Unit one introduction to business letter writing

Unit one introduction to business letter writing

1.l Introduction

Business communication is concerned with the successful exchange of messages that support the goal of buying and selling goods or other services.

There are many forms being used in communication. It includes letters, telegrams, telexes, cables and electronic correspondence. But it is clearly seen that the business letter is still the main carrier of business communications.

So it is of the very importance for students of business communication to master the skills of reading and writing a good business letter.

Business letter writing is one of the necessary business activities.

1.2 Principles of Business Letter Writing

Only the letter which conveys the message is faultless can it be an effective business letter. So the following essential principles must be paid attention to if you want to write an appropriate letter. Generally speaking, we need to apply some specific writing principle while writing a business letter.

1. consideration

The letters you send out must create a good impression. Try to put yourself in his or her place to give consideration to his or her varied wishes, demand, interest and difficulties. Emphasize the “You” attitude rater than the “I” or” We” attitude.

For example

Congratulation to you on your success We’d like to send our congratulation to you. You earn a 2% discount for cash payment We allow you a 2% discount for cash payment. 2．Correctness

For business letter involve the rights, the duties and the interest of both sides, often as the base of all kinds of document. Therefore, we should not to overstate which would throw you in an awkward position. 3.Completeness

A business letter is successful and functions well only when it contains all the necessary information. An outline helps for the letter to be full and complete. See to it that all the matters are discussed, and all questions are answered. Incompleteness is not only impolite but also leads to the recipient’s unfavorable impression toward your firm. 4．Concreteness

What the letter comes to should be specific, definite rather than vague, abstract and general.

For example, some qualities or characters of goods should be shown with exact figures and avoid words like short, long and good. Give specific time with date, month, year and even offer hour, minute, if necessary, but avoid expressions such as yesterday, next month, and immediately. 5.Conciseness

Conciseness is often considered to be the most important writing principle. It enable to save both the writer’s and recipient’s time. To achieve conciseness of your letter-writing, try to keep your sentences short, and avoid wordy languages and redundancy, or repetition, and eliminate excessive details.

It is a good rule to confine each paragraph to only one point or topic.

Compare the following sentence:

We will consider the delivery schedule at today’s meeting

We are going to give consideration to the delivery schedule at today’s meeting.

They attend the Guangzhou Trade Fair to find a partner.

They attend the Guangzhou Trade Fair for the purpose of finding a business partner. 6.Clarity

Compare the following sentences:

We sent you 4 samples yesterday of the goods which you requested in your letter of May 10 by air. We sent you yesterday, by air ,4 samples of the goods-which you requested in your letter of May 10.

The goods not only differ in quality ,but also in price. The goods differ not only in quality ,but also in price. 7.Courtesy

We are sorry you have misunderstood us . We are sorry we didn’t make ourselves clear.

1.3 Parts of a business letter (or the structure and format of business letters)

The business letter consists of seven standard parts: the letter-head, the date, the inside address, the salutation, the body, the complimentary close, and the writer’s signature and official position. 1.3.1 letterhead

A letterhead may include all or some of the following elements: the company’s name, address, postcode, telephone number, telex number, fax number, e-mail address, and possible the name of the chief executive. 1.3.2 Dateline

It is usual to show the date in the order of day/month/year(English practice),or month/day/year(American practice). Either cardinal numbers or ordinal number can be used. 25th Marth 2005(English practice)

th

Marth 25,2005(American practice)

There is a growing tendency to omit the ordinal suffixes-st,-nd,-rd and –th that follow the day of the month in the date line. 25 Marth 2005 Marth 25, 2005

1.3.3 Inside address

The inside address consists of the name, address and zip code of the company or person to whom you are writing. It usually begins directly or on the third line below the date line.

If the letter is addressed to a person, use either a courtesy title(Miss., Mr.,Mrs,or Ms.), or if appropriate, rise a professional title.(Dr. or Prof. for example). 1.3.4 Salutation

Salutation is placed two lines below the inside address and two lines above the body of the letter. For addressing one person

Dear Sir, Dear Madam,

For addressing two or more people

Dear Sirs

Dear Madams

1.3.4 Body of the letter

The body of the letter, which contains the message you want to send across to the receiver, is the core of the letter.

A typical plan for a three paragraph letter would look like the following:

Paragraph one Begin with information that catches the reader’s attention and refer to some need or interest of the reader, or refer to the previous correspondence if there is one.

Paragraph two Bring in your involvement, or what service or information you have to offer. Paragraph three End the body of the letter with the action or idea that you want the reader to consider or with the results you would like to have. 1.3.5 Complimentary Close

The complimentary close appears two lines below the body. The expression for the complimentary close should be in accordance with the salutation.

1.3.6 The signature

The signature area mainly consists of the addresser’s signature, the typed name of him immediately below the complimentary close. For example: Yours truly,

Frank W. Weston Frank W. Weston

General Manager

Grand Resource Import & Export Co.

When appropriate, any of the following optional parts can be included: attention line, subject headings, reference number, enclosure(s), carbon copy notation and postscript.

1.3.6 The attention line(注意事项)

It is typed two line-spacing above the salutation, underlined and, except with the fully-blocked letter-style, centred over the body of the letter. For the attention of Mr.Smith Attention:Mr.Smith

1.3.7 Reference

Many letterheadings provide space for reference.

1.3.8 Subject line(事由)

The subject heading is regarded as a part of the body of a business letter. Usually it is typed two line-spacings below the salutation, underlined, to call attention to what content the letter is about.

1.3.9 Enclosure(附件)

When something is enclosed with the letter, the enclosure notation follows two lines after the signature block. If there are more than one enclosure, the number should be indicated. Encl-2

1. Price list

2. Terms and Conditions of Sale

1.3.10 Postscript (附言)

1.4 Layout of business letter

There are three main formats of a business letter in use at present: the indented style, the block style, and the modified block style. 1.4.1 Full block form

The block style is an American style, which has now come to be much more widely used than before. Its remarkable feature is that all typing lines begin at the left hand margin. 1.4.2 The indented style

The indented style is a traditional British practice with the heading usually in the middle and the date line on the right-hand side. The complimentary close may be in the center or commence at the center point. The indented style takes 4 or 5 letters in the first line of each paragraph in the body of the business letter. It looks attractive and makes for easy reading, but it is not convenient to type. 1.4.3 The modified block style

The modified style is a combination of the indented style and the block style. It is an eclectic style and is most widely used in international trade.

1.5 Envelope addressing

You need to write your name and address at the left top. Use single space and block style. The receiver’s name and address are always placed in the centre of the envelope. They also have the block style and indented style.

1.6 Establishing Business Relations

In order to open up a market to sell or buy something from the other firms or maintain or expand business activities, establishing business relations is the first step in a transaction in foreign trade. Writing letters to new customers for the establishment of relation is a common practice in business communications.

Generally speaking, this kind of letter begins by telling the addressee how you obtained his name and address. Then express your desire to establish business relations with him and give information about your intention, the business scope of your firm and your firm’s position and integrity. At the end of the letter you should express your expectation of cooperation and an early reply. Dear sirs,

We owe your name and address to the Commercial Counselor’s Office of the Swedish Embassy in Beijing who have informed us that you are in the market for Textiles.

We avail ourselves of this opportunity to approach you for the establishment of trade relations with you.