The writing principles andtechniques of Business English letters商务英语毕业论文(16页).doc

-The writing principles and techniques of Business English letters商务英语毕业论文-第 16 页毕业论文（设计）题目: The writing principles and techniques of Business English letters 学生姓名 学号 班 级 专 业 分 院 指导教师 2014 年 11 月 08 日长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 Abstract With the development of the globe economic and the continuous enlargement of our foreign trade, business English letters become increasingly important in the international trade. Business English letters are the major means of written communication between two parties in the international trade, and their writing is very important to the business of the enterprise. Fortunately, some writing principles and techniques can be used. In order to make the business letters accurate, verbal fluency, easier communication and understanding for the trading parties, we should follow certain writing principles and use some writing techniques.Key words: Business English letters; writing principles; writing techniques长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 ContentsChapter1. Basic parts of a Business English letter Chapter2. The writing principles of Business English letters 2.1 Conciseness 2.2 Clarity 2.3 Completeness 2.4 Concreteness 2.5 Courtesy 2.6 Correctness 2.7 Consideration Chapter3. The writing techniques of Business English letters 3.1 Simple words best 3.2 Adopt the right tone 3.3 Note the use of jargon 3.4 Use active voice rather than passive voice 3.5 Vary sentence length 3.6 Have suitable paragraphs length 3.7 Pay attention to first and last impressions 3.8 Check your letters 长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 The writing principles and techniques of Business English lettersChapter1. Basic parts of a Business English letter Most business letters have 7 standard parts. They are: letterhead, date, inside address, salutation, body, complimentary close, and signature. We appropriate, any of the following optional parts can be included: attention, subject, enclosure, postscript.1.1 Letterhead The letterhead expresses a firms personality and is generally printed on the firms stationery. It helps to form the impression of the writers firm. Styles vary considerably, but they all give similar information, usually containing all or some of the following elements: the companys name and address, postcode, telephone number, fax number, e-mail address, even web address. They may be positioned in the center, or at the left margin for the block style, or flush at the right margin for the style.1.2 DateBusiness letters should have the correct date typed under the letterhead. The date should be typed or written in full, not in abbreviated form since the date records when the letter is written and may serve as an important reference. It is usual to show the date in the order of date /month/ year/ (British practice), or month / day / year. (American practice).Regarding the date line, pat attention to the following points:A. Year should be typed in full. Avoid abbreviation. For example, 2003 cannot be replaced by 03. 长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 B. Month is preferably spelled out in letters, to avoid confusion. For example, 12/11 can be November 12 or December 11.C. Day either cardinal number or ordinal numbers can be used. So the recommended forms for the date are as followings: October 25, 2011 or 25 October, 2011.1.3 Inside address The inside address consists of the name and the complete address of the receiver. We include the address in the letter although it already appears on the envelope because the envelope is usually thrown away. Then the letter itself, which is to be kept on file, can indicate for whom the massage was intended. It is usually placed two spaces below the date line, aligned with the left margin. If the letter is address to a group, the inside address includes only the address and the group name. If it is to a person, use either a courtesy title or a professional title. Care should be taken to address the recipient as exactly as it appears on the envelope of the letter.1.4 Salutation Salutation is the complimentary greeting with which every letter begins. Salutation can be followed by a comma or a colon. Colon is formal in American business letters, comma in British. Be sure to salute to the correct addressee appearing in your inside address or in the attention line.The customary formal greeting in a business letter is “Dear Sir(s), Dear Madam (s), Dear Ms” or an official title like “President or Doctor”. If the receiver is known to the writer personally, a less formal and warmer greeting is used: “Dear Mr White, Dear Ms John”.1.5 Body 长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 Body is the most important part of a letter since it contains the actual message. The body of the letter deserves special attention no matter how brief it may be. It is advisable to bear the following principles of “7Cs” in mind when writing this core part. Then careful planning and logical arrangement are needed for the paragraphs. A typical 3-paragraph letter would like the following: The opening paragraph introduces the letter. Keep the first sentence short and easy to understand and keep the opening paragraph short, probably no more than two or three lines. A short opening paragraph is easier to read, and it does not intimidate the reader. The middle paragraph supports the first paragraph and provides more information. Here, try to bring in your involvement or what service or information you can offer.The closing paragraph is the summary of the letter; it stresses the action that you want to the reader to take; it states exactly what you want the reader to do, and it leaves the impression of the courtesy. Like any goodbye, jog the readers memory if there is something that you want the reader to do, but keep the closing short and friendly.1.6 Complimentary close The complimentary close is simply a polite way to end a letter. The expression for the complimentary close should match the salutation. It appears in the middle of the page and two lines below the closing sentence for indented layout while it starts at the left- hand margin for fully blocked letters. Only the initial letter in the first word of any complimentary close is capitalized.1.7 Signature长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 The signature is the signed name or seal of the writer. It is generally put two lines below the complimentary close. It should be signed by hand and in ink. Under the handwritten signature, the signers name and his or her position are usually followed. Chapter2 The writing principles of Business English lettersBusiness English letters play an important role in the development of goodwill and friendly trade relationship. They should be friendly and courteous, easy to read and easy to understand. In writing a business letter, there are certain principles for you to follow. Called “7Cs”, they are: conciseness, clarity, completeness, concreteness, courtesy, correctness and consideration.2.1 ConcisenessConciseness means to write the fewest possible words without sacrificing completeness and courtesy. A concise business English letter saves time and expense for both sender and receiver. Conciseness contributes to emphasis. By eliminating unnecessary words, you help make important ideas stand out. To achieve conciseness, try to observe the following suggestions： 2.1.1 Shorten or Omit Words or Expressions As few words as possible should be used to give complete and clear meanings. The expression of the long-winded plays no role in the sentence. For example, “at the present time”, we can use "now" to express the same meaning .As is clearly the latter better reflect the principle of conciseness.2.1.2 Avoid Unnecessary Repetition Sometimes repetition is necessary for emphasis. But if the same thing is said several times without reason, the Business English letter becomes boring. For example , 长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 “Will you ship us any time during the month of December，or even November if you are rushed，for November would suit us just as well.” In this sentence, what the writer want to express is the reader can ship by the end of November shipment, so we put the sentences into" Please ship us by the end of November", that will be able to clearly express the writer 's intention, and not have to constantly repeat.2.2 Clarity Clarity means your purpose and the words are clear to your readers so that the reader will not misunderstand what you are trying to convey. Clarity is the most important principle of English Business Letter Writing. A business letter is effective only when it communicates the necessary ideas to its readers with clarity. Be certain about what you wish to say, express it in plain, simple words, and present it in well-constructed sentences and paragraphs, if necessary, in tables or graphs. Avoid ambiguity and expressions that are liable to misunderstand. Accurate, straight-forward, and simple English is preferred in business letters.2.3 CompletenessCompleteness means your message contains all facts that the receiver needs for the reaction you desire, so Business English letters are complete when they contain all the necessary information. The letters were sent before audit expression information integrity is the most basic requirement. Keeping the following guidelines in mind will help you achieve completeness:2.3.1 Make all point detailed Evidence must be precisely stated .The significance of the facts in relation to the problem must be shown. The treatment of each section of the article must be complete 长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 or the reader may misunderstand that particular sections. The analysis is a basis for the conclusions, and the conclusions are a basis for the recommendations. 2.3.2 Answer all questions asked If you need to reply to an inquiry containing one or more questions, answer all questions clearly stated and implied. If you have no information on a particular question, you must say so clearly, instead of omitting an answer. If you have unfavorable information in answer one or more questions, handle our reply tactfully.2.4 Concreteness Concreteness means being specific, definite, and vivid rather than vague and general. Concreteness is always stressed, especially for business letters calling for a specific reply, such as trade terms, shipment, packaging, specifications and characters of goods, figures and dates.The following guidelines can help us write concretely:· Use specific facts and figures,· Prefer active voice to passive voice,· Choose vivid, image-building words,· Pay attention to word order,· Putting modifiers in right place.For example：Poor: Please send your proposal to us as soon as possible. Better: Please send your proposal to us before October 10. 长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 2.5 Courtesy Courtesy is not merely politeness with mechanical insertions of “please” and “thank you”. Rather, true courtesy needs to use tactful tone and respectful expression to show the honest attitude, and sincere politeness.Answer letters promptly, for punctuality will please your recipient who hates waiting for days for a reply. Adopt the right tone in the writing. Before you begin to write, think carefully about the way in which you want to influence your customer, and then express yourself accordingly, being persuasive, firm, or apologetic. Avoid courtesy blunders in your letters. Discrepancy often occurs in business, but it should be handled and settled with diplomacy and tact without ill with on either side. Never show your anger in a business letter. Avoid suspicion, accusation and talking down. Never use irritating, offensive and belittling statements. For example,Poor: We are sorry you have misunderstood us. Better: We are sorry we did not make ourselves understood clearly. 2.6 Correctness The term correctness, in addition to proper grammar, punctuation and spelling, also means appropriate tone and accuracy of information.Using the right level of language can help convey the real message without causing offense even if it is a letter of complaint or an answer to such a letter. For example, “Ill, were” seems too colloquial and no formal, we should change it as “I will, we are” in business letters. Accurate information is of primary concern to business writers since business letters involve the rights, the duties, and the interest of both parties. Accurate figures and exact terms are particularly important as they are 长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 the basis of all kind of business documents. Therefore, we should neither overstate nor understate, because overstatement might throw you in an awkward position while understatement would lead to less confidence and hold up trade development.2.7 Consideration The interrelationship between the sender and the receiver profoundly affects communicative effectiveness. Consideration means the writer prepares the writing with the reader in mind and tries to put yourself in his or her place. 2.7.1 Focus on “You” Instead of “I” and “We” Your readers are usually more concerned about themselves than about you. They are more interested in your writing when they see the pronoun “you” rather than “I, we”. Try to give the consideration to the receivers wishes, demands, interest and difficulties by adopting their viewpoint. For example,Poor: I am happy to tell you Better: You will be happy to know 2.7.2 Use “Positive sentence” instead of “Negative sentence” Usually, negation tends to sound critical of the reader and disappointed on the part of the writer, while positivism sounds encouraging to both parties. It would serve the function of effective communication if we sometimes turn negative messages into positive ones. Compare the following:Poor: We hope you wont be dissatisfied with the new range of our electric products. Better: We are sure you will be satisfied with the new range of our electric products.长春职业技术学院毕业论文（设计）专用纸 3. The writing techniques of Business English letters Business letters are letters written between one firm and another to convey and exchange information, news, ideas or opinions. But a business letter is effective only if it reflects in the mind of the receiver a true image of the thought conveyed by the writer. We should be skilled in using some writing skills except certain writing principles. 3.1 Simple words bestMore simple and common words, less lengthy and uncom