实用商务英语写作课件-Unit 7

Unit 7 Business Correspondence

Tasks1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Introduction Layout Format Common business correspondence Samples Exercises Case study

Introduction

Business correspondence is the main means of written communication to establish business relations with the outside world. Business correspondence is the first impression that we make on our partners. A good business correspondence should be formal, positive, friendly and sincere. The form of a business correspondence should be more complicated. There are seven principles to be followed: clearness, conciseness, correctness, concreteness, courtesy, consideration and completeness.

LayoutA business correspondence contains:seven essential parts six optional parts

Seven essential parts1. Letterhead (heading)—identifies where the letter comes from 2. Date—identifies when the letter is written 3. Inside name and address—includes the name of the addressee, number and name of the street or road, name of the town or city, state or province and its zip code and name of the country 4. Salutation—the polite greeting

Seven essential parts5. Body of the letter—expresses the writer’s idea, opinion, purpose and wishes, etc; 6. Complimentary close—a matter of custom and a polite way of ending a letter; 7. Signature—signed name or mark of the person writing the letter or that of the firm he or she represents.

Six optional parts1. Reference—includes a file number department code or the initials of the signer 2. Attention line—indicates the letter should be delivered to a specific individual or section of the firm 3. Subject line—advances notice of what to expect 4. Enclosure—indicates that material other than the letter itself

Six optional parts5. Carbon copy notation—used when copies of the letter are simultaneously sent to other persons or organizations concerned; 6. Postscript—a message appended at the end of a letter after the signature.

Format

Conventional indented style Modern block style Modified block style

Conventional indented style

The most formal one; Popular in Britain and the old British colonies; The heading centralized on the top and the date line on the right-hand side; First lines of each paragraph indented 3-8 spaces; Complimentary close in the centre or start at the central part; Looks good and easy to read but not convenient to type.

Conventional indented styleWilliam & Sons 43 Butts Road Oxford, OX42JR,UK Your ref.: 234 FA/mf Our ref.: 378LF/jpReference

Letterhead

Date

23 October, 2013China XX Import & Import Corp. 1040 North Suzhou Road Shanghai, China Attention: Marketing Department Dear Sirs,Inside name and address

Attention line

Salutation

Conventional indented styleRe: 500 Dozen Women’s Skirts Thank you for your inquiry in your letter of October 8 for our Women’s Skirts. We are now sending you our quotation sheet for your selection.

We also airmail samples and are sure that you will be satisfied with their superior quality. Body We hope to hear from you very soon.Complimentary close Subject line

Yours sincerely Mary BlackSigniture

Encl: Quotation Sheet cc: Our Head Office

Enclosure Carbon copy notation

Modern block style

Much more widely used than before; All parts of the letter placed flush with the left-hand margin and paragraphs not indented, including those for the date, the inside name and address, salutation, and complimentary close; Double spaces between paragraphs; Saves time and convenient to type; Cold and overly formal.

Modern block styleABC Trading co. Allen Incorporation 1470 St. Louis Street Los Angeles, CA 90015 Your ref. 234 FA/mf Our ref.378LF/jp March 15, 2006 China National Import & Export Corp. Shanghai Branch Shanghai, China Attention: Marketing Department Gentlemen

Modern block styleOrder No.789 for Tools

This is to inform you Mr. E.. Edwards, president of Poula Inc. resigned from that company and established a new company under the name of Allen Inc. We are pleased to place with you our first trial order as enclosed, which we hope would lead to good business relations between our two companies.Please fax your sales confirmation with net prices on CIF Log Angeles basis.

Furthermore, please send us your catalogues and one sample each of the goods under our trial orderYours sincerely

Allen IncJames Smith Encl: Quotation Sheet

cc: Our Head Office

Modified block style

A combination of the conventional indented style and the modern block style Called semi-block style or mixed-block style sometimes Subject line and body written in modern block style Other parts follow the format of conventional indented style