实用英语写作理论

Chapter one—Principles of Business Communication

4C原则：Conciseness(简洁), Clarity（明晰）, Correctness（准确），Courtesy(礼貌)

Effective written workplace communication needs to show:

● A style which is clear and concise（conciseness, clarity）

● A tone which is polite but not overly modest (courtesy)

● A presentation which contains no errors of format and language (correctness) Workplace writing types:

●Informative writing: inform the reader about a product or service

The aim is to improve understanding.

●Persuasive writing: persuade the reader that this product or service is a good one

and worth buying

The aim is to stimulate emotions and develop enthusiasm.

Levels of formality in business communication:

●Bottom-up communication:

To a superior=more formal

●Top-down communication:

From a superior=more formal

●Sideways communication:

To and from people of same rank=less formal

Chapter two—Writing Memos

Memos writing guidelines:

A memo (memorandum) is an administrative document. It

●Is used only for communication within a company. It is an intra-company

document and is not used for inter-company communication

●May be distributed top-down ( from superiors to subordinates) or bottom-up

( from subordinates to superiors)

●Deal with a single topic

●Names its sender(s) and recipient(s) clearly

●Has short, easily readable paragraphs

●May have sub-headings and numbered sub-sections

●May be distributed electronically or in hard copy

Using the right language is not only a question of selecting correct vocabulary and grammar. Speakers and writing also need to take into account:

●who they are addressing( the audience)

●why they are speaking or writing( the purpose)

●how they are communicating( the method)

Using formal language increase the ‘social distance’between a sender and a recipient. Informal language reduces this distance.

Chapter three—Writing Letters of Request

Letters of request are written to seek information or to obtain a response to a specific enquiry.

Letters responding to requests give information but also attempt to build goodwill.

These letters are all written in block format, which is now the most common format for such letters. As you can see, the main feature of this format is that everything (with the possible exception of the company’s letterhead and logo) is blocked or justified to the left side of the page. With this style, it is not necessary to use commas or full stops in the date, address, salutation, or close.

Guidelines for writing request and response letters:

●Subject line: write a suitable subject line to identify previous correspondence

●Salutation: if you know the name of your recipient, begin Dear Mr. or Ms. X and

close Yours sincerely; if you do not know the recipient or their gender, begin Dear Sir/Madam and close Yours faithfully.

●Body of letter: order information logically, explain and clarify it, provide

additional information if appropriate.

●Close: end in a polite and friendly way to maintain goodwill.

Chapter four—writing letters of complaint and adjustment Letters of complaint normally include the following information in the given order: ●An explanation of the problem

●The consequence of the problem for both parties

● A request to solve the problem

Letters of adjustment normally include the following information in the given order:

●An offer of apologies

● A summary of action taken to rectify the problems

●An assurance of goodwill including the offer of compensation, if appropriate

Chapter eight—applying for jobs

Application letters highlight important information which may be ‘lost’in a resume. Job application letters have a logical structure in which the information is selected and positioned to emphasize your suitability for the post. Remember to check the following:

●state clearly what job you are applying for

●state what your educational qualifications are and where they were obtained

●sell yourself by linking your qualifications, experience and qualities with those

required for the position

●state your contact details and availability for interview

The functions of a resume:

●It gives information about your personal status, your education/qualifications,

your work record(including part-time or voluntary/charity work), any special awards, special interests, computer and language proficiency levels, and the names and addresses of referees;