Unit 1 Fundamentals of Business

　　Letter Writing

　　【學習要點和目標】

　　通過本單元的學習，了解商務(wù)信函寫作的基本知識，掌握商務(wù)信函寫作的原則、格式、結(jié)構(gòu)和方法。

　　Lead-in

　　In the business community today， the importance of good communication skills is even more stressed， as it is essential that employees can use the tools of the evolving information technology to communicate clearly， accurately and effectively. Business communication is concerned with the successful exchange of messages that support the goal of buying and selling goods or other services. Business communication can be used in inquiring， ordering， negotiation， selling， marketing， complaining， etc.. In international trade， most of the negotiation and contracts are signed through business letters. A Business letter is legal. It is very important for both the form and the content.

　　So it is of very importance for students of business communication to master the skills of reading and writing a good business letter that presents ideas interestingly and clearly to enable readers to understand with least possible effort.

　　1. Principles of Business Letter Writing

　　A good business letter can play an important role in trade， increase friendship and obtain complete understanding between the parties involved. Business letter writing is one of the necessary business activities. Broadly speaking， the functions of a business letter may be said to be （1） to ask for or to convey information， （2） to make or to accept an offer， （3） to deal with matters concerning negotiation of business. In addition， there are letters with no other purpose than to remind the recipient of the sender’s existence.

　　Letter-writing does not differ from any other form of creative writing. Good English is one of the important bases of good business letters. What you write should be free from grammatical blemishes， and also free from the slightest possibility of being misunderstood. There are certain essential qualities of business letters， which can be summed up in the Six Cs， as （1） Clearness， （2） Conciseness， （3） Courtesy， （4） Consideration， （5） Correctness， （6） Completeness.

　�。�1） Clearness

　　First of all， make sure that your letter is so clear that it cannot be misunderstood. An ambiguous point in a letter will cause trouble to both sides， and further exchange of letters for explanation will become inevitable and time-wasting. Next， when you are sure about what you want to say， say it in plain， simple words. Good， straightforward， simple English is necessary for business letters.

　　（2） Conciseness

　　Clearness and conciseness often go hand-in-hand and the elimination of wordy business jargon can help to make a letter clearer and at the same time more concise.

　　A concise letter is not necessarily a short one. Sometimes， a letter dealing perhaps with a multiplicity of matters cannot avoid being long. If conciseness conflicts with courtesy， make a little sacrifice of conciseness. Generally speaking， you will gain clearness and conciseness by writing short sentences rather than long ones.

　　A letter can be made clearer， easier to read and more attractive to look at by careful paragraphing. A paragraph for each point is a good rule.

　�。�3） Courtesy

　　It should hardly be necessary to stress the importance of courtesy in your correspondence. One of the most important things is promptness， which will please your customer who dislikes waiting for days before he gets a reply to his letter.

　　It is nearly always wrong to doubt a statement made in good faith by the other side and even worse to contradict it. Differences are bound to occur in business， but with diplomacy and tact they can be overcome and settled without ill will on either side.

　　（4） Consideration

　　Consideration is an important rule of good business writing. The letters you send out must create a good impression. Try to put yourself in his place to give consideration to his varied wishes， demands， interests and difficulties. Emphasize the “You” attitude rather than the “I” or “We” attitude. In your letter you should always keep in mind the person you are writing to， see things from his point of view， visualize him in his surroundings， and see his problems and difficulties and express your idea in terms of his experience. Find the best way to express your better understanding and present the message.

　　Compare the following pairs of sentences：

　�。╝） You-attitude

　　Congratulations to you on your success.

　　You earn a 2% discount for cash payment.

　�。╞） We-attitude

　　We’d like to send our congratulations to you.

　　We allow you a 2% discount for cash payment.

　　（5） Correctness

　　Correctness means not only proper expression with correct grammar， punctuation and spelling， but also appropriate tone， which is helpful to achieve the purpose. It is likely to convey the real message in a way that will not cause offense even if it is a complaint or an answer to such a letter. Business letters must have factual information， accurate figures and exact terms in particular， because they involve the rights， the duties and the interests 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 would throw you in an awkward position.

　�。�6） Completeness

　　A business letter is successful and functions well only when it contains all the necessary information. An outline helps for the letter to be full and complete. See to it that all the matters are discussed， and all questions are answered. Incompleteness is not only impolite but also leads to the recipient’s unfavorable impression towards your firm.

　　He may give up the deal if other firms can provide him with all the information needed， or if he would not take the trouble inquiring once again.

　　As you work hard for completeness， keep the following guidelines in mind： Why do you write the letter？ What are the facts supporting the reasons？ Have you answered the questions asked？

　　2. Layout of a Business Letter

　　It has long been customary to set it out in the semi-indented style （Specimen Letter 1）. Many people regard this as the most attractive one of all letter styles. The blocked inside name and address is liked because it is compact and tidy. This style appeals to most readers. They like the indented paragraphing and claim that it makes for easy reading. Others dislike the indentations because， they claim， they waste the typist’s time. So the blocked style （Specimen Letter 2） has now come to be much more widely used than before.

　　The open style of punctuation in the inside name and address is often used with the modern letter style， but is not essential to it. Closed punctuation can also be used if preferred.

　　3. The Main Parts of a Business Letter

　　The business letter consists of seven principle parts： （1） the letter-head， （2） the date， （3） the inside name and address， （4） the salutation， （5） the message， （6） the complimentary close， （7） the writer’s signature and official position.

　�。�1） The Letter-head

　　The letter-head expresses a firm’s personality. It helps to form one’s impression of the writer’s firm. Styles vary considerably， but they all give similar information and besides the name and address of the firm may include telephone numbers， telegraphic addresses， the telegraphic codes used， telex numbers， and the kind of business carried on.

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