商务信件书写简要介绍

    Brief Introduction to Business LettersWords and expressions:
    LetterheadReferenceSalutationComplimentaryAttention lineSubject lineEnclosureCarbon copyFull block style（齐头式）Indented² styleSection A Parts of Business LettersMost business letters have seven standard parts.
    They are letterhead, reference and date, inside address, salutation, body, complimentary¹ close, and signature.
    When appropriate, any of the following optional items can be included.
    Attention line, subject line, file or account number, enclosures, carbon copy notation⁴, mailing notation and postscript⁵.
    LetterheadLetterhead designs vary with business organizations and occupy the top of the first page.
    They may be positioned at the center or at the left margin⁶ the top of the page.
    A business letterhead, usually printed, contains all or some of the following elements:
    The company’s name , address, postcode, telephone number, telex⁷ number, fax number, the name of the officer or the director and even some picture or slogan for a symbol of the company.
    Reference and DateA typewritten date is necessarily included in the heading.
    The date is usually placed two lines below the last line of the letterhead at left margin for full block style or ending with the right margin for indented style.
    It is usual to show the date in the order day/month/year ( English Practice) or month /day /year (American practice).
    Avoid giving a date in figures and abbreviations.
    Inside AddressThe inside address is typed directly below the date line at the left hand margin.
    The inside address of a letter to an individual consists of the person’s courtesy title, name, business or executive title ( it should be used immediately after the name) and address.
    When the letter is to a group, the inside address includes the full group name and the address.
    Care should be taken to address the recipient⁸ exactly as on the envelope.
    SalutationSalutation is placed at the left margin two lines below the inside address and two lines above the body of the letter.
    Considered a polite greeting with which a friendly business letter begins, the personal salutation must be appropriate for the first line of the inside address.
    If the letter is addressed to an individual, It is usual to use:
    Dear Mr. Smith,Dear Ms. John,Dear Prof. Hobart,Dear Dr. Walter,The trend is towards Ms. As the courtesy title for all women regardless of their marital⁹ status.
    When addressing a letter to a firm, Dear Sirs, Ladies and gentlemen or Gentlemen (American English ) would be used.
    Attention LineAn attention line is considered a part of the inside address and it leads the letter to a particular person or department when the letter is addressed to a company.
    It is usually between the inside address and the salutation or above the inside address ,as shown in examples:
    Attention: Import Dept.
    For the attention of Mr. Donnan, Sales managerAttention of Mr. Standard, General Manager.
    Subject lineThe subject heading is regarded as a part of the body of a business letter.
    Usually it is in the upper case or initial capitals/underline and placed between the salutation and the body of a letter to call attention to what content the letter is about. For example:
    Dear Ms. Smith,Our Catalogue No.2,Opening SentenceThe first paragraph of the body is introductory.
    It will always begin with reference to the previous letter received and provide an introduction to what will be discussed.
    Here are examples as follows:
    (1),Your letter of 9’’ September to our Beijing(2),We refer to quotations¹¹ of 8’’october and our mail offer of 1’’ December regarding the supply of Speedo swimming caps.
    (3)We acknowledge, with thanks, receipt of your binding¹² application form for the 76’’ international Exhibition in March, 1998.
    (4),We are pleased to inform you that the arrangements have now been made to ship the cotton underwear under your Order no.456.
    (5), We regret up to the time of writing we have not heard anything from you about the shipment under the captioned¹³ contract.
    Complimentary closeThe complimentary close is simply a polite way to end a letter.
    The expression for the complimentary close should match the salutation.
    It appears in the middle of the page and two lines below the closing sentence for indented layout.
    While it starts at the left-hand margin for fully¹⁴ blocked letters.
    Only the initial letter in the first word of any complimentary close is capitalized.
    PostscriptThe signature mainly consists of the addresser’s signature, he typed name of his and his business title.
    Name of the company if it is previously¹⁵ printed on the letterhead.
    The addresser should sign the letter by hand and in ink above the typed name which the typed post follows immediately.
    Signing on behalf of somebody else ,it is usual to write for pp or per pro³ before he letter.
    EnclosureEnc. Or Encs. Is typed two lines spaces after the signature of the address when something is sent along with the letter.
    An enclosure can be anything in the envelope in addition to the message itself.
    Examples are as follows: Enc.: 1 Price ListIf the enclosed are more than on, the number should be marked.
    PostscriptWhen you find something forgotten to be included in the letter body before the envelope is to be sealed up.
    You may state it after the signature in a postscript with a simple signature again.
    The adding of a P.S. should, however, be avoided as far as possible.
    For examples: PS: the catalogue was sent to you on July 7th.
    Section B Format¹⁶ of a Business letterFull block form and modified block form with indented paragraphs are the two main patterns of layout in current use.
    The former is now the most popular practice of displaying business letters.
    Its remarkable¹⁷ feature is that all typing lines, including those for the date,Inside name and address, salutation, subject heading, each message paragraph and complimentary close, begin at the left-hand margin.
    Business letters with the full block form, along with open punctuation¹⁸ or mixed punctuations, re paragraphed by equal line spaces.
    For this letter-style the open punctuation pattern is used, the end of the date line, the inside address lines, the salutation, the complimentary close and the signature block lines are unpunctuated, but a comma is necessary between the day and year in the date line and the full stop is retained after the abbreviation such as company, Inc. and Ltd.
    While the mixed punctuation pattern, the most welcomed style today, requires an absence of punctuation marks from the date line, the inside address lines and the signature block lines except a colon¹⁹ or comma after the salutation and the complimentary close.
    Modified block form with indented paragraphs indented style is the traditional British practice with the heading usually in the middle and the date on the right-hand side.
    The complimentary close may be in the center or commence at the center point. The mixed punctuation is often used.
    CHINA NATIONAL IMP¹⁰. & EXP> CORP>
    Add: 6, JIANGGUAODAJIE, BEIJING , CHINATel: (86-10) 67483650Fax: [phone] February 1998Resunic Trade LinksRegd Office Thriuvamkulam Cochin 678201Kerata IndiaDear sirsEXORTING/IMPORTING ITEMSOF OUR CORPWe now have pleasure in receiving your letter dated 23thMay 1997Yours sincerelyJ. K. DRAWProject ManagerEncl. As statedSection C Writing Rules for Business LettersBusiness correspondence is still a basic activity involved in trade, and remain a very important form of communication even nowadays.
    They deliver their companies’ images to the public.
    Business letters are often an arrangement or regarded as evidence of a contract.
    They are written for information exchange and bridge over the desires between buyers and sellers.
    The most effective letter should be easy to read and easy to understand. They must be friendly and courteous²⁰.
    We should bear in mind the point that business letters play an important role in the development of goodwill²¹ and friendly trade relationships.
    Generally speaking: consideration, completeness, correctness, concreteness, conciseness²², clarity and courtesy.
    ConsiderationTry to put yourself in his or her place to give consideration to his or her wishes , demands, interests and difficulties.
    Find the best way to express your better understanding and present the message.
    That enables a request to be refused without killing²³ all hope of business or allows a refusal to do favor to be made without harming friendship.
    CorrectnessCorrectness means not only proper expressions with correct grammar , punctuation and spelling, but also appropriate tone which is a help to achieve the purpose.
    It is likely to convey the real message in a way that will not cause offence even if it is a complaint or an answer to such a letter.
    Business letters must be factual information accurate figures and exact terms in particular, for they involve the right, the duties and the interest of both sides often as the base of all kinds of documents.
    Therefore we should not understate nor overstate as understatement might lead to less confidence and hold up the trade development. While overstatement throws you into an awkward position.
    CompletenessAs you work hard for completeness, keep the following guidelines in mind:
    Why do you write the letter, what are the facts supporting the reasons, whether you have answered all the questions asked or not and what the reader is expected to do.
    ConcretenessWhat the letter comes to should be specific, definite rather than vague, abstract and general.
    Take, for example, some qualities or characters of goods that should be shown with exact figures and avoid words like short, long or good.
    Give specific time (with date ,month, year and even offer hour, minute if necessary).
    But avoid expressions such as yesterday, next month , immediately and etc.
    ConcisenessConciseness means complete message but briefest expression with no sacrificing clarity or courtesy.
    A good business letter should be precise and to the point.
    Single words are more efficient than phrases.
    Wordy languages and redundancy require more time and money to type and to read.
    They are not what modern business people want.
    ClarityKeep constantly in mind what you want to say in your letter.
    It is welcomed if you express yourself clearly and directly in the simplest language.
    Plain, simple words are more easily understood.
    A properly paragraphed message is required for the purpose of clarity.
    For instance ,we use semimonthly instead of bimonthly for two times a moth²⁴., because bimonthly may mean both two times a month and once every two month.
    CourtesyCourtesy means to show tactfully in your letters the honest friendship, thoughtful appreciation²⁵, sincere politeness, considerate understanding and heartfelt respect.
    Answer letters in good time and write to explain why if you fail to do it promptly²⁶.
    Even if you don’t think the recipient is right, you should still respond tactfully and politely.
    Sometimes it is a help to use you-attitude instead of I-attitude.

1 complimentary   

adj.赠送的，免费的，赞美的，恭维的

参考例句：

• She made some highly complimentary remarks about their school.她对他们的学校给予高度的评价。
• The supermarket operates a complimentary shuttle service.这家超市提供免费购物班车。

2 indented   

adj.锯齿状的，高低不平的；缩进排版

参考例句：

• His voyage was down Chile's indented coastline.他的航行沿智利参差曲折的海岸线行进。
• Each paragraph of the body is usually indented five blocks.正文每段开始，一般缩进五个英文字母。

3 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

4 notation   

n.记号法，表示法，注释；[计算机]记法

参考例句：

• Music has a special system of notation.音乐有一套特殊的标记法。
• We shall find it convenient to adopt the following notation.采用下面的记号是方便的。

5 postscript   

n.附言，又及；(正文后的)补充说明

参考例句：

• There was the usual romantic postscript at the end of his letter.他的信末又是一贯的浪漫附言。
• She mentioned in a postscript to her letter that the parcel had arrived.她在信末附笔中说包裹已寄到。

6 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

7 telex   

n.用户电报，直通专用电传

参考例句：

• I shall send you the information by telex.我将用电传把这一信息给你传来。
• He rushed in with an urgent telex from Hong Kong.他手里拿着一份香港发来的紧急电传冲了进来。

8 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

9 marital   

adj.婚姻的，夫妻的

参考例句：

• Her son had no marital problems.她的儿子没有婚姻问题。
• I regret getting involved with my daughter's marital problems;all its done is to bring trouble about my ears.我后悔干涉我女儿的婚姻问题, 现在我所做的一切将给我带来无穷的烦恼。

10 imp   

n.顽童

参考例句：

• What a little imp you are!你这个淘气包！
• There's a little imp always running with him.他总有一个小鬼跟着。

11 quotations   

n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价

参考例句：

• The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

12 binding   

有约束力的，有效的，应遵守的

参考例句：

• The contract was not signed and has no binding force. 合同没有签署因而没有约束力。
• Both sides have agreed that the arbitration will be binding. 双方都赞同仲裁具有约束力。

13 captioned   

a.标题项下的； 标题所说的

参考例句：

• This paper reviews the production, development and nationalization of the captioned materials. 本文就铜系合金引线框架材料的生产、发展和国产化进程作一论述。
• Please advise other considerable hotels for this captioned group. 请推荐其它一些高级的旅馆给这一群打标语的人。

14 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

15 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

16 format   

n.设计，版式；[计算机]格式，DOS命令:格式化(磁盘)，用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据；v.使格式化，设计，安排

参考例句：

• Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
• The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。

17 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

18 punctuation   

n.标点符号，标点法

参考例句：

• My son's punctuation is terrible.我儿子的标点符号很糟糕。
• A piece of writing without any punctuation is difficult to understand.一篇没有任何标点符号的文章是很难懂的。

19 colon   

n.冒号，结肠，直肠

参考例句：

• Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样，应当在冒号后加破折号。
• The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。

20 courteous   

adj.彬彬有礼的，客气的

参考例句：

• Although she often disagreed with me,she was always courteous.尽管她常常和我意见不一，但她总是很谦恭有礼。
• He was a kind and courteous man.他为人友善，而且彬彬有礼。

21 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

22 conciseness   

n.简洁，简短

参考例句：

• Conciseness is served when the sentence is so corrected. 句子这样一改就简洁了。
• The topics of Diction section include Conciseness, Repetition Simple Words, and etc. 字法单元的主题包括简洁、重复、简单的字等等。

23 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

24 moth   

n.蛾，蛀虫

参考例句：

• A moth was fluttering round the lamp.有一只蛾子扑打着翅膀绕着灯飞。
• The sweater is moth-eaten.毛衣让蛀虫咬坏了。

25 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

26 promptly   

adv.及时地，敏捷地

参考例句：

• He paid the money back promptly.他立即还了钱。
• She promptly seized the opportunity his absence gave her.她立即抓住了因他不在场给她创造的机会。