世纪商务英语外贸函电（第六版）课件 1 Basic Knowledge of Business English Letters Writing

BasicKnowledgeofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingProject1Part

1TheBasicRequirementsofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingPart

2TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart

3TheBasicLayout/FormatofBusinessEnglishLettersPart

4AddressingEnvelopesPart

5PracticalTrainingBasicKnowledgeofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingProject1Leading-inTasks

TrytofinishthefollowingtaskstoseehowmuchyouknowabouttheModernBusinessEnglishLettersWriting.YoumaymakeuseofAImodels.Task1.WritedownthebasicrequirementsaboutwhichyouknowforamodernbusinessEnglishletter.Task2.ListallthenecessaryandoptionalpartsinanordinarybusinessEnglishletterandsetthemout,astheyshouldbesetoutinaletter,inapieceofpaper.Task3.AddressanenvelopeforanordinarybusinessEnglishletter.TheBasicRequirementsofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingPart1

Thepurposesofcommunicationaretoobtaincompleteunderstandingbetweenthepartiesinvolved,andtoelicittheresponsesrequired.Generallyspeaking,thefunctionsofabusinessletteraretoaskforortoconveybusinessinformation,tomakeortoacceptanoffer,andtodealwithmattersconcerningvariousbusinesses.Businessletterwritingdoesnotdifferfromanyotherformofcreativewriting.GoodEnglishisoneoftheimportantbasesofagoodbusinessletterwriting.Whatyouwriteshouldbefreefromgrammaticalblemishes,andalsofreefromtheslightestpossibilityofbeingmisunderstood.Usually,therearecertainessentialrequirementsforagoodbusinessletter,whichcanbesummedupintheSevenCsprinciple,i.e.Completeness,Concreteness,Clearness/Clarity,Conciseness,Courtesy,Consideration,Correctness.TheseCsoftengohand-in-hand.TheBasicRequirementsofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingPart11.Completeness(完整)

Abusinesscommunicationshouldincludeallthenecessaryinformation.Itisessentialtocheckthemessagecarefullybeforeitissentouttoseethatallthemattersarediscussed,andallthequestionsareanswered.Businesslettersshouldavoidincompleteness.TheBasicRequirementsofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingPart12.Concreteness(具体)

Concretenessmeansmakingthemessagespecific,definiteandvivid.Businesslettersshouldavoidbeingtoogeneral.Ingeneralletters,everythingseemstobementionedbutactuallyfewarefullyexpounded.Youshouldusespecificfactsandfigures,vividandimage-buildingwordsinbussinessletterwriting.TheBasicRequirementsofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingPart13.Clearness/Clarity(清楚)

Makesurethatyourletterissoclearthatitcannotbemisunderstood.Apointthatisambiguousinaletterwillcausetroubletobothsides,andfurtherexchangeoflettersforexplanationwillbecomeinevitable,thustimewillbelost.Thewritersmusttrytoexpressthemselvesclearly.Toachievethis,theyshouldkeepinmindthepurposeoftheirlettersanduseappropriatewordsincorrectsentencestructuretofullyconveytheirmeaning.Whenyouaresureaboutwhatyouwanttosay,sayitinplainandsimplewords.Short,familiar,conversationalandstraight-forwardEnglishiswhatisneededforbusinessletters.TheBasicRequirementsofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingPart14.Conciseness(简明)

Concisenessisoftenconsideredtobethemostimportantwritingprinciple.Itmeanssayingthingsinthefewestpossiblewords.Toachievethis,trytoavoidwordinessorredundancy.Clearnessandconcisenessoftengohand-in-handandtheeliminationofwordybusinessjargoncanhelptomakealetterclearerandatthesametimemoreconcise.Aconciseletterisnotnecessarilyashortone.Sometimesaletterdealingperhapswithamultiplicityofmatterscannotavoidbeinglong.Generallyspeaking,youwillgaininclearnessandconcisenessbywritingshortsentencesratherthanlongones.Alettercanbemadeclearer,easiertoreadandmoreattractivetolookatbywritingshortsentencesandcarefully-arrangedparagraphs.Oneparagraphforonepointisagoodrule.TheBasicRequirementsofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingPart15.Courtesy(礼貌)

Courtesyisnotmerepoliteness.Itislikeafavorableintroductioncard.Thecourteouswritershouldbesincereandtactful,thoughtfulandappreciative.Youneedtoprepareeverymessagewiththereadersinmindandtrytoputyourselfintheirplaces.Ifconcisenessconflictswithcourtesy,thenmakealittlesacrificeofconciseness.Promptnessisoneofthemostimportantthingsinbeingcourteous.Punctualitywillpleaseyourcustomerwhodislikeswaitingalongtimeforareply.TheBasicRequirementsofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingPart16.Consideration(体谅)

Beforewegoontothedetailedstructureofthebusinessletterthereisonegeneralprinciple,onwhichthenativeEnglishwriterslaygreatemphasis,thatis,the“you”attitude.“You-attitude”isnotsosimpleasonlytouse“you”insteadof“I”or“we”.Inourlettersweshouldalwayskeepinmindthepersonswearewritingto,trytoseethingsfromtheirpointofviews,visualizethemintheirsurroundings,seetheirproblemsanddifficultiesandexpressourideasintermsoftheirexperience.“You-attitude”canhelptoavoidanawkwardsituation,andpromotecooperationbetweenthetradeparties.TheBasicRequirementsofBusinessEnglishLettersWritingPart17.Correctness(正确)

Businesslettersmustbecorrect,otherwisetheymaybemisunderstoodandruntheriskofreachingnowhereorgoingastray.Correctnessmeansappropriateandgrammaticallycorrectlanguage(withoutspellingortypographicalerrors)andfactualinformationthatisaccuratewithreliablefiguressuchasnamesofarticles,specifications,quantity,priceandprojects.TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart21.Letterhead(信头)

Asthefirstandmostobviouspartofabusinessletter,theletterheadexpressesacompany’spersonality.Ithelpstoformone’simpressionofthewriter’sfirm.Stylesvaryconsiderably,buttheyallgivesimilarinformationandincludetheessentialparticularsaboutthewriter—name,address,zip-code,telephonenumber,ande-mailaddressofthecompany.Itisusuallydesignedandprintedinthecenterorontheleftmarginatthetopofthepage.Insequentialorderofcompletion,abusinessletterbasicallyconsistsofthefollowing13parts.TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart22.ReferenceNumber(参考号/发文编号)

TheReferenceNumberisgenerallyusedasausefulindicationforfilingandconsultingforbothsides,soitmustbeeasilyseen.Itmayincludeafilenumber,acontractnumber,aL/Cnumberortheinitialsofthesignerandthetypist’sinitials.IfyoufindtheReferenceNumberintheincomingletteryouneedtotaketheformas“yourref.”and“ourref.”inyourreply.ThepositionoftheReferenceNumberisoftenput,oneortwolinesbelowtheletterhead,ontheleftmargin.TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart23.Date(日期)

Everylettershouldbedated.Neversendoutaletterwithoutadate.Ifyouaregivinginformation,suchasshippingordeliveryorappointmentdates,itisvitalthatthedateshouldbecorrect.Thepositionofthedateisoftenoneortwolinesbelowthereferencenumberorletterhead(ifthereisnoreferencenumber).Itcanbeputeitherontheleftortherightmargin,dependingonthestyleyoudecidetouse.

Remembertoalwaystypethedateinfull.Itisunwisetoabbreviatethenameofthemonthorshowthedateinfigureslike8/9/2025or9/8/2025asthismaycausesomeconfusions;thisisbecausetheBritishandAmericanformsdifferanddonotreadthedayandthemonthinthesameorder.e.g.

September8,2025—Americanform

8thSeptember,2025—BritishformTheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart24.InsideNameandAddress(封内名称和地址)

Itconsistsofthenameandaddressofthereceiver.Itappearsexactlythesamewayasontheenvelope.InsideNameandAddressarealwaysputattheleftmarginatleastoneortwolinesbelowthedate.Whenthereceiverisacompany,typethenameofthecompanydirectly.Wheretheappropriateheadofdepartmentisknown,addressthelettertothembytheirofficialtitles.e.g. TheSalesManager TheSpaceEngineeringCo.,Ltd. 830W.LauridsenBoulevard PortAngeles,WA98363 U.S.ATheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart24.InsideNameandAddress(封内名称和地址)

Whenthecompanyisnamedafteroneormorepersons,e.g.James,SmithCo.;Brown&WhiteBros.,etc.,the“Messrs”,thepluralof“Mr.”andtheabbr.of“Messieurs”,hastobeused.e.g. Messrs.Harrison&Co. 32,DukeStreet LondonN.W.4 EnglandTheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart24.InsideNameandAddress(封内名称和地址)

Ifthereceiverisanindividualinthecompany,theperson’snameshouldbeprecededbythecourtesytitle.i.e.“Mr.”,“Mrs.”,“Miss”or“Ms.”.Ifyouarenotsurewhetherornotthewomantowhomyouarewritingismarried,use“Ms.”.Thistitleisnowperfectlyacceptable,especiallyinviewofthefactthatmanycareerwomenpreferit.e.g. Ms.SarahDavis SalesManager 369LincolnStreet Seattle,WA98362 U.S.ATheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart2

Iftheletterisaddressedtothecompanybutdirectedtotheattentionofanindividual,taketheformof“ATTN”.e.g. Messrs.RichardThomas&BaldwinsLt., 150GowerStreet LondonW.1. England ATTN:Mr.JohnSmith,SalesManager (由销售经理约翰·史密斯先生亲阅)(ATTN=Attention=fortheattentionof)4.InsideNameandAddress(封内名称和地址)TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart25.Salutation(称呼)

TheSalutationisthepolitegreetingwithwhichaletterbegins.ItshouldbeplacedoneortwolinesbelowtheInsideAddress.Therearemanyformsofsalutationinabusinessletter.Theparticularformuseddependsuponthewriter’srelationshipwiththereceiver.Tosomeextentthesalutationsettlestheformofthecomplimentaryclose.Thecustomarygreetinginabusinessletteris“DearMr./Mrs./Ms./Miss(姓)”or“Dear...(名)”.“Dearsirs”or“Gentlemen”isusedwhentheletterisnotaddressedtoaspecificperson.Notethat“Gentlemen”isseldomusednowadaysand“Sirs”cannotbeusedalone.Quiteoftennowcompaniesareownedand/ormanagedbywomen,anditismoreandmorecustomarytousethegreeting“DearMadamorSir”,ifthewriterisnotsurewhethertheletterwillbereadbyamanorawoman.Whateveritsformis,thesalutationalwaysappearsonalinebyitselfandisfollowedbyacommaoracolon.TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart26.SubjectLine(事由标题)

TheSubjectLineisofteninsertedbetweenthesalutationandthebodyoftheletter,eitherbeginningattheleftmarginorthecentre,dependingonwhichstyleyouareusing.TheSubjectLinehelpstoinviteattentiontothetopicoftheletter.Itisespeciallyusefuliftwocompanieshavealotofcorrespondencewitheachotheronavarietyofsubjects,asitimmediatelytellswhattheletterisabout.Itisalsousefulasaguideforfiling.Itcanbeginwithorwithout“Re:”or“Subject:”.Sometimes,youcanseetheSubjectLineisunderlined.Nomatterwhattheformis,itshouldalwaysdenotewhattheletterisabout.e.g. Re:SewingMachines Subject:SewingMachines SewingMachinesTheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart27.Body(正文)

Thispartcontainstheactualmessageoftheletter.Itshouldbeginoneortwolinesbelowthesubjectlineorthesalutationifthereisnosubjectline.Usually,itisdividedintothreeparts:opening,actualmessageandclosing.TheBodyoftheLettershouldbecarefullyplannedandparagraphed.Theopeningistogivethereasonofwritingandoftenreferstopreviouscorrespondence.Theactualmessageistospecifythewriter’sconcretepurposes,requirementsandwishes.Theclosingistoexpressthanks,andanticipationsforfutureactionsorplans.Sometimestheclosingmaybeusedtosumupthemessageandtosuggestthewriter’srequirementstothereceiver.TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart28.ComplimentaryClose(结尾敬语/套语)

Thecomplimentarycloseismerelyapolitewayofbringingalettertoaclose.Itisusuallyplacedtwoorfourlinesbelowthelastlineofthebodyoftheletter.Therearemanydifferentcomplimentaryclosesthatshowrespect,butitshouldmatchthesalutation.Themostcommonsetsofsalutationandcomplimentarycloseareasfollows:TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart28.ComplimentaryClose(结尾敬语/套语)SalutationComplimentaryCloseCommentDearSir(s),DearMadam,DearMesdames,DearMadamorSir,1. Yoursfaithfully, Faithfullyyours,Formal—ItisverycommonlyusedinBritain,butseldomusedinAmericaandCanada.2. Yourstruly, Trulyyours,Formal—ItwasonceanOKandcommonusageinAmericaandCanada,butnotverycommoninmodernbusinessletters.3. Yourssincerely, Sincerelyyours, Sincerely,Itwasonceinformal—usuallyusedbetweenpersonsknowntoeachother.Butnowadays,itismoreandmorecommonlyusedinbusinesslettersevenbetweenpersonsunknowntoeachotherinmodernAmericaandCanada.DearMr....(姓),DearMs....(姓), Sincerelyyours, Yourssincerely, Sincerely,DearMary(名),DearMary(名), (With)Bestwishes, (With)Bestregards,Strictlyspeaking,itisnotacomplimentaryclose;itispartofthebody—usedbetweenclosefriends.TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart29.Signature(签字)

TheSignatureisthesignednameormarkofthepersonwritingtheletterorthatofthefirmheorsherepresents.Alllettersmustbesignedandalettershouldbesignedbyhand,andinink.Unsignedlettershavenoauthorityandaletter“signed”witharubberstampisaformofdiscourtesy.TheplaceoftheSignaturewilldependonthelayoutoftheletterbutisalwaysundertheComplimentaryClose.Usually,thenameofthesigneristypedbelowthesignaturebecausemanyhand-writtensignaturesareillegible,andthenfollowedbyhisorherjobtitleorposition.Ifthewriterrepresentsacertaininstitute,thenameoftheinstitutewillbeprintedbelowthesignature.Forexample:TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart29.Signature(签字)

Yoursfaithfully,

(Signature)

JohnBell

GeneralManager,SalesDepartment

TheOverseasCo.,LtdTheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart210.ReferenceNotation(经办人代号)

Sometimes,theReferenceNotation,whichisalsounderstoodasIdentificationMarks,canalsobeaddedoneortwolinesbelowthetypedsignature.TheReferenceNotationusuallyshowsonlytheinitialsofthetypist,butitcanalsobemadeupoftheinitialsofthepersonwhodictatedtheletterandthoseofthesecretaryortypistifthedirector’snameisnottypedinthesignaturearea.Theinitialsofthedirectorordictatorareusuallyincapitalletters.Thetwosetsareseparatedbyacolonoraslantline,forexamples:forBillClinton(manager)andNancyBrown(secretary).ThefollowingexamplesareacceptableformsoftheReferenceNotation:

BC:nb

BC/nbTheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart211.EnclosureNotation(附件)

Ifanydocumentssuchascatalogues,pricelists,order,copiesoffax,etc.aresentwithaletter,itisnecessarytoaddEnclosureNotationtoremindthereceiver.TheEnclosureNotationisusuallyplacedtwolinesbelowtheSignatureortheReferenceNotation(ifany)attheleftmargin.Themarkingmaybeinanyofthefollowingways:

Enclosure:3copiesof...

Encl.3catalogues

Enc.1invoice

Encls:asstatedTheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart212.CarbonCopyNotation(抄送)

Whencopiesoftheletteraresenttoothers,youneedtousetheCarbonCopyNotationbelowanyenclosurenotationattheleftmargin.Itisusedtoshowthattheletterhasbeensenttosomeonerelevant.Themarkingmaybeinanyofthefollowingways:c.c./cc/bcc—blindcarboncopy.Forexample:

c.c.Mr.J.CooperTheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart213.Postscript(附言/注)

APostscriptisusedtoemphasizeapointtowhichthewriterwantstodrawthereader’sattention.Itisnotforapointthatthewriterforgottomentioninthebodyoftheletter.Rewritetheletterinsteadofusingapostscriptifyouforgottomentionsomething.Sometimes,thePostscriptcanbeaddedbysomeexecutivesinpenandinkforthepurposeofaddingapersonaltouchtotheirtypewrittenletter.ThemarkingwordofPostscriptisP.S.andshouldbeplacedoneortwolinesbelowanyothernotationsandflushwiththeleftmargin.TheBasicPartsofBusinessEnglishLettersPart213.Postscript(附言/注)

Ofallthe13parts,7partsarestandard,principalandnecessary.Thesepartsincludetheletterhead,theinsideaddress,thedate,thesalutation,thebodyoftheletter,thecomplimentarycloseandthesignature.Theother6partsareoptional.Thesepartsmaybeunnecessaryforsomelettersandchosenasthewriterwishes.Somelettersmaycontainoneormoreoftheoptionalparts,dependingontheactualsituation.TheBasicLayout/FormatofBusinessEnglishLettersPart3

Althoughformalityinbusinessletterwritingisrapidlygivingwaytoalessconventionalandmorefriendlystyle,thelayoutormechanicalstructureofaletterasitiscalledstillfollowsamoreorlesssetpatterndeterminedbycustomandnotresultingfromanydeliberateplan.Choiceoflayoutisamatterofindividualtaste,butitisbettertofollowestablishedpractice,towhichthebusinessworldhasbecomeaccustomed.Agoodplantomakecorrectpracticehabitualistoadoptoneformoflayoutandtosticktoit.

Basically,therearefouracceptableformats/layouts/stylesforbusinessletters.Eachpartofabusinessletterhastobesetinthepaperasfollowsinaccordancewiththeparticularformatoftheletter.TheBasicLayout/FormatofBusinessEnglishLettersPart31.Full-blockStyle2.Modified-blockStyle3.Combined-formStyle4.Indentedstyle/Semi-blockStyleTheBasicLayout/FormatofBusinessEnglishLettersPart31.Full-blockStyle2.Modified-blockStyle3.Combined-formStyle4.Indentedstyle/Semi-blockStyleTheBasicLayout/FormatofBusinessEnglishLettersPart31.Full-blockStyle2.Modified-blockStyle3.Combined-formStyle4.Indentedstyle/Semi-blockStyleTheBasicLayout/FormatofBusinessEnglishLettersPart31.Full-blockStyle2.Modified-blockStyle3.Combined-formStyle4.Indentedstyle/Semi-blockStyleTheBasicLayout/FormatofBusinessEnglishLettersPart31.Full-blockStyle2.Modified-blockStyle3.Combined-formStyle4.Indentedstyle/Semi-blockStyleTheBasicLayout/FormatofBusinessEnglishLettersPart31.Full-blockStyle2.Modified-blockStyle3.Combined-formStyle4.Indentedstyle/Semi-blockStyleTheBasicLayout/FormatofBusinessEnglishLettersPart31.Full-blockStyle2.Modified-blockStyle3.Combined-formStyle4.Indentedstyle/Semi-blockStyleTheBasicLayout/FormatofBusinessEnglishLettersPart31.Full-blockStyle2.Modified-blockStyle3.Combined-formStyle4.Indentedstyle/Semi-blockStyleAddressingEnvelopesPart4

Thethreeimportantrequirementsofenvelopeaddressingareaccuracy,clearness,andgoodappearance.Theaddressontheenvelopeandtheinsideaddressonthelettershouldbeinthesamestyleandpresentthesameinformation.Remembertousethecorrespondent’sfulladdress,includingtheposttownfollowedbythecountrynameandpostcode.Typewordssuchas“Street”,“Road”,“Avenue”,“Boulevard”,etc.infull.Postnotationsuchas“Registered”,“Urgent”,“ViaAirMail”,“Certified”,“Confidential”,“Private”,etc.shouldbeplacedinthebottomleft-handcorner.Nopunctuationisusedexceptforabbreviations.Thefollowingexamplesofanenvelopeillustraterespectivelythedifferentstyles.AddressingEnvelopesPart41.TheCommonBlockedStyle(usedmostforBusiness)AddressingEnvelopesPart42.TheCommonIndentedStyleAddressingEnvelopesPart43.TheUsageof“C/O”or“Careof”

“C/O”,whichcanalsobewrittenas“c/o”or“careof”,hastobeusedwhenaletterismailedtoathirdperson(ororganization)whoisboundtopassitontotheaddressee.Forexample:AddressingEnvelopesPart44.TheUsageof“ByKindnessof...”or“ThroughtheCourtesyof...”

Ifaletteristobepersonallydeliveredfromyoubysomeonetotheaddressee,writehisorhernamebelowtheaddressee’swiththefollowingwordsinfrontofit:“Kindnessof”,“ThroughtheCourtesyof”,“PerKindnessof”,“ByKindnessof”,“Forwardedby”,“PerFavou