Business Letter Format 商务信函格式

    Most students admit to having learned in junior high school or in high school about writing business letters and about conventional formats¹ for them． When it comes down to writing them， however， all too many students seem not to know how and to be unwilling² to look up the forms （or perhaps they don't have a reference about using English）． This web page was prepared so that you would have an easily obtained description of what to do．When a business that has letterhead stationery³ writes a business letter， the first page of the letter uses paper with the printed letterhead and succeeding pages， if any， use matching quality and color sheets without the letterhead． A business with very good quality printing might generate the letterhead graphic⁴ with an image embedded⁵ in a word processor document． An individual normally won't use letterhead stationery and won't attempt to fake it． An attempt at letterhead that produces a tacky result or that conveys pompousness⁶ produces effects that you want to avoid．In a business letter， everything that you "type" should be in the same typeface and in the same font size． You should use "formal English" and you should very carefully check your grammar and spelling． You should arrange things neatly⁸． You should consider the appearance of the letter "at arm's length" as well as close up －－ use white space to produce an attractive sheet．In a conventional business letter you should see these parts， in order top to bottom：
    A return addressThis item is the postal⁹ address of the author of the letter． Each line of it is left justified¹⁰ －－ either at a tab stop that puts the information toward the right side of the page or at the left margin¹¹． Normally the return address is at the top of the page， but you can move it down a little to improve over－all appearance． Do not put email addresses here －－ if you need to convey an email address， do it in the body of the letter．The dateThis item is the date of the letter． It is aligned¹² with the return address． Formerly¹³ there was never whitespace （blank lines） between the return address and the date， but some current styles allow blank lines．An inside addressThis item duplicates what goes on the envelope． It has the formal name of the intended recipient¹⁴ of the letter and that person's postal address． Each line of the inside address is left justified at the left margin． No email addresses appear here． You can put blank lines between the date and the inside address to fill the page better and to improve the "arm's length" appearance．A salutationThis item formally addresses the recipient． If the addressee is not a friend， you should write "Dear Mr． Brown：" or "Dear Mrs． Smith：" or "Dear Ms． Jones：" or "Dear Dr． Greene：" or the like． A letter to a close associate might say "Dear Mike：" or "Dear Sally："．There is at least one line of white space between the inside address and the salutation． You can put a little more to improve the over－all appearance．Before the days of political correctness a letter to an organization would begin "Dear Sir：" or "Dear Sirs：" or "Gentlemen：" －－ for example， if the envelope were addressed "Personnel Director， XYZ Company， City， State" you might do this． These days you should probably make an effort to get a name， but．．．The body of the letter．The body is single spaced．Ordinarily the body contains more than one paragraph． Avoid both extremely short and very long paragraphs．You can use either indented¹⁵ paragraphs （in which the first line is indented more than the rest） or block paragraphs （in which all lines begin at the left margin）． With block paragraphs you must leave extra white space between paragraphs －－ one blank line or one "empty paragraph" is often used， but you can also use Word'
    Paragraph．．．）； the extra space should probably not exceed the size of an empty paragraph． With indented paragraphs， extra space between paragraphs is common， but optional． Indented paragraphs should be avoided if the return address was aligned at the left margin．Special effects like bulletted lists and paragraphs whose left and right edges are both indented should beused very sparingly －－ avoid them as much as you can． Likewise， consider whether having your paragraphs fully⁷ justified （both left and right edges squared off） will make the letter look too much like a form letter or piece of junk mail．A closingThis item is something like "Yours truly，" or "Sincerely，"． It is normally vertically¹⁶ aligned with the return address． （See the examples．）Space for a handwritten signature．Typed name of letter authorThis item is aligned with the return address， date， and closing． Leave enough white space above it for a （handwritten） signature． If you have a job title and this letter is being written as part of that job， it is common to type the job title directly below the typed name （single spaced）． An individual writing a letter normally doesn't include a job－title line．cc：/Typist/enclosuresAn individual writing a letter usually omits these items．It is assumed that you will keep a copy of the letter． If you are supplying copies to people other that the addressee， it is common ti put a "cc：" list at the bottoms left of the last page （"cc" originally stood for "carbon copy" to）． When the letter is prepared by a professional typist， it is common for the initials of the typist to be supplied at her bottom． If there are enclosures， that fact is often noted¹⁷ there too．Your instructor¹⁸ may have told you not to use a template． Do what your instructor told you． Many of MS－Word's templates appear to have been created more to show off wierd or fancy effects that Word can do than to produce a well－done product useful to the ordinary user． Some of Word's templates encourage you to produce a tacky document －－ resist the temptation． If you're using Word '97， our friend "Office Bob" may pop up when you type the letter's salutation． If your instructor told you not to use templates， decline "Office Bob"'s offer of "help．"

1 formats   

n.（出版物的）版式( format的名词复数 )；[电视]电视节目的总安排（或计划）

参考例句：

• They are producing books in all kinds of different formats. 他们出版各种不同开本的书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A true GUI includes standard formats for representing text and graphics. 真正的图形用户界面包括表示文字和图形的标准格式。 来自互联网

2 unwilling   

adj.不情愿的

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• His tightfisted employer was unwilling to give him a raise.他那吝啬的雇主不肯给他加薪。

3 stationery   

n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封

参考例句：

• She works in the stationery department of a big store.她在一家大商店的文具部工作。
• There was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.文具一多，心里自会觉得踏实。

4 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

5 embedded   

a.扎牢的

参考例句：

• an operation to remove glass that was embedded in his leg 取出扎入他腿部玻璃的手术
• He has embedded his name in the minds of millions of people. 他的名字铭刻在数百万人民心中。

6 pompousness   

豪华；傲慢

参考例句：

7 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。

8 neatly   

adv.整洁地，干净地，灵巧地，熟练地

参考例句：

• Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
• The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。

9 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

10 justified   

a.正当的，有理的

参考例句：

• She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
• The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。

11 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。

12 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

13 formerly   

adv.从前，以前

参考例句：

• We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
• This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。

14 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。

15 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。

16 vertically   

adv.垂直地

参考例句：

• Line the pages for the graph both horizontally and vertically.在这几页上同时画上横线和竖线，以便制作图表。
• The human brain is divided vertically down the middle into two hemispheres.人脑从中央垂直地分为两半球。

17 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

18 instructor   

n.指导者，教员，教练

参考例句：

• The college jumped him from instructor to full professor.大学突然把他从讲师提升为正教授。
• The skiing instructor was a tall,sunburnt man.滑雪教练是一个高高个子晒得黑黑的男子。