In a LETTER, the emphasis is on a high quality appearance. Letters have to be typed or word-processed accurately on the company's headed paper with a smart, clear layout. International mail tends to be slow and in some countries the post is unreliable. Important documents or valuable items can be sent by registered mail - or they can be sent by courier.
A FAX is a facsimile copy of a document which is transmitted by normal telephone lines to another fax machine. Some faxes are exactly like letters, some are printed on special fax forms rather like memos, others are simply handwritten messages. The sender of a fax can't be certain if the message has been received perfectly - sometimes lines get missed or are illegible. A fax is not usually a legally binding document
In a TELEX readers often overlook some errors of spelling and grammar. Abbreviations such asTKS (Thanks) and RGDS (Regards) are common in telexes. The sender knows when each telex has been transmitted and received. A telex can be a legally binding document.
Internal mail within a company or between branches of the same firm is usually in the form of MEMOS: these may be brief handwritten notes or longer, word-processed letters. Most firms use special memo pads for internal messages. A memo to a senior English-speaking member of staff may need as much care as a letter to a client. The style that is used depends on the practice within the company and on the relationship between the people involved.
FAX what it is and how it works.
FAX is the abbreviation for facsimile machine. It is a machine that transits an image of a document via the international telephone network. If you place a letter in a FAX machine in London, it can be transmitted toTokyo, where another FAX machine will print out an exact copy of your letter.
Facsmile machines were inventedas long ago as 1901,butuntilrecently were used mainly for transmitting newspaper photographs and weather maps. The eanly FAX machines were large, noisy, expensive and very slow. In recent years, however, FAX machines have become more and more popular. This is because the use of digital technology, the same type of technology that is used in computers and word processors, has enabled the machines to be much smaller, quieter, cheaper and faster. Modem machines can transmit an A4 document in as little as twelve seconds. Moreover, there is an agreed international standard for FAX machines, which means that machines made by different manufacturers are compatible. One of the major advantages of FAX machines is that they can transmit not just printed words but pictures, diagrams, handwriting and signatures. They can be used to transmit the documents used in foreign trade.
FAX machines have a light-sensitive scanner which distinguishes between light and dark, e.g. black print on white paper. This information is convened into digital pulses which are sent down the telephone line. The receiving FAX machine interprets this information and re-creates the image, which is then printed out on paper.
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MEMORANDA.. 11
Memoranda (or memos) are notes used for communications within a single company. They are not normally placed inside an envelope, but may be if the contents are private or confidential. J
Memos need no inside address, but the name and department of the recipient should be given. In the same way, they need not be signed, but the sender's name and department should be added. Some companies also use memos for general information to be communicated to all staff, either pinned to a notice board or duplicated and delivered to each desk individually.
Because memos generally act as informal notes, they need not strictly be written in the style of formal letters, but the information should be laid out clearly and succinctly.
If you are writing a memo to be pinned on a notice board, make sure that you give it a subject title that will draw the attention of passing staff. Memos are useless unless somebody reads them. You may even concoct a headline similar to a newspaper headline to draw attention.
Memos can be used for a variety of other purposes:
Memos can be used for a variety of other purposes:
To record the points covered or agreed at a meeting
To request that a person attends a meeting
To list the tasks being delegated to the addressee
To pass on any information.
Memos should always be filed for future reference.
MEMORANDUM
: Department managers Subject: In-service English classes FiomMooday8MayEngli&c^
(room 3.17). There will be two groups: intermediate level (8.50-10.00) and advanced level (10.50-12.00). Please encourage your staff to attend one of the sessions. All teaching materials will be provided but students will be expected to do homework and preparation outside working hours.
Please send me the names of all interested staff by noon on Wednesday 26April.They will be given an informal oral test during the firstweekinMay so that we can decide which of the classes is best for them. 4 The size of each class will be limited to 12 participants.
Telegrams, cables, telegraphic services
The Post Office telegram service is the most common method of communication for urgent business. The telegram is a brief message which can be sent quickly and efficiently to most parts of the world. For urgent messages and requests a letter is too slow, (although sometimes a company writes a letter to confirm the telegram). International telegrams can also be sent to ships in port, trains in railway stations, and aircraft at airports.
The words 'telegram', 'telegraph' and 'cable' mean the same thing.A 'telegram' is the form which the sender fills in, and although the word is used moston^formlmdrornmuni<^cn,ft
You can write about the 'telegraphic' services of the Post Office and 'telegraphic'
addresses. IntheEnglish-spealdng world, the word 'cable' isusedforintemational
or overseas messages. (The 'cable' was the telegraphic wire container on the
sea bed, but the word is still used although the message is now sent by radio and
telecommunication.) You ask a person to 'telegraph' a reply in inland
ccnmunication,andto 'telegraph' or'cable' aieply inintematic^conTmumcatioa
Note that 'cable' can be used as a noun, a verb, and an adjective, 'telegraph' as
a verb and an adjective. Use 'telegram' as a noun only. You can ask people to
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'cable', or 'send a cable', or 'send a cable reply'.
The charge for a telegram is calculated on the number of words used and the distance the telegram has to travel. Telegrams are used to give urgent information or to demand immediate action. This may, in fact, save money, but most companies continue to make telegrams as brief as possible, so it is important to understand some of the mles they use when writing cables.
A common rule is that all articles (a, an, the), pronouns (I, she, he, we, her, him etc.) and prepositions, should be kept out if possible.
Let us look at a case which requires a cable:
A ship carrying a consignment to an importer in Europe has engine failure in the Port of London. It will leave five days late. The supplier discovers this four days after the original sailing date. He wishes to tell his buyer's agent that the ship will not arrive tomorrow (the original arrival date). He does not know the new date and time of arrival, but he must inform the
importer and his agent urgently i
He would write to the importer in this way
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