1、Lesson FiveLetters (II): General Letters,English Practical Writing,Letters are important means of communication. Generally speaking, there are two types of letters, business letters and personal letters. By business we do not mean buying, selling, or exchanging goods with people or companies but imp

2、ortant matters we have to discuss or deal with. Business letters, may be a recommendation, a job/school application, an inquiry, an answer, a complaint, etc. In other words, all letters which are not personal are business letters.,I. Form,A letter has six parts: 1) Heading; 2) Inside address, 3) Sal

3、utation, 4) Body, 5) Complimentary close, and 6) Signature. 7) Enclosure (附件) 8) Postscript (附言),The heading,The heading gives the full address of: the writer and the date of the letter. It is usually written or typed in the upper right-hand corner of the first page. It may be either blocked(并列式) or

4、 indented（斜列式）. It may or may not have end punctuation. The British may put a comma after each line in the heading and end the address with a period, but the Americans do not:,Eg:,British American Ms. Jennifer Stone, Ms. Jennifer Stone 20 Fairview Drive, 20 Fairview Drive Eastbourne, BN18 2BU, Eastb

5、ourne, BN18 2BU England. England May 27, 2007 May 27, 2007,Block Form and Indented Form,76 Brooklyn Avenue CFL Section, Class A0511 New York 9, N.Y., U.S.A. College of Culture (to a person who is of the same profession as the writer, and usually used when you are sending a circular（通知/廣告） to many pe

6、ople),Body,In the body of the letter, all paragraphs should begin flush with the left margin (the block style) or begin with an equal indention (the indented style), and the letter is usually single-spaced within the paragraph and doubled- spaced between paragraphs.,Complimentary close,The closing o

7、f a business letter consists of three parts: Complimentary close Signature Typed name In the complimentary close, only the first word is capitalized. The close is followed by a comma. The conventional complimentary closes in business letters are: Yours truly, Yours Sincerely, Sincerely yours,” Since

8、rely, Cordially yours Yours cordially.,Complimentary close,The close of a personal letter is of a more free choice. Affectionately, Fondly, Yours with love, With best wishes,” “Love, ” “Yours,” “As ever,” etc., can be used apart from Yours sincerely, Yours truly, etc.; which one of these you use dep

9、ends on your exact relationship with the addressee. The closing can be put either on the right-hand side or left-hand side of the page. Some writers even prefer to have it in the middle one or two spaces below the last line of the letter.,Signature,In a business letter the handwritten signature is p

10、laced between the complimentary close and the typed name of the writer, and the writers official capacity（官職） is indicated after the typed name. In a personal letter, you may sign your full name, your first name, or even a nickname in accordance with your relationship with the addressee. If you send

11、 along with your letter such things as a resume, a check, a receipt, etc., write Enclosure (s) or Enc. to remind the addressee that besides the letter, there is another material in the envelope.,Signature,If you happen to have something additional to say after you have finished the letter, you may b

12、egin with P.S., which stands for “postscript“(又及/附筆), and then write what you wish to add Usually in Personal Letter.,Language,The style and tone of letters can be greatly varied. Generally speaking, the style and tone of a personal letter differ from those of a business letter-the former is casual,

13、 whereas the latter is formal. However, for either of them, the language should be clear and direct. Business letters should be polite in tone, exact and concise in wording.,Language,Paragraphs in business letters tend to be short. Very often you find the first and last paragraphs are single-sentenc

14、e paragraphs. The first paragraph may be a single sentence that indicates the subject and purpose of the letter. If necessary, one more sentence may be used to refer to previous correspondence when such correspondence needs to be remembered. When you answer a business letter, it is advisable to iden

15、tify it by mentioning its subject and date. Always remember that you begin and end a business letter with a courteous (modest) tone.,Language,The following are some useful expressions with which to begin or end you letters: (1) Business letters 1) Invitation I am writing on behalf of all the members

16、 of our Literature Society to ask . We should be very grateful if you could give a talk on The Latest Development in . to our . Club on Saturday afternoon, June 20th.,Language,2) Application for entry to a college I am writing to ask whether you could send me some information about your college and

17、for the application forms I am writing to you in the hope that I may obtain an opportunity to do graduate study in your university. Thank you very much for the information you sent me about your college and for the application forms, which I am returning with three letters of recommendation, a certi

18、fied copy of my transcript and . Thank you for your enquiry about the possibility of coming as a Visiting Scholar to the Department of . We should be very pleased to welcome you here and to invite you to participate in the activities of the Department.,Language,3 ) Application for scholarships/assis

19、tantships/memberships/jobs I should like to apply for one of the scholarships that your department may be offering to students from other countries. Would you please send me the necessary application forms and any further details about the scholarships. I should be very grateful if you could let me

20、have details of any teaching assistantships in electric engineering that your department may have . I am thinking of applying for membership of your library/club, I should be grateful if you would let me know how I should go about it ./would you be kind enough to !et me know the facilities you provide?,Language,Thank you for the information about your scholarships/teaching assistantships. Thank you for the scholarship application forms which you were kind enough to send me . Thank you for your help in this mat