business letter 外贸函电

Chapter One

Business Letters

(

商务信函

)

1.1

Introduction

Business

letter

is

the

most

frequently

used

form

of

communication.

Business

executives

are

supposed to write good business letters as to carry out business routine efficiently.

All business letters have two main functions. One is to ask for and give a reply to an enquiry,

offer,

order

or

complaint.

The

other

one

is

to

keep

a

record

of

all

the

important

facts

for

ready

reference. An effective business letter will say what the writer wants it to say clearly and simply.

A business letter that is neat, easy to read, and present a professional image will leave a good

impression on the reader.

1.2

Writing Guide

1.2.1

The Essentials of Business Letter Writing

——7 “Cs” principles

Clarity

清晰

:

Try

to

express

yourself

clearly.

Keep

in

mind

the

purpose

of

the

letter;

Use

appropriate words in correct sentence structures;

Avoid ambiguous sentences.

Conciseness

简洁

: Say things in the fewest possible words. Try to avoid wordiness or redundancy.

Courtesy

礼貌

:

Not

mere

politeness.

Always

keep

in

mind

the

person

we

are

writing

to,

see

things

from

his

point

of

view,

visualize

him

in

his

surroundings,

see

his

problems

and

difficulties and express our ideas in terms of his experience.

Consideration

体谅

: It emphasizes You- attitude rather than We-attitude.

Keep the reader

’

s request, needs, desires, as well as his feelings in mind.

Correctness

正确

:

Appropriate

and

grammatically

correct

language,

factual

information

and

accurate reliable figures, as well as the right forms and conventions.

Concreteness

具体

: Make the message specific, definite and vivid.

Completeness

完整

: Provide all the information and data necessary for a specific issue.

1.2.2

The Structure of business letters

Letterhead

信头

The

letterhead

indicates

the

name,

address,

telephone,

fax

number

and

E-mail

address

of

the

company

sending

the

letter.

Many

companies

use

letterhead

stationery.

If

letterhead

stationery is not available, you can type the heading, which includes a return address, and leaves about

a two-inch top margin.

Reference

编号

The

reference

may

include

a

file

number,

department

code

or

the

initials

of

the

signer followed by that of the typist of the letter. Type the reference number below the letterhead in

short form as

“

Our ref.:

”

for the sender

’

s reference number, and

“

Your ref.:

”

for the recipient

’

s. The purpose of this is to facilitate filing of the letter, link it with previous correspondence.

Date

日期

There is no rule for the date placement. If you use letterhead stationery, place the date

one to three blank lines beneath the letterhead. If without letterhead, place the date immediately below

the return address.

Writing date in English goes in two styles:

American Style-- The standard order: month, day, year. Example: September 12, 2008.

British Style --The standard order : day, month, year. Example: 12 September, 2008.

Mailing or In- house Notation

邮递方式

Mailing notation shows the specific means of delivery for

the convenience of verification. Besides there are two other commonly used forms of mailing notation,

e.g. by courier and by EMS. Type them two lines below the date and in all capital Letters.

Mailing notations: e.g.

“

special delivery

”

,

”

”

,

”

registered mail

”

,

“

certified mail

”

In-house notations: e.g.

“

personal

”

,

< br>“

confidential

”

.

Inside name and address

封内名称及地址

It should include some or all parts of the following:

the name of the recipient, the department name, company name, suite or room number, street address,

city, postcode, state/province and country.

It appears on the left margin and usually starts two to four

lines below the date. It appears exactly the same way as on the envelope.

Precede the addressee

’

s name with a courtesy title (such as Mr., Ms. or Dr.) The person

’

s

job title can be placed on the same line of the person

’

s name, or on the line below.

e.g.:

（

1

）

Mr. Dick Eaton, President

（

2

）

Ms. Patricia T. Higgins

Assistant Vice President

If

the

name

of

a

specific

person

is

unavailable,

you

may

address

the

letter

to

the

department,

followed by the name of the company.

e.g.:

（

1

）

Customer Service Department

Acme Construction Company

Attention Line

主送，

The attention line is used to name the specific individual the letter is addressed

to. It is usually placed between the inside address and the salutation or within the inside address and

centered over the body of a letter in the indented style. Its abbreviation is Attn.. It suggests that the

sender hopes the letter receives the immediate attention of a certain person or a specific department.

Salutation

称呼

The salutation is the polite greeting with which a letter begins. Place it two

lines below the inside address. The salutation should correspond to the first line of the inside address,

The

customary

formal

greeting

in

a

business

letter

is

“

Dear

Sir

”

or

“

Dear

Madam

”

used

for

addressing one person; and

“

Dear Sirs

”

,

“

Dear Mesdames

”

or

“

Gentlemen

”

for addressing two or

more

people.

If

the

addressee

is

known

to

you

personally,

a

warmer

greeting

such

as

“

Dear

Mr.

Smith

”

is preferred. Quite often now companies are owned and /or managed by women, and it is

more and more customary to use the greeting: Dear Madam or Sir,

if

you are not

sure whether the

letter will be read by a man or a woman. If the addressee is a group, use

“

Ladies and Gentlemen

”

. Or

you may use a polite description, such as

“

Dear Friends

”

,

“

Dear SPA supporters

”

. End the salutation

with a colon, or a comma.

Subject

Line/Caption

标题或事由

The

subject

line

is

the

general

idea

of

a

letter.

It

calls

recipients

’

attention to the topic of the letter. It is often inserted between the salutation and the body

of

a

letter,

usually

two

lines

below

the

salutation.

It

is

also

useful

as

a

guide

for

filing.

Some

companies omit the word

“

Subject:

”

, some replace it with

“

Re:

”

or

“

re:

”

(meaning

“

regardi ng

”

),

and some underline the subject line. The following forms are commonly used:

SUBJECT: SALES CONFIRMATION NO. 5678 FOR 300MT OF SOYBEAN OIL

Subject: Sales Confirmation NO. 5678 for 300Metric Tons of Soybean Oil

Body

正文

This is the most important part of a letter. It expresses your idea, opinion, purpose and

wishes, etc. It usually begins one or two lines below the salutation. Lines within a paragraph should be

single-spaced and double-spaced between paragraphs.

Complimentary Close

结束敬语

The complimentary close is purely a

matter of custom and a

polite way of bringing a letter to a close. It appears one or two lines below the last line of the body.

Capitalize the first word and end with a comma.

The main words in complimentary closure are as

follows: sincerely, faithfully, cordially, respectfully and truly. These words may appear in any of these

combinations: Your sincerely, Sincerely yours.

Signature

签名

The

writer

’

s

signature

consists

of

a

handwritten

signature

and

a

typewritten

signature. Type the name under the complimentary closing, leaving enough blank lines (usually leave

three blank lines) to sign your name. Never

“

sign

”

with a seal or stamp. Then type the signature

identification and title. The writer

’

s signature should be placed between the complimentary closure

and the typed signature.

Multiple-Page Letter Heading

多页信的标题

When typing a multiple-page letter, use letterhead

for the first page. The following page or pages should have the same quality, size and color as the first

page.

The

multiple-page

heading

bears

the

name

of

the

recipient

or

his/her

organization,

the

page