Letter writing

A letter writing is still one of the popular hobby of many people, but a lot of people working with computer and internet prefer e-mails. I would like to speak about types of informal and formal letters.

First of all: PARTS OF A LETTER:

A letter normally consist of the following parts: the sender´s address, the date, the address of the person you are writing to, the salutation, the body, the ending and the signature.

The sender´s address should appear in the top right-hand corner . It should be arranged in this order:

1. The number of the house and the name of the road
2. The village, town or city
3. The postcode ( if any)
4. The country ( if necessary)

The date is written underneath the sender´s address.

The address of the person you are writing to is written on the left-hand and should be exactly the same as the address on the envelope.

• If you are not writing to a relative or friend, the salutation is usually something like: Dear Sir or Dear Sirs, Dear Mr. Brown. In the case of a relative or friend it would be something like Dear Jack, My dear Jack. The salutation is always followed by comma.
• The body of the letter always begins with a capital letter.
• If you are writing to someone you don´t know personally, use the ending: Yours faithfully, Yours very truly( a bit more friendly). We use Yours sincerely for someone who is personally known to you but not a close friend. For friends we use Yours or Yours ever, With love from, With best love, Ever yours, for relatives use something like Yours or Love. All these endings begin with capital letter and end with a comma.

TYPES OF THE LETTER:

For friend or relatives: a letter to friend, a birthday letter, a bread and butter letter („Thank you“)

Business letters: The form of business letters is quite different from the form of private letter. Especially they are written on official paper with a letterhead, with full address of the sender printed at the top.

INQUIRIES:

A great number of business transactions start with an inquiry. They often open a new and perhaps very valuable business connection. It may be used for many different purposes. You may need some information, you may ask for catalogue or price list. An inquiry can be short but it must say clearly what you want.

Generally an inquiry contains:

1. An opening phrase- giving the reason for making inquiry
2. A request for what is wanted- clear description of the goods you are interested in, quality, quantity, price, delivery terms, request for samples or catalogue.
3. A closing phrase expressing hope for a favourable reaction

OFFER( Replies to Inquiries):

A very important point is to make sure that every inquiry is answered on the day it is recieved. If the quotation takes a few days to prepare, a letter should be sent immediately to say that the offer will follow. If it is possible to add any facts which may influence your customer in favour of your letter, we do not hasitate.

Point out new features of your product, superior quality, price. If you sales approach is to have positive effect, it must ring true.

It usually consists of:

1.Thanks for inquiry 2. Full description of the goods 3. Selling, payment and delivery terms 4. Validity of the offer 5. Enclosures ( catalogue, price list, samples, scheme) 6. Closing phrase expressing hope for an order

ORDERS:

All efforts in business in one way or another are directed to one aim: an order. The customer who makes the inquiry does do because he wants to order something. The seller, who sends the offer hopes that it will lead to an order. Most of the firms use for orders special forms. The forms are numbered and thus convenient for future reference, for file, for copy making…

COMPLAINTS:

The letter of complaints should state first, clearly and in details, what is wrong and may point out what inconvenience the error has caused. We can appeal to the high reputation of the firm for honesty and fair treatment. Finally, we will ask to have the matter investigated and satisfactorily adjusted.

ADJUSTMENTS:

After recieving the complaint, one has to decide whether the complaints is justified or not. If it is justified, the settlement is easy: The error is admitted, a suitable adjustment must be proposed and a sincere apology offered.

More difficult is the case, when the complaint is not justified. You must carefully explain why you can´t admit the claim. Sometimes it is better to suggest a compromise in order not to lose a good customer.

ROYAL MAIL: THE BRITISH POST OFFICE

The post office really began working in Britain in 1635. Seventeenth- century postmen were messengers taking letters all over the country on horseback. At that time it was reciever who paid the postal charge. The cost was calculated from the distance the letter had to travel and how many sheets of paper the letter consisted of. Envelopes were not often used. People folded the page over and secured them with sealing wax.

In 1784 the first mail coach began work carrying mail between London and Bristol.

Next improvement to the postal system came with the introduction of the railway in 1830 with the first travelling Post Office appearing in 1838. This actually run from Birmingham to Warington with staff sorting the mail during the journey.

Great Britain became the first stamp-issuing country in the world in 1840 and this is when the postal system as we know it really began. This was known as the “Uniform Penny Post”; the very first stamp was the Penny Black ( silhouette of the Queen Victoria). People often had to travel a long way just to hand in their letters. But than, for just 1 penny, a letter could be sent anywhere in the country.

The next development was the introduction of Iron Letter Collection Boxes- to make things even easier for the letter-writing public. These were already in use in countries like France and Belgium. It was the famous novelist Anthony Trollope who was responsible for the first British Letter Box.

These Letter Boxes were known for their tall and thin shape as Pillar Boxes and quite quickly became success.

In 1883 the parcel post was introduced. The airmail began in 1919 and in 1927 the Post Office opened its own underground railway in London, which meant that mail could be carried between main Post Offices and railway stations without being delayed by other traffic.

Perhaps the two greatest recent changes have been introduction of the post code( first tested in 1959) and the fast/slow letter system( better known as first and second class post-1968). Now, the post office claim that 92 % of first-class letters are delivered the day after being posted.

Perhaps, in the future, computer email will became more important but for most people today the Post Office is simply essential.