BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ТРАНСПОРТА РФ

МОСКОВСКАЯ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННАЯ АКАДЕМИЯ 

ВОДНОГО ТРАНСПОРТА

В.В. Гучкова, О.А. Бардахчьян, Е.А. Балыгина, М.Ю. Сульженко

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

Альтаир – МГАВТ 

Москва 

2006

Гучкова В.В., Бардахчьян О.А., Балыгина Е.А., Сульженко М.Ю.

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

Методические рекомендации

Технический редактор Малахов М.П.

Компьютерная верстка Дементьевой Т.В.

Подписано в печать                      2006 г.

Формат  60х90/16   Объѐм   2,4 п.л.

Заказ  №        Тираж   200   экз.

АльтаирМГАВТ

Московская государственная академия водного транспорта
117105 г. Москва, Новоданиловская набережная, д.2, корп.1

МИНИСТЕРСТВО ТРАНСПОРТА РФ

МОСКОВСКАЯ ГОСУДАРСТВЕННАЯ АКАДЕМИЯ 

ВОДНОГО ТРАНСПОРТА

В.В. Гучкова, О.А. Бардахчьян, Е.А. Балыгина, М.Ю. Сульженко

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

МЕТОДИЧЕСКИЕ РЕКОМЕНДАЦИИ

Альтаир – МГАВТ 

Москва 

2006

Гучкова В.В., Бардахчьян О.А., Балыгина Е.А., Сульженко М.Ю.
BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE. Методические рекомендации. – М.: Альтаир –
МГАВТ, 2006. – 37 с. 

Настоящее издание представляет собой методические рекомендации для сту
дентов старших курсов факультета «Экономики и управления» МГАВТ. Пособие 
содержит тематические тексты и комплексы упражнений, основной целью которых 
является формиров ание навыков написания делового письма. Предлагаемые упражнения связаны с освоением штампов составления деловых писем ( запросов, писем  предложений, писем  жалоб, писем – заказов и др.) и ответов на них. Заключительная часть издания содержит контрольные задания, направленные на проверку 
усвоения изученного материала.  

Рецензент Баловнева Т.А., доцент , к.ф.н.

Рассмотрено и одобрено кафедрой иностранных языков 30 мая 2006 г. (протокол № 23).
Рекомендовано к изданию Учебно-методическим советом МГАВТ.

Ответственность за оформление передаваемых в печать материалов несут авторы и 

кафедра, выпускающие учебно-методические материалы. 

© Гучкова В.В., Бардахчьян О.А., Балыгина Е.А., 

Сульженко М.Ю., 2006                                         

© Оформление. МГАВТ, 2006

CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………………... 4

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE .……………………………………………………. —

EXPRESSIONS FOR BUSINESS  LETTERS  ………………………………………….. 7

ENQUIRIES ..…………….……………………………………………………………... —

ANSWERS TO ENQUIRIES …………………………………………………………….. 9

OFFERS ……………………..…………………………………………………………... 11

DIFFERENT KINDS OF OFFERS.……………………………………………………... 12

LETTERS FOR ACCEPTING OR DECLINING OFFERS ……………………………. 14

FORM OF ORDER .…………………………………………………………………….. 16

GENERAL CONDITIONS OF THE ORDER ………………………………………….. 17

CONFIRMATION LETTERS .………………………………………………………….. 19

CONFIRMATION OF ORDER BY THE SELLER…………………………………….. 20

THE ADVICE OF DISPATCH . ………………………………………………………... 21

COMPLAINTS AND CLAIMS ………………………………………………………… 22

LETTERS OF ADJUSTMENT …………………………………………………………. 24

TESTS ………….………………………………………………………………………... 28

ЛИТЕРАТУРА .………………………………………………………………………… 36

ДЛЯ ЗАМЕТОК ………………………………………………………………………... 37

INTRODUCTION 

Letter writing is an important part of business communication. A cheque, a contract 

or any other business paper which we send by mail should always be accompanied by a 
letter. The letter says what we  are sending, so that the reader should know exactly what 
you intended to send. 

A well arranged letter will make a better impression on the reader, thus good letters 

make good business partners. Nowadays more and more agreements are made in English, 
for English is a universal business language. 

A good business letter does not ramble on; it supplies all pertinent information in a 

clear and concise manner. Conventional business correspondence contains the date, inside 
address, salutation, etc., in addition to the body of the letter. 

Many professionals process large amounts of written material daily and learn how to 

skim their mail quickly and effectively. There are really not enough hours in the day for a 
busy person to read each letter slowly, word for word. For these reasons, it is necessary to 
state your purpose in the opening sentence of the letter. It is also best to use active voice 
instead of passive voice. Passive voice requires longer verb forms, building longer sentences that are tiresome to read.

Although it is important to write a letter that sounds natural and is not long-winded, 

remember that the tone of a business letter should be more formal than normal, conversational English. After skimming the first few sentences, a reader may slow down and read a 
well-written letter more closely, but may quickly toss one into the "circular file" if it is difficult to read or unprofessional. 

Many people write an important letter, print it out and mail it without further con
sideration. If possible, let your finished letter sit on the computer for an hour or two, then 
go back and reread it. Do not skim your letter. Read it closely and you may be surprised at 
the number of simple mistakes you will find. If you do find mistakes, correct them and 
read it again. Can you read it through without finding more mistakes or rewriting any sentences? Have you stated your ideas as clearly and concisely as possible? If not, then your 
letter is not ready to mail. It takes patience to write a good business letter. With time and 
experience, however, your letters will begin to flow more quickly and easily.

BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

A very  large part of the business of the world is conducted by means of correspon
dence. Therefore it is extremely important to be able to write good business letters- letters 
that represent one's self and one's organization to best advantage.

Writing good business letters is a matter of detailed and often quite specialized 

technique, which is not so complicated as you may have been let to fear. All you need is  a 
list of visiting cards, some good paper, a pen, a typewriter and a little good will.

You should be familiar with two kinds of letters: business letters and personal let
ters. Business organizations 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. If you can't fully answer 

them within that period, the least you can do is acknowledge them and explain your delay.

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

Your business letters should be well-placed and organized. Whether long or short, 

your letter should present a well-balanced appearance. Wide margins make your letter 
more readable and inviting  never continue a business letter on the back of the sheet.

Make an effort to keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Use a new paragraph 

for each new thought or idea, and express that
thought as simply and briefly as you can.    
Your letters should not contain misspelled words typographic errors, or an incorrectly or 
poorly constructed sentences. Poor grammar, misspelled words lack of punctuation or the 
improper use of it may destroy the effectiveness of your letter.

Business  letters  may  be  written  in
the first person singular: " I must apologize for the delay in fulfilling your order of 
November 20. I shall see that the spare parts are sent immediately". 

the first person plural: " We must apologize..."

the impersonal passive: "The delay in fulfilling your order is regretted. The spare 
parts will be sent immediately..."

The impersonal passive is inclined to be cold and distant; the first person forms are 

therefore usually to be preferred.

STYLES  OF  LETTERS

There are many ways to lay out a business letter.
The arrangement style of a letter depends upon the horizontal placement of the vari
ous letter parts. The order or sequence in which the parts are positioned is fixed in a logical pattern that is normally not altered to suit individual tastes.

Letters in which all the parts begin at the left margin are written in block style.
"Block style" is the most useful to learn because it is accepted everywhere.
Another popular style is  modified  block  style. In this format the date line, refer
ence line, complimentary close, author's name and title begin at the centre of the paper. 
The fist line of each paragraph may begin at the left margin or may be indented 5 or 10 
spaces. All other lines begin at the left margin.

PUNCTUATION      

Most organizations use mixed punctuation; a colon follows the salutation, and a 

comma follows the complimentary close. In open punctuation style, no punctuation follows the salutation or the complimentary close. Sentences in the body of the letter are 
punctuated normally.

NOTES:

Dates in Written English

In British English the day is usually put before the month. If you wish, you can add 

the ending of the ordinal number. The preposition of before the month is usually dropped. 
You can put a comma before the year, but this is not common anymore in British English. 
It is common, however, if the date is part of a sentence: ― The conference takes place 1012 December, 2003.‖ 
Example: 5(th) (of) October(,) 2004

In American English the month is usually put before the day. If you wish, you can 

put the definite article before the day. It is common to write a comma before the year.

Example: October (the) 5(th), 2004
You can also write the date by using numbers only. The most common forms are:
Example: 5/10/04 or 5-10-04

TASK:

The business letters below convey the bad news. To convey bad news positively, the 

writer should avoid such words as "cannot," "forbid," "fail," "impossible," "refuse," "prohibit," "restrict," and "deny" as much as possible. The writer should avoid a self-centered 
focusing on his own concerns rather than those of the recipient. Even if he must talk about 
himself in a business letter a great deal, he should do so in a way that relates his concerns 
to those of the recipient. Read the two versions of each letter and answer the questions:  

1. Which of the versions express the bad news in a positive way ? 
2. Which of the  versions below are phrased in a rather cold and unfriendly negative 

manner? Which of them are  much more positive, cordial and tactful? 

3. In which of the  versions below the writer focuses on the recipient's needs, purpos
es, or interests instead of his own? 

4. Which of the  versions below reduce the chances that business relations with the re
cipient of the bad news will end?

An extract from LETTER 1

Version A: I am writing you about a change in our pricing policy that will save our 

company time and money. In an operation like ours, it costs us a great amount of labor 
time (and thus expense) to scrape and rinse our used tableware when it comes back from 
large parties. Also, we have incurred great expense on replacement of linens that have 
been ruined by stains that could have been soaked promptly after the party and saved. For 
these reasons, our new policy, effective September 1, 2005, will be to charge an additional 
15% on unrinsed tableware and 75% of the wholesale value of stained linens that have not 
been soaked.

Version B : I am writing to inform you of a new policy that we are beginning, effec
tive September 1, 2005, that will enable us to serve your large party needs more often and 
without delay. In an operation like ours in which we supply for   

parties of up to 500, turn-around time is critical; unscraped and unrinsed tableware 

causes us delays in clean-up time and, more importantly, less frequent and less prompt 
service to you the customer. Also, linens ruined by stains that could have been avoided by 
immediate soaking after the party cause you to have to pay more in rental fees. Therefore, 
in order to enable us to supply your large party needs promptly and whenever you require, 
we will begin charging 15% on all unrinsed tableware and 75% of the wholesale value of 
stained linens that have not been soaked. This policy we hope will encourage our customers' kitchen help to do the quick and simple rinsing and/or soaking at  the end of large parties that will ensure faster and more frequent service.
An extract from LETTER 2

Version A: Because of the amount of information you request in your letter, simply 

cannot help you without seriously disrupting my work schedule. 

Version B : In your letter you ask for a good amount of information  which I would 

like to help you locate. Because of my work commitments, however, I am going to be able 
to answer only a few of the questions....
An extract from LETTER 3

Version A: If you do not complete and return this advertisement contract by July 1, 

19XX, you will not receive your advertising space in this year's Capitol Lines. If we have  
not heard from you by this deadline, we will sell you your advertisement space to some 
other client. 

Version B : Please complete the enclosed contract and return it to us by July 1, 

19XX. After this deadline, we will begin selling any unrenewed advertisement space in 
this year's Capitol Lines,  so I hope we hear from you before then.

EXPRESSIONS FOR BUSINESS LETTERS

Salutation – Addressee known 

Dear Ms / Miss / Mrs / Mr / Dr … 

Salutation – Addressee unknown 

Dear Sir / Dear Sirs 
Gentlemen 
Dear Madam 
Ladies 
Dear Sir or Madam 
Ladies and Gentlemen 
To whom it may concern 

First Paragraph 

We have received your letter dated … 
Many thanks for … / Thank you (very much) for … 
This is to confirm … 
We hereby inform you … 

Final Paragraph 

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact us. 
We look forward to your reply. 
We are looking forward to hearing from you soon. 

Greeting – Addressee known 

Yours sincerely / Sincerely yours 

Greeting – Addressee unknown 

Yours faithfully / Faithfully yours 
Sincerely / Sincerely yours 

ENQUIRIES 

When a Buyer wants to know at what price and on what terms he could buy the 

goods required by him he usually sends out enquiries to firms, companies and organizations manufacturing such goods or dealing in them. Often the Buyer asks the Seller to send 
him an illustrated catalogues, price lists or other publications and, if possible, samples or 
patterns of the goods he is interested in. When asking the Seller to send him a quotation 
(or to make him an offer), the Buyer gives as far as possible a detailed description of the 
goods required by him. 

A first enquiry sent to a supplier with whom the writer of the letter has never done 

business before, normally includes the following:

1. Opening lines. 

In the opening lines you must mention how you obtained your potential supplier‘s name. 
Below see the possible variants of this part of the letter:

Your name and address have been given us by the Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry …

We saw your goods at the trade fair this spring and would like to know if …

The Russian Embassy in London has advised us to get in touch with you regarding …

We have seen your advertisement in the last issue of our local newspaper that 
states that you can offer …

We are indebted for your address to the Russian Embassy in London, that informed us that you are manufacturers of …

2. Asking for information.

The information that you are interested in are the details concerning a catalogue, a 

price list, terms of payment, delivery time, discounts and if possible, samples:

Will you be so kind as to quote us your prices CIF – St. Petersburg for …

We would appreciate if you send us a sample of each of the listed items.

Will you advise us about your terms of payment and discounts offered for 
regular deliveries and large orders?

3. Closing sentences.

One of the following sentences is needed to round off the enquiry in a private manner:

We hope to hear from you soon.

A prompt answer would be appreciated.

We are looking forward to hearing from you as soon as possible.

EX.1 Find the equivalents in the text:

Производить; производитель (изделий)); торговать ( чем-либо);котировка 

товара; образец (товара);сделать предложение на (что-либо);по возможности ( 
по мере возможности)  ; реклама ;посольство; перечислить(назначить)  цены; заказ на большую партию товара; Торговая Палата; последний номер газеты ;быть 
признательным (кому-либо) за (что –либо);
EX.2 Answer the following questions:

1. What are the opening lines of enquiry?
2. What information does a potential buyer ask for in his enquiry?
3. What are the closing sentences of enquiry?
4. What types of enquiries are there? 

EX. 3. Read the enquiry below and give the English equivalents to the following words 
and word-combinations: постоянный спрос; высококачественные товары; объѐм
продаж; образцы кожи; 

Dear Sirs, 

We have heard from your representative, Mr. Wolf  that you are producing for ex
port jackets in pure  leather. There is a constant demand in Austria for high-class goods of 
the type. Sales are not high, but a good price can be obtained for fashionable design.

Will you please send us your catalogues and a price  list with terms of payment. If 

it is possible, please, send us also several samples of leather used in your jackets we look 
forward to your reply. 

Yours faithfully, …

EX.4 Read the enquiry below and give the English equivalents of the following words and 
word-combinations: 

сделать заказ;  конкурентоспособные цены; гарантировать быструю по
ставку; отзывы будут приложены к заказу;
Dear Sirs,

Following my conversation with the representative  in  your  London showroom, I 

should  be glad if you  would send  me your new catalogue of notebooks. If you can guarantee prompt delivery and can  quote really competitive prices we may be able to place  an 
order. First-class references will be supplied with the order.

Yours faithfully, …

EX.5  Write a letter of enquiry .  

A software manufacturer advertises some new package it has developed and you 

can't inspect it locally, write an enquiry to that manufacturer asking specific questions.  
You cannot find any information on a technical subject and hope that  an enquiry letter to 
a company involved in that subject may put you on the right track. In fact, that company 
may supply much more help than you had expected (provided of course that you write a 
good inquiry letter). 
EX.6 Read the enquiry below and give the English equivalents of the following words and
word-combinations: Импортѐр мебели;  в настоящее время мы ищем иностранного 
производителя, способного поставить нам современные элитные модели кухонь; 
мы узнали из каталогов; вы производите кухонные гарнитуры; если ваши условия 
окажутся приемлемыми для нас, мы будем готовы разместить у вас регулярные 
крупные заказы; ждѐм Вашего ответа;
Dear Sirs: 

Our company is one of the major furniture importers in Russia. At present time we 

are looking for a foreign manufacturer who is able to supply us with modern elite models 
of kitchen furniture. We learn from your catalogue that you are producing kitchen suits. 
Please inform us of your current export prices and delivery terms. 

If your conditions are acceptable to us, we'll be ready to place regular large orders 

with your company.

We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
T.P. Ivanov
Sales Manager

ANSWERS TO ENQUIRIES

It often happens that the Seller is not in a position to send a quotation immediately 

upon receipt of the Buyer‘s enquiry. For instance, in the case of an enquiry for machinery 
the Seller sometimes wants to get in touch with the manufacturing plant in order to find 
out whether the machines are still available for sale or whether they can be manufactured 
in conformity with the buyer‘s specification within the time required by him. In such cases