Writing Business Letters

If writing a business letter takes you much longer than in your own language,here are a few guidelines that you may find helpful.

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Plan before you write. Look up words you need before you start. Note the points you want to make, and order them into logical paragraphs. Tone Write as you would speak in a business conversation. The tone should be friendly and polite. Names Make sure you check the gender of the addressee (the recipient), as well as the correct spelling of the person's name and title. Use Ms. for women and Mr. for men. You can use Mrs. for a woman if you are 100% sure that she is married. Dates To avoid any confusion, write the month instead of using numbers (e.g. January 15th, 2012  or 15 January 2012). Be concise and clear. The easier it is to read a letter the better. Keep sentences and paragraphs short and simple. Use straightforward vocabulary to avoid any misunderstanding. Ask direct questions. Rewrite any sentence that does not seem perfectly clear. If the recipient is not a native English-speaker, it is preferable to avoid  words or expressions that are too technical or complicated. Remember this word order principle Subject Verb Object Manner Place Time   Who Does  What   How Where  When Example :  Mr. Brown will travel by plane to London on Monday, June 5th. A technician will install the equipment in your office on Tuesday. Avoid old-fashioned words Although they are used in legal documents and contracts, words like  'herewith', 'herein', 'aforementioned', etc. are rarely used in letters. The following style of sentence is preferable : "You will find more information on our products in the enclosed brochure."