II). Comprehension questions

1. What letters are included into business correspondence?

2. What are the major elements of a business letter?

3. What are the requirements established for the text f a business letter?

4. What expressions are used in the salutation of a business letter?

5. What should be the subscription in a business letter?

III) Read and translate the following text:

“Golden Rules” for writing letters and memos

1. Give your letter a heading if it will help reader to see at glance what you’re writing about.

2. Decide what are you going to say before you start to write or dictate: if you don’t do this, the sentences are likely to go on and on until you can think of a good way to finish. In other words, always try to plan ahead.

3. Use short sentences.

4. Put each separate idea in a separate paragraph. Numbering each paragraph may help the reader to understand better.

5. Use short words that everyone can understand.

6. Think about your reader. Your reader:

… must be able to see exactly what you mean:

your letters should be CLEAR.

… must be given all the necessary information:

your letters should be COMPLETE.

… is likely to be a busy person with no time to waste:

your letters should be CONCISE.

… must be addressed in a sincere, polite tone:

your letters should be COURTEOUS.

… may get a bad impression if there are mistakes in grammar, punctuation and spelling:

your letters should be CORRECT.

Lesson 21.

 

Topic: Business Communication.

Application

1635 Magnolia Avenue Dallas, Texas October 10, 1998 Mr. John Hamilton 1447 Houston Street Dallas, Texas   Dear Mr. Hamilton, I have just learned from Mr. Jones, one of your salesmen, that you wish to employ a reliable boy to help with deliveries and to do odd jobs about the store after school hours and on Saturdays. I should like very much to have you consider me for this work. I am fourteen years old and am now in the ninth grade. For three summers I have been with the Gray Drug Company as delivery boy and general helper. I should like to have you ask Mr. H. W. Gray, the president of this company, about my qualifications. His telephone number is 3-8142 Also, I refer you to Principal H. G. White of Lowell High School, where I am now a student, and to Principal W. B. Lake of Roosevelt Junior High School, the school from which I was transferred last January. It would please me much to be permitted to talk with you at your convenience. My telephone number is 4-36 57. Yours very truly, Harold Roberts

The letter of application should conform to all requirements of a good business letter, and in form it should be correct in every detail. No one should do less than his very best in writing a letter of application, for it is in reality a sales letter in which the writer is trying to sell his services. The application letter usually consists of three or four paragraphs.

 

The first mentions the source of information about the position, the second gives facts to aid in securing the position, the third lists references, and the fourth may suggest further communication. But even the conventional form of the application may be altered to suit the originality of the writer. In short, the more individual in form and content the message, the more evident the superior fitness to fill the position. A happily turned phrase or an appropriate reference may be just the difference necessary to give to an applicant advantage over his competitors.

II. Write your letter of application using the sample.

Lesson 22.

Topic: Business Communication.

I) Write your autobiography using the samples:

Autobiography

 

In this document a person presents a summary of facts of his or her biography as accepted in Ukraine. It includes:

1. The name of the document

2. A text where one gives his or her

· name in full

· date of birth

· place of birth

· summary of education, work experience (in chronological order), personal experience, social activities

· information about the family

3. Date

4. Signature

Sample Autobiography

I, Prokopenko Mariya Oleksandrivna, was born on April 29, 1978 in Kyiv in the family of an officer.

In 1985 I became a pupil of the first form of Kaniv secondary school in Ukraine.

When my father entered the Military Academy in Kharkiv in 1986 we moved there and I continued my studies at School No. 50. In 1995 I entered the Foreign Languages Department of the Ukrainian State pedagogical University after M. P. Drahomanov where I am studying now. I am the monitor of group 43.

My family.

Father – Prokopenko Oleksandr Vasylyovytch, born in 1954, is an officer and works at the Defense Ministry of Ukraine.

Mother – Prokopenko (Kyrylenko) Nataliya Viktorivna, born in 1958, is a music teacher of Kyiv children musical school No.2.

Sister – Prokopenko Kateryna Oleksandrivna, born in 1987, is a pupil of the second form of Kyiv secondary school No. 44.

October 10, 1999

Signature

In the following documents a person presents a summary of biographical details, especially details of education and work experience as accepted in Great Britain and the USA.

Curriculum Vitae

 

Name: MARY BRENDA SCOTT

Address: 44 London Road, Winchester S016 7HJ

Telephone: [phone] (home) 0703 7787 (work)

Date of Birth: 30 August 1967

Marital status: single

EDUCATION

Churchill Comprehensive School, Basingstoke 1978-1983

Winchester Technical College 1983-1985

QUALIFICATIONS

C.S.E. Maths, English French, Geography,

History, Chemistry 1983

G.C.E. ‘0’ Level Commerce, Economics, Spanish 1984

BTEC National Secretarial Practice, Office Practice 1985

EXPERIENCE

Office assistant Totton Engineering, Totton 1984-1985

Secretary to

Sales Director Totton Engineering, Totton 1985-1986

Personal Assistant

to Export Manager Millbank Foods, Southampton 1986 to date

My work with Millbank Foods has involved responsibility for giving instructions to junior staff and dealing with clients and suppliers in person and on the telephone. I have accompanied the Export Manager to Food Trade fairs in Germany, France and the USA.

OTHER INFORMATION

I speak and write French and Spanish quite well (intermediate level). I am now taking an evening course in German conversation.

OTHER ACTIVITIES AND INTERESTS

I play club basketball regularly and I sing and play guitar with a local country and western band.

REFERENCES

Mr. S. J. Grant, Personnel Manager, Millbank Foods, 34-42 South Dock Drive, Southampton S08 9QT

Mr. John Robinson, Sales Director, Totton Engineering, Cadnam Street, Totton S023 4GT

Miss P. L. MacPherson, Head Teacher, Churchill Comprehensive School, Independence Way, Basingstoke BA8 9UJ

Lesson 23.

 

Topic: Business Communication.

I) Read and translate the following text:

The Resume

A resume also referred to by, and sometimes even labeled with, the Latin terms curriculum vitae (the course of one’s life) or vita brevis (a short life) or simply vita. Whatever name it bears, this document presents, usually on one or two pages and in the form of a list, a summary of an applicant’s job objective, education, work experience, personal experiences, extracurricular activities, achievements, honours, etc. Sent out with a cover letter that is addressed to a specific person in the company, the resume is intended to introduce the applicant to a potential employer and to elicit a request for further information about the applicant and ultimately for an interview.

Under such headings as Education, Work Experience, and Extracurricular Activities, the items are usually listed in reverse chronological order, starting with the most recent and ending with the earliest. The items that the applicant chooses to list should be pertinent to the kind of job being sought. The cover letter that accompanies the resume should call attention to those items that are especially pertinent to the particular job that is being applied for.

The resume and the cover letter should be neatly, and attractively typed on good heavy paper. The physical appearance alone of these documents could make a crucial impression on the reader. You cannot afford to be careless in preparing these documents. Remember that you are trying to sell yourself and the service you have to offer. So in listing your assets and achievements, do not misrepresent yourself, either by exaggerating or by downplaying your merits. Do not brag, let the facts speak for themselves. For example, if you mention that you have a four-year Grade Point Average of 3.8, you do not have to boast that you have been an excellent student.

The resume usually mentions that letters of reference and transcripts of academic work are available upon request. In the case of students who are applying for a job, the resume sometimes gives the address of the school’s placement office where the interested employer can write for the applicant’s dossier, which is the collection of such documents as transcripts, letters of reference, and samples of one’s writing. If your resume and cover letter move the potential employer to write for your dossier, you will have reached an important stage in the process of applying for a job. The next important step is to gain an invitation to a face-to-face interview.

There are two kinds of basic resumes: chronological and functional. If your work experience was fairly continuous and in related areas, use a chronological resume, which lists your work experience in reverse order. A functional resume, developed on the basis of three or four skill areas, can be used if you were in and out of the job market at various times or if your work experience does not appear directly related to the job for which you are applying. Writing both kinds of resumes may benefit you, because this exercise gives you two different perspectives on yourself.

There is no one-and-only way to write a resume, but some good basic guidelines to follow are: (1) be brief, (2) be clear, (3) be neat, (4) be honest. The best resume describes your qualification on only one page.

Usually people send a resume with an individual letter addressed to a specific person in a company. Sometimes the resume is attached to an application, or requested after an application has been received. The general idea is to give the employer a preview of you before an interview takes place.

Lesson 24.

Topic: Telephone Conversation.

Topical words.

to ring/to call smb up дзвонити по телефону

to call back передзвонити

May /can I speak to…? Можна мені поговорити з…?

Any message? Щось передати?

Could you take a message? Ви не могли б переказати?

The line is busy. Лінія зайнята.

Don’t hang up. Не кладіть трубку.

You are wanted on the phone. Вас до телефону.

You have the wrong number. Ви помилилися номером.

Can you put me through? Чи можете ви мене з’єднати?