商務英語寫作BUSINESSENGLISHWRITING

ChapteroneAnOverviewofBusinessEnglish&BusinessWritingTHECONTENTSAnOverviewofBusinessEnglishAnOverviewofBusinessWritingAnOverviewofBusinessEnglishWhatisbusinessEnglish?BusinessEnglish——isEnglishlanguageespeciallyrelatedtointernationaltrade.ItisapartofEnglishforSpecificPurposesandcanbeconsideredaspecialismwithinEnglishlanguagelearningandteaching.WhystudybusinessEnglish?

Generallyspeaking,forefficientandeffectivecommunication

inbusinesspractices.

Indetail:itprovidesyouwiththeskillstowriteemails,producereports,makepresentations,negotiatewithclients,participateinmeetingsandconferences,writelettersanddealwithclientsonthetelephoneandinaface-to-facesituation,etc.AnOverviewofBusinessWriting1.Whytheabilitytowriteisabusinessasset?2.Whatarethefunctionsofbusinesswriting?3.Whatarethebusinesswritingprocedures?4.Criteriaforeffectivebusinesswriting.5.Severalwaystoachieve7Cs.Whytheabilitytowriteisabusinessasset?Agreatdealofbusinessistransactedinwriting.Effectivebusinesswriterscanusetheirskilltohelpincreasetheircompany’ssalesandprofits.Proficiencyinwritinggivesthepersoninbusinessapersonaladvantage.2.Whatarethefunctionsofbusinesswriting?Businesswritinghasthreefunctions:toinform,topersuadeandtoentertain.Toinform:toconveythevastamountofinformationneededtocompletetheday-to-dayoperationsofthebusiness.Topersuade:toinfluencethereader’sattitudesandactions.Toentertain:tohaveanadequateknowledgeoftheEnglishlanguageandunderstandingofhumannature,ifpossible,theemotionsofthereader.3.Whatarethebusinesswritingprocedures?Five-stepsPreparing

Objective,Reader,MainpointsFormatting

Layoutofthedocument3)Organizing

Gatheringinformation,sortingdetails,andmakingoutlines.

4)

Drafting

Startwhereyoufeelthemostcomfortable.Don’tworryaboutpossiblemistakesFocusontheideasyouwanttopresent.5)Revising

Checkontheoveralltoneandformat.Askforadvicefromcolleagues.Directions:RevisingBoxDoesmywritingincludeeveryelementofabusinessletter?AmIclearaboutmywritingpurpose?HaveImadeeffectiveuseoflayoutandwhitespaceintheletter?HaveIsortedoutthefactsappropriately?HaveIorganizedthecontentlogically?HaveIwrittenitconciselyandpolitely?HaveIcheckedeverythingincludinggrammar,punctuationandspelling?4.Criteriaforeffectivebusinesswriting-7“C”Courtesy禮貌

Treatingpeoplewithrespectandfriendlyhumanconcern.2)Consideration體諒

Considerthereader’sdesires,problems,circumstances,emotionsandreactions.14ExampleDearSirs,wearesorryyouhavemisunderstoodus.(×)DearsSirs,wearesorrywedidn’tmakeourselvesclear.(√)Wecannotunderstandwhyyouhavehadtroublewiththesearticles.(×)Wepresumethattheremustbesomereasonsforyouhavingtroublewiththesearticles.(√)3)Correctness正確Correctgrammar,punctuationandspellingarebasicrequirementsforbusinesswriting.Certainly,itmeanschoosingtheexactword,selectingtheappropriatesentencestructure,andcreatingcarefulparagraphs.Inaddition,correctnessmeanschoosingthecorrectleveloflanguageandusingaccurateinformationanddata.

16ExampleEnclosedisthecopyofreceipt.(×)Enclosedisacopyofthereceipt.(√)Iamlookingforanothersaleschannels.(×)Iamlookingforothersaleschannels.(√)Conciseness簡潔

Towriteinthefewestpossiblewordswithoutsacrificingcompletenessandcourtesy.Concisenesswillgiveemphasistoyourmessage.18ExampleWedonotanticipateanyincreaseinpricesinthenearfuture.(Poor)Wedonotexpectpricestorisesoon.(Better)Owingtothefactthatyourcompetitor’spriceismuchlowerthanyours,wecannotacceptyouroffer.(Poor)Becauseyourcompetitor’spriceismuchlowerthanyours,wecannotacceptyouroffer.(Better)FancyWords

facilitateutilizeaggregateamultitudeofWordyPhraseswithregardtodespitethefactthatinviewofthefactthatforthepurposeofSimplerWords

helpusetotalmanyConciseWords

aboutalthoughbecausefor5)Clarity清楚Short,familiarwordsandsimple,shortsentencesratherthanlong,difficultwordsandcomplexandlongsentencesarebetterforthispurpose.

21ExampleTheyhaveadecidedadvantageinregardtofreight.(Poor)Theyhaveadecidedadvantageinregardtofreightcharges(運費).(Better)TheyinformedMessrs.SmithandRichardsonthattheywouldreceiveananswerinafewdays.(Poor)TheyinformedMessrs.SmithandRichardsonthatthelatterwouldreceiveananswerinafewdays.(Better)Concreteness具體

Yourwritingshouldbevivid,specificanddefiniteratherthanvague,generalandabstract,especiallywhenyouarerequiringaresponse,solvingproblems,makinganofferoracceptance,etc.23ExampleOurapplesareexcellent.Ourapplesarejuicy,crispyandtender.(Concrete)SmithtonCompanyisourbigbuyer.SmithtonCompanydidmorethanonemillionUSDworthofbusinesswithusin2005.(Concrete)7)Completeness

完整

Includeallthenecessaryinformationanddatainthemessagetohelpsendersgetreceiver’sresponse.Anincompletemessagemayresultinincreasedcommunicationcosts,lossofgoodwill,sales,andvaluedcustomers,costofreturninggoods,andwastedtimetryingtomakesenseoutoftheincompletemessage.25ExampleSupposeyouarewritingalettertoyoursuppliertellinghimthathisgoodswerenotdeliveredontime.Whatkindofinformationshouldyouincludeinyourletter?

26CompletemessageRemindinghimofhispromiseoftimelydelivery.Whatlosseshasthiscausedyou?Askingforcompensationifthereisanyagreementonthat.Expectingnosuchthingwillhappenagain.ExercisesRewritetheworn-out,triteandwordyphrasesinthefollowingsentenceswithfresh,moreconciseones.1.Intheeventthatwecannotmeetthedeadline,wewillrefundyourmoney.

Ifwecannotmeetthedeadline,wewillrefund(退還)yourmoney.2.Itisnotwithinourpowertoobtaintheletterhehasinhispossession.

Weareunabletoobtaintheletterhehasinhispossession.3.Wewillwritetoyouatanearlydate.

Wewillwritetoyousoon.4.Wewillfurnishalltherequireddocuments.

Wewillgive/providealltherequireddocuments.5.Consequentuponthechangesmade,youwillbeinchargeofthegeneraloffice.Asaresultofthechangesmade,youwillbeinchargeofthegeneraloffice.6.WeareinreceiptofyourremittanceinthesumofUS$7890

.

Wehavereceivedyourremittance(匯款)ofUS$7890.5.Severalwaystoachieve7Cs1)ConversationalStyle2)AvoidingOldLanguageofBusiness3)You-Attitude4)PositiveTone5)SinglingoutYourReader6)AvoidingAnger1)ConversationalStyleAgoodletterreflectsthepersonalityofthewriterandalsoshouldbepleasingtothereader.Inagoodlettera

conversation

isheld.Peoplewhowritewithasenseofpersonalcontacthaveabetterchancetomakewhattheysayinterestingandconvincing.SampleletteranalysisDearSir:Wewishtoacknowledgereceiptof(茲收到)yourcreditapplicationdatedFebruary17givingtradeandbankreferences,andwethankyouforthesame.Pleasebeadvised（在此通知）thecreditaccommodationsareherewithextendedasperyourrequest（按你的要求）andyourorderhasbeenshipped.

Hopingyouwillgiveustheopportunityofservingyouagaininthenearfuture,weremainVerytrulyyours,SampleletteranalysisDearSirs:Thankyouforsendingsopromptlythetradeandbankreferenceswehaveaskedfor.Iamgladtosaythatyourorderhasalreadybeenshippedonthetermsyourequested.Wehopeyouwillgiveusthechancetoserveyouagain.Verytrulyyours,2)AvoidingOldLanguageofBusinessGoodwriterstakecaretoavoidstaleexpressions.EarlyEnglishbusinesswritersborrowedheavilyfromtheformallanguageoflawandfromtheflowerylanguageofthenobility.Fromthesetwosourcestheydevelopedacold,stiff,andunnaturalstyle,butitwasgenerallyacceptedthroughouttheEnglish-speakingworld.INOPENNESSIncompliancewithyoursdated---根據你×日信函Wehavebeforeus---我們收到---INCONTENTAttachedhereto在此附上Taketheliberty冒昧地INCONCLUSIONTrustingthiswillmeetwithyourfavor相信這會滿足你的要求Anticipatingyourfavorableresponse期望你會給予有利的答復×Awaitingthefavorofyourearlyresponse.Ilookforwardtohearingfromyousoon.×Pleasebegoodenoughtoadviseus.Pleasetellus….×Webegtoinformyou….Iamwritingtoinformyou….3)You-AttitudeYou-viewpointistofocusinterestonthereader.Itismorethanamatterofjustusingsecondpersonpronouns.Itisanattitudeofmind,whichplacesthereaderinthecenterofthings.inwriting,avoidinsincerityandbeingflattery.

Looksatthingsfromthereader’spointofview.站在讀者的位置看待事情Respectsthereader’sintelligence.

尊重讀者的聰明才智Protectsthereader’sego.保護讀者的自尊心Emphasizeswhatthereaderwantstoknow.

強調讀者想知道的信息40

DifferentAttitudes

We/Iattitude

YouattitudeAlargesaleofourproductswillmakeourcompanymoreprofitable.Weareinneedoffundandyoumustpay…Wecannotofferyouanyrefund…Obviouslyyouforgettellingusthecolor…Agoodsaleoftheproductswillbenefityou.Tomaintainyourexcellentcredit,pleaseremit…Youcouldobtainarefundif…Pleaseindicateyourchoiceofcolor…YouAttitude

Puttheaudiencefirst:“It’sallaboutthem.”FocusonwhattheyreceiveorcandoStresswhattheywanttoknow×

IhavenegotiatedanagreementwithApexRent–a-carthatgivesyouadiscountonrentalcars.AsaSundstrandemployee,youcannowgeta20%discountwhenyourentacarfromApex.Becarefulwiththeuseof“feeling”words.Omityourfeelingsinmostbusinesssituations×

Wearehappytoextendyouacreditlineof$5,000.Youcannowchargeupto$5,000onyourVisacard.YouAttitudeUse“you”moreoftenthan“I”inpositivesituations.avoid“you”innegativesituations.

Innegativesituations,usePassiveverbsImpersonalexpressionsYouAttitudeYouAttitude×Youmadenoallowanceforinflationinyourestimate.（你估計沒有考慮通貨膨脹的因素。）Noallowanceforinflationhasbeenmadeinthisestimate.(passive)Thisestimatemakesnoallowanceforinflation.(impersonal)ExercisesIWriteyou-viewpointsentencesforeachofthesituationsdescribed.Wewillbepleasedtodeliveryourorderbythe16th.(Yourorderwillbedeliveredbythe16th.)Wehaveworkedfor20yearstodevelopthebestmodelcarforourcustomers.(Ourcustomerswillfindthebestmodelcarwhichwehavespent20yearstobuild.)Wearehappytoreportapprovalofyourapplicationformembership.(Youwillbegladtoknowthatyourrequestforpaymentisgranted.)Ourlongexperienceinthebookbusinesshasenabledustoprovidethebestcustomerservicepossible.(Customerswillbeprovidedwiththebestserviceowningtoourlongexperienceinthebookbusiness.)ExercisesIIAnalyzethefollowingtwoletters.LetterIWehavereceivedyourrequestforpermissiontouseourcomputersduringthenextsessionforsummerschool.Wearepleasedtoinformyouthatyoumayuseall15ofthelaptopcomputersyourequested.WouldyoupleasecomeinandfilloutthenecessarypaperworkanytimebeforeApril?LetterIIGoodnews,Jessica!All15ofthelaptopcomputersyourequestedwillbeavailabletouseduringthenextsessionofsummerschool.PleasecomebytheofficebeforeApril1tofilloutthenecessaryForms.4)PositiveTonePeopleenjoyandreactfavorablytopositivemessages.Positivewordsareusuallybestforlettergoals,especiallywhenpersuasionandgoodwillareneeded.

Positivewordsemphasizethepleasantaspectsofthegoalandtendtoputthereaderintherightframeofmind.Theyalsocreatethegoodwillatmospherereadersseekinmostletters.EXAMPLEGroup1Wecannotunderstandyournegligence.Wewillnottoleratethiscondition.Yourcarelessattitudehascausedusalossinsales.Wehavenointentionofpermittingthisconditiontocontinue.Wehavehadit!Group2WecandeliverthegoodsonJuly11.Sothatyoumayhavetheonesofayouwant,willyoupleasecheckyourchoiceoffabricontheenclosedcard?YourcheckwillbemailedonOctober1.PleaseformatthisletterintheblockstyleshownintheOfficeProcedureManual.ExercisesRevisethesesentencessothattheyarepositiveratherthannegative.1)Unfortunately,yourordercannotsentuntilnextweek.2)YourmisunderstandingofourJanuary8lettercausedyoutomakethismistake.3)YoucannotvisittheplantexceptonSaturday.4)Donotwalkonthegrass.5)Smokingisnotpermittedexceptinthelobby.Answers:1)Yourordercanonlybesentnextweek.2)IfyouhadunderstoodourJanuary8letter,youhavedoneitcorrectly.3)YoucanvisittheplantonlyonSaturday.4)Stayawayfromthegrass.5)Smokingisallowedonlyinthelobby.5)SinglingoutYourReaderLettersthatappeartobewrittenforonereadertendtomakethereaderfeelimportantandappreciated.Tosingleoutyourreaderinaletter,youshouldwriteforhisorherparticularsituation.Whatyousaythroughoutthelettershouldmakeitclearthatthereaderisgettingindividualtreatment.6)AvoidingAngerMostofcommentsmadeinangrydonotprovideneededinformation,butmerelyservetoletthewriterblowoffsteam.Withbothwriterandreaderangry,the