《外贸英语函电》-Chapter 1

Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmailPartⅠ:IntroductionElectronicmailsarewidelyusedinmodernbusinesscircles.Itreferstocomputer⁃basedsystemwherebyonecomputersendsamessagetoanother.Incomparisonwithtraditionalmethodssuchastelex,

postalserviceandtelephone,

ithasbecomeapopularmediumbecauseofitsrelativelylowcostandtheabilitytosendHypertextMarkupLanguage（HTML）messages.Inaddition,

itismoreeffectiveandsafer.Throughsuchasystem,

messagescanbesentorpickedupanywhereintheworld.Apartfromtheseadvantages,

emailscanbestoredinthemailboxuntiltheyareretrieved.下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmailThiscanbeparticularlyadvantageousforuserswhoarecommunicatingacrossinternationaltimezones.PartⅡ:HowtoFormataBusinessEmailLikeletters,

proposalsandotherbusinessdocuments,

professionalemailsreflectacompany'soverallimage.Apoorlywrittenemail,

containingerrors,

slangandotherinformalelements,

reflectspoorlyonyouandyourbusiness.Whenformattingabusinessemail,

youdon'thavetowriteitlikeyouwouldsendapersonalonetoafriendorfamilymembers.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmailTherulesofbusinessletterwriting,likeproperlyaddressingthepersonyouarewritingto,

relayingaclearmessageinthebodyandendingwithaclosing,

applynotonlytoletters,

butalsoemails.1.EmailHeader（1）Entertherecipient'semailaddressinthe“To:”box.Ifsendingacopyoftheemailtootherpersonswhomtherecipientisassociatedwith,

entertheiremailaddressesinthe“CC:”（CarbonCopy）box.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail（2）Enterotherrecipients'emailaddresses,

whoarenotknowntotheprimaryrecipient,

inthe“BCC:”（BlindCarbonCopy）box.Thiswillkeeptheiraddresseshidden.（3）Enteryouremailaddressinthe“CC:”or“BCC:”field,

ifyouwantacopyoftheemailsenttoyourself.（4）Enterashortsentenceinthe“Subject:”box,

statingclearlythepurposeofyouremail.Avoidoneortwowordsubjects—shortwordsmaymakeyouremailbesenttotherecipient's“JunkEmail”or“SPAM”folder.However,

don'tbewordy,

either.Writeasubjectthatisdescriptiveandtothepoint.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail（5）Marktheemail“Urgent”or“HighPriority”onlyifitappliestothemessageandneedstobereadimmediately.2.EmailMessageBody（1）Enteragreetingonthefirstlineofyouremail,

suchas“GoodDay,”“Dear×××××,”“Mr.”“Mrs.”“Ms.”orothergreetings.Writetherecipient'snameinthisfield,

ifyouknowit.（2）Entertheshortestpossiblemessageinthebodyoftheemail.Makesureitisdirectandclear.Trytocondensetheinformationsothatyourreaderdoesn'thavetoscrolltofinishreadingtheemail.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail（3）Avoidusingdecorativebackgrounds,

fancyfonts,

colorsandunnecessarypicturesandgraphicsthattaketimetoloadbyyourrecipient'semailprogram.（4）Donotoverusepunctuation,

writeinallcapitalsoroveruseboldandunderlinetext.（5）Pressthe“Enter”or“Return”keyafteryourlastparagraph.Enteraclosingtoyouremail,

suchas“Thankyou,”“Regards”or“Sincerely.”Thenpress“Enter”twicemoreandwriteyourfirstandlastnames.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail3.ElectronicSignatureEmailsignaturesaddindividualitytoyourelectronicmessages.WhenyousetupanelectronicsignatureinMicrosoftOutlookorWord,

itautomaticallyappearsatthebottomofeachmessageyousend.Therearemanywaystocustomizeyoursignaturesuchasaddingquotes,

contactinformation,missionstatementsandpictures.Ｙoucanevendesignatedifferentsignaturesfordifferentemailgroups,

suchaspersonalandbusiness.Electronicsignaturesareeasytocreateandmanage.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmailInstructionsareasfollows:（1）OpenMicrosoftOutlookExpress.（2）Clickon“Tools”onthetopleftsideofyourscreen.（3）Choose“Options”fromthemenu.（4）Fromthe“Options”menu,

selectthe“Signatures”option.（5）Clickthe“New”button,

andtypeinyoursignature.（6）Ifyouwantthissignaturetoauto⁃populateinallofyouremails,

clickon“addsignaturestoalloutgoingmessages.”（7）Click“OK”tosaveyourchanges.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail4.SpecimenofaBusinessEmail上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmailPartⅢ:InstructionsonWritingBusinessEmailsNomatterwhattypeofworkyoudoorwhatindustryyou'rein,you'llmostlikelyhavetowriteaformalbusinessemailatsomepoint.Aformalbusinessemailisanemailmessagesenttoabusinessassociateorsuperior.Ｙouneedtomakesureyouremailmessageispolite,professionalandtothepoint.Mostbusinesspeopledon'thavetimetoreadthroughalengthyemail.Withbusinesswriting,beingsimpleandconciseisalmostalwaysbetterthanbeinglongandwordy.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail（1）Createasubjectthatclearlyexplainswhatyouremailisabout.Businesspeoplereceivedozensofemailsaday,andmanywilldeletemessagesbasedonthesubjects.Bedirectwiththesubjectofyouremail.Forexample,ifyou'rewritinganemailtoinviteyourcolleaguestoaseminar,yoursubjectcouldbe“PublicSpeakingSeminarInvitation－HowtoWinOverＹourAudience.”（2）Statethepurposeofyourbusinessemailrightaway.Muchlikethesubject,youneedtogetrighttothepoint.Useshortsentencesandshortparagraphs.Ｙourrecipientdoesn'thavetimetoreadthroughlengthyparagraphsorrepeatedphrases.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail（3）Don'tuseslanglanguageorclichés.Gothroughyourbusinessemailcarefullyandeliminatethistypeoflanguage.（4）Proofread.Makesureyouhavenogrammarorspellingmistakesandyourmessageisperfectlyclear.（5）Telltherecipientwhatyouneedfromhim/her.Don'tassumehe/shewillknowwhatyouneed.Stateclearlywhathis/hernextstepsshouldbe,suchassendingyoucertaininformationorcallingyouonthephone.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail（6）Closeyourletterwithaprofessionalclosing,suchas“Sincerely”or“BestRegards”andtypeyourfullname.Don'tassumetherecipientwillknowwhoyouarefromyouremailaddressandfirstname.PartⅣ:PrinciplesofBusinessEmailWritingGenerallyspeaking,theprinciplesofbusinessemailwritingareasfollows:appropriatelayout,logicallyconnectedideas,correctgrammar（spellingandpunctuationmarks）,suitablestyleandtone,andtactfullyorganizedinformation.Specificallyspeaking,theessentialelementscanbesummedupin7Cs:Clarity,Conciseness,Courtesy,Consideration,Completeness,ConcretenessandCorrectness.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail1.ClarityFirstofall,makesurethatyourletterissoclearthatitcannotbemisunderstood.Ifitisambiguous,furtherexchangeoflettersforexplanationswillbecomeinevitable,thusitwastesbothtimeandmoney.Next,whenyouaresureaboutwhatyouwanttosay,sayitinplainandsimplewords.e.g.Theyinformedthesuppliersthattheywouldreceiveareplyinafewdays.Theyinformedthesuppliersthatthelatterwouldreceivethereplyinafewdays.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail2.ConcisenessConcisenessisoftenconsideredtobethemostimportantwritingprincipleandlanguagefeature.Itenablestosaveboththewriter'sandtherecipient'stime.Concisenessmeansyoushouldclearlyexpresswhatyouwoulddoinashortandpithystyleofwritingaspossibleasyoucanwithoutsacrificingcompleteness,concretenessandcourtesy.Todoso,thefollowingguidelinesmustbeobserved:上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail（1）Makealongstoryshortandtrytoavoidwordiness.e.g.Wearesorrythatwearenotabletosatisfyyourneedatthepresenttime.（Wordy）Wearesorrythatwearenotabletosatisfyyourneednow.（Simple）（2）Avoidusinggeneralandout⁃of⁃datecommercialjargonsandtrytoexpressyourideasinmodernEnglish.e.g.WeacknowledgereceiptofyouremaildatedJuly28th.（Out⁃dated）WehavereceivedyouremaildatedJuly28th.（Modern）上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail（3）Avoidunnecessaryrepeat.e.g.Wehavebeguntoexportourmachinestotheforeigncountries.Wehavebeenexportingourmachinesformanyyears.（4）Controlthenumberofthewords,andbuildeffectivesentencesandparagraphs.3.CourtesyToachievecourtesy,oneofthemostimportantthingsispromptness,especiallywhenareplyisgiventoacustomer'sletter,doitwithoutanydelay.Next,avoidirritating,beingoffensiveandbelittlingstatements.Besides,usediplomacyandtacttoovercomedifferences.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmailCourtesyconsistsnotonlyinusingpolitephraseslike“please”,“thankyou”,butalsoinshowingyourconsiderationforyourreader.e.g.Wehavereceivedwithmanythanksfromyouremailof20thMay,andwetakethepleasureofsendingyouourlatestcatalog.Wewishtodrawyourattentiontoaspecialofferwhichwehavemadeinit.4.ConsiderationConsiderationmeansyoushouldbeconsiderateofyourreader.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmailItisthequalitythatenablesustorefusetoperformafavorandatthesametimekeepafriend,torefuseacustomer'srequestwithoutkillingallhopeoffuturebusiness.Ifyoucannotmeetyourcustomers'needsorrequests,youshouldshowyourinterestinandconcernfortheirrequests,usepositivesentencesinsteadofnegativesentences,andstresswhatyoucando,butdon'tstresswhatyoucannotdo.e.g.Weareterriblysorrythatthegoodsyouinquirearenotavailablenow.However,wewillcontactyouthemomentthesupplypositionimproves.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmail5.CompletenessAbusinessemailiscompletewhenitcontainsallthefactsthereaderneeds.Completenessisnecessaryforseveralreasons:（1）Completemessagesaremorelikelytobringthedesiredresults.（2）Theycanbuildgoodwillbetweenbuyerandseller.（3）Completemessagescanhelpavoidcostlylawsuits.6.ConcretenessTowriteconcretelymeansbeingspecific,definiteandvividratherthanvagueandgeneral.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmailTrytousespecificfactsandfiguresandactiveverbs,andthenchoosevividandimage⁃buildingwords.e.g.Wewishtoconfirmourorderdispatchedyesterday.（Ｖague）WeconfirmourorderofJuly2nd,2006.（Concrete）7.CorrectnessCorrectgrammar,punctuationandspellingarealsorequiredinbusinessemailwriting.Italsomeansthecorrectlevelorstyleoflanguageforthereaderandtheaccuratefactsandfigures.上一页下一页返回Task1

HowtoWriteaBusinessEmaile.g.Thegoodssuppliedareexactlyequaltothesample.Actually,itisverydifficulttoguaranteethatthegoodssuppliedareexactlyequaltothesample.Therefore,thesentencemaybeclangedinto:Thegoodssuppliedaresimilarinqualitytothesample.上一页返回Task2

HowtoManageBusinessEmails

PartⅠ:IntroductionElectronicmailisanimportantcommunicationtoolforconductingbusinessactivitiesthroughouttheworld.Well⁃designedandproperlymanagede⁃mailsystemsexpeditebusinesscommunications,eliminatepaperworkandautomateroutineofficetasks,thusenhancingtheworkingefficiency.PartⅡ:AboutOutlookExpress1.WhatisOutlookExpressOutlookExpressisanemailprogramdevelopedbyMicrosoftthatletsyoustore,manage,sendandreceiveemailmessages.下一页返回Task2

HowtoManageBusinessEmails

ThereareseveralsuchemailprogramsavailableandOutlookExpressisprobablythemostpopularofthemallbecauseitisfreeandcomesbundledwithInternetExplorerwebbrowser.SoifyoudownloadandinstallInternetExplorer,yougetthefreeemailprogramtoo.Anemailmanagementprogram,likeOutlookExpress,isalsoknownanemailclient.2.AdvantagesofOutlookExpress（1）AvailabilityofemailsevenwithoutanInternetconnection．上一页下一页返回Task2

HowtoManageBusinessEmails

Ifyou'vebeenusingweb⁃basedemailaccountssuchasHotmail,GmailorYahooMail,youknowthatanactiveInternetconnectionisrequiredtologintoyouronlineaccountandaccessmessages.WithOutlookExpress,theprogramwillautomaticallyconnecttoyouraccount,downloademailsandstorethemonyourcomputer.Sincenowthemessagesareonyourlocalmachine,theyareavailabletoyouevenwithoutanInternetconnection.（2）Savetimebydownloadingemailsfromvariousaccounts.上一页下一页返回Task2

HowtoManageBusinessEmails

Thispointappliestothosewhohavemultipleemailaccounts.Youdon'tneedtowastetimeincheckingeachemailaccountseparately.MultipleaccountscanbesetupinOutlookExpresswhichmeansemailsfromalltheseaccountswillbedownloadedtogetheratoneplace－yourcomputer.YoucanalsousefiltersandOutlookExpressmessagerulestosegregateemailmessagesastheyarriveatyoursystem.Forexample,allincomingGmailmessagescanbedivertedtoonefolderwhilethosefromHotmailtoanother.Youcansimilarlyisolateemailsbasedonsenders,filesizes,whethertheyhaveattachments,etc.上一页下一页返回Task2

HowtoManageBusinessEmails

（3）Acopyofyouremailsonyourcomputer.ProbablythemostimportantadvantageofusingOutlookExpressistheabilitytostoreacopyofallyouremailsonyourcomputer.Soevenifyouaccidentlydeleteanimportantmessagefromyourserverorifyouraccountisinaccessibleorhacked,youknowyoucanretrievethemessagesfromyoursystem.3.SortingEmails（1）OrganizeyouremailsinOutlookExpressInboxfolders.AllincomingemailsarriveattheOutlookExpressInboxunlessyouhaveconfiguredmessagerules.上一页下一页返回Task2

HowtoManageBusinessEmails

Wereceiveemailsfromfriends,family,colleaguesandbusinesspartners,etc.Whetheryougetjustafewemailseachdayorhundreds,theneedtoorganizemessagesisparamountforincreasingproductivityandsavingtime.Becausewithtimetheinboxwouldsimplybecomeonebigmessofunsortedandtangleddigitaldata.TryingtolocatealostemailintheOutlookExpressinboxafteracoupleofyears,evenifyouemploythe“Find”feature,wouldresultinlossofprecioustime.上一页下一页返回Task2

HowtoManageBusinessEmails

（2）CreateafolderintheOutlookExpressInbox.CreatingafolderundertheinboxinOutlookExpressisasimpleaffairandinvolvesjustafewmouseclicks.YoufirstneedtobringuptheCreateFolderdialogboxwhichcanbedoneinthreesteps；rightclick（underWindows）onthe“Inbox”andselect“NewFolder”orgoto“File”→“Folder”→“New.”Inthe“CreateFolder”dialogbox,makesure“Inbox”isselectedandthenenterthenameofthenewfolderyouwanttocreate.上一页下一