letterhead(信头)文件材料教学稿件.ppt

Unit One The Forms and Principles of Business Letters 1. The Forms of Business Letters A traditional business letter usually contains the following parts: 1) The Letterhead(信头) 2) The Date Reference(日期及参考号) 3) The Inside Name and Address(封内地址) 4) The Attention Line(经办人) – optional 5) The Salutation(称呼) 6) The Subject(事由) A. Avoiding giving dates in figures only. （NOT 3/9/2002） B. Give the full form of the year. (2007, NOT 07) C. The Cardinal Number is recommended for the date figure. D. Use a comma to separated the year and the month, but not the month and the date. (NOT June, 5, 2005) ii.The Reference In business communication, reference are often made to previous correspondence. The reference may include a file number, departmental code or the initials of the signer of the letter to be followed by the typist’s initials. It’s format various according to different companies. If the letterhead does not provide a place for reference, they are typed immediately below the letterhead with ‘Your ref.’ preceding ‘Our ref.’ 3). The Inside Name and Address The name and address of the receiver is typed at the left-hand margin at least two lines below the date. It appears exactly the same way as on the envelope, in single spacing, with the town in capital letters. Either the full name or the official abbreviation of a company is allowed. Follow the company’s own practice whether to use the definite article ‘the’ or not, and whether to use ‘Company’ or ‘Corporation’. ‘Esq’ (Esquire) is sometimes used instead of ‘Mr.’ for certain classes of persons and should always follow the personal name. ‘Messrs’ (Messieurs) is used only for partnerships whose company names include a personal element. See page 7. 4). 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. Some times it is in form of ‘Attention of’ or ‘For the attention of’, as in the following example: