General Rules of Business Correspondence

- You should be familiar with two kinds of letters:

business letters and personal letters. Business organisations usually use printed letter-head for their business letters. Private business letters are typed on plain paper.

- You should answer all letters promptly: within ten days at the outside. If you can not fully answer them within that period, the least you can do is to acknowledge them and explain your delay.

- Let everyone involved know what action has been taken on a letter.

- You should always write a thank-you note to anyone who has given you a letter of introduction, reporting at the same time how well you were received or what results the introduction produced.

- You should sign and send out only the letters that are well typed, well spaced, faultlessly neat and inviting to the eye, i.e. letters that make a good first impression. The letter you write is always a mirror which reflect your appearance, taste and character.

When writing a business letter in English, be careful not to use an old-fashion commercial instruction book as a guide. The style of writing is changing rapidly. Every year it gets simpler and less formal. Business correspondents prefer simple English to express what they want to say as effectively as possible. But a writer of a business letter must create a good impression, so a few words to promote a feeling of friendship and good will be just to place.

However, compliments must not be exaggerated, as they may produce the opposite effect, and the reader may feel that the writer is being insincere.

The following is to be remembered when writing a business letter in English:

1. Make a new paragraph for a new subject.

2. Say what you want to say in the simplest, clearest way.

3. Don’t say aggressively.

4. Don’t exaggerate compliments.

5. Remember that real feelings will have more effect than pretended ones.

Vocabulary to Study and Use
1. Currency rate	1. Валютний курс
2. Letter of guarantee	2. Гарантійний лист
3. Freely convertible currency	3. Вільноконвертована валюта
4. Contractual price	4. Договірна ціна
5. Dear Sirs/Madams	5. Шановні панове/пані
6. We shall to do our best to…	6. Ми зробимо все можливе, щоб …
7. We shall be glad to answer	7. Ми будемо раді відповісти
8. I look forward to corporate.	8. Я розраховую на співробітництво
9. Please let us know…	9. Будь ласка, повідомте нас …
10. We’ll ask you to wire us …	10. Просимо телеграфувати нам…
11. We bag to inform you that…	11. Ми маємо за честь повідомити вам, що …
12. We are delighted that …	12. Ми дуже раді, що
13. Best wishes (yours sincerely) your truly	13. Найкращі побажання, щиро Ваш…
14. It was a great pleasure for us to receive your letter of …	14. З великим задоволенням отримали Вашого листа від…
15. We would welcome the opportunity …	15. Ми вітаємо можливість…
16. I enclose some information …	16. Додаю деяку інформацію
17. May I take an opportunity to wish you …	17. Дозвольте скористатися нагодою і побажати Вам…
18. May I have the pleasure of inviting you to visit our firm?	18. Чи не міг би я запросити Вас відвідати нашу фірму?
19. Your expenses will be met by our firm.	19. Ваші витрати будуть сплачені нашою фірмою.
20. I am sorry to cause you so much trouble.	20. Шкода, що я завдав Вам стільки турбот.