lecture nine

Xu Yangchun

Department of

Chinese Language and Literature Commercial Business Correspondence

 Layout

 Parts of the Letter

Lecture Nine

Commercial Business Correspondence

Commercial business letters usually have three purposes:

1)To ask for or convey information. E.g.

 Letters exchanged between two parties for establishing business relations: e.g. enquiries and replies.

Commercial Business Correspondence

2)To make or accept an offer(报盘)

3) To deal with matters concerning negotiation of business: e.g.

 terms of payment, packing, insurance, shipment, agency 4)Just to remind the recipient of the sender’s existence.  e.g. self-introduction

 A business letter exchanged between institutions should

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contain six parts: heading (letterhead / date), inside address, salutation, body, close and signature.

 Besides, it can include the following additional parts:

 Attention, Subject(事由), Enclosure, Identification Initials, Carbon Copy

 Letterhead

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 It includes printed name and address of the writer’s

company. It may also include, telephone number, telex number, fax, names of executives, company symbol or trade mark and the kind of business carried on.

 It is designed in almost any way.

 cf: Heading ( of a personal letter): sender’s address and

date

 Inside Address

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 It is set out the same way as what appears on the

envelope.

 Cf. Heading: sender’s address (not including the name) ; date

Inside Address: receiver’s address, just the same as that on the envelope

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 References(编号，归档号)

For easy filing. e.g.

 Your Ref: ALM/PS  Our Ref: GBD/ACM

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 Attention (经办人)

Using this line to direct the letter to a particular member. e.g.

 Attn: Sales Agent

 Attention: Mr. David O. Rice

 Subject e.g.

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 (Re:) Your Order No. 3456 ( centered over the body of the letter)

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 )Enclosure(s) 附件

If there is something enclosed with the letter, write “Enclosure” or “Encl.” and then state the number of enclosures, if there are more than one. e.g.  Encl: 2 cheques

 Signature

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 In a commercial letter the signature may contain four parts:  Company Signature  Typed Signature  Title Signature  Handwritten Signature

 A) Company Signature (usu. in full capitals)

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 It is typed in full capitals when a correspondent writes as

a representative of a company (firm). It may be omitted, esp. when the letterhead is considered sufficient

identification or when the letter is being sent from an executive office.

 Handwritten Signature  Typed Signature  Title Signature

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 Leave four spaces for this when typing.

 e.g.

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Very truly yours,

TOLEDO LOCKS, INCORPORATED

Henry L. Benton

Henry L. Benton Manager

PS:

1)When a secretary signs a letter that she has written for her

employer, the following form is correct. e.g.

Very truly yours, Barbara Nolon

(Miss) Barbara Nolon Secretary to Mr. Benton NB. If the signer is a female, type ‘Mrs, Ms, Miss’ before the name.

Here ‘Miss’ can be omitted.

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2)When a secretary signs for her employer, each of the

following forms is correct.

•

Very truly yours, b) Very truly yours,

Barbara Nolon Henry L. Benton

B.N. For Henry L. Benton Henry L. Benton

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3)When a letter is written and signed by a secretary and the name of the person who authorized the letter also appears in the signature group, the following form is correct. E.g.

Yours very truly,

TOLEDO LOCKS, INCORPORATED Henry L. Benton, Manager

Barbara Nolon

By Miss Barbara Nolon Secretary to Mr. Benton

NB. The writer who responds to the preceding letter uses this

form in the Inside Address.

Mr. Henry L. Benton, Manager Toledo Locks, Incorporated Benzonia, MI 49431 U.S.A.

ATTENTION: MISS BARBARA NOLON Dear Mr. Benton:

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7)Identification Initials 主办人代号

The initials are made up of two parts: those who dictated

the letter and those of the secretary or typist. e.g.

AS/hu or: AS:hu

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8)How to use the courtesy titles(礼节上的尊称):

Mr.(Esq.), Mrs., Ms, Messrs., Mmes. (for the first line of the Inside Address)

a) Mr.(Esq.)

In America, Esq.(for Esquire) is legally restricted to certain

classes of persons (judges, magistrates地方行政官, barristers[高等]律师, etc . ) e.g.

J. A. Simpson, Esq. = Mr. J. A. Simpson

In Britain, either Mr. Or Esq. When addressing a single person.

Esq. is considered more polite. e.g. Mr. John Paulsen = John Paulsen, Esq. b)Mrs., Miss, Ms

Mrs. (for mistress): for a married woman

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Miss: for an unmarried woman

Ms[miz]: for all women, married or unmarried. c)Mmes.: = Mesdames, pl. of or madame

Messrs. : pl. of Mr.(先生);

or: Messieurs[法]（各位[先生]）

Mr. J. A. Simpson

*Messrs. J. A. Simpson (not for an individual)

Messrs is used for companies or forms, the names of

which include a personal element (i.e. companies or firms named after sb.). e.g.

Messrs. William & Werner Messrs. J. Harvey & Co.

9)Double space between each two parts (including each two

paragraphs)

10)The second-page heading: Repeat the first line of the Inside

Address and write e.g.

Mr. Henry L. Benton 2 March 30 2004

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Format of the Letter信函样式

1)Block Style (Form) 平头式

Every line starts neatly from the left margin except the printed

head.

2)Modified Block Style (Form)改良平头式

It is the same as the Block except that the date, close and

signature lines start from the center of the page.

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3)Semiblock Style (Form)半平头式

It is the same as the Modified Block except that the paragraphs

are indented, usu. five spaces from the left margin. 4)Simplified Style (Form)

It is the same as the Block except that the subject (in full

capitals) replaces the salutation and the close is omitted.

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Punctuation Styles

1)Open punctuation开放式

No line outside the body of the letter ends with punctuation

unless the line ends with an abbreviation. 2)Standard (Mixed) punctuation标准式

The Salutation and the Close ends with a comma. NB: colon for

salutation in AmE.

3)Close punctuation封闭式

Every line ends with punctuation. (out of date)

 Please study the sample letter on page 24 of your textbook

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and tell which is which.

 What is the difference between Inside Address and

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Some Questions

Letterhead?

 Inside Address

 Receiver’s address  Letterhead

 Sender’s address and other details: telephone number, fax, company symbol, etc.

 If the first line of the inside address is: ABC Company, what

Some Questions

is your salutation?

 Dear Sirs, / Gentlemen:

 If the first line of the inside address is: Mr. Wang Kaiming, Manager, what is your salutation?  Dear Mr. Wang, / Dear Manager,

 Complimentary close varies with variation of relationship

between the sender and the receiver. Please the write the closes for the following relationships:  Formal relationship:  Yours sincerely,  Informal relationship:  All the best, / Best,  Intimate relationship:  Love, / Yours lovingly, Set out a business letter neatly in parts with the following: Receiver: El Mar Trading Company, 12 Main Street, Fresno CA

94704, U.S.A.

Sender: China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Import &

Export Corporation,

82 Tung An Men Street, Beijing, People's Republic of

China

Reference Initials: Sender's: M306/0038

Receiver's: KMP/DE Subject: Mr. Daly's Visit Attention: Technology Manager

Signer: Z.W. Chen, Managing Director Typist: B. Wei Enclosure: 1 certificate

Body: Use the English version of Exercise VIII, No.2, P115 Carbon Copy: Mr. David Dale

Style: Modified Block, Standard Punctuation

Exercise

Exercise

NB:

 1.do not squeeze the letter to the very margin.

 2.Letters should be set out neatly in parts, pleasing to look at.  3.There is a double space between each two parts.

 4.If we cannot finish the letter in one sheet, we must plan beforehand so that the body of the letter sits comfortably on both sheets.

Exercise

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