Below are seven newspaper headlines. Break the nounimpound into longer phrases which could be the openingics for each report. The first has heen done for you.

verment policy crisis•risis in goverment policy

Air speed record

)ort congestion problemNorth Sea oil rig accident

cal industry results disasterPoisonous chemicals disaster

llution row

MODULE VIII

Unit l

THE ENQUIRY

OBJECTIVES:

discuss the basic elements of a letter of enquirypractise Incotermswrite routine enquirieswrite enquiries about people

1. LEAD IN | JL«Mtfdr

Letters that ask for information used to be the most common in busimwritten communication. Businesses need a lot of information from each otland also need information about people. Nowadays due to technologiadvance in telecommunications very many users prefer telephoning or email:to the standard enquiry letter. This does not mean that enquiries are out of u££/On the contrary, there are situations when a beautifully written letter of enquis a must. Can you think of an example?

2. PRESENTATION

An enquiry is a short and simple, sometimes pre-printed, form of busincorrespondence through which you ask a potential partner for:

• their catalogue, price-lists, presentation brochures or prospectuses• samples and demonstrations,• terms and methods of payment,

• discounts,• goods on approval, sale or return• estimate or tender

Enquir ies can be made by telephone, telex, fax, e-mail or postcard.A first enqui ry (sent to a supplier wi th whom you have not previously

ie business) should include:

^a brief mention of how you obtained your potential supplier 's name(embassy, consulate , chamber of commerce; e x h i b i t i o n or trade fa i r : arecommendation from a business associate, advertisement in the press)the demand in your area for the goods which the supplier deals indetails of what you'd l i k e your prospective supplier to send you (catalogue,price l i s t , discounts, methods of payment, delivery times, samples)a closing sentence to round off the enquiry

Now look at the fol lowing ways you can express the above:a)Your name has been given us by the British Chamber of Commerce...We saw your products demonstrated at the Bucharest Fair earlier th is v

. and would like to know whether.. . .Your advertisement in this month's issue of "The Entrepreneur" states

you can offer...We visited your website at www.e.ro. and we want to know ifb)There is a high demand here for high-quality trainers of the type you

.ifaclure.Demand for this type of machine is not high, but sales th is year wil libly exceed 25,000 pounds.There is yet no market here for luxury articles of this type, but lessisive models sell very well throughout the year,c)You can count on a high turnover if prices are competitive and deliveries

Wi l l you please send us your catalogue and price l i s t for . . .W i l l you please quote prices C. I. F. Amsterdam for the fol lowing itemsq u a n t i t i e s stated:...

*Ve are also interested in your terms of payment and in discounts offered:ular purchases and large orders.

. <

We would appreciate a sample of each of the items listed above.If we place orders with you prompt delivery is compulsory. Can you

guarantee delivery within three weeks of receiving orders?d)We are looking forward to hearing from youWe would appreciate a prompt answerAs our own customers are pressing us for a quotation, we hope you wi l l

he able to make us an offer within a fortnight from today's date.Please, e-mail me back with the infoVequested.

This is the indirect enquiry sent to people whose reaction you do notknow or anticipate. Since most businesses, however, welcome enquiries andcooperate in g iv ing information you can also address them in the direct styleas it is l ime saving. IT you or your organisation prefer directness you can alwaysuse a direct-order plan:

s --- ~~- — ~~~~ — — — —• ' • ...... x

3 Begin directly s tat ing your reason for wri t ing: either a specific questionor a general request for information.

;•?* Include necessary information - if it is needed.i-'| If you raise several issues number them in a reader f r iendly format.!='• End wi th goodwill and use one of the suitable complimentary closes.

N- _ , _ ° -- — ---- -

Now look at the letter addressed by Metalka Industries Lid. to Business& English Studies &Training Institute on the next page. This letter is from acompany training director to the director of a management-training program.The company t r a in ing director already received literature on the program butneeds additional information. The letter is asking for this information.

Notice t h e use of the direct s tyle - a general request for i n f o r m a t i o nintroduces the specific question (whether to send employees to a managementcourse). The reference to the brochure in the f i r s t paragraph t e l l s w h a t thewriter/sender already knows and helps t h e reader/receiver to answer. Theques t ions raised are numbered which focuses the reader's a t t en t ion to t h e mand, at the same l ime, w i l l make the reply easy to give. Notice also t h a t whenexplana t ions are necessary they are given along wi th the questions. The pos i t i veending shows goodwill and contributes to a qu ick response.

to bring the goods to the named port but is not liable for thefrom the moment the goods pass the ship's rail in the port of shipment.In the case of roll-on/ roll-off or container traffic, when the ship's railis irrelevant, it is better to use the CPT term.

6. FCA ( named place ) means that the fulfills his or her obligationwhen the goods ( cleared for export) are handed over to the carriernamed by the purchaser. In the case of rail and road transport, deliveryis completed when the goods have been For sea transport,del ivery is complete when the seller has taken the goods to thetransport

7. CIF is the same as CFR except that the seller has to arrange and payfor insurance for any risks during transit to the named port otdestination. In the case of roll-on / roll-of or containing traffic, whenthe ship's rail is irrelevant, it is better to use the CIP terms.

8. CPT (named place of dest inat ion ) means that the pays fortransport to the destination. The risks and costs are then tothe buyer when the goods have been given to the earner. This term issu i tab le for any k ind of transport inc luding multimodal transport.

9 DEQ is the same as DES but the seller is also responsible forthe cleared goods onto the quay or wharf. The contract should makeit clear whether or not the seller pays duty, VAT, etc.

10. FOB ( named port of shipment) . The goods are loaded on board bydie at a port named in the contract. The risk of loss or damagepasses to the buyer when the goods pass the The buyer isresponsible lor the transport costs from his port to the destination.However, it is the seller who has to obtain any export licence ordocumentation necessary for the goods to leave the country. In thecase of ro l l -on / roll-of or container traffic, when the ship's rail isi r re levant , it is better to use the FCA terms.

I 1 . OAF means that the seller's obligations are fulf i l led when the goodshave arrived at the frontier. It is recommended that contracts shouldspec i fy winch frontier, e. g. " Delivered at Romanian Frontier(Curt id)" . This term is most often used for the rail or road transportbut can apply to any mode.

12. The term DDP represents the seller 's max imum obl iga t ion . Allexpenses are incurred by the seller un t i l they arrive at destination.The term may be used for any mode of transport but it is unsu i t ab le ifthe seller cannot obtain an licence.

13. DES ( named port of de s t i na t i on ) can only be used for sea or inlandw a t e r w a y t r anspor t . The s e l l e r makes the goods ( torimportat ion) available to the buyer on board and bears all the costsand r i sks involved in br inging the goods to the port of des t ina t ion .

II. Look at the following letter of enquiry and answer thequestions below it.

BUSINESS ENGLISH SCHOOL Ltd

>Calea Victoriei nr. 153, et. 1, ap. 23; Bucuresti, sector 1

Tel: +40 01 686 34 56; Fax: +40 01 789 02 23;E-mail: maria@beschool.com

Newstyle Office Supplies Pic ( ?Bd. Libertatii 123Bucuresti

Dear Sirs

Our ref: MN/sf/22412 January 20..

We are writing to you following our visit last week to your stand at theInternational Fair for Office Suppliers in Cluj.

We are a Business English School specialising in working with variouscategories of customers, from students to professionals and businessexecutives.

We are expanding our offices and we will need extra office furniture, lightsand f i l i ng cabinets. We will also need various types of business and schoolequipment, including whiteboards, OHPs, flip charts and multimediafaci l i t ies .

) Could you send us your latest catalogue and price-list, quoting your mostJ competi t ive prices?

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

VtM^cWJ* )Yours faithfully,

M a r i a Neacsu (Ms)Director

1. Why does the l e t t e r end w i t h Yours faithfully ?2. Wha t do the f o l l o w i n g abb rev i a t i ons stand for: Pic. Ltd, OIIP,

Vis. f ax?3. Why does the letter start w i t h ment ioning the visi t to the stand of

News 'v le Office Supp l i e s Pic n t the Internat ional Fair for OfficeSuppliers in Cluj?

©Write the letter of enquiry which preceded the reply below. Youare Mrs Sandrina Lucas, Chief Buyer, and you have just seen anadvertisrnent for good quality china in the February edjtion ofCasaLux.

Ss4 Bd. Negru Voda nr. 2670450 Curtea de A r e sROMANIA

Tel. 048 342 567: 048 452 875: Pax: 048 213 678

Mrs Sandr ina LucasLucas & Howe Ltd.R u a das Ameixociras 342P-1700LisboaPORTUGAL

10 Apri l 20...Deal' Mrs Lucas,It was a pleasure to receive your letter today, and we are enclosing thecatalogue and price l i s t you asked for.You w i l l see t h a t we can offer a wide selection of china ware from pla inb reak fa t sets to the de l ica te c h i n a dinner services.You can choose from more than forty designs which include elegance ofpat tern , delicate drawing and r ichness of glaze.We would be glad to add your cl ients to our list of customers throughout theworld. We can offer them excellent products with a fist class service. We areprepared to accept orders for any numbers of pieces and can mix sets if required.You w i l l see our prices are quoted fob Constanta or cif Amsterdam and weare offering a special 10% discount off all net prices, wi th delivery wi th inthree weeks from receipt of order.If there is any further information you require, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours sincerely.Vasile Popcscu (Mr)Sales Manaacr

4)iM'riting practice

You work for a car sale company in Bucharest. You have read an artin an F-^]jsh c-'- magazine which reminds you of a business card you wg i v e - . ' irach. .•, :; ,"Hlv,

You decide 10 wr i t e a letter enquir ing about the p o s s i b i l i t y of impori \\0cars. Address your letter to Mr Brown.

Fashion Cars LTD

12 Engine StreetNewportWest YorkshireNW2 5KLTel: 063481265

P.J. BrownRepresentative

INTERNATIONAL CARS Apr i l

hut the model that performed best in our tests was the "Dream" c;made by Fashion Cars Ltd. It was simple to operate, mechanical ly re l iahand lower on fuel consumption than the other cars we tested, We theretorecommend it as our "Best Buv".

WHAT THE WORLD THINKS AND SAYS

Jokes or wise cracks are useful when socializing. Discuss in what contcyou could use some of the fo l lowing:

The difference between a smart person and a wise one is tfa smart person knows what to say, but a wise person knows whetf-or not to say it.

Computers are capable of so much - they can make very favery accurate mistakes.

You know you're getting old when your computer has more cbetter memory than you do.

-ion brings out the best in products and the worst in

rnoff

jt angrv with people when you laugh at them. Humour leaches

set Maugham, The Summing Up, 1938

MODULE IX

OFFERS

OBJECTIVES

• discuss types of offers• discuss features of offers• revise incoterms• practice wri t ing offers• revise and practice adjective/noun/verb + preposition combination

1. LEAD-IN

In pairs, try to answer the following questions

1. What in format ion would you include in an answer to a letter ofenqui ry (offer)?

2. Who would you send an offer to?3. What informat ion would you inc lude to "tempt" the addressee to

send you an offer as quickly as possible?4. As a buyer wha t would you look for in an offer except a good

price?

2. PRESENTATION

Offers are the second l ink in the commercial communication, precedingthe drawing up and signing of a contract. Offers can be

• solicited offers, requested by another person or company and are int h i s case a reply to a general or specific enquiry your company hasreceived;

unsolicited offers, sales letters sent at the in i t ia t ive of the manufacturer/ exporter / seller without a previous enquiry ora personalised or not personalised promotional f lye r advert is ing the

company's products. $ty& C\pJ"'[V\\

W h i l e enquir ies are notxiegally bindingj,offers can be• b ind ing or firm "• conditioned, in which case the reasons for the restrictions of the binding

status need to be mentioned by specific formulat ions l ike : the offer isvalid u n t i l whi le stock lasts etc. or

• in format ive

Al though there is a wide range of offers, the ou t l ine below or s l i g h tvariations thereof is common to most answers to letters of enquiry (offers):

• Opening - in the case of an unsolici ted offer - the opening gives reasonsfor your sending the offer.- in the case of a solicited offer you shouldanswer the enquirer's questions as specif ical ly as possibleaddress your prospective customer by name (e.g. Dear Mr.Marlow)thank the writer for his/her inquiry /"^p ,mention the date of his/her letter ' C&fW^}— -^ -mention any other references that appear; ® v^\

• Mention of the avai labj j i ty/ inavai labi l i tybf the product(s) required.• M e n t i o n of one or\ two se l l i ng pomn^that make your product(s)

a t t r ac t ive and competi t ive. " "~» Mention of enclosures. Indicate if you enclose price-lists, catalogues,

prospectuses (make sure they are current ones), or if you send samplesunder separate cover.

• Mention of price. The prices quoted can be gross prices ( inc ludingcosts and charges such as transport, isurance and taxes) or net prices( e x c l u d i n g extra costs) . When prices tend to f luc tua te , let yourprospective customer know tha t they are subject to change.

• Mention of discounts. Discounts may be deducted from the net or grossprice of products and services. Manufacturers and wholesalers maya l low :a trade discount - to sellers in s imi lar trades ^i\i

a quantity discount - to orders over a certain amounta casli discount - if payment is made wi th in a certain time ora lovaltv discount - when firms have a long association.

• Mention of methods of payment. One of several methods of payment(letter of credit , b i l l of exchange, sight draft, cheque etc.) may besuggested or required

• Mention of delivery. Either you indicate a deli very time when the goodscan be despatched or the services provided (e.g. by September I1 '1, w i t h i ntwo weeks of receipt of order) or, if the enquiry specifies a del iverydate, you ei ther confirm it or suggest an alternative one that you canmeet.

• Closing. End on an optimistic note and encouraging the customer tocontact you for further information and expressing hope for a m u t u a l l ysatisfactory business relashionship.

In internat ional trade (see also Module VIII, Unit I ) sellers charge differentprices according to the services (transport, insurance etc.) they provide to thebuyer, aside from the price of the goods themselves. When a price is quoted,there are a number of standard price terms (INCOTERMS) used in te rna t iona l ly ,u h i c h expla in what the respective price includes. Below is a l i s t of the most

ones:

: :NCOTERMS;•' \-ship

F \- \vorks (ex- factory,L ' x - m i l l . ex-warehouse)

;-."ce alongside ship

.'••;e on Board

• -.'0 f a r r i e r

••':« mi R a i l

Miico quay

> t and Freight

- t . I n s u r a n c e a n d••j:ghi

-, • ' : ' .ered Duty Paid

ABBREVIATION

EXW

FAS / f.a.s.

FOB / f.o.b.

FRC

FOR / f.o.r.

C & F / c . & f .

CIF/c.i.f.

DDP/d.d.p .

WHAT THE PRICE INCLUDES

Delivery to the importing port, e.g. ex-shipLiverpool

Goods and packaging only. Buyer collectsfrom seller's address, pays for insurance andtransport

FAS all costs to a named port of shipment.The buyer pays for loading, onward shipmentand insurance.

Cost of transport to the nearest r a i l w a ystation

All costs up to loading the ship, airplane oranother means of transport but not the costof transport

All costs up to del ivery to a named poin t .commonly used for container traffic.

Cost of transport to the nearest railwaystation

All costs up to the importer'sDockside, e.g. franco quay Su l ina

All costs up to the destination named i n (hebuyer's country

All costs up to the dest inat ion named

Insured deli very inc lud ing duty to the buyer'saddress

Here is a specimen answer to an enquiry

Lindt & Spriingli GmbHKafkaweg 125, D-52072 Aachen

Telel'on 02 41/322 45-0Fax 02 41/322 45-17

Your ref: RK/dhOurre f : WS/12

2. May 20-

Mr. R. K i n k a i dChie f BuyerF. Lynch & Co Ltd..125 Pennine AvenueGlasgow, G7, 3TGUNITED KINGDOM

Dear Mr Kinkaid

Thank you .for your letter of 20 April , in which you enquired about ourconfectionery products. ttr&diu^ (4? C(

We are pleased to enclose our latest price l is t and catologue as requested.Please note that the prices are quoted c.i.f. Hamburg.

We would particularly l ike to draw your attention to our• marzipan chocolates (catalogue code CB 08) and• coffee truffles (catalogue code CA 11)

'or which there is a special discount of 5% on all orders received w i t h i n thelext 30 days, in addition to our usual 15% trade discount. We deal on payment>y irrevocable L/C payable at sight, issued by a prime international bank.

Should you have any other queries, please contact us again.

Ve look forward to hearing from you soon, and can assure you that yourirder w i l l be dealt with promptly.

Yours sincerely

')!: ///Wv

Wolfgang SteinerSenior Sales Manager

Encl,

3. PRACTICE

10.1. Write sentences as directed below:

1. Thank for and refer to the fo l lowing :a. 18 Apr i l - let ter - inquired about animal-shaped paperweightsb. 27 August - enquiry - requested informat ion about pure cotton

garmentsc. 3 1 November - letter - asked for summer brochure for holidays

to Greece

2. Enclose the fo l lowing :a. pattern cardb. updated price l i s tc. booklet on the Canon Z115 Zoom Camera

3. Offer:a. a discount of 11% on all orders above £600b. a 10% trade discount off net price + an 18% discount for orders

of more than 500 copiersc. a 22% trade discount on f.o.b. prices

4. Write a closing sentence using the fol lowing words:a. fur ther helpb. first orderc. hearing

10.2. Match the sentences 1-7 to the ones similar in meaning in a-g.The first one has been done for you as an example.

1. Thank you for your enquiry of ... .2. We have pleasure in enclosing our latest brochure and price l i s t .3. Please note that the prices quoted include delivery.4. We are glad to inform you that we can deliver from stock.5. We can offer you a 20% trade discount.6. If you could let us have four weeks, we could deliver w i t h i n t ha t

period.If you would l ike any further informat ion, please do not hesitateto contact us.

7