[Lesson1.pptVIP

Lesson 1Letters Ⅰ. Overview A. Principle of 3 C’s International shipping business letter writing is an important part of business activities. Despite the great advances made in the area of telecommunication, the letter still remains one of the most personal, economical and effective methods of written communication. Because a letter and its reply can make a written contract, it is often used to take the place of personal calls and telephone calls even when the two parties are in the same city. Therefore, a letter must be written in accordance with the principle of three C’s, that is, clearness, conciseness, and courtesy. B. Main Parts of a Business Letter A typical English business letter generally consists of the following eight main parts: 1. The heading (Letterhead) is printed in the top center or at the top left margin of a letter, containing all the necessary information on the writer’s name, address, postcode, telephone number, telex number, fax number and e-mail address. (P6) 2. The date should be typed all in one line and below the heading. The format of the date line differs from nation to nation. The common ones are M/D/Y (typical American) and D/M/Y (typical British). Because of the different usage in the United States and in Britain, the month should be spelt out in full without using figures or abbreviations for it in order to avoid any possible confusion. For example, 5,10,2008 means May 10, 2008 in the United States and October 5, 2008 in Britain. 3. Inside name and address refers to the name and address of the receiver and should be typed two or four lines spaces below the date and above the salutation at the left margin. It usually consists of the receiver’s name, and detailed address such as house or building number, the street, the city, the state or the province, the postcode and the country. This part exactly appears on the envelope but cannot be omitted as the letter will be filed later for the completeness of the documents.