Chapter Four Letter writing

1、 -letters are important means of communication. good letter-writing skills involve appropriate use of language, good organization of content and appropriate style and tone.-according to the different purposes of writing, letters may be classified into two main types: social correspondence and busine

2、ss letters.i the layout of a letterthe heading;the inside address;the salutation;the body;the complimentary close;the signature.part 1: the heading 1. the parts of the heading: -the full address of the writer and the date of the letter 2. the location of the heading: -in the top right-hand corner (b

3、locked or indented style) or the top left hand corner (often in block style); 3. the punctuation: -it may or may not have end punctuation it may or may not have end punctuation (americans do not use any punctuation, but the (americans do not use any punctuation, but the british usually use a comma a

4、fter each line and a british usually use a comma after each line and a period after the last line).period after the last line). 4. special occasion -for letter-head stationery is used, the writer only needs to put the date below the printed matter-two or three spaces below the printed matter.5. arra

5、ngement of the address in the heading:-first line: the house number, the name of the street or road -second line: the name of the town or city, the name of the state or province, the postal code (second line);-last line: the name of the country 6. the date of the letter: -it can be the last line of

6、the heading or two spaces below the address january 15, 1997 or january 15th, 1997 15 january, 1997 or 15th january, 1997 15 january 1997 or 15th january 1997 here are two examples of the heading: 平頭式（平頭式（block style）: 1575 oak avenue, apt.75 evanston, illinois 60201 u.s.a. oct.7, 2000縮行式縮行式(indente

7、d style): foreign languages department, east china normal university, shanghai, 200062, p.r.china, 8 nov., 2000. my address: room 915, foreign languages department, heilongjiang institute of science and technology,#1 tangchang street, songbei district,harbin, heilongjiang 150027,p.r.china,25 feb., 2

8、008. (note: if there are too many words in one item, arrange them on two or more lines but indent them. ) part 2: the inside address 1. parts of it: -full name with title and full address of the person you are writing to; 2. location: -it should be below the date line against the left margin.3. the

9、acceptable abbreviations: 1) before the name: mr. (pl. messers) mrs. (pl. mmes.) miss ms. dr. e.g. mr. john smith / prof. john smith / dr. mark brown miss elizabeth henry 2) after the name: jr. sr. esq. ph.d. e.g. henry barker, esq. (英) 亨利.巴克先生 jack horn, jr./ paul harvey,sr. william kramer, ph.d. 4

10、. how to address your letter: a. if you know the receiver -use full name and title e.g. mr. james allen b. if you are not sure of the receiver -use the name of the organization concerned e.g. harper & giant ltd. c. if you write to certain person but dont know his or her name -use the occupational ti

11、tle e.g. the sales manager the director the secretary an example of inside address: mr. james allen executive secretary to the chairman martin & simmons, inc. 234 commonwealth avenue boston, ma 23456 u. s. a.part 3: the salutation1.the definition -greeting to your addressee2. location -two spaces be

12、low and should be in line with the inside address3. what to put -the word “dear” is used to begin the salutation. first name, surname or full name (with or without title) of the addressee can be used according to your relationship with the recipient.4. punctuation -comma or colon should be put after

13、 the salutatione.g. 1: dear mary, dear smith, dear mary smith, dear ms. smith, dear ms. mary smith, e.g. 2: dear prof. black dear dr. henry white dear sir or dear madam (if you dont know the name) dear sir or madam (if you dont know the sex of your addressee) to whom it may concern (usually for refe

14、rence letter, recommendation letter, expertise report, etc.)part 4: the body location 1) two spaces below the salutation 2) indented (five letters to the right) or block style 3) single-spaced within paragraph double-spaced between paragraphspart 5: the complimentary closethe closing of a business l

15、ettercomplimentary closesignaturethe typed name1.location -two spaces or so below the body of the letter on the right-hand side or left-hand side or in the center of the page2. punctuation -a comma after the close3. first letter should be capitalized.4. the conventional complimentary closes: 1) in b

16、usiness letters: yours truly, truly yours, yours sincerely, sincerely yours, respectfully, faithfully, etc. 2) in personal letters: yours affectionately, lovingly yours, yours with love, with best wishes , etc.part 6 the signature1. put it between the complimentary close and the typed name.2. use pi

17、nyin spelling or chinese characters in ink.3. sign your full name for business letters, your full name or your given name or even a nickname for personal letters.note: besides the six essential parts, a letter may also include some other items.1) encloure(s) or enc(s). or encl(s). -signifies that th

18、e writer encloses some material in the envelope. e.g. encl.：2 photos encs. : two letters of recommendation one application form one resume2) p.s. -signifies the addition e.g. p.s. please send all the material by air mail. ii what to put on the envolope? a. the full name and the complete address of the receiver in the center of the envolope; b. the return address (the writers name and address) is written in the top left-hand corner of the envelope; c. stamps are put in the top right-hand corner iii exer