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."

Advertising

Word	Meaning
advertisement	Item of publicity to promote a product or service in newspapers, magazines, on TV, etc.
advertising agency	Marketing services firm that assists companies in planning advertisements.
AIDA	Attention, Interest, Desire, Action - the aim of all advertising.
benefit	Advantage of a product or service.
billboard	Signboard for advertising posters.
broadsheet	Newspaper printed in a large format.
campaign	organised course or plan of action.
circulation	Average number of copies of newspapers or magazines sold over a period of time.
classified ads	Small advertisements in newspapers or magazines, divided into categories.
commercial	Advertisement on radio or television.
coupon	Part of a printed advertisement to be used to order goods or samples.
direct mail	Advertisement sent by post to prospective customers.
double-page spread	Advertisement printed across two pages in a newspaper or magazine.
editing	Reviewing or rewriting in order to make suitable for publication.
eye-catcher	Something that particularly attracts one's attention.
features	Special characteristics of a product.
generic advertising	Advertising for a whole sector, such as tourism, rather than a specific product.
hoarding	Wooden structure or signboard, used to carry advertisements.
hype	Excessive or intensive publicity;  exaggerated claims made inadvertising.
jingle	Catchy tune, with a short simple rhyme, used to promote a product.
key words	Informative words chosen to indicate the content of a document.
launch	To start an action in order to introduce something (e.g. a new proeduct).
mailshot	Piece of advertising material sent to potential customers by post.
mass media	The main means of mass communication (newspapers, TV and radio).
plug	Favourable publicity in the media for a commercial product (e.g. a book).
poster	Large sheet of paper used in advertising.
prime time	Hours on radio and TV with the largest audience, usually the evening.
promote	Use advertising and publicity to try to increase sales of a product.
roadside signs	Large panels along roads and motorways used for outdooradvertising.
slogan	Phrase used to advertise a product, or to identify a company or organisation.
slot	Specific time in a broadcasting schedule allotted for a commercial.
soundbite	Short extract from a recorded interview or speech.
spam	Unsolicited advertising sent through the internet as an email message.
spot	Position of a commercial in a radio programme or TV schedule.
tabloid	Newspaper printed in small format, usually with a lot of photographs.
target	Objective;  what is aimed at.
U.S.P.	Unique Selling Proposition;  a declaration of what makes a product different.
write copy	Write a text to be printed or spoken in an advertisement or a commercial.

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Word	Meaning
Ltd	limited
mo	month
N/A	not applicable
NB	Nota Bene  (it is important to note)
no	number
PA	personal assistant
p.a.	per annum  (per year)
Plc	public limited company
pls	please
p.m.	post meridiem  (after noon)
p.p.	per pro  (used before signing in a person's absence)
PR	public relations
p.s.	post scriptum
PTO	please turn over
p.w.	per week
qty	quantity
R & D	research and development
re	with reference to
ROI	return on investment
RSVP	repondez s'il vous plait  (please reply)
s.a.e.	stamped addressed envelope
VAT	value added tax
VIP	very important person

BUSINESS ENGLISH VOCABULARY

Word	Meaning
@	at
a/c	account
AGM	annual general meeting
a.m.	ante meridiem  (before  noon)
a/o	account of  (on behalf of)
AOB	any other business
ASAP	as soon as possible
ATM	automated teller machine (cash dispenser)
attn	for the attention of
approx	approximately
cc	copy to
CEO	chief executive officer
c/o	care of  (on letters:  at the address of)
Co	company
cm	centimetre
COD	cash on delivery
dept	department
e.g.	exempli gratia (for example)
EGM	extraordinary general meeting
ETA	estimated time of arrival
etc	et caetera  (and so on)
GDP	gross domestic product
GNP	gross national product
GMT	Greenwich mean time  (time in London)
i.e.	id est  (meaning : 'that is')
Inc	incorporated
IOU	I owe you
IPO	initial public offer
Jr	junior
K	thousand
lb	pound (weight)
£	pound (money/currency)

words and expressions

Word	Meaning
Cage sandals	A type of sandal with a lot of thin straps.
Captcha	Completely Automated Public Turing Test To Tell Computers and Humans Apart. A distorted image of letters and numbers used to ensure that a response is not generated by a computer, in order to prevent spamming.
Carjacking	Blend of 'car' and 'hijacking'. When a car driver is forced to give up his vehicle or drive to a destination designated by the attacker.
Carnapper	A person who steals a car.
Catfish	A person who sets up a false profile on a social networking site in order to deceive others or for fraudulent purposes.
Charticle	Blend of ‘chart’ and ‘article’. A news article that is composed primarily of a chart, image or graphics with just a brief text for additional information.
Chatroom	Areas on the internet where people can communicate by exchanging typed messages
Chick lit	Books, usually featuring female characters, written by women on contemporary themes and issues that appeal more to women than to men.
Chillaxing	Blend of 'chilling' and relaxing'. Taking a break from stressful activities to rest or relax.
Citizen journalism	News collected and reported by ordinary people, especially through the use of blog software.
Click and collect	A shopping facility which enables customers to order and pay for goods online, then collect them from a local branch of the store.
Click bait	Put something on a website that will encourage visitors to click on a link.
Clickjack Clickjacking	Tricking Internet users into clicking on hidden links.
Cloud computing	A computing service which enables access to a shared pool of resources (servers, data storage, applications, etc.) over the Internet. Users can access and use tools or applications through a web browser without having to install them on their computers.
Coatigan	Blend of 'coat' and 'cardigan'. A long cardigan or knitted jacket which from a distance looks more like a coat. Designed as transitional wear for autumn weather before a heavier coat is necessary.
Content farm	A website that publishes large amounts of low-quality content, or content copied from elsewhere, in order to attract visitors and improve its search-engine rankings.