外贸函电教材.doc

Unit 1 Introduction of Business Correspondence 商务信函简介 Aims Requirements To enable S.S. to master the principles of business letter writing. To enable S.S. to know the structure of business letter. To enable S.S. to know the layout of the business letter. To enable S.S to know the envelop addressing of the business letter. ? Ⅰ. Principles of Writing Business Letters Business correspondence is also called business letters. Generally speaking, the principles are as follows: appropriate layout, logically connected ideas, correct grammar, spelling and punctuation marks, suitable style and tone, and tactfully organized information. Specifically speaking, the essential qualities can be summed up in 7 C’s: Clear, Concise, Courteous, Considerate, Complete, Concrete and Correct. Clarity First of all , make sure that your letter is so clear that it cannot be misunderstood. If it is ambiguous, further exchange of letters for explanations will become inevitable, thus it wastes both time and money.Next, when you are sure about what you want to say ,say it in plain ,simple words. (1) Pay attention to choosing the concise and accessible expressions and trying to avoid using the words, and sentences equivocal in meaning. e.g.As to the steamer sailing from Shanghai to Los Angeles, we have bimonthly direct services. The basic meaning of this sentence is “we have direct sailings from Shanghai to Los Angeles”, but the word “bimonthly” has two meanings, one of which is “twice a month” and the other of which is “once every two months”. You’d better not use the word like “bimonthly” of double meanings, but use the words that can express your idea clearly as the following: a. We have a direct sailing from Shanghai to Los Angeles every two months. b. We have a direct sailing from Shanghai to Los Angeles semimonthly. c. We have two direct sailings every month form Shanghai to Los Angeles. (2) Pay attention to the position of the modifier. The same modifier will lead to differe