Unit 1
Structural Parts and Styles of Business Letters
1. Structural Parts of Business Letters
A business letter has eight structural parts: (a) the heading (letter-head ), (b) the date, (c) the inside address, (d) the salutation, (e) the body of the letter, (f) the complimentary close, (g) the signature (handwritten and then typed), and (h) any added notations.
1.1. Heading (信头)
The heading tells where the writer wrote the letter. Since most companies use stationary (文具) with printed letterhead: the company name, address, telephone, telex or fax numbers, and logo (the company symbol, 标识, 商标).
Sample:
Golden Trading Company Ltd.
34 Northern Avenue, New York, U.S.A.
Tel: 1234567 Telex: 2345667GBC Fax: 4455666
1.2. Date
The date tells when the writer wrote the letter. Under the printed letterhead, you can type the date in full, in the logical order of day, month, year. The position of the date depends on the style you use. When writing on blank paper, type the name of your firm, its address, and the date at the right or left margin, depending on the style you choose.
There are different ways of writing the date. The following two are recommended.
September 15, 1994
15 September 1994 (Note the Omission of the comma)
In British correspondence, the date is on the right and could be after the inside address.
There is a growing tendency to omit the –th, -rd, -nd and –st that follow the day.
Do not abbreviate or use figures for the month. Note:
Wrong:
Sept. 15, 1994
9/15 1994 or 15/9, 1994
Sample:
SKYVIEW ENTERPRISES
7111 Terrazo Place Sarasota, Fl 33031 (813)598 - 1026
January 20, 1995
1.3. The Inside Address (封内地址)
The inside address contains the name and the address of the addressee (收信人), the person or company you are writing to. It is on the left two spaces below the date line. If you know the name and title of the person, you should include them. In addressing an individual in a company, the inside address contains both the individual's name and that of the company. The address should be the same as the one on the envelope.
Courtesy titles are used in business letters. "Mr." "Ms." "Mrs." or a substitute form should never be omitted from the inside address. When writing to a woman always address her as she signs herself. It is considered correct to address a woman "Ms." unless she has signed herself "Mrs."
Esquire or Esq. may be used in addressing prominent attorneys (律师,商务或法律代理人) or other high ranking professional men who do not have other titles. "Esq." always follows the name, seperated from it by a comma. "Mr." does not precede the name when Esquire or Esq. is used. e. g.
Stone, Esq.
"Mr." or "Esq." is used in England for addressing a single man.
Other common titles include "Prof", "Dr", "Rev (reverend)", "Hon (honorable)" (used for senators, congressmen, ambassadors, governors, judges, mayors, and heads of government departments), etc.
"Messrs" (Plural form of Mr.) may be used in addressing a firm of men, or men and women, when the name includes a personal element. e.g. Messrs Marvin, Tobin and Smart.
Examples of the inside address:
(1) To an individual in a company
Mr. George F. Moore
Advertising Manager
Price & Patterson
234 Seventh Avenue
New York 5, New York
U.S.A.
(2) To an anonymous official in the company
Sales Manager
Office Systems Pty Ltd
124 Oak Street
Chatswood
NSW 2067
Australia
(3) To a company
Messrs, Kato & Co., Ltd
2 Nichome, Ginza Nishi
Chuo--ku, Tokyo
1.4. The Salutation
The salutation is the greeting to the reader. It should be typed flush (exactly on the same level) with the left margin, the first line two spaces below the last line of the inside address. The most common salutation consists of : Dear plus the recipient's name.
Here are some ways to write the salutation.
Dear Sirs/Gentlemen ---- to a company
Dear Sir ------to a man if you do not know his name
Dear Madam ------to a woman if you do not know her
Dear Mr Smith ------ to a man
Dear Mrs Smith ------ to a married woman
Dear Miss Smith ------ to an unmarried woman
Dear Ms Smith ------ to a married or unmarried woman
Dear John ------- to a friend or someone you know well
As the use of the first name in salutation is an informal practice, it is not recommended for more formal commercial correspondence. We do not, however, use both the first and the last name in the salutation. It is wrong to open a letter with "Dear Mr John" or "Dear Mr John Smith".
Note that Gentlemen, is the American and Dear Sirs, is the British way of opening a letter to a company when you write to a firm, not to a particular person.
1.5. The Body
The body of the letter is the message that the writer has to convey to the recipient. It begins two spaces below the salutation. The body of the letter may consist of one paragraph only, or of as many paragraphs as needed.
There should be margin at least one inch on both sides of the paper, at the top, and at the bottom. If your letter is very short, you should make your margins larger.
There is single space between lines unless the letter is very short. Double spaces are between paragraphs.
When the indented style, or modified block style with indented paragraphs is used, indent the first line of each paragraph five to ten spaces.
1.6. The Closing
The closing ends the letter. The complimentary close is two spaces below the last line of the body. Capitalize only the first word. Begin it slightly to the right of the center of the page, except in full block (完全平头式) and block style (平头式).
There are many ways to write the complimentary close. "Yours sincerely” is most commonly used. "Sincerely" is the most popular complimentary close in America. "Yours faithfully" is British usage in a letter with "Dear Sir" or "Dear Sirs" as salutation.
The way you close a letter depends on how you open it. Notice the following chart, which gives the appropriate complimentary close to use with various salutation
1.7. Signature
The signature is the signed name or mark of the person who writes the letter or the firm which he or she represents. It is written in ink immediately below the complimentary close. To sign with a rubber stamp is a form of discourtesy.
1.8. Notations (记号, 注释)
A number of notations may be included in commercial correspondence. They are special parts of a letter that supply data for the benefit of the writer or for the information of the addressee, or for the use of them both. Some notations are placed near the top of the letter and some near its bottom.
1.8.1. Reference Numbers (文号)
Reference numbers enable replies to be linked with earlier correspondence and ensure that they reach the right person or department without delay. In British style many letterheads provide spaces for references.
INTERCITY BANK Plc
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
58 Jalan Thamrin, Jakarta, Indonesia
Telephone 375018 Telex 6756
Mr. S Basuki Your ref:
Jakarta Furnishings Our ref: PL/fh/246
7 Jalan Arjuna
Jakarta
12 January 1987
Dear Mr Basuki
Office furniture
We are expanding our offices in Jakarta and we will need extra desks, lights, chairs and filing cabinets.
Please send us your catalogue with your prices, sizes and colors for these items.
Yours sincerely
(Signature)
PP. Mr Peter Long
Manager
1.8.2. The Attention Line
The attention line is used when the writer of the letter addressed to a company wishes to get it delivered to the proper department or a particular person.
The attention line always follows the inside address and precedes the salutation, which for such a letter is: Gentlemen or Dear Sirs. It may be typed flush with the left margin, indented five spaces, or centered on the page. It is written either in all capital letters or underlined.
1.8.3. The Subject Line
This special part of a letter is used when the writer wants to magnify the importance of the subject. The subject line always follows the salutation and precedes the body of a letter. It may be typed flush with the left margin indented five spaces, or centered on the page. When both an attention line and a subject line are included in a letter, follow the same typing style for each. The introductory word or phrase (subject or re) is always followed by a colon.
These are notations near the top of the letter. The following are notations near its bottom.
1.8.4. Identification Initials
Identification initials are included on almost all business letters, although they are not required. These initials identify the writer of the letter and the person who typed it. They are mainly for the benefit of the writer and used for administrative purposes. The initials of the signer comes first, in all capital letters, followed by the initials of the typist, seperated either by a slash (/ ) or a colon.
In American style, identification initials are typed flush with the left margin and follow the signature block.
1.8.5. Enclosure
The term----enclosure is self-descriptive. It means the material other than the letter itself is enclosed. A writer who is enclosing anything in the letter should indicate this by using the word enclosure or the abbreviation "Enc”or "Encl”. It follows the identification initials.
1.8.6. Carbon Copy
Copies of the letter may be sent to various people, who need to know about the message even though it doesn't pertain to them directly. These may be carbon copies, but most likely they will be
photocopied. The notations (标识, 标记) ----Copies to, C (copy), CC (carbon copy), PC (photo- copy), or XC (Xerox copy) designate that others are receiving copies.
1.8.7. “Per Pro” Signature
Per Pro or PP is the abbreviation of per procurationem, which is a Latin phrase denoting agency. Strictly speaking, only the partner is entitled to sign the name of his firm, but for convenience authority to sign is often given to a responsible employee by a document known as a power of attorney, though the authority to sign may also arise from custom.
1.8.8. Postscript (附言)
A postscript (P. S.) is an afterthought, and in formal letter it is usually a sign of poor planning. But as a special advice, it has two legitimate functions.
1/. Some executives, to add a personal touch to their typewritten letter, occasionally add a postscript in pen and ink.
2/. Writers of sales letter often withhold one last convincing argument for emphatic inclusion in a postscript. Example:
P. S. ??? to see you at the Annual Sales Meeting at the Hillside Plaza on January 10.
P. S. I understand the special entertainment is great.
2. Formats or Styles of Business Letters
The term format, or style, refers to the way a message is laid out on a page, and the use of underlining and capital letters for emphasis are tools for producing effective formats.
There are several formats of business letters. The following are common today.
2.1. Full Block Style (完全平头式)
It’s said that the style is the most modern one, for it’s very popular in America, and more and more Englishmen and other Europeans are using this style.
In this style, all parts of the letter are placed flush with the left margin and paragraphs are not indented. There are double spaces between them.
Full block style is popular because it is very effective. You can see from the example that this style saves many keystrokes (击键) because the typist can begin entering the information immediately after pressing the return key to get a new line.
2.2. Block Style (平头式)
In this style, the date and reference are on the right while everything else is placed flush with the left margin. The paragraphs start at the left margin and there are double spaces between them. It is modem British style.
2.3. Modified Block Style (改良平头式)
In this style, the date and the closing are on the right. All other parts are placed flush with the left margin, and paragraphs may or may not be indented.
2.4. Semi-indented Style or Semi-block Style with Indented Paragraphs (混合式)
It has long been customary to set a letter out in the semi-indented style or the semi-block style with indented paragraphs. Many people regard it as the most attractive of all letter styles. The blocked inside name and address is liked because it is compact and tidy. This style appeals to most readers. They like the indented paragraphing and claim that it makes for easy reading.
