ELAINE JOYCE G.

JULARBAL

CHAPTER I - THE WORDS OF BUSINESS ENGLISH
1. IMPORTANCE OF WORDS
2. MEANING OF BUSINESS ENGLISH
3. SOURCES OF WORDS OF BUSINESS ENGLISH
4. TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS TERMS

CHAPTER II - THE MODERN BUSINESS LETTER
1. IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT BUSINESS STATIONERY
a. STATIONERY
b. THE LETTERHEAD
2. PRESENTATION OF THE LETTER PROPER
a. MARGINS
b. SPACING
c. CLOSE AND OPEN PUNCTUATION
d. FORMS OF INDENTION
-INDENTED FORM
-PURELY BLOCK FORM
-BLOCK FORM
-SEMI-BLOCK FORM
-HANGING OR OVERHANGING FORM
3. ESSENTIAL PARTS OF THE LETTER
a. THE HEADING
-CONVENTIONAL HEADING
-MODERN HEADING
b. THE INSIDE ADDRESS
c. THE SALUTATION
d. THE BODY OF THE LETTER
e. THE COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
f. THE SIGNATURE
g. MISCELLANEOUS PARTS
-ATTENTION LINE
-SUBJECT LINE
-REFERENCE LINE
4. MAILING AND CARBON COPY NOTATIONS
5. FOLDING THE LETTER
6. ADDRESSING THE ENVELOPE

CHAPTER II - TYPES OF BUSINESS LETTERS
1. BRIEF LETTERS OF INQUIRY
2. LETTERS MAKING RESERVATION
3. LETTERS OF APPOINTMENTS
4. LETTERS OF INVITATIONS
5. LETTERS OF APPRECIATION
6. LETTERS OF CONGRATULATONS AND GOOD WISHES
7. LETTERS OF CONDOLENCE AND SYMPATHY
8. LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION
9. LETTERS OF RESIGNATION
10. LETTERS OF REFERENCE
11. LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION


CHAPTER I - THE WORDS OF BUSINESS ENGLISH
1. IMPORTANCE OF WORDS
The Importance of Words
By David L. Brown
The functions of words and writing are the focus of this series of essays. An important part of this
intellectual adventure is to understand that most basic question: What are words and why are they
important?
Words have evolved through the ages in lockstep with humankind. Perhaps more than any other
factor, it is the mastery of language that sets us apart from the animal world. But words are slippery
things. We often hear statements such as those are only words. It is well-known that they can be
used to deceive as well as to illuminate. In any debate, similar language is used by both sides to
present completely opposite views.
Words in themselves are merely tags to identify certain objects, ideas, actions or characteristics. As
any pet owner knows, even animals use words. My cat, for example, has a limited but easily
recognized vocabulary of sounds for different purposes. The plaintive meow that demands food is
quite different from the satisfied drone that invites one to scratch her ears. Upon seeing a bird, she
chirps in the lingo of cats I see a bird.
There is no doubt that those sounds are words. Other animals have even more finely developed
vocabularies the growling, barking or baying of a wolf; the chattering of a monkey to tell when
food has been found or to warn of danger; the mysterious and complex songs of whales. These
simple animal vocabularies are audible words. They are the substrate upon which human language
grew.
Scientists hypothesize that the development of complex language was a key to the evolution and
advancement of the human race. As a cooperative species rising from its animal past to create stone
age societies, our earliest forebears needed to process and share increasingly complex information.
Making fire or shaping tools from flint demanded enhanced communication skills, lest the hard-
gained knowledge of innovators be lost upon their deaths.
The pre-human creatures we call homo erectus may have been the first to use fire and work flint, so
its fair to assume that they already had a command of words superior to that of lesser animals. Later
Neanderthalers and finally our more recent ancestors the Cro-Magnon must have built an ever-
growing matrix of words to create and maintain their increasingly complex lifestyles.
The myth of the Tower of Babel implies that there was once a tongue common to all humans, and it
may be true that the most primitive languages, like those of many animals today, may have been
shared in common. But as language moved beyond the most basic forms a divergence took place.
Just as birds of unrelated tribes sing different songs, isolated human societies developed their own
special vocabularies.
The power of words helped our ancestors to progress, step by steady step. And yet there was a
strict restraint the limits of human memory. Even the most incisive mind can remember only so
much, and when that knowledge is passed on to successive generations there is always leakage. In
the passage of time, what once had been facts became fables, ideas blur and merge, names and
places morph into myth.
Words are powerful, but time is long and memory is frail.
And then, after hundreds of thousands of years, an incredible breakthrough occurred. To hijack a
phrase from the Book of John, the word was made flesh.
We do not know the name of the man or woman who first learned to record words as symbols on
clay, papyrus, or leather, but those pioneers of fire or the wheel should stand aside in awe before the
greatest unsung genius of them all, that person who learned that words could be more than merely
sounds from the mouths of speakers, that they could be preserved and passed down through the
ages in undiluted form.
From words that had never existed except as sounds, able to be transmitted only within the range of
hearing, sprang something powerful and transforming Writing.
The written word is arguably the most important, most influential, most dynamic discovery of human
history. With the advent of writing, knowledge was no longer subject to the limits of human memory.
Through the power of writing facts could be recorded for all time, laws codified, great speeches
preserved, poetry laid down like vintage wine for the enjoyment of generations far in the future.
Of course just as tongues can betray, so can the written word. It is thus that countless one-sided
histories have been told by conquerors, that bold exploits of myriad would-be heroes were created
by their own hands, and untold numbers of lies intended to cheat, defraud and mislead others
perpetuated for generations yet to come. There is nothing pure or sacred about the written word, for
words are only the expressions of human beings.
Nevertheless, words are of immeasurable importance. In tangible written form they are the solid
bricks from which our ancestors built great civilizations, the foundation stones of our world today.
As with all things, words are sometimes used for good, sometimes for evil. Too often they are merely
wasted in mindless drivel. But without them, in what a poor and primitive state we humans would
exist.
(http://www.dlbrown-inc.com/?page_id=94)

2. MEANING OF BUSINESS ENGLISH
Business English is, quite simply, English geared towards the conduct of business and
international trade. It is generally taught to non-native English speakers who want to do
business with English-speakers, and is thus a purely functional category of English aimed
at preparing learners for effective communication. On the other hand, it can also be
learned by native English speakers who are more habituated to casual use of the language
and are not sure of their footing when it comes to formal, office-environment talk.
The focus in Business English is on the language and skills required for regular business
communication: the vocabulary of trade and finance, presentations, negotiations,
meetings, everyday conversation, networking, correspondence, report writing etc. The
strict rules of grammar are sometimes ignored or sidestepped for these purposes.
(http://www.englishleap.com/other-resources/business-english)

The term " business " embraces every kind of industrial
activity by which men acquire, manufacture, or otherwise pro-
duce property ; by which they sell or transfer it ; borrow or
lend money and give or secure credit ; by which they combine
with others to these ends ; and by which they furnish or obtain
services in these and similar enterprises. Huffcut

In accordance with the meaning of the word " business "
given above, there has come into use what is known as business,
or commercial, English. Business English implies that there are
certain expressions peculiarly fitted for and usually associated
with business, or commercial, life. But just as the term '' busi-
ness " is indefinite and may cover in some way practically every
form of human activity, so business English may at times run
into almost every form of literary expression. As the business
world at times invades any field in which buying and selling are
found, so business English may use almost any form of literary
expression. But just as business usually claims certain forms of
activity as its peculiar field, so does it employ certain forms of
expression which it has originated or adapted and which are
now distinctly its own.

(https://archive.org/details/correspondbusin00davirich)

3. SOURCES OF WORDS OF BUSINESS ENGLISH

4. TECHNICAL AND BUSINESS TERMS

CHAPTER II - THE MODERN BUSINESS LETTER
1. IMPORTANCE OF CORRECT BUSINESS STATIONERY
a. STATIONERY
Be a good quality
8-1/2 by 11 inches letter sheet is used by the majority of firms for letter.
Enveloped match on the paper, should be size 6 by 3 5/8.
b. THE LETTERHEAD
Convey Information
The details of the letterhead are the name and address of the sender.
In addition telephone number and trademark appear.
Ornamental
It may serve to advertise the product or services of the firm or person it represents.
2. PRESENTATION OF THE LETTER PROPER
a. MARGINS
Nearly equal as possible.
The left and right hand margins should never be less than an inch wide: 1.5 inch is preferable.
2.0 inches should be the most pleasing margin.

b. SPACING
It is standard practice to single space all letters and to double space between paragraphs and between
other units such as the inside address and the salutation.
c. CLOSE AND OPEN PUNCTUATION
Closed Punctuation- There should always be a comma between the names of the city and state, town
and province, and between the figures showing the day of the month and the year-but not between the
month and the day.
Conservative style.
Open Punctuation- affords slight saving of time.
The colon following the salutation and the comma following the complimentary close are preferably
retained even with the open form.
d. FORMS OF INDENTION
-INDENTED FORM
Each line of the heading and the inside address is uniformly indented either 3 or 5 spaces more than the
line which precedes it.
Paragraph beginnings are usually indented the same amount as the last line of the inside address.
The complimentary close ordinary aligns with the date line.

-PURELY BLOCK FORM
All parts of the letter are begun flush with the lefthand margin of page
Most efficient

-BLOCK FORM
The line of the heading and inside address are blocked, and all paragraph beginnings are begun flush
with the lefthand margin of the page.
The Complimentary close usually aligns with the date line.
The signature between the paragraphs is indicated by double spacing.

-SEMI-BLOCK FORM
Differs from the block form in only Indention of paragraph openings
Lines which begin new paragraphs should be uniformly indented either five or ten spaces.

-HANGING OR OVERHANGING FORM
Paragraph beginnings align with the left hand margin of the page.
All other lines are indented five spaces from the left hand margin.
Considerable causes a waste of space Appropriate only when the nature of the business is sufficiently
informal to justify novelty and innovation.

3. ESSENTIAL PARTS OF THE LETTER
a. THE HEADING
The heading gives the complete address of the writer and the date when the letter is written. There are
two kinds of heading: Modern Heading Conventional Heading
. The first line of the heading usually contains the number of the house and the name of the street. The
second line of the heading usually contains the town and the province; the city and the state; the district
and the city, or the city postal zone, and the state.
The date always occupies the last line of the heading. It is written either with the month, day and year,
or with the day, the month and the year.'
-CONVENTIONAL HEADING
Conventional Heading contains only the complete address of the writer and the date
-MODERN HEADING
Modern Heading contains the letterhead and the date
b. THE INSIDE ADDRESS
The inside address contains the name and complete address of the individual or firm to whom the letter
is written.
The first line contains the name of the addressee and the appropriate title.
The second line contains the street address or its equivalent.
The third line contains the names of the city or town and state or province.
c. THE SALUTATION
The salutation is the greeting of the letter. There are three forms of the salutation: Two
Singular One Plural
most formal and impersonal
least formal and impersonal salutations.
most formal and
less formal and personal
P used in addressing a firm; a professional partnership of
men; a committee or board comprised of men; an organization of men; or a post office
and Gentlemen used in addressing committees of men and women.
d. THE BODY OF THE LETTER
The body consists of the actual message, which is presented between the salutation and the
complimentary close. A business letter should be clear, concise, and direct. It is suggested that:
33. -
words that are in common, accepted usage, avoid slang or trite expressions.
advisable to keep copies of business letters for future reference.
e. THE COMPLIMENTARY CLOSE
The complimentary close is a conventional farewell to the reader.
35. Most Formal and Impersonal Salutation Complimentary Close

36. y truly, Very
cordially yours, Yours very earnestly, Very affectionately yours,
37. erely yours, Cordially yours,
Yours devotedly, Faithfully yours, Yours earnestly,
f. THE SIGNATURE
The purpose of the signature is to authenticate the statements that precede it by fixing responsibility for
them upon an organization or an individual.
(http://www.slideshare.net/wendycomandante/modern-business-letter#)
g. MISCELLANEOUS PARTS
-ATTENTION LINE
Attention line If the letter is not addressed to any specific person, skip one space after the inside
address and add, "Attention: ." You can make the letter go to the attention of a department.
Attention lines are optional; use them when you can't address your letter to
a particular person because you don't know the name of the person who
holds the position in the company.
Place the attention line two lines below the inside address. E.g.
Their Company
Their Address
Attention: Director of Personnel

-SUBJECT LINE
Subject line Gives an overview of what the letter is about. Can be used in place of a salutation.
Depending on the nature of your correspondence, the recipient may find it helpful if you specify
the subject of your letter.
The subject line is optional and usually contains either a project number (for example,
"Subject: Project 007") or a brief phrase that describes or defines the subject of the letter
(for example, "Subject: Price Quotes for Internal Security Systems Analysis").
Place the subject line either two lines below the inside address or two lines below the
attention line.
Their Company
Their Address
Attention: Director of Personnel
Subject: Order 12345

-REFERENCE LINE
Reference line Appears on a new line below the date. The reference line contains a numerical file
number, invoice number, policy number, or other reference information.
(http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/write-effective-business-letters-HA001139158.aspx)
(http://wiz.cath.vt.edu/tw/TechnicalWriting/corresp/letters/parts.html)
4. MAILING AND CARBON COPY NOTATIONS
10.24 Carbon copy notation
Although carbon is now rarely used for copies, the convenient initials c.c.: (or cc:) followed by a
colon and the names of the recipients of copies of the letter is still the preferred copy notation.
An alternative is Copy to:. It corresponds to the distribution list of documents such as
memorandums and minutes, and lets the recipient know who else is receiving the message.
(http://www.btb.termiumplus.gc.ca/tcdnstyl-chap?lang=eng&lettr=chapsect10&info0=10.24)

5. FOLDING THE LETTER
How to Fold a Standard Letter
As stated in the section on Envelopes a letter, especially a business letter, is folded twice into
horizontal thirds and placed into an envelope.
This insures a little privacy in the letter. The letter is also easy to unfold after opening the
envelope.
The following diagram shows how a letter is normally folded. Click on each picture for more.
This type of fold is used regardless of letter style.
If the letter needs to have the address face out an envelope window, make the second fold in the
same location but opposite direction. The letter will then be folded in a Z shape and the address
can be positioned to face out the window of the envelope.
Unfolded First Fold Second Fold

(http://englishplus.com/grammar/00000161.htm)
6. ADDRESSING THE ENVELOPE
Addressing a business envelope correctly helps ensure that your letter gets to its intended recipient quickly. Its
important to follow standard practices for addressing correspondence, particularly if you are sending a letter to a large
company with many departments. Failing to include complete information might mean that it will take longer than
necessary for the envelope to reach the correct person or department. If you use the same format for every business
envelope, addressing envelopes will soon become second nature.
Step 1
Type your name, company name, title and address in the upper left corner of the envelope if your business doesnt use
preprinted envelopes. You may wish to write your name above the preprinted area even if you use envelopes printed
with your companys return address. If the U.S. Postal Service returns the envelope for any reason, your mailroom will
be able to easily route it back to you if your name is located prominently on the envelope.
Step 2
Put the recipients name on the first line of the envelope. Center the address block in the middle of the envelope. Start
the address block several lines below the return address. The Postal Service recommends using all capital letters when
addressing envelopes.
Step 3
Add the persons title on the next line if you know the title. If you dont know the title, you may want to include the
name of the department instead.
Step 4
Include the name of the company on the next line.
Step 5
Put the first address line on the next line. The Postal Service recommends placing the complete address on one line if
possible. If the address is too long, divide the address between two lines and place the suite number or building number
on the first address line.
Step 6
Complete the envelope with the city, state and ZIP code. Use one space between the city and state and two spaces
between the state and ZIP code.
(http://smallbusiness.chron.com/correct-way-address-business-envelope-57164.html)

CHAPTER II - TYPES OF BUSINESS LETTERS
1. BRIEF LETTERS OF INQUIRY
2. LETTERS MAKING RESERVATION
3. LETTERS OF APPOINTMENTS
4. LETTERS OF INVITATIONS
5. LETTERS OF APPRECIATION
6. LETTERS OF CONGRATULATONS AND GOOD WISHES
7. LETTERS OF CONDOLENCE AND SYMPATHY
8. LETTERS OF INTRODUCTION
9. LETTERS OF RESIGNATION
10. LETTERS OF REFERENCE
11. LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATION