical British forms: 1)Yours sincerely, Best wishes, Kind regards, Yours faithfully 2) May 22, 2005 3）英式信头门牌号前有”No”字样，后面也有逗号 4）收信人的称呼后英式用逗号

Common abbreviations used in business @ → at (a price of)… admin. → administration a/c → account ASAP or asap →as soon as possible attn →for the attention of c.c.or cc →carbon copy c/o →care of Corp. →Corporation CEO →chief executive officer doz. →dozen ea. →each enc. /encl. →enclosures In. /ins →inches Inc. →Incorporated Incl. →including/inclusive lb/lbs →pounds (weight) m. →meters (US)/metres (Br) MD →managing director N/A →not applicable oz. →ounces p.a. →per annum (per year) p.p. →on behalf of PA →personal assistance par. →paragraph plc/p.l.c →Public Limited Company recd →received ref. →reference (number) Sq. →Square PS/P.S. →postscript TM →trademark

Step C ‘Golden Rules’ for writing letters (including faxes and memos) Give your letter a heading if it will make it easier for the reader to understand your purpose in writing. Decide what you are going to say before you start to write or dictate a letter. Use short sentences. Put each separate idea in a separate paragraph. Number each of the paragraphs if it will help the reader to understand better. Use short words that everyone can understand. Think about your reader. Your letters should be CLEAR, COMPLETE, CONCISE, COURTEOUS, CORRECT. Adapt your style to suit the reader

Planning a letter: 7 Steps Write down your aim assemble all the relevant information and document arrange the points in order of importance write an outline in note form write a first draft revise the first draft write, type or dictate your final version

Look at the letters on the P.20 and P.21 and then find out: 1) What kind of impression does each letter give you? 2) Which of the two letters would you prefer to have received? Why?

Step B What do you do before you write a difficult letter or a report? Listen to what they said. Which of them do you agree with? Difficult words: 1) beer mat 啤酒杯垫 2)word processor 文字处理软件 3)scrap paper 便条纸

Step D Here are three extracts from letters that break some rules. Decide what is wrong with each one and underline any mistakes or faults. Rewrite each extract in your own words.

2.5 Sending messages Part A: what the purpose of KLJ’s memo is? what’s the main trouble with the memo? The main trouble with it is that it’s imprecise and consequently liable to be misunderstood.

Homework Send a memo to one of your assistants as to ask him/her to collect data for your attendance of the company conference on the latest promotion. You may need to know about how much money you spent on the promotion, what were the main means of the promotion and what was the result (or the sales) like. Set up a deadline for the data collection so that you can be sure to obtain that before you go for the meeting.

To:______ From:_______ Date:________ Sub: Data on last promotion needed As at the company conference on the third of June I’m presenting our last promotion for solar water-heater, I’d like to ask you to collect the data on: 1) when it was prepared and the length of it’s operation 2) how much it was budgeted and how much exactly it cost finally 3) what the turnovers were like 4) what was supposed to be the strength and weakness Please send me the data by the first of June. Thanks a lot.