商业信的组成要素和格式.docx

The elements of a business letter: Letterhead: takes the topmost part of the letter. Tells where the letter comes from and gives the receiver the first and also the most important impression. A letterhead always contains the company’s name, fax number, internet address, e-mail address, etc. Sometimes a trademark or brief slogan is used too. Reference: Big companies have to deal with a lot of letters every day. Therefore, it is necessary to classify them according to subject, persons, or time sequence. In this way, it is easier to find a letter you want. Reference line also helps to link the letter with earlier correspondence. E.g.: Your ref: CNN/011 Our ref: 12345/XY Date: Date is quite important for business deals. The kind of date we should avoid is the one consisting of pure numbers, such as 10/3/2002. Do not use abbreviations for months. 23 December 2002 (British ), December 23 2002 (American). The date can be aligned with the left or right margin below the letterhead. This is according to different rules of di fferent formats. Inside address: the inside address tells us clearly the destination of the letter. We include the address in the letter although it already appears on the envelope, because the envelope is usually thrown away. The inside address is usually put two lines under the date line, aligned with the left margin. The order of the inside address is the same with that on the envelope. Attention Line: Usually, when the inside address doesn’t contain the individual’s name, attention line is used to name the specific person the letter is addressed to. E.g.: Attention: Mr. Paul Myers Salutation: A salutation is a greeting to the addressee. If we do not know the addressee’s name, we can use “ Dear Sir or Dear Madam”. If you don’ t know whom to send this letter to, you can write: “To whom this may concern”. When a company addresses another, British people often use “ Dear Sir or Dear Sirs”, while American people use “ Gentlemen” and do n