English for Business Communication 新编外贸英语函电 山东经贸职业学院

Chapter 1 Written communication —— an overview Introduction 1.Definition English business correspondence refers to the letters , cables, telexes, faxes and e-mails dealing in international business, as well as in domestic trade, of course. 2. Aim The purpose of this course is to help you learn how to write good business letters by using up-to-date expressions in the simplest possible language. 3. Features It has its unique language style and jargons It is full of business terminology and abbreviations There is a close relations between EBC and international trade

Parts of a Business Letter 1.China National Cereals, Oils（粮油） and Foodstuffs Imp & Exp Corp. 1 Jianguomen Nei Dajie Beijing 10005, China Telephone: 86-10-6526-8888 Fax: 86-10-6527-6028 E-mail: carl@cofco.com.cn 8.Our Ref. Your Ref. 2.Date: 15th November, 20— 3.Messrs H. Ronald & Co. 556 Eastcheap London, E.C. 3, England 9.Attention: Import Dept. 4.Dear Sirs, 10.Aquatic Products（水产品) 5. We thank you for your enquiry of 5 November. In compliance with your request, we are sending you herewith a copy of our illustrated catalogue and a quotation sheet for your reference. All prices are subject to our confirmation for our aquatic products have been selling well this season. Therefore, we would suggest that you advise us by a fax in case of interest. We await your early favorable reply. 6.Yours truly, 7. China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Imp & Exp Corp. Sig. _______________ (Manager) 11.Enclosures 12.cc our Shanghai Branch Office 13. P.S. We require payment by L/C for a total value not exceeding USD50,000. 14.QS/AN

3.The Structure of a Business Letter A. Seven main parts 信头：写信人的地 址、公司名称 （1）The letterhead It includes the essential particulars about the writer--- his name, postal address and zip-code, telephone and facsimile numbers. （2）The date The date should be placed two or four spaces below the letterhead to the right for indented style or the left for the blocked style. The date should be written in full and not abbreviated. The preferred order of the parts that make up the date is: the day of the month, the month, the year. 写信日期

（5）The body of the letter A. Seven main parts 封内地址：收信人的公司名称和地址。 （3）The inside address It consists of the correspondent’s name and address. It appears exactly the same way as on the envelope. It should be placed two spaces below the date. （4）The salutation The salutation is the polite greetings with which a letter begins. The customary formal greeting in a business letter is “Dear Sirs” or “Gentlemen”. It should be placed two spaces below the inside address. （5）The body of the letter This part contains the actual message of the letter. 称呼：对收信人的尊称。 信函内容

A. Seven main parts （6）The complimentary close 结束敬语：书信结束的礼貌用语。 （6）The complimentary close The complimentary close is merely a polite way of ending a letter. It should match the form of the salutation. The most common sets of salutation and complimentary close are: （7）The signature A letter should be signed by hand, and in ink. Because many hand-written signature are illegible, the name of the signer is usually typed below the signature and followed by his job title or position. 写信人签名

经办人名称：希望收信商号将信速交经办部门办理。 事由、标题：使信的基本内容或目的一目了然。 B. The Optional Parts 参考编号：为了便于存档分类而编的号。 （8）The references The references may include a file number, department code or the initial of the signer of the writer. They are marked “Our ref.” and “Your ref. “ to avoid confusion. They may be placed immediately below the letterhead. （9）The attention line The attention line is used to direct the letter to a specific individual or section of the firm. It generally follows the inside address. （10）The subject line The subject line is often inserted between the salutation and the body of the letter to invite attention to the topic of the letter. 经办人名称：希望收信商号将信速交经办部门办理。 事由、标题：使信的基本内容或目的一目了然。

（11）The carbon copy notation B. The Optional Parts 抄送，简写为(C/C)：将信抄送给有关部门的标记。 （11）The carbon copy notation When copies of the letter are sent to others, type c.c. below the signature at the left margin. （12）The enclosure Two line-spacing between the carbon copy notation the writer may indicate one or more enclosures in the letter by following any one of those examples: Enclosure Enclosures 2 Enclosures or 3 Encls. Encl. As Stated 附件：注明随信所附的样品、样品本、价目单等。

再启：信写完后，如果想起还有要紧的话要说，可在信末加P.S.,引出补述的话。 认辩代号：识别信函的口述人和秘书或打字员 B. The Optional Parts 再启：信写完后，如果想起还有要紧的话要说，可在信末加P.S.,引出补述的话。 （13）The postscript Try to avoid the use of postscripts as far as possible, since it may suggest the writer failed to plan his letter before he wrote it or dictated it. （14）The identification line This line typed two spaces below the typed signature, and shows only the initials of the typist. If the director’s name is not typed in the signature area, the identification line shows the initials of the both director and the typist. The following examples are acceptable forms of the identification lines: Bill Clinton / Nancy Brown BC 认辩代号：识别信函的口述人和秘书或打字员

Form of a business letter 1.The fully blocked style with Open Punctuation The fully blocked style is now the most widely used method of display for all business documents. This style is thought to have a business appearance. This layout reduces typing time as there are no indentations for new paragraphs or the closing section. Open punctuation is often used with the fully blocked style. Again this reduces typing time because there is no need for any unnecessary full stops and commas.

Block Style 除信头外全部左对齐 段落之间用空格

Form of a business letter Following traditional British practice the indented style business letters are roughly divided into two styles: "Blocked" and "Indented". The former is used mainly in the United States while the latter is used to be popular in British and the old British colonies. 2. Indented style with Open Punctuation

Indented Style 标题栏居中，带下划线 日期靠右 段首缩格 结尾敬语和 落款偏右

Envelopes addressing 齐头式 写信人名称地址 收信人名称地址：左端对齐

Envelopes addressing缩格式 写信人名称地址 收信人名称地址：逐行右缩

The 3 C Principle in writing Clearness: make your writing to be Empathetic, Accurate and Right. Leave no doubt in your reader’s mind. Help yourself by being specific, avoiding vague expressions, using familiar words and using simple English. Remember also to use straightforward language that your reader can understand, written in a friendly, natural, conversational style. Conciseness: not use “big words” and long sentences Courtesy :to be polite and reply quickly.

Structuring communications 4 POINT PLAN Introduction (Background and Basics) 1 1 Details (Facts and Figures) 2 Response or Action (Conclusion) 3 4 Close (A simple one-liner)