1、Writing Principles of the Business Letter Practical English writing, especially, business English writing, is the model of practical language. Its main function is to inform or remind counterpart or public of a certain thing or public affairs and to ask the counterpart or public to act according to

2、the rules stimulated in what is written. Such a practical writing has its specific language style, that is, the essential language features which are called the seven “Cs”: Courtesy, Consideration, Completeness, Clearness, Conciseness, Correctness, Concreteness.1.Courtesy 禮貌禮貌 Courtesy is not mere p

3、oliteness. It stems from a sincere you-attitude (尊重，理解和體諒對方的態(tài)度）. A. Change the commanding tone into requesting tone, that is, change the imperative sentence into general question with the word “will” or “would” at he beginning. B. Use the past subjunctive form. C. Use mitigation and avoid overemphas

4、izing your own opinion or irritating your partner. D. Passive voice should be used accordingly. E. Try to avoid using the words with forcing tone or arousing unpleasantness. F. Use the words or expressions with the meaning of joy, thanks and regret etc. Compare: A. We have received with many thanks

5、your letter of 20 May, and we take the pleasure of sending you our latest catalog. We wish to draw your attention to a special offer which we have made in it.B. You will be particularly interested in a special offer on page 5 of the latest catalog enclosed, which you requested in your letter of 20 M

6、ay. 2.Consideration 體諒體諒 Consideration emphasizes You-attitude rather than We-attitude. When writing a letter keep the readers request, needs, desires, as well as his feelings in mind. Plan the best way to present the message for the reader to receive (寫信時要處處從對方的角度去考慮有什么需求，而不是從自身出發(fā)，語氣上更尊重對方).Compare

7、: 1. You earn 2 percent discount when you pay cash. We will send you the brochure next month. 2. We allow 2 percent discount for cash payment. We wont be able to send you the brochure this month. 3.Completeness 完整完整 Business letter should include all the necessary information. It is essential to che

8、ck the message carefully before it is sent out. 信函中應當盡量使用具體實在的詞語，同時盡量少用抽象，空泛的詞語，因為抽象詞語給人傳遞的信息比較模糊籠統(tǒng)。 Order to verify the completeness of what you write, five “Ws” (who, what, where, when and why) and one “h” (how) should be used. For example, if what you write is a letter of order, what he wants, wh

9、en he needs the goods, where the goods to be sent and how payment will be made. If some special requirements should be put forward, you would explain why you would do so.4.Clearness 清楚清楚 The writer must try to express his meaning clearly so that the reader will understand it well. To achieve this, h

10、e should try to:A. Avoid using the words which have different understanding or unclear meaning. E.g. As to the steamers sailing from Hong Kong to San Francisco, we have bimonthly direct services. Here, the word “bimonthly” has two meanings, one of which is “twice a month” and the other of which is “

11、once every two months”. Youd better not use the word like “bimonthly” of double meaning, but use the words that can express your idea clearly as the following:1.We have two direct sailings every month from Hong Kong to San Francisco.2.We have semimonthly direct sailing from Hong Kong to San Francisc

12、o.3.We have a direct sailing from Hong Kong to San Francisco. B. Pay attention to the position of the modifiers. The same modifier will lead to different implication and function when it is put in different position of the sentence. E.g. We can supply 10 cases of the item only. We can supply only 10

13、 cases of the item. In the first sentence, “only” is used to qualify “the item”, meaning the supply is only this item, not other one. But in the second sentence, “only” is used to qualify “10 cases”, meaning the supply is only 10 cases. Now, compare the following two pairs of sentences and pay atten

14、tion to their difference: The L/C must reach us not later than September 1st for arranging shipment. The L/C must reach us for arranging shipment not later than September 1st.C . Pay attention to the object of the pronoun and the relations between the relative pronoun and the antecedent. Whom or wha

15、t the pronoun refers to and what is the relation between the relative pronoun and the antecedent? E.G. They informed Messrs Smith & Brown that they would receive a reply in a few days. In this sentence, what does the second “they” refer to, the subject “They” of the main clause or the “Messrs Sm

16、ith & Brown”? This cant be explained clearly. It will be clear if you change the sentence into: They informed Messrs Smith & Brown that the latter would receive the reply in a few days. In this sentence, “the latter” is used to clearly refer to “ Messrs Smith & Brown”, so no misunderstan

17、ding would appear.D. Pay attention to the rationality in logic, the variety in sentence structure, the compact in plot and coherence in meanings. At first, you must pay attention to the agreement of the logical subject of the participle and the subject of the sentence. E.g.Being a registered account

18、ant, Im sure you can help us. Secondly, variety in the sentence structure should be paid attention to. E.g.We have received your letter of April 4. we are sorry for the wrong dispatch. We will do something about it. The third, coherence in meaning is worth considering. E.g.We wrote a letter. It was

19、addressed to Mr. Henry. He is the sales manage. The fourth, the compact in plot should be paid attention to in writing. E.g. We have received your letter of July 1st and it contained a complete set of shipping documents.E. Pay attention to the logicality of the full text. Before writing, you should

20、consider the order of expression, and the proper arrangement and paragraphing of content. A paragraph for each point is a good general rule.5.Conciseness 簡潔簡潔 Conciseness is often considered to be the most important writing principle and language feature. That is using concise sentences and fewest w

21、ords, without losing completeness and courtesy, to explain the meaning of a letter clearly. The following are the methods of making a letter concise: A. Avoid using wordy expressions (make a long story short). B. Avoid unnecessary repetition. e.g. We have begun to export our machines to the foreign

22、countries. C. Control the number of the words, and build effective sentences and paragraphs. (Generally speaking, the average length for sentences should be 10 to 20 words, not over 30 ones. Usually a paragraph consists of no more than 10 lines.) D. Avoid using the general and out-of-date commercial

23、 jargon and try to express your idea in modern English.6.Correctness 正確正確 Correctness refers not only to correct usage of grammar, punctuation and spelling, but also to standard language, proper statement, accurate figures as well as the correct understanding of commercial jargons. A. Choose the onl

24、y accurate facts, words and figures. E.g. You ask very short delivery for your order. The goods supplied are exactly equal to the sample. All offers by telegram are open for five days. This contract will come into effect from Oct.1. B. Take a matter-of-matter attitude to clearly state what you will

25、say. Dont over-state or understate. C. Pay attention to the correct understanding and using the commercial terms and jargons. 7. Concreteness (具體）具體） Any kind of practical English writing should be specific, definite and persuasive instead of being vague, general and abstract. The general words, for

26、 example：around, bad, few, good, high, large, less, little, low, many, more, most, nice, old, quick, several, short, slow, small, soon, very, young, etc. E.g. We wish to confirm our telex dispatched yesterday. Compare:A. Poor: She is a fast typist. Good: She types at the fast rate of 85 words per mi

27、nute.B. Poor: We will make payment soon. Good: We will make payment on May 5.C. Poor: Thank you for your letter and price list. Good: Thank you for your letter and price list, your reference No. 345.The Conclusion of Business Writing Principles 1.完整：商務函電應完整表達所要表達內容和意思，何人、何時、何地、何事、何種原因、何種方式等。2.正確：表達的

28、用詞用語及標點符號應正確無誤，因為商務函電的內容大多涉及商業(yè)交往中雙方的權利、義務以及利害關系，如果出錯勢必會造成不必要的麻煩。3.清楚：所有的詞句都應能夠非常清晰明確地表現(xiàn)真實的意圖，避免雙重意義的表示或者模棱兩可。用最簡單普通的詞句來直截了當地告訴對方。4.簡潔：在無損于禮貌的前提下，用盡可能少的文字清楚表達真實的意思。清楚和簡潔經常相輔相成，摒棄函電中的陳詞濫調和俗套，可以使交流變得更加容易和方便。而一事一段則會使函電清楚易讀和富有吸引力。5.具體：內容當然要具體而且明確，尤其是要求對方答復或者對之后的交往產生影響的函電。6.禮貌：文字表達的語氣上應表現(xiàn)出一個人的職業(yè)修養(yǎng)，客氣而且得體。

29、最重要的禮貌是及時回復對方，最感人的禮貌是從不懷疑甚至計較對方的坦誠。商務交往中肯定會發(fā)生意見分歧，但禮貌和溝通可能化解分歧而不影響雙方的良好關系。7.體諒:從對方的角度看問題,克服以自我為中心的傾向,理解對方的具體處境,體諒對方如想滿足我方要求可能會遇到一些困難,在提出解決方案時應當強調這么做可以維護對方的利益.ExercisesRewrite the following sentences and make them more correctpositive and polite: 1. For the past two years, you did not give us any ord

30、er. 2. We cant comply with your request. 3. Compare our goods with that of other firms. 4. You will effect a full settlement of our claim. 5. You should know that for further transaction, D/P will onlybe acceptable if the amount involved for each transaction isnot up to U.S. $1000 or its equivalent in RMB at theconversion rate than pr