国际商务英语Chapter1 Business Letter Writing

,BusinessLetterWriting,I.TeachingContentsAnoverviewtoBusinessEnglishCorrespondencesII.TeachingObjectivesBylearningthisunit,studentsaresupposedtobeableto:1.Understandthedefinitionofcorrespondence2.Knowthemaincharacteristicsofcorrespondence3.MasterhowtowriteaBusinessletter,BusinessLetterWriting,III.Teachingdifficulties1.Essentialqualitiesofcorrespondence2.SpecialstructuresandexpressionsIII.Teachingperiodneeded2lessonsIV.Teachingprocedures:,BusinessLetterWriting,IntroductionAccordingtothedevelopmentofinternationaltrade,businesslettersaremorefrequentlyused,theyformabridgetocontactyourbusinesspartner.Whetherthecommunicationsucceedsornotdependsonthewrittenmessagesentinyourletter.Everyletteryouwriteisactuallyasalesletter;thatis,youarealwayssellingsomethingaproduct,aservice,acompanyimage,yourself,orsimplyanidea.,BusinessLetterWriting,Aletterispersonalcontact.Theexchangeofinformationisbasictobusiness.Lettersshouldbeeasytoreadandeasytounderstand;theymustbefriendlyandcourteous.Businesslettersshoulddevelopgoodwill.,BusinessLetterWriting,Thefunctionofthebusinessletter1)BusinessLetter-writingisanessentialpartofbusiness2)Theletterisoftenanevidenceofanarrangementoracontract,andmustthereforebewrittenwithcare3)Theaimofletteristosecuretheinterestofthereaderandhis/hercooperation.Inthislesson,wearemainlytalkingaboutthewritingprincipleandlanguagefeaturesinbusinessletters.Weshouldkeeptheserulesinmindwhenwewanttodobusinessorwriteabusinesslettersuccessfully.,BusinessLetterWriting,I.TheelementsofbusinesslettersandwritingprinciplesI-1.ThetypesofbusinesslettersGenerallyspeaking,businesslettersincludetwotypes:ordinarybusinesslettersandsocialbusinesslettersHere,wewillintroduce13typesofbusinessletters,whicharemostcommonlyusedinbusinesscommunicationasfollows:,BusinessLetterWriting,1).Lettersofestablishingbusinessrelations2).Lettersofcreditandstatusenquiries3).Lettersofrequest/inquiries4).Lettersofquotation/offer5).Lettersofcounter-offer6).Lettersofacceptance7).Lettersofpayment,BusinessLetterWriting,8).Lettersofpaymentdemands9).Lettersofrequestforreference10).Lettersofpacking11).Lettersofshipment12).Lettersofinsurance13).Lettersofcomplaint/claims/settlement,BusinessLetterWriting,I-2.WritingprinciplesofbusinesslettersThe7CPrinciplesofbusinesswriting:7CmeansConsideration.Courtesy,Clarity,Concreteness,Conciseness,Completeness,andCorrectness1).Consideration:shareyourreadersviewpointandkeeptheirneedsinmind,yourattitude,putyouinthepositionofothers.(prepareeverymessagewiththereaderinmindandtrytoputyourselfintohis/herplace.设身处地的为读信人着想，并把可能出现的问题都考虑进去)E.g.Weallowa5%discountforcashpayments.(“We”-attitude)Youearnaa5%discountwhenyoupaycash(“You”-attitude),BusinessLetterWriting,2).Courtesy:writeinafriendlyandcourteoustone.Usethesentencelike“Thankyouforyourrecentorder”ratherthanacoldstatement“Wehavereceivedyourorder”E.g.WecannotdeliverthegoodsallatonetimeImafraidwecannotdeliverthegoodsallatonce,BusinessLetterWriting,3).Clarity:makesurethatwhatyouwriteissoclearthatitcantbemisunderstood.Conveyyourmessagetotherecipientwithoutbeingmisunderstood.Alwayswriteindirect,plainandsimplelanguageinsteadofambiguity,vaguenessetc.E.g.Wecansupply50tonsoftheitemonly.(onlythisitem)Wecanonlysupply50tonsoftheitem.(only50tons)E.g.TheL/CmustreachusnotlaterthanSeptember1stforarrangingshipmentTheL/CmustreachusforarrangingshipmentnotlaterthanSeptember1st,BusinessLetterWriting,4).Concreteness:makingthemessagespecific,definiteandvividE.g.TheUniversaltradingcompanyisoneofyourbigbuyers.TheUniversaltradingcompanyplacedoverUS.$2,000,000worthofbusinesswithUSeachyear.Analysis:big”adj.Cantexpressthedegreeinspecificfigures,BusinessLetterWriting,5).Conciseness:sayingthingsinthefewestpossiblewords.Toachievethis,trytoavoidwordinessorredundancy.E.g.Wehavebeguntoexportourmachinestotheforeigncountries.Wehavebeguntoexportourmachines.Analysis:theword“export”meanssellingthemachinestoforeigncountries”.However,wecansay,wehavebeguntoexportourmachinestoJapan/USA/Germany(somespecificcountry),BusinessLetterWriting,6).Completeness:seetoitthatallthemattersarediscussedandallthequestionsareansweredE.g.Thegoodscanbedelivered.ThegoodscanbedeliveredbyJune14.,BusinessLetterWriting,一封信写得是否完整，建议用五个“W”来检验，既：“Who,What,Where,When及Why(包括How)”例如在定货的信中，必须明确说明“需要什么商品”(Whatyouwant)“何时需要”(Whenyouneedthegoods)“货物发到何地何人收”(toWhomandWherethegoodstobesent)“如何付款”(Howpaymentwillbemade)如对对方的要求作出否定的答复时（如不能报盘，不能理赔等）应说明理由“为什么”(Why),BusinessLetterWriting,7).Correctness:appropriateandgrammaticallycorrectlanguage,factualinformationandaccuratereliablefigures(suchasnamesofarticles,specifications,quantityandunits,etc.)E.g.YouaskveryshortdeliveryforyourorderYourequirepromptdeliveryofyourorderAnalysis:shortdelivery:short-weight,thequantityofshipmentislessthanthatoforderPromptdelivery-quickdelivery,BusinessLetterWriting,II.LayoutofaBusinessLetterWhatYouShouldWriteinaBusinessLetterAbusinessletterhasfivemainparts:1).theheading2).thedate3).theopening4).thebody5).theclosing,BusinessLetterWriting,1.WhattoPutintheHeadingofaBusinessLetterThisisyournameandaddress.Youcanuseyourfancyletterheadorjusttypeupyourbusinessnameandaddress.Theletterheadaddresscanbepositionedanywhereonthetopofthepage:centered,leftsideorrightside.However,ifyouretypingthebusinessaddress,itshouldbelocatedinthetopright-handcorner.,BusinessLetterWriting,2.HowtoWritetheDateinaBusinessLetterThedateisveryimportant,sinceitcanbeusefulindeterminingpriorities,forfilinganditalsocanhavelegalramifications.Inatypedaddressletter,thedategoesimmediatelyunderyouraddress.Inaletterheadletter,thedatecangoontheleft-handside,ortheright-handside,immediatelyundertheletterhead,BusinessLetterWriting,3.HowtoWritetheOpeningofaBusinessLetterThisisthe:NameTitle(ifanyManager,Principaletc)Addressofthepersontowhomyouarewritingandthegreetingorsalutation.Thisinformationalwaysgoesontheleft-handsideofthepage,startingonelinelowerthanyourbusinessnameandaddressandthedate.,BusinessLetterWriting,InsideAddressTheinsideaddressistherecipientsaddress.Itisalwaysbesttowritetoaspecificindividualatthefirmtowhichyouarewriting.Ifyoudonothavethepersonsname,dosomeresearchbycallingthecompanyorspeakingwithemployeesfromthecompany.IncludeapersonaltitlesuchasMs.,Mrs.,Mr.,orDr.FollowawomanspreferenceinbeingaddressedasMiss,Mrs.,orMs.Ifyouareunsureofawomanspreferenceinbeingaddressed,useMs.IfthereisapossibilitythatthepersontowhomyouarewritingisaDr.orhassomeothertitle,usethattitle.Usually,peoplewillnotmindbeingaddressedbyahighertitlethantheyactuallypossess,BusinessLetterWriting,SalutationUsethesamenameastheinsideaddress,includingthepersonaltitle.Ifyouknowthepersonandtypicallyaddressthembytheirfirstname,itisacceptabletouseonlythefirstnameinthesalutation(forexample:DearLucy,).Inallothercases,however,usethepersonaltitleandfullnamefollowedbyacomma.Leaveonelineblankafterthesalutation.Ifyoudontknowareadersgender,useanonsexistsalutation,suchasToWhomItMayConcern.Itisalsoacceptabletousethefullnameinasalutationifyoucannotdeterminegender.Forexample,youmightwriteDearChrisHarmon:ifyouwereunsureofChrissgender.,BusinessLetterWriting,4.HowtoWritetheBodyoftheBusinessLetterItfollowsthesamerulesinthatitshouldbe:clear,concise,courteous.,BusinessLetterWriting,4-1.WhatShouldBeIncludedinaBusinessLetterWhenwritingabusinessletter,youmustbesurethatnopartofyourletterwillbemisunderstood.Thisiswhythelanguageyouuseshouldbesimple.Therearenoprizesforusingthebiggestwordsinabusinessletter-especiallyifyourreaderisnotfamiliarwiththewordsandhastowastetimefindingoutwhatyoumean.,BusinessLetterWriting,Thewayyouorganizethebodyofyourletterwilldependonthereasonforwritingit.Itdoesntmatterhowshortaletteris,theimportantthingistocommunicateyourmessageeffectively.Dontfeelyouhavetofillupthepagetomakeitlookbalanced.,BusinessLetterWriting,Thefirstparagraphofatypicalbusinessletterisusedtostatethemainpointoftheletter.Beginwithafriendlyopening;thenquicklytransitionintothepurposeofyourletter.Useacoupleofsentencestoexplainthepurpose,butdonotgointodetailuntilthenextparagraph.,BusinessLetterWriting,Beginningwiththesecondparagraph,statethesupportingdetailstojustifyyourpurpose.Thesemaytaketheformofbackgroundinformation,statisticsorfirst-handaccounts.Afewshortparagraphswithinthebodyofthelettershouldbeenoughtosupportyourreasoning.,BusinessLetterWriting,Finally,intheclosingparagraph,brieflyrestateyourpurposeandwhyitisimportant.Ifthepurposeofyourletterisemploymentrelated,considerendingyourletterwithyourcontactinformation.However,ifthepurposeisinformational,thinkaboutclosingwithgratitudeforthereaderstime,BusinessLetterWriting,5.HowtoWritetheClosingofaBusinessLetterandSignOffItiscustomarytosignoff,Yoursfaithfullyifitisaformalbusinessletterorifyoudontknowthenameoftheperson;yousignYourssincerelywhenyoudoknowthenameoftheperson.Itisacceptabletouselessformalclosings-Kindregards,Regards-ifthewholetoneofyourletterhasbeenthesame,butdontendaveryformalletterinthisway.Yourclosingsignaturecanbeplacedontheleft-handsideoftheletter(whichmakesiteasieronthetypist)orontheright-handside-inlinewiththeaddress(iftheaddresshasbeentypedintheright-handcornerand/orwiththedate(ifithasbeenplacedintheright-handcorner).,BusinessLetterWriting,III.Usefulphrasesinletters開始的第一句要能清楚地表達這封信的目的。以下是幾個最常見的情況：(1)跟進之前的接觸(referringtopreviouscontact)ThankyouforyourletterofSeptember10.Thankyouforyourletterregarding.Withreferencetoourtelephoneconversationyesterday.Furthertoourmeetinglastweek.IwouldliketoconfirmthemainpointswediscussedonTuesday.ItwasapleasuremeetingyouinNewYorklastmonth.Inreplytoyourrequestof.,BusinessLetterWriting,(2)提出要求(makingarequest)Wewouldappreciateitifyoucould.Wewouldliketorequest/receive.Irecentlyread/heardabout.andwouldliketoknow.Iwouldbegratefulifyoucould.Iwouldbeinterestedinobtaining/receiving.Ireceivedyourcontactfrom.andwouldliketo.Couldyoupleasesendme.Couldyoutellus/letushave.Iwouldappreciateyourimmediateattentiontothismatter.,BusinessLetterWriting,(3)告訴好消息(givinggoodnews)Wearepleasedtoannouncethat.Wearegladtoconfirm.Iamdelightedtoinformyouthat.Youwillbepleasedtolearnthat.,BusinessLetterWriting,(4)告訴不好的消息(givingbadnews)Weregrettoinformyouthat.Iamafraiditwouldnotbepossibleto.Unfortunatelywecannot/weareunableto.Aftercarefulconsideration,wehavedecided(not)to.,BusinessLetterWriting,(5)提出投訴(complaining)Iamwritingtoexpressmydissatisfactionwith.Iamwritingtocomplainabout.Pleasenotethatthegoodsweorderedon(date)havenotyetarrived.Iwouldliketoquerythetransportchargeswhichseemunusuallyhigh.(6)道歉(apologizing)Wearesorryforthedelayinreplying.Iwouldliketoapologizeforthedelay.Iapologizefortheinconvenience.,BusinessLetterWriting,(7)報價(requestingorgivingquotation)Pleasesendusyourpricelist/quotation.Youwillfindenclosedourmostrecentcatalogueandpricelist.Wehavepleasureinenclosingadetailedquotation.,BusinessLetterWriting,(8)關於訂單事宜(concerningorders)Thankyouforyourquotationof.Wearepleasedtoplaceanorderwithyourcompanyfor.Pleaseconfirmreceiptofourorder.Iampleasedtoacknowledgereceiptofyourorder.Wewouldliketocancelourorder.Wecanmakeyouafirmofferof.Itwilltakeaboutthreeweekstoprocessyourorder.Wecanguaranteedeliverybefore.,BusinessLetterWriting,結束語一般來說，在完成信的主要內容後，應提出要求的具體行動，例如下訂單或在某日期前回覆。然後，要加上這一句：Ifwecanbeofanyfurtherassistance,pleaseletusknow.IfIcanhelpinanyway,pleasedocontactme.Ifyoure