2．Organization组织

A good business letter must be well organized．You must plan in advance everything you want to say;you must say everything necessary to your message;and then you must stop．A business writing is organized differently from other kinds of writing．It almost always follows the same format，which consists of three parts:introduction(or opening)，body，and closing．Take the business letter writing as an example:

Introduction（信头）

The introduction or opening，is the headline of the letter．It starts with a clear-cut statement of what the letter is about，or the purpose of the letter．

Getting to the point immediately—presenting the message of your letter first，then developing details—is writing deductively．In a negative letter，the process is reversed—the details are presented first，then the point of the letter is developed from the details．This is called writing inductively．

Keep the first sentence short and easy to understand and keep the opening paragraph short，probably not more than two or three lines．A short opening paragraph is easier to read，and it does not intimidate thereader．

There are instances in opening paragraphs when you do not get to the point immediately;these occur wherever the letter contains negative or bad news—refusing credit or telling a job applicant that he or she was not hired，for example．The details that explain the bad news are given first and，if possible，a substitute is offered．If a substitute cannot be offered，keep the opening statement neutral—sometimes even thank you will serve the purpose．By offering a substitute or a neutral statement，you can keep the tone of the letter positive．A rejection can be antagonistic;a substitution offers a positive，courteous solution to a situation that might otherwise be embarrassing to someone．

Body（正文）

In the opening you have told the reader what the letter is about．The body of the letter develops the opening and adds any needed details．For example，the opening of a letter tells the reader that the order that was placed has been shipped．The body adds the details of how it is being shipped—parcel post or delivery service;when it can be expected;and additional information—if the order is completed or if substitutions were made．It could tell how the billing10 will be done if payment did not accompany the order．The body contains all of the information that the reader needs to know to make decisions．

Closing（信尾）

The closing is a short and courteous goodbye．It does not include anything that has not already been introduced．It makes action on the part of the reader easy．The closing is specific;it gives times and dates．

Avoid participle or fragment conclusions．There should be no“Hoping to hear from you．”or“With best wishes，I remain．．．”

The closing is the summary of the letter;it emphasizes the action that you want the reader to take;it states exactly what you want the reader to do，and it leaves the impression of courtesy．Like any goodbye，jog the reader's memory if there is something that you want the reader to do，but keep the closing short and friendly．

Now read the following two sample letters．Notice the redundancies11 in the first that are eliminated in the second．

Sample 1

Dear Ms．Rodriguez，

I am very pleased with the invitation that I received from you inviting me to make a speech for the National Association of Secretaries on June 11．Unfortunately，I regret that I cannot attend the meeting on June 11．I feel that I do not have sufficient time to prepare myself because I received your invitation on June 3 and there is not enough time to prepare myself completely for the speech．

Yours truly，

Sample 2

Dear Ms．Rodriguez，

I am pleased with the invitation to speak to the National Association of Secretaries．Unfortunately，I cannot attend the meeting on June 11．

I feel that I will not have sufficient time to prepare myself because I received your invitation on June 3．

I will be happy to address your organization on another occasion if you would give me a bit more notice．Best of luck with your meeting．

Sincerely yours，