La lettre d'affaires: Projet de principes d'une methodologie d'apprentissage (The Business Letter: How To Write One).

Instruction in business letter-writing, particularly in the context of the business French course, is discussed. First, the kinds of business communications (face-to-face, print, and electronic) currently used are surveyed briefly, and a taxonomy of the content of business communication is presented. Conventions of French business letters are then outlined and exercises based on them are suggested. Topics include terminology, the envelope, address formats, business jargon, sentence structure, etiquette, diplomatic communication, and the art of negotiation. Finally, criteria for evaluating the business letter are specified. These criteria include physical presentation and content, syntactical and lexical precision, organization, use of conventions, diplomacy, and language usage. (MSE)