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
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
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
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. 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
1.
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.
2.
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.
3.
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-OU-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:
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.