Writing a Business Letter
文章来源: 文章作者: 发布时间:2007-01-16 05:15 字体: [ ]  进入论坛
(单词翻译:双击或拖选)

MARGIN3: 0cm 0cm 0pt; TEXT-ALIGN: center" align="center">Writing a Business Letter

 

 

A business letter is a letter that is written to conduct some kind of business.  The business may be an application for a job, a complaint about a product or service, an inquiry1, or a letter requesting some kind of action. It is different from a friendly letter in both its format2 and content.

 

A business letter should be typed. Use a word processing program and choose a plain font such as Courier or Times New Roman set to size 10 or 12. The left and right margins4 should be justified5, meaning that text is aligned6 on both the right and left sides of the letter. In a business letter, all margins should be at least 1/2 inch, if not larger, and all text begins at the left margin.

 

The first part of a business letter, the HEADING, is located at the top of the page, starting at the left margin.  Type your address here.  If you are using business letterhead that already has the address, there is no need to retype this; otherwise, use your full mailing address, as it would appear on the envelope.  Do not include your name here, but if writing on behalf of a company, include its name:

 

Vacations R Us, Inc.

327 Happytime Street

Funville CA 55333

 

The second part of a business letter is the DATE.  Be sure to skip a line and then type the full date as follows.  This is an extremely important part of any business letter, as it may be used not only for later reference by you or the receiver, but may also be used for filing purposes.

 

September 15, 2000

 

After the date comes the OPENING of the business letter.  The opening consists should consist of the persons name that you are writing to, his/her title and department name, the name of the company you're writing to, and its mailing address as follows:

 

Mr. Jerry Jackrabbit

Manager, Sales and Service

Come Bath With Us, Inc.

723 Shower Avenue

Washville WA 55444

 

Dear Sir/Madam: OR Dear Mr. Jackrabbit:

 

The "Dear …" is the GREETING part of the OPENING.  When typing the greeting, if you know the person's family name that you are writing to, then use it; otherwise, simply use "Dear Sir/Madam:"  Remember to always use a colon7 (:) at the end of a business greeting.

 

The next part of a business letter is the BODY of the letter.  The first paragraph should clearly state the purpose of the letter:

 

I am writing to make a complaint...

 

I wish to apply for the position of secretary...

 

I am writing to ask...

 

Finish the body of the letter, expanding on the things mentioned in the first paragraph.  Remember NOT to indent8 each paragraph, but DO skip a line between them.

 

Be sure you explain things with enough detail so the reader of your letter can take the action you desire.  For example, if you are applying for a job, clearly list the qualities and experience that make you a suitable candidate for the position.  If you are writing a letter of complaint, give all the relevant information that has lead you to complaining.  Before you end your letter, refer to any attachments9 that you may be enclosing so that the reader understands why they are there:

 

I have enclosed a copy of my resume, which provides further details of my employment background...

 

I have enclosed a copy of the document in question...

 

Your final paragraph should invite your reader to contact, indicating what action you are seeking.

 

I would welcome a chance to further explain my case at a personal interview...

 

I look forward to your immediate10 attention to this problem...

 

The final part of a business letter is the CLOSING.  Always close a business letter in a professional manner.  Use such closings as "Yours sincerely,", "Yours faithfully,", or "Sincerely yours,".  Be sure to leave 3 blank lines between the "Sincerely yours," and your types name, because in between those you will write your signature.  Also remember that you can type your job title under your typed name.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

 

 

Joe Bloggs

Manager

 

 

 

Finally, your business letter should be folded in three by folding the bottom of the page two thirds of the way towards the top, then folding the top of the page downwards11. The letter should then be inserted into a business-sized envelope and clearly and neatly12 addressed.

 

The following is a sample of a real business letter:


Jonathan B. Rogers

Heading

Tianjin Foreign Languages High School

11 Nankou Lu, Hebei District

Tianjin  300230

PR China

Date

 


October 16, 2001

 


Mr. Zhang

Principal

Tianjin Foreign Languages High School

Opening

11 Nankou Lu, Hebei District

Tianjin  300230

PR China

Greeting

 


Dear Mr. Zhang:

We have been informed that our apartment building will be torn down soon, and that we will have to move to a new location.  We have also heard a rumor13 that we may possibly be relocated to live at the Tianjin Foreign Language Institute, while a building for the foreign teachers is being built. I am writing you on behalf of my family and myself.  I would like to express our desire to continue living here at our school on Nankou Lu in the Chinese teacher's apartment building.  We understand that there are currently four apartments available there.  We also understand that you are concerned for our safety, but I would like to share with you why we feel that living here in the teacher's building on Nankou Lu is better for us.

 

First, Mrs. Rogers and I have a son, whom we home school.  He comes to my office with me every day to do his schoolwork.  Thus, there would be three of us to be picked up every day and carted to the school.

 

Body

Second, because of the greater distance between the two schools, and the much longer time needed to travel from home to the school here, we will have to rise up much earlier than we already do.  Even now, while living here on campus, we must rise at 6:00am in order to have enough time to take a shower, get dressed, get breakfast, eat it, and be ready to leave for the classroom building next door.   Maybe if we live at the Foreign Language Institute, we will have to rise at 5:00am or 5:15am in order to have enough time to get ready and then travel to the school here.   I feel that this is too much stress and strain for our son, my wife, and myself.

 

Third, as you may already know, a foreigner's life is not easy in the Chinese society.  There are many things that exist that cause the foreigner to feel that he/she is not allowed IN the circle.  This gives some foreigners a feeling of great sadness and isolation14. There are other foreigners who prefer the separation from Chinese society, opting15 to try and live here as they would in their motherland; however, Mrs. Rogers and I are not of this kind.  We have come to China  'for the love of China', and for no other reason.   We love China.  We love Chinese people.  We love Chinese art, music, dance, and food.  We love to make friends with Chinese people, and our desire as human beings is to be IN the circle, not on the OUTSIDE looking in, like the pitiful child that no one wants to play with at recess16 time.  We feel that living so far away from our school, our teacher friends, and our students, will only create a stronger sense of isolation, making fallow ground in which the seeds of loneliness and discouragement can grow.   Living here at our school gives us a sense of belonging, a better sense of being IN the circle, and more opportunity to be with friends which we have made, eliminating the opportunity for those undesirable17 seeds to sprout18.

 


Body

And finally, we know that our safety is of great concern to you, as it also is to us.  We understand that those of you who are over us are responsible for us, and that we should have security while living under your care.   An idea that came up was that of placing a locked gate at one of the Chinese teacher's building's stairway entrances, leading to the available apartment, allowing those living behind the door to have a key in order to gain access.  Should a security guard be required for us, I would like to let you know that Mrs. Rogers and I are prepared to help cover the cost associated with hiring security, so that we may be able to live here in the Chinese teacher's apartment building at Nankou Lu.

 

Mr. Zhang, again I ask that you would please take our thoughts and feelings into consideration as you make your final decision regarding where we shall live in the near future.  Lastly, I want to thank you for taking the time to read this letter.

 

 

Respectfully yours,

 

Closing

 

 


Jonathan B. Rogers

Foreign English Teacher



点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 inquiry nbgzF     
n.打听,询问,调查,查问
参考例句:
  • Many parents have been pressing for an inquiry into the problem.许多家长迫切要求调查这个问题。
  • The field of inquiry has narrowed down to five persons.调查的范围已经缩小到只剩5个人了。
2 format giJxb     
n.设计,版式;[计算机]格式,DOS命令:格式化(磁盘),用于空盘或使用过的磁盘建立新空盘来存储数据;v.使格式化,设计,安排
参考例句:
  • Please format this floppy disc.请将这张软盘格式化。
  • The format of the figure is very tasteful.该图表的格式很雅致。
3 margin 67Mzp     
n.页边空白;差额;余地,余裕;边,边缘
参考例句:
  • We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
  • The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。
4 margins 18cef75be8bf936fbf6be827537c8585     
边( margin的名词复数 ); 利润; 页边空白; 差数
参考例句:
  • They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
  • To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙,加左或者右的margins来定义链接。
5 justified 7pSzrk     
a.正当的,有理的
参考例句:
  • She felt fully justified in asking for her money back. 她认为有充分的理由要求退款。
  • The prisoner has certainly justified his claims by his actions. 那个囚犯确实已用自己的行动表明他的要求是正当的。
6 aligned 165f93b99f87c219277d70d866425da6     
adj.对齐的,均衡的
参考例句:
  • Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。
7 colon jqfzJ     
n.冒号,结肠,直肠
参考例句:
  • Here,too,the colon must be followed by a dash.这里也是一样,应当在冒号后加破折号。
  • The colon is the locus of a large concentration of bacteria.结肠是大浓度的细菌所在地。
8 indent indent     
n.订单,委托采购,国外商品订货单,代购订单
参考例句:
  • A firm order is often called an indent.确定的订单常称作订货单。
  • Bid will be evaluated strictly in accordance with the indent specifications.投标将按照订货单的技术条件严格评估。
9 attachments da2fd5324f611f2b1d8b4fef9ae3179e     
n.(用电子邮件发送的)附件( attachment的名词复数 );附着;连接;附属物
参考例句:
  • The vacuum cleaner has four different attachments. 吸尘器有四个不同的附件。
  • It's an electric drill with a range of different attachments. 这是一个带有各种配件的电钻。
10 immediate aapxh     
adj.立即的;直接的,最接近的;紧靠的
参考例句:
  • His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
  • We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。
11 downwards MsDxU     
adj./adv.向下的(地),下行的(地)
参考例句:
  • He lay face downwards on his bed.他脸向下伏在床上。
  • As the river flows downwards,it widens.这条河愈到下游愈宽。
12 neatly ynZzBp     
adv.整洁地,干净地,灵巧地,熟练地
参考例句:
  • Sailors know how to wind up a long rope neatly.水手们知道怎样把一条大绳利落地缠好。
  • The child's dress is neatly gathered at the neck.那孩子的衣服在领口处打着整齐的皱褶。
13 rumor qS0zZ     
n.谣言,谣传,传说
参考例句:
  • The rumor has been traced back to a bad man.那谣言经追查是个坏人造的。
  • The rumor has taken air.谣言流传开了。
14 isolation 7qMzTS     
n.隔离,孤立,分解,分离
参考例句:
  • The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
  • He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后,生活比较孤寂。
15 opting e6a09ce5b5c8079c1654586c4e1dc5b3     
v.选择,挑选( opt的现在分词 )
参考例句:
  • What courses are most students opting for? 多数学生选什么课程? 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Wells doesn't rule out opting out and then re-signing with Houston. 威尔斯没有排除跳出合同再与火箭重签的可能。 来自互联网
16 recess pAxzC     
n.短期休息,壁凹(墙上装架子,柜子等凹处)
参考例句:
  • The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
  • Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。
17 undesirable zp0yb     
adj.不受欢迎的,不良的,不合意的,讨厌的;n.不受欢迎的人,不良分子
参考例句:
  • They are the undesirable elements among the employees.他们是雇员中的不良分子。
  • Certain chemicals can induce undesirable changes in the nervous system.有些化学物质能在神经系统中引起不良变化。
18 sprout ITizY     
n.芽,萌芽;vt.使发芽,摘去芽;vi.长芽,抽条
参考例句:
  • When do deer first sprout horns?鹿在多大的时候开始长出角?
  • It takes about a week for the seeds to sprout.这些种子大约要一周后才会发芽。
TAG标签:
发表评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:点击我更换图片