LETTER FORM
The Start
The start of any business letter begins by addressing the recipient of the letter.
Dear Personnel Director,
Dear Sir or Madam: (use if you don't know who you are writing to)
Dear Dr, Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms Smith: (use if you know who you are writing to, and have a formal relationship with - VERY IMPORTANT use Ms for women unless asked to use Mrs or Miss)
Dear Frank: (use if the person is a close business contact or friend)
Note: If you are unsure how formal you should be, always choose a more formal form. Writing to a specific person is always preferred if at all possible.
The Reference
Begin by referencing a specific conversation or other contact means. If this is the first letter in a conversation, you can also provide the reason for writing.
With reference to your advertisement in the Times, your letter of 23 rd March,
your phone call today,
Thank you for your letter of March 5 th .
The Reason for Writing
I am writing to .
. inquire about
. apologize for
. confirm
. comment on
. apply for
Examples:
I am writing to inquire about the position posted in The Daily Mail.
I am writing to confirm the shipment details on order # 2346.
I am writing to apologize for the difficulties you experienced last week at our branch.
Once you have introduced the reason for writing your business letter, move on to stating more specifically the purpose of your letter. Here are a number of possibilities:
Requesting
Could you possibly?
I would be grateful if you could
Agreeing to Requests
I would be delighted to
Giving Bad News
Unfortunately
I am afraid that
Examples:
Could you possible forward your job requirements?
I am afraid that I will be able to attend the conference next week.
I would be delighted to give you a tour of our facility this coming month.
Enclosing Documents
I am enclosing
Please find enclosed
Enclosed you will find
Closing Remarks
Thank you for your help Please contact us again if we can help in any way.
there are any problems.
you have any questions.
Reference to Future Contact
I look forward to .
hearing from you soon.
meeting you next Tuesday.
seeing you next Thursday.
The Finish
Yours faithfully, (If you don't know the name of the person you're writing to)
Yours sincerely, (If you know the name of the person you're writing to)
Best wishes,
Best regards, (If the person is a close business contact or friend)
Sample Letter
Here is a sample letter using some of these forms:
Ken's Cheese House
34 Chatley Avenue
Seattle, WA 98765
Tel:
Fax:
Email: kenny@cheese.com
October 23, 2006
Fred Flintstone
Sales Manager
Cheese Specialists Inc.
456 Rubble Road
Rockville, IL

Dear Mr Flintstone:
With reference to our telephone conversation today, I am writing to confirm your order for: 120 x Cheddar Deluxe Ref. No. 856
The order will be shipped within three days via UPS and should arrive at your store in about 10 days.
Please contact us again if we can help in any way.
Yours sincerely,
Kenneth Beare
Director of Ken's Cheese House
CLAIM LETTER:
Useful Key Phrases
· As someone who has worked with .
· we were very disappointed to find / see / have discovered .
· As our written agreement stipulated, we expected .
· I think you will agree that a communication problem exists.
· We would like you to ., or provide us with a refund.
Example Letter
Drivers Co.
3489 Greene Ave.
Olympia, WA 98502


August 17, 2001
Richard Brown, President
Document Makers
Salem, MA 34588
Dear Mr. Brown:
As someone who has worked with your company for over 3 years, we were very disappointed to see the documents you produced for our latest Drivers Co. publicity campaign.
As our written agreement stipulated, we expected full color leaflets with fancy explanatory texts, but instead, we found that black and white photos had been included in the prepared leaflets. I think you will agree that a communication problem exists.
We would like you to send out a photographer to provide us with the promised color coverage, or provide us with a refund.
Yours truly,
(signature here)
Thomas R. Smith,
Director
TRS/lj

Claim Adjustment Letters

Useful Key Phrases
· I was very disappointed to read your letter of . dealing with .
· As someone who values your business, I have already .
· Also, we will deduct another X percent of the bill for the misunderstanding.
· Thank you for your patience.
Example Letter
Document Makers
2398 Red Street
Salem, MA 34588


March 10, 2001
Thomas R. Smith
Drivers Co.
3489 Greene Ave.
Olympia, WA 98502
Dear Mr. Smith:
I was very disappointed to read your letter of August 17 dealing with the issue of incorrectly produced publicity leaflets. As someone who values your business, I have already begun to find a solution to resolve this problem.
My top photographer will call you to arrange an appointment at your earliest possible convenience to re-take photos in full color. Also, we will deduct another 15 percent of the bill for the misunderstanding. Thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
(signature here)
Richard Brown
President
RB/sp


Inquiries - Asking for Information


Remember to place your or your company's address at the top of the letter (or use your company's letterhead) followed by the address of the company you are writing to. The date can either be placed double spaced down or to the right.
Important Language to Remember
· The Start: Dear Sir or Madam
To Whom It May Concern - (very formal as you do not know the person to whom you are writing)
· Giving Reference: With reference to your advertisement (ad) in .
Regarding your advertisement (ad) in .
· Requesting a Catalog, Brochure, Etc.: After the reference, add a comma and continue - . , would (Could) you please send me .
· Requesting Further Information: I would also like to know .
Could you tell me whether .
· Signature: Yours faithfully - (very formal as you do not know the person to whom you are writing)
An Example Letter
Kenneth Beare
2520 Visita Avenue
Olympia, WA 98501
Jackson Brothers
3487 23rd Street
New York, NY 12009
September 12, 2000
To Whom It May Concern:
With reference to your advertisement in yesterday's New York Times, could you please send me a copy of your latest catalog. I would also like to know if it is possible to make purchases online.
Yours faithfully
(Signature)
Kenneth Beare
Administrative Director
English Learners & Company


Outline: A Covering Letter

A covering letter is the one that accompanies your CV when you are applying for a job. Here is a fairly conventional plan for the layout of the paragraphs.
Opening Paragraph
Briefly identify yourself and the position you are applying for. Add how you found out about the vacancy.
Paragraph 2
Give the reasons why you are interested in working for the company and why you wish to be considered for that particular post. State your relevant qualifications and experience, as well as your personal qualities that make you a suitable candidate.
Paragraph 3
Inform them that you have enclosed your current CV and add any further information that you think could help your case.
Closing Paragraph
Give your availability for interview, thank them for their consideration, restate your interest and close the letter.
Outline: A Letter of Enquiry

A letter of enquiry is when you are approaching a company speculatively, that is you are making an approach without their having advertised or announced a vacancy.
Opening Paragraph
Introduce yourself briefly and give your reason for writing. Let them know of the kind of position you are seeking, why you are interested and how you heard about them.
Paragraph 2
Show why their company in particular interests you, mention your qualifications and experience along with any further details that might make them interested in seeing you.
Paragraph 3
Refer to your enclosed CV and draw their attention to any particularly important points you would like them to focus on in it.
Closing Paragraph
Thank them, explain your availability for interview and restate your enthusiasm for their company and desire to be considered for posts that might as yet be unavailable.





Vocabulary for Writing Business Letters

This sheet focuses on core vocabulary and phrases used when writing business letters or e-mails in English. This business writing reference can be used in English for specific purposes classes as a starting point for students who need to use English on an everyday basis for written business communications. Teachers are often not equipped with the exact English terminology required in very specific trade sectors. For this reason, core vocabulary sheets go a long way in helping teachers provide adequate materials for students with English for Specific Purposes needs.
to act on behalf of
to agree with
always at your service
as agreed
as far as I'm concerned
as far as the payment is concerned
as follows
as per invoice
as per to the conditions
as per your request
as requested
as soon as possible
at your convenience
at your earliest convenience
at your expense
awaiting your reply
to be able to to be authorised to to be characterised by
to be confident in
to be delighted to to be held responsible for
to be in arrears with payments
to be in difficulty
to be interested in
on arrival of the goods
on behalf of
on condition that - provided that
on delivery
on receipt of the order
on short notice
on written request
order to be confirmed
our best attention
our offer is still open
outside address
to pay the maximum attention to the matter
payable in advance
please allow us
please send us
please send us your instructions
prices are increasing
to reach the destination
to refer to to return a letter to the sender
to sell at the best
to send under separate cover
sender address
short term
similar to sample - up to sample		 to be late
to be overrun with orders
to be prepared to - to be willing to before the date we agreed upon
Best regards
body of the letter
circular letter
claim - letter of complaint
to come to a decision
to come to an agreement - to reach an agreement
complimentary close
to cope with the competition
correspond to the sample
to correspond with
covering letter
due to oversight
enclosure - attachment
to fix an appointment
following your instructions
from order receipt
further to our letter - following our letter
goods listed below
greeting
half-price
to have the pleasure to to stop negotiations
to submit a sample
to suit the quality - to meet the quality
to take into consideration
the aim of this letter
the following items
the goods are available in our warehouse
the goods are not similar to sample
the goods are sold out
the goods arrived in good conditions
the letter remained unanswered
the matter in reference
the meeting was cancelled
to our mutual benefit
to the kind attention of
under separate cover
up to an amount of
utmost care
we acknowledge receipt of
we apologize again for
we apologize for
we apologize for the delay
we apologize for the mistake
we are sorry to have to we are sorry to inform you		 to have the power to hereby
in case of need
in compliance with - accordingly
in due time - in due course
in good condition
in our favour
in partial payment
in reply to your letter
in the absence of
to inform in due time
inside address
to let someone know in advance
letter opening - beginning of the letter
letterheading - heading
to look forward to looking forward to an early reply
looking forward to hearing from you
to make the goods available
to meet a demand
to meet customer's requirements
to meet the demand
Messrs
to notify in advance about
on advanced payment
we have received
we hope we'll receive the goods soon
we look forward to your kind reply
we must apologise for
we remain - our kindest regards
we sent you
we thank you in advance
we wish to inform you that
we would appreciate it if you could answer
we would appreciate your reply
with no obligation - without commitment
with reference to - in reference to with the compliments of
with the utmost care
with two weeks' notice
within the end of the month
within which
without delay
without notice
would you please let us have
would you please let us know
you ordered
you requested
you sent us
Yours faithfully (GB) - Yours truly (GB)



PHRASES
I’m writing to bring yr attention to the problem of and request yr promt reaction to this matter
Up to now ,one week has passed ,and my is still out of order.you can imagine how inconvenient it is for me now without I believe that you could understand how strongly I feel about this situation .I could not wait any longer .Please send yr men to come to solve this problem at once .Otherwise I will have to require some other help

I’m planning to have a tour in on my way to I’m writing to ask yr advice about my planning staying plan in
I’m eager to

As you can see from my (resume ),I have experience in the field of
In accordance with yr request ,I’ve asked to write the recommendation letters
If you need any other information concerning my background ,please feel free to contact me
Thank you for yr consideration.I look forward to hearing from you soon

I’m writing in reply to yr letter I received from you ago,in which you state that I
I would like to point out the reason I is due to a mistake
I would like you to contact
I do hope you check again ore carefully and give me detailed to indicate my expense .I will appreciate it very much if you let me know the result as soon as possible .If you have any question about it ,please do not hesitate to contact me.I would be glad to answer any of yr questions

That is the whole story .I hope my bad luck would not be the reason for charging me this time
I regret the trouble I am causing you

It is reported that I don’t think it is necessary to
First of all,
The second point is
Another point is also largely discussed by people

Feel upon yr advertisement for the and would like to be examined for the post
You will find in this letter a full list of details about my education and experience
I shall be glad to send you the name of two people who know me very well and who could give out their own impression about y work . If you would like me to attend an interview ,I would be glad to come and see you whenever you feel like it
According to what I reported ,the best way is to Then it comes to the question : who ?If you want me to do it ,how about the cutting expenses?Come and tell me

Thank you in advance for arranging the party for us

I am very glad to know that you decided to
It is a great honour for me to
I think the would be suitable for
In case of

How are you getting on ?
I’m sorry to say that I .
You see,
I suppose I must .

To my belief,
Probably you should
Presumely,you will
Cheers and looking forward to seeing you

I would particularly like to join for the opportunity which would give me to
I consider myself to be both and enough to
I,therefore ,feel tha t my application deserves yr serios consderatin

I enclose a detailed curriculum vitae and an offprint of my article,together with two letters of recommendation from

Some expression of gratitude :
Informal: Thanks for
It was very nice /good of you to
Neutral: Thank you very much for
I must thank you for
Formal : I am extremely grateful for yr help
I am most grateful for

Here are some instructions and suggestions:
May I suggest that we meet at the gate of the university ?
I’d like to suggest you should visit for at least two days on yr way to
Considering yr present situation ,I propose that you shuold apply for the post
What I want to suggest is
My suggestion is that
If you ,you had better

I would like to apply for
I wish to appply for the position of
If you need any other information concerning my bakground,
I’m writing to you to apply for admittance to yr university as a visiting scholar
I hope it would be possible for me to take some training course and work in yr laboratory
I believe that with yr help I would make proggresss in my career
Should you think favourably of my appplication ,kindly grant me an interview
An early respond will be very much appreciated
Enclosed please find a resume and a list of my publicications