Confidential' - but little difference in meaning between them.

2. Subject title

Some firms open their letters with a subject title (beneath the

salutation). This provides a further reference, saves introducing the

subject in the first paragraph, immediately draws attention to the topic of

the letter, and allows the writer to refer to it throughout the letter.

It is not necessary to begin the subject title with Re: e.g. Re:

Application for the post of typist.

3. Copies

. c.c. (= carbon copies) is written, usually at the end of the letter, when

copies are sent to people other than the named recipient.

. b.c.c. (=blind carbon copies) is written at the copies themselves, though

not, on the top copy, when you do not want the named recipient to know

that other people have received the copies as well.

2. Content of a business letter

Length

How long should a letter be? The answer is as long as necessary and this

will depend on the subject of the letter.

It may be a simple subject, e.g. thanking a customer for a cheque, or

quite complicated, e.g. explaining how a group insurance policy works. It

is a question of how much information you put in the letter: you may give

too little (even for a brief subject), in which case your letter will be

too short, or too much (even for a complicated subject), in which case it

will be too long. Your style and the kind of language you use can also

affect the length. The right length includes the right amount of

information.

The three letters that follow are written by different people in reply

to the same enquiry from a Mr. Arrand about the company's product:

1. Too long

Dear Mr. Arrand,

Thank you very much for your enquiry of 5 November which we receive

today. We often receive enquiries from large stores and always welcome

them, particularly at this time of the year when we know that you will

be stocking for Christmas.

We have enclosed our winter catalogue and are sure you will be

extremely impressed by the wide range of watches that we stock. You

will see that they range from the traditional to the latest in quartz

movements and include ranges for men, women and children, with prices

that should suit upper-market bracket priced at several hundred pounds.

But whether you buy a cheaper or more expensive model we guarantee all

merchandise for two years with a full service.

Enclosed you will also find our price-list giving full details on

c.i.f. prices to London and explaining our discounts which we think you

will find very generous and which we hope will take full advantage of.

We are always available to offer you further information about our

products and can promise you personal attention whenever you require

it. This service is given to all our customers throughout the world,

and as you probably know, we deal with countries from the Far East to

Europe and Latin America., and this fact alone bears out our reputation

which has been established for more than a hundred years and has made

our motto a household world - Time for Everyone.

Once again may we thank you for your enquiry and say that we look

forward to hearing from you in the near future?

Yours sincerely,

There are a number of things wrong with a letter of this sort. Though

it tries to advertise the products and the company itself, it is too wordy.

There is no need to explain that stores or shops are stocking for

Christmas; the customer is aware of this. Rather than draw attention to

certain items the customer might be interested in, the letter only explains

what the customer can already see, that there is a wide selection of

watches in the catalogue covering the full range of market prices.

In addition, the writer goes on unnecessarily to explain which

countries the firm sells to, the history of company and its rather

unimpressive motto.

2. Too short

Dear Sir,

Thank you for your enquiry. We have a wide selection of watches

which we are sure you will like. We will be sending a catalogue soon.

Yours faithfully,

There are number of points missing from this letter, quite apart from

the fact that, since the writer knew the name of his correspondent he

should have begun the letter Dear Mr Arrand and ended Yours sincerely.

There is no reference to the date or reference number of the enquiry.

Catalogues should be have sent with a reply to the enquiry; it is

annoying for a customer to have to wait for further information to be sent.

Even if a catalogue is sent, the customer's attention should be drawn to

particular items that would interest him/her in the line of business.

He/she might be concerned with the upper or lower end of the market. He

might want moderately priced items, or expensive ones.

3. The right length

Here is a letter that is more suitable:

Dear Mr Arrand, Thank you for your enquiry of 5 November.

We have enclosed our winter catalogue and price-list giving details of

c.i.f. London prices, discounts and delivery dates.

Though you will see we offer a wide selection of watches, may we draw

your attention to pp. 23-28, and pp. 31-37 in our catalogue, which we

think might suit the market you are dealing with? And on page 34 you

will notice our latest designs in pendant watches, which are becoming

fashionable for both men and women.

As you are probably aware, all our products are fully guaranteed and

backed by our world-wide reputation.

If there is any further information you require, please contact us.

Meanwhile, we look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

Let's sum up the basic rules concerning the letter length.

The letter should be neither too long nor too short. It is better to

include too much information than too little. Your reader cannot read your

mind. If you leave out vital information, he won't know what he wants to

know, unless he writes back again and he may not bother to do that.

If you include extra information, at least he'll have what he wants,

even though he may irritated by having to read the unnecessary parts.

Provided, of course, that you include the vital information as well as the

extras: the worst letter of all is the one that gives very piece of

information about the product, except for the price.

Order and sequence

As well as containing the right amount of information, the letter

should also make all the necessary points in a logical sequence, with each

idea or piece of information linking up with the previous one in a pattern

that can be followed. Do not jump around making a statement, switching to

other subjects, then referring back to the point you made a few sentences

or paragraphs before.

1. Unclear sequence

Consider this badly-written letter. There is no clear sequence to the

letter, which makes it difficult to understand.

Dear Sir,

We are interested in your security system. We would like to know

more about the prices and discounts you offer.

A business associate of ours, DMS (Wholesalers) Ltd., mentioned

your name to us and showed us a catalogue. They were impressed with the

security system you installed for them, so we are writing to you about

it. Do you give us guarantees with the installations?

In your catalogue we saw the 'Secure 15' which looks as though it

might suit our purposes. DMD had the 'Secure 18' installed, but as we

mentioned, they are wholesalers, while we are a chain of stores. We

would like something that can prevent robbery and shoplifting, so the

'Secure 15' might suit us.

How long would it take to install a system that would serve all

departments? Could you send us an inspector or adviser to see us at

some time?

If you can offer competitive prices and guarantees we would put

your system in all our outlets, but initially we would only install the

system in our main branch.

We would like to make a decision on this soon, so we would

appreciate an early reply.

Yours faithfully,

2.Clear sequence

Here is a better version of the same letter, in which the ideas and

information are in logical order.

Dear Mr. Jerry,

We are a chain of retail stores and are looking for an efficient

security system. You were recommended to us by our associates DMS

(Wholesalers) Ltd. for whom you recently installed an alarms system,

the 'Secure 18'.

We need an installation which would give us comprehensive

protection against robbery and shoplifting throughout all departments;

and the' Secure 15' featured in your catalogue appears to suit us.

However, if one of your representatives could come along to see us, he

would probably be able to give us more advice and details of the

available systems.

Initially, we will test your system in our main branch, and if

successful, then extend it throughout our other branches, but of course

a competitive quotation and full guarantees for maintenance and service

would be necessary.

Please reply as soon as possible as we would like to make a

decision within the next few months. Thank you

Yours sincerely,

Paragraphs

1. First paragraph

The first sentence or paragraph of a letter is an important one since it

gets the tone of the letter and gives your reader his first impression of

you and your company. Generally speaking, in the first paragraph you will

thank your correspondent for his letter (if replying to an enquiry),

introduce yourself and your company if necessary, state the subject of the

letter, and set out the purpose of the letter. Here are two examples:

Thank you for your enquiry dated 8 July in which you asked us about

our range of cosmetics. As you have probably seen in our advertisements

in fashion magazines, we appeal to a wide age-group from the teenage

market trough to more mature women, with our products being retailed in

leading stores throughout the world.

Thank you for your letter of 19 August which I received today. We

can certainly supply you with the industrial floor coverings you asked

about, and enclosed you will find a catalogue illustrating our wide

range of products, which are used in factories and offices throughout

the world.

2. Middle paragraphs

This is the main part of your letter and will concern the points that need

to be made, answers you wish to give, or questions you want to ask. As this

can vary widely with the type of letter that you are writing, it is dwelt

in other parts of my diploma work.

It is in the middle paragraphs of a letter that planning is most

important, to make sure that your points are made clearly, fully and in

logical sequence.

3. Final paragraph

When closing the letter, you should thank the person for writing, if your

letter is a reply and if you have not done this at the beginning. Encourage

further enquiries or correspondence, and mention that you look forward to

hearing from your correspondent soon. You may also wish to restate , very

briefly, one or two the most important of the points you have made in the

main part of the letter. Here are some examples:

Once again thank you for writing to us, and please contact us if

you would like any further information. To go briefly over the points I

have made - all prices are quoted c.i.f. Yokahama; delivery would be

six weeks from receipt of order; and payment should be made by bank

draft. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

I hope I have covered all the questions you asked, but please

contact me if there are any other details you require. May I just point

out that the summer season will soon be with us, so please place an

order as soon as possible so that it can be met in good time for when

the season starts. I hope to hear from you in the near future.

We are sure that you have made the right choice in choosing this

particular line as it is proving to be a leading seller. If there is

any advice or further information you want, we shall be happy to supply

it, and look forward to hearing from you.

3. Rules and manners for writing a business letter

. Main steps

. Technical layout of letter

. A letter's style

Writing an effective business letter is an important skill for every

manager and business owner.In this brief overview we will examine the five

main steps in creating an effective business letter.

Main Steps:

1.Identify your Aims:

Clearly establish what you want to achieve from the letter- whether it is

to win back a dissatisfied customer or to reprimand an employee.Whatever

the aim, create your letter from these goals.

2. Establish the facts:

Make sure you have the relevant accurate facts available. For a late

payer,this might include relevant invoices, complaint forms, talks with

your sales department and any previous correspondence from the customer.

3. Know the recipient of the letter:

Write in the language of your recipient. Try to put yourself in the

position of the recipient. Read it from his point of view. Is the letter

clear or open to misinterpretation. If you know the recipient, use this

knowledge to phrase the letter to generate your desired response.

4. Create a sample Copy:

Having established your aims, amassed the relevant facts with a conscious

view of the recipient- write down the main points of your letter.

5. Decide on Physical layout of letter.

The physical appearance of a letter consists of the paper and the envelope.

The first thing a recipient sees is the envelope. It is essential that it

is of suitable quality with the name and address spelt correctly.Quality

envelopes and paper suggest a professional company. It is wise to make

sure the envelope matches the size of the paper.While you will use 81/2 x

11 inches(A4 size) sized paper for the majority of letters - a 4 x 6

inches(A5) can be used for specific shorter letters.But insist that

properly sized envelopes are used for this A5 size paper,allowing you

maintain and convey an coordinated image.

Technical layout of letter:

1.Letterhead:

This will include your company's name, address, telephone number, fax

number and email address. Include your web address if available. Other

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