Business writing tips

1. Before writing the letter,	your main cause in the first paragraph.
2. Type the letter using a word processor.	letterhead for a professional appearance. If you don't have preprinted letterhead, type your name, title and return address. You may also include your telephone and email address. Don't forget to type the date.
3. Get to the point early. You should state	even if the subject matter is stern and sensitive. Avoid informal language but do not use old-fashioned or over-formal language.
4. A business letter should be typed on	you must determine your purpose and audience.
5. Always try to be civil and friendly	and grammar are letter-perfect.
6. Make certain your punctuation, spelling	it may be wise to avoid humour. A direct, conservative style works best.
7. From a business etiquette perspective	Formal letters should not be written by hand.

II. Business Letter Vocabulary Quiz

1) Before you seal and send your letter, make sure to …. it.

a) punctuation b) proofread c) sensitive d) transition

2) As soon as your certified letter reaches the ….. you will be notified.

a) recipient b) margin c) logo d) salutation

3) Choose ….. if you want to put the date and closing in the center of the page.

a) justified b) modified block format c) block format d) spelling

4) Set off the list of " Do's and Don'ts" by using ….

a) body b) letterhead c) bullets d) formal

5) The envelope indicated that there was ….., but in fact there was only a letter inside.

a) an enclosure b) a sender c) a salutation d) an indent

6) The ….. of the first paragraph was optimistic, so I wasn't expecting the bad news in the middle.

a) tone b) active voice c) direct mail d) punctuation

7) I decided not to interview her, because her cover letter contained very poor …...

a) notation b) block format c) single spacing d) grammar

8) The ….. about the meeting was posted on the bulletin board for everyone to read.

a) memo b) heading c) sender d) junk mail

9) Our address and phone number are shown on our …...

a) letterhead b) snail mail c) postage d) salutation

10) In block text format, you do not …… each paragraph.

a) indent b) transit c) punctuation d) margin

(Answers: 1) b 2) a 3) b 4) c 5) a 6) a 7) d 8) a 9) a 10) a)

Step 1 “Enquiry”

I. What do you think an inquiry is? Choose the items, which in your opinion could be the purposes of writing an inquiry:

· to get detailed information about the goods

· to find out the availability of goods

· to define delivery dates

· to get information about terms and discounts, method of transportation and insurance

· to ask for information about prices of goods

· to ask for catalogues and samples of goods