Useful Expressions and Structures Letterhead 印有信头的信纸 Date 日期 Inside address 封内地址 Salutation 称呼 Body 正文 Complimentary close 结尾敬语 Signature 签名

Reference 案号 Return/sender’s address 发件人地址 Attention line 经办人 Subject line 主题 Enclosure notation 附件 Copy notation 抄送 Postscript 附言

The letterhead （ 印有信头的信纸 ） The letterhead identifies the sender of the letter. The letterhead includes the company’s,,, and,,and. logonameaddress telephonefax numbers website

The date There are two formats of dating the letter. One is British and the other is American. The British style is. The American style is. When you are replying to a letter, consider using the style of the letter you are responding to. day month year month day year

Putting the date at the end of the letter. This is a common mistake of Chinese business writers in English. This might be a negative transfer of Chinese letter writing where the date usually follows the signature of the sender. Students writing in English should be aware that the date is normally put above the inside address. （ × ）

The inside address （封内地址） The inside address contains name, full postal address, and post code. the recipient’s

1. If the letter is addressed to a company but you want a particular person or department to process the letter, you may begin the inside address with A plus the person’s name or the name of the department. 2. The inside address is also the address, which is printed or written in the front middle of the envelope. Attention delivery

The salutation （称呼） The salutation is a greeting to the. It varies according to the context. Meanwhile, it has to match the. See the following table for details.(P16) recipient complimentary close

The signature and typed-out name The signature is often handwritten by the. Below it is his or her typed- out name. His or her title or position in the organization is often give. sender

The reference （案号） There are “Your ref” and “Our ref”, which are codes assigned to the letter by the and of the letter. The reference makes it easier to file the letter and track it when required. recipientsender

The subject line （主题） The subject line states the gist of what the letter is about. The short form may precede the phrase that carries the subject matter. “Re:”

The enclosure （附件） The enclosure indicates materials or documents enclosed. The short form “ ” is often used when there is one item enclosed. “ ” is used when there is more than one item. Enc Encs

The copy （抄送） The short form “cc” stands for “ ”. It indicates that the letter is to be sent to another person. Where more than one person is on the circulation list, arrange their names according to the order. Courtesy copy alphabetical

If the sender of the letter does not wish the recipient to know that other people are receiving copies of the letter, a blind copy is sent. Where this is the case, use the short form of “bcc” (short for ) on the copies.( 秘密抄送 ) Blind courtesy copy

The postscript （附言） The postscript is an afterthought or an added punch as in sales letters.

Exercise

1. What are some means of making business letters attractive? A.The quality of letterheaded paper. B. The presentation of the letter. C. The style of the letter. D. The language and tone used. E. The structure of the letter. 答 :ABDE (P18)

2. Please classify those elements which are the standard and which are optional parts of business letters. the subject line date inside address postscript body the attention line complimentary close reference the return/sender’s address salutation enclosure notation signature copy notation Standard: date inside address salutation body complimentary close signature Optional: reference the return/sender’s address the attention line the subject line enclosure notation copy notation postscript.(P14)

3.T or F. There are two common layouts when businesspeople compose a business letter. They are the full block form and the intended form. (F)

4.What is open punctuation? Open punctuation means that are used in the date, names, addresses, salutation, complimentary, close, and common abbreviation.(P18) no full stops or commas

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