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5.What are the guidelines of writing business letters for different purposes and audiences?

Overview　知识概述

Business letters serve many purposes and audiences，so it isn’ t possible to illustrate each particular kind.All good business letters have some effective qualities in common:development of a main idea， consideration of audience，organized paragraphs，appropriate tone and diction，and clear，concise expression of thoughts.Specifically，each letter should clearly state its purpose for the reader，just as a thesis in an essay presents your main idea.In addition， effective writers select the kinds of information， the level of complexity，and even the appropriate“voice”in response to their readers’ needs，knowledge，and attitudes.All business correspondence should be courteous，with a tone that shows your appreciation for the reader’ s time and attention.The same level of language you would use in one of your polished academic essays should be chosen for business letters.In short，good business writing is clear，courteous，and direct.

Paragraphs in business letters tend to be short.Very often you find the first and last paragraphs are single-sentence paragraphs.The first paragraph may be a single sentence that indicates the subject and purpose of the letter.If necessary，one more sentence may be used to refer to previous correspondence when such correspondence needs to be remembered.When you answer a business letter，it is advisable to identify it by mentioning its subject and date.Always remember that you begin and end a business letter with a courteous tone.

As you write and revise，guard against two kinds of wordiness:deadwood and gobbledygook.Deadwood repeats the same thing or uses excess words to deliver its message.Here are some examples of deadwood and ways of correcting them:

Gobbledygook uses inflated，elaborately polite expressions that make writing stiff，stuffy，and distant.Note how the corrections soften the standoffish tone:

In your business letters，as in direct dealings with others，courtesy plays a key part in helping you gain your ends.Some tips to help you avoid antagonizing the reader are to avoid insults and sarcasm，rude demands and negative implication，as shown in the following examples.

1.SARCASTIC:Do you think you could possibly send me the correct size this time?

COURTEOUS:Would you please replace the dress with one of the correct size?

2.RUDE DEMANDS:I want you to send me...，I need a copy of...

COURTEOUS:Would you please send me....

3.NEGATIVE IMPLICATION I take the position that...(The wording here suggests that the reader will automatically disagree.)

COURTEOUS:I think you’ ll find that...

As you prepare your letter，try changing places with your reader.How would you react to the message? If you’ re pleased with what you see， courtesy should be no problem.

Business Letter Format

Most traditional business letters are neatly typed on one side of 8¹/₂× 11 inches white bond paper (A4 paper).Margins are usually set for a minimum of 1¹/₄inches at the top and at least one inch on the left and right sides and at the bottom.Almost all professional letters now use the“block form”—that is，lines of type are flush with the left margin and paragraphs are not indented.

Business letters typically have six primary parts:

(1)The Heading信头(写信人的地址和日期)，位于左/右上角

(2)The Inside Address(收信人姓名和地址)，位于左上角，顶格

(3)The Salutation(称呼)，低于收信人地址两行，顶格

(4)The Text(正文)主体，要求简明扼要，开头和结尾更应简短

(5)The Complimentary Close结束语，位于中间或从中间向右写，后加逗号。常用的如Yours faithfully (truly，respectfully，sincerely，cordially，affectionately)

(6)The Signature签名，低于结束语一两行，亲笔签名

Some letters contain additional information below the signature.Typical notes include the word“enclosure”(or“encl.” ，“enc.” )to indicate inclusion of additional material (which may be named)or a distribution list to indicate other persons who are receiving a copy of this letter.如果信文内已说明有附件要寄，也要在信的左下角说明，以便收信人查阅。如:Encl.:Doctor’ s Certificate(附:医生证明一张)。

Distribution is indicated by the word “copy”or by the letters c，cc (for“carbon copy” )，or xc (for“Xeroxed copy” )，followed by a colon (:)and the name(s); if more than one person is listed，the names should appear in alphabetical order.In formal business correspondence，avoid any sort of postscript (P.S.).

Most business letters today are written on a word processor，which can help writers find and fix typing errors.But，as in any piece of writing，always proofread for errors carefully—and repeatedly! Never trust your spell-checker to catch all possible errors.Don’ t undercut the message you are sending by failing to revise misspelled words，inaccurate names，ungrammatical sentences，or sloppy punctuation.

Guidelines of Writing Business Letters

Of the many kinds of business letters，the ones you’ ll most likely write are inquires，orders，complaints，and job applications (already discussed in Chapter 7).Here are guidelines and models.

Your letters of inquiry may be written to request information about a vacation spot，a hobby，or a project that you are working on; or you may write for data to be used in a research paper.Letters requesting something—for example， information about a product， a T-shirt advertised in a magazine—must be specific and accurate about the item you are requesting.Here are the guidelines:

●Identify yourself，indicate the kind of information you’ re after， and explain why you need it.

●To avoid inconveniencing your reader，keep your questions to a minimum，make them clear，and word them so they can be answered briefly.

●If you have three or more questions， set them up in a numbered list so the reader is less likely to miss answering one.

●If you’ re using the information for a research paper and it’ s appropriate to do so，offer to supply a copy of your paper.Acknowledge the source of information when you write the paper.

●Close by expressing appreciation for any helpthe reader can give.

Your article in the December issue of Modern Health，in which you describe the features of your company’ s new comprehensive medical program，greatly interested me.

I am an environmental health student investigating the benefits that small companies have realized by instituting such programs.Can you help me by answering the following questions?

1.To what extent has the number of employees calling in sick increased or decreased since your program began?

2.To what extent has the program affected worker productivity and efficiency?

3.How do the costs of the program compare with those of the medical insurance you used to provide through a private insurance company?

Thank you for any information you can supply.If you wish， I will be happy to send you a copy of my finished report.

Here are some useful expressions to begin or end your letter of inquiry.

●I would like to inquire about some information about...

●I shall be grateful if you could have details concerning...available.

●Would you be so kind as to let me know...?

●I am greatly concerned about...

●Your prompt and favorable attention to my inquiry would be greatly appreciated.

●I am looking forward to a favorable reply at your earliest convenience.

Order letters，used to order sports equipments，hobby supplies，appliances，furniture，clothing，and the like，must be brief and to the point.Write the letter as follows:

●Identify the merchandise by name，model or catalog number，size，weight，color，finish，or whatever else is needed.

●To order a single item，write the letter in paragraph form.Otherwise，set up a numbered list.

●Specify how many items of each sort you want，the cost of a single item，and the total cost of the order.

●Indicate when you wish to pay and how:by check，money order，or credit card.If you are enclosing payment，say so.

●If you’ re ordering a gift to be shipped to someone at another address，be sure to include that address in the body of your letter.

Please ship the following merchandise as advertised in the January 2011 issue of Better Homes and Gardens:

1.Model 979－14/ES Luxury Lady Ketchen Center.Unit Price:$ 121. 77$ 121. 77

2.Model 5109/WN Whippet five-quart Automatic

Oriental Work.Unit Price:$ 28. 67$　　____28. 67

Please send the order at your earliest convenience to the above address.I have enclosed a check for the total amount.

Writing a claim (complaint)letter is unpleasant but sometimes necessary.An improperly filler order，damaged or shoddy merchandise，a misunderstanding about prices—these and many other situations can result in claims.Though business correspondence should be courteous，with a tone that shows your appreciation for the reader’ s time and attention，achieving this tone may be more difficult if you are writing a claim letter (or a letter of complaint).Remember that to accomplish your purpose (a refund or an exchange of a purchase，for example)，you must persuade，not antagonize your reader.If you’ re too angry or frustrated to maintain a reasonable tone，give yourself some time to cool off before writing.

These guidelines will help you get a quick，favorable response:

●If you are writing to a large company and don’ t know the name of the department that handles claims，address your letter to “Customer Adjustments Department”or “Claims Department” .For small companies，write to the sales department.Your letter should then quickly reach someone who can help you.

●In the first sentence of the letter，say what you are writing about.Then provide as much background as needed，including any relevant details from past correspondence.Describe exactly what you see as the problem，sticking to facts and avoiding discourse on the company’ s social responsibility or your low opinion of its management.

●If you’ ve suffered serious inconvenience，mentioning it may speed the settlement.

●Clearly state the adjustment you want.

●Always include your opinion of how the problem can be solved.

End courteously by expressing hope for a speedy settlement or offering any further information needed to reach that settlement.Many companies are required by law to establish a specific procedure for complaints about products and service.If you know of such a procedure，be sure to follow it.

Dec.1， 2010，I purchased a Speedo Vacuum Cleaner Model XYZ from The Floor Store， 212 Main Street，Columbus，N.J.(A copy of the receipt is enclosed.).Unfortunately，I have had problems with both the product and the service I have received.

Specifically，I have the following complaints:

First，the vacuum doesn’ t work efficiently to pick up dust or dirt on either bare floors or carpets.Even after I have gone over the same area several times，the dirt remains.The power shuts off by itself when the vacuum has been running for several minutes，then comes back on after 30 to 60 seconds.

Second， when I went back to the Floor Store， I was told that because the vacuum was on sale，I could not exchange or return it，which I was not told when I made the purchase.I was also treated rudely by the salesman，Robert Rule，and then by the manager，Alfred Adams.

I am requesting that you provide me with a new vacuum cleaner，on condition that if this one proves to be unacceptable， I will receive a refund.I also ask that you investigate the business practice of the Floor Store，as they are poor representatives of your company.

I can be reached during the day at (806)827-9318 or after six in the evening at (806)4442897.May I hear from you before April 28?

Here are some useful expressions to begin or end your claim letter.

●I am writing to you to complain about...

●I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with...

●I am afraid that I have to inform you that...

●I am completely disappointed/upset to find...

●There are some problems with ...that I wish to bring to attention.In the first place， ...In the second place， ...

●To improve the situation，it is advisable to take the following measures.For one thing， ...For another， ...

●I do hope that the problems will be solved as soon as possible.

●I hope my suggestions will be taken into consideration to improve the situation.

●It is high time...

●We believe that you will take this matter seriously from now on and make every effort to prevent its recurrence.

Reinforcement　知识复习

1.Write a business letter，ask for or give information about a new product.

2.Suppose that you ordered a refrigerator but later found a worrying problem.Write a letter of complaint to describe the matter and require settlement.Do not sign your own name at the end of your letter，using“Li Ming”instead.

Extension　知识拓展