1、,Business Letter Writing,I. Teaching ContentsAn overview to Business EnglishCorrespondences II. Teaching ObjectivesBy learning this unit, students are supposed to be able to : 1. Understand the definition of correspondence 2. Know the main characteristics of correspondence 3. Master how to write a B
2、usiness letter,Business Letter Writing,III. Teaching difficulties 1.Essential qualities of correspondence 2. Special structures and expressions III. Teaching period needed2 lessons IV. Teaching procedures:,Business Letter Writing,IntroductionAccording to the development of international trade, busin
3、ess letters are more frequently used, they form a bridge to contact your business partner. Whether the communication succeeds or not depends on the written message sent in your letter. Every letter you write is actually a sales letter; that is, you are always selling somethinga product, a service, a
4、 company image, yourself, or simply an idea.,Business Letter Writing,A letter is personal contact. The exchange of information is basic to business. Letters should be easy to read and easy to understand; they must be friendly and courteous. Business letters should develop goodwill.,Business Letter W
5、riting,The function of the business letter 1) Business Letter-writing is an essential part of business 2) The letter is often an evidence of an arrangement or a contract, and must therefore be written with care 3) The aim of letter is to secure the interest of the reader and his/her cooperation.In t
6、his lesson, we are mainly talking about the writing principle and language features in business letters. We should keep these rules in mind when we want to do business or write a business letter successfully.,Business Letter Writing,I. The elements of business letters and writing principles I-1. The
7、 types of business lettersGenerally speaking, business letters include two types: ordinary business letters and social business lettersHere, we will introduce 13 types of business letters, which are most commonly used in business communication as follows:,Business Letter Writing,1). Letters of estab
8、lishing business relations 2). Letters of credit and status enquiries 3).Letters of request/inquiries 4). Letters of quotation/offer 5). Letters of counter-offer 6). Letters of acceptance 7). Letters of payment,Business Letter Writing,8). Letters of payment demands 9). Letters of request for referen
9、ce 10). Letters of packing 11). Letters of shipment 12). Letters of insurance 13). Letters of complaint/claims/settlement,Business Letter Writing,I-2. Writing principles of business letters The 7C Principles of business writing: 7C means Consideration. Courtesy, Clarity, Concreteness, Conciseness, C
10、ompleteness, and Correctness1). Consideration: share your readers viewpoint and keep their needs in mind, your attitude, put you in the position of others.( prepare every message with the reader in mind and try to put yourself into his/her place.设身处地的为读信人着 想，并把可能出现的问题都考虑进去) E.g. We allow a 5% discou
11、nt for cash payments. (“We”-attitude) You earn a a 5% discount when you pay cash ( “You” -attitude),Business Letter Writing,2). Courtesy: write in a friendly and courteous tone. Use the sentence like “Thank you for your recent order” rather than a cold statement “ We have received your order” E.g. W
12、e cannot deliver the goods all at one time Im afraid we cannot deliver the goods all at once,Business Letter Writing,3). Clarity: make sure that what you write is so clear that it cant be misunderstood. Convey your message to the recipient without being misunderstood. Always write in direct, plain a
13、nd simple language instead of ambiguity, vagueness etc. E.g. We can supply 50 tons of the item only. (only this item) We can only supply 50 tons of the item. (only 50 tons) E.g. The L/C must reach us not later than September 1st for arranging shipment The L/C must reach us for arranging shipment not
14、 later than September 1st,Business Letter Writing,4). Concreteness: making the message specific, definite and vivid E.g. The Universal trading company is one of your big buyers. The Universal trading company placed over US.$2,000,000 worth of business with US each year. Analysis: big” adj. Cant expr
15、ess the degree in specific figures,Business Letter Writing,5). Conciseness: saying things in the fewest possible words. To achieve this, try to avoid wordiness or redundancy. E.g. We have begun to export our machines to the foreign countries. We have begun to export our machines. Analysis: the word
16、“export” means selling the machines to foreign countries”. However, we can say, we have begun to export our machines to Japan/USA/Germany ( some specific country),Business Letter Writing,6). Completeness: see to it that all the matters are discussed and all the questions are answered E.g. The goods
17、can be delivered. The goods can be delivered by June 14.,Business Letter Writing,一封信写得是否完整，建议用五个“W”来检验，既： “Who, What, Where, When 及Why(包括How)” 例如在定货的信中，必须明确说明 “需要什么商品”(What you want) “何时需要” (When you need the goods) “货物发到何地何人收”(to Whom and Where the goods to be sent) “如何付款”(How payment will be made)
18、 如对对方的要求作出否定的答复时（如不能报盘，不能理赔等）应说明理由“为什么”(Why),Business Letter Writing,7). Correctness: appropriate and grammatically correct language, factual information and accurate reliable figures ( such as names of articles, specifications, quantity and units, etc.) E.g. You ask very short delivery for your ord
19、er You require prompt delivery of your order Analysis: short delivery: short-weight, the quantity of shipment is less than that of orderPrompt delivery-quick delivery,Business Letter Writing,II. Layout of a Business Letter What You Should Write in a Business Letter A business letter has five main pa
20、rts: 1). the heading 2). the date 3). the opening 4). the body 5). the closing,Business Letter Writing,1. What to Put in the Heading of a Business Letter This is your name and address. You can use your fancy letterhead or just type up your business name and address. The letterhead address can be pos
21、itioned anywhere on the top of the page: centered, left side or right side. However, if youre typing the business address, it should be located in the top right-hand corner.,Business Letter Writing,2. How to Write the Date in a Business LetterThe date is very important, since it can be useful in det
22、ermining priorities, for filing and it also can have legal ramifications. In a typed address letter, the date goes immediately under your address. In a letterhead letter, the date can go on the left- hand side, or the right-hand side, immediately under the letterhead,Business Letter Writing,3. How t
23、o Write the Opening of a Business LetterThis is the: Name Title (if any Manager, Principal etc) Address of the person to whom you are writing and the greeting or salutation. This information always goes on the left-hand side of the page, starting one line lower than your business name and address an
24、d the date.,Business Letter Writing,Inside AddressThe inside address is the recipients address. It is always best to write to a specific individual at the firm to which you are writing. If you do not have the persons name, do some research by calling the company or speaking with employees from the c
25、ompany. Include a personal title such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr. Follow a womans preference in being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms. If you are unsure of a womans preference in being addressed, use Ms. If there is a possibility that the person to whom you are writing is a Dr. or has some other title,
26、 use that title. Usually, people will not mind being addressed by a higher title than they actually possess,Business Letter Writing,SalutationUse the same name as the inside address, including the personal title. If you know the person and typically address them by their first name, it is acceptable
27、 to use only the first name in the salutation (for example: Dear Lucy,). In all other cases, however, use the personal title and full name followed by a comma. Leave one line blank after the salutation.If you dont know a readers gender, use a nonsexist salutation, such as “To Whom It May Concern.“ I
28、t is also acceptable to use the full name in a salutation if you cannot determine gender. For example, you might write Dear Chris Harmon: if you were unsure of Chriss gender.,Business Letter Writing,4. How to Write the Body of the Business LetterIt follows the same rules in that it should be: clear,
29、 concise, courteous.,Business Letter Writing,4-1.What Should Be Included in a Business LetterWhen writing a business letter, you must be sure that no part of your letter will be misunderstood. This is why the language you use should be simple. There are no prizes for using the biggest words in a bus
30、iness letter - especially if your reader is not familiar with the words and has to waste time finding out what you mean.,Business Letter Writing,The way you organize the body of your letter will depend on the reason for writing it .It doesnt matter how short a letter is, the important thing is to co
31、mmunicate your message effectively. Dont feel you have to fill up the page to make it look balanced.,Business Letter Writing,The first paragraph of a typical business letter is used to state the main point of the letter. Begin with a friendly opening; then quickly transition into the purpose of your
32、 letter. Use a couple of sentences to explain the purpose, but do not go in to detail until the next paragraph.,Business Letter Writing,Beginning with the second paragraph, state the supporting details to justify your purpose. These may take the form of background information, statistics or first-ha
33、nd accounts. A few short paragraphs within the body of the letter should be enough to support your reasoning.,Business Letter Writing,Finally, in the closing paragraph, briefly restate your purpose and why it is important. If the purpose of your letter is employment related, consider ending your let
34、ter with your contact information. However, if the purpose is informational, think about closing with gratitude for the readers time,Business Letter Writing,5. How to Write the Closing of a Business Letter and Sign OffIt is customary to sign off, Yours faithfully if it is a formal business letter or
35、 if you dont know the name of the person; you sign Yours sincerely when you do know the name of the person. It is acceptable to use less formal closings - Kind regards, Regards- if the whole tone of your letter has been the same, but dont end a very formal letter in this way. Your closing signature
36、can be placed on the left-hand side of the letter (which makes it easier on the typist) or on the right-hand side - in line with the address (if the address has been typed in the right-hand corner and / or with the date (if it has been placed in the right-hand corner).,Business Letter Writing,III. U
37、seful phrases in letters 開始的第一句要能清楚地表達這封信的目的。以下是幾個最常 見的情況： ( 1 ) 跟進之前的接觸 ( referring to previous contact ) Thank you for your letter of September 10. Thank you for your letter regarding. With reference to our telephone conversation yesterday. Further to our meeting last week. I would like to confirm
38、 the main points we discussed onTuesday. It was a pleasure meeting you in New York last month. In reply to your request of.,Business Letter Writing,( 2 ) 提出要求 ( making a request ) We would appreciate it if you could. We would like to request / receive. I recently read / heard about. and would like t
39、o know. I would be grateful if you could. I would be interested in obtaining / receiving. I received your contact from. and would like to. Could you please send me. Could you tell us / let us have. I would appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.,Business Letter Writing,( 3 ) 告訴好消息 ( givi
40、ng good news ) We are pleased to announce that. We are glad to confirm. I am delighted to inform you that. You will be pleased to learn that.,Business Letter Writing,( 4 ) 告訴不好的消息 ( giving bad news ) We regret to inform you that. I am afraid it would not be possible to. Unfortunately we cannot / we
41、are unable to. After careful consideration, we have decided ( not ) to.,Business Letter Writing,( 5 ) 提出投訴 ( complaining ) I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with. I am writing to complain about. Please note that the goods we ordered on ( date ) have not yet arrived. I would like to query th
42、e transport charges which seem unusually high. ( 6 ) 道歉 ( apologizing ) We are sorry for the delay in replying. I would like to apologize for the delay. I apologize for the inconvenience.,Business Letter Writing,( 7 ) 報價 ( requesting or giving quotation ) Please send us your price list / quotation.
43、You will find enclosed our most recent catalogue and price list. We have pleasure in enclosing a detailed quotation.,Business Letter Writing,( 8 ) 關於訂單事宜 ( concerning orders ) Thank you for your quotation of. We are pleased to place an order with your company for. Please confirm receipt of our order
44、. I am pleased to acknowledge receipt of your order. We would like to cancel our order. We can make you a firm offer of. It will take about three weeks to process your order. We can guarantee delivery before.,Business Letter Writing,結束語一般來說，在完成信的主要內容後，應提出要求的具體 行動，例如下訂單或在某日期前回覆。然後，要加上這一句： If we can b
45、e of any further assistance, please let us know. If I can help in any way, please do contact me. If you require more information, please let me know. For further details, please call. Thank you for taking this into consideration. Thank you for your help. We hope you are happy with this arrangement.,
46、Business Letter Writing,如希望將來有合作的機會，可以說： We look forward to a successful working relationship in the future. We would be pleased to do business with your company. I would be happy to have an opportunity to work with your firm. 想保持聯繫，可以說： I look forward to seeing you next week. Looking forward to hea
47、ring from you. Looking forward to receiving your comments. I would appreciate a reply at your earliest convenience.,Business Letter Writing,III.E-mail writing tips Email is much less formal than a written letter. Emails are usually short and concise. If you are writing to someone you dont know, a si
48、mple “Hello“ is adequate. Using a salutation such as “Dear Mr Smith,“ is too formal. When writing to someone you know well, feel free to write as if you are speaking to the person. Use abbreviated verb forms (Hes, Were, Hed, etc.),Business Letter Writing,Include a telephone number to the signature o
49、f the email. This will give the recipient the chance to telephone if necessary. It is not necessary to include your email address as the recipient can just reply to the email. When replying eliminate all the information that is not necessary. Only leave the sections of text that are related to your reply. This will save your reader time when reading your email.,E-mail example,Thank You!,
