Business English

Writing
Elements of a Good Business Letter
I. What is a business letter
for?
 for a specific purpose.
 e.g.
 sales letter
 request letter
 response letter
 etc.

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That means the functions of BL
are
1. To influence reader’s attitudes & actions
2. To inform
3. To entertain the readers

In all, the functions of BLs are to keep

business going smoothly,efficiently,
productively.

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Principles of a Good BL
 Five C’s
1. Clarity
2. Conciseness
3. Courtesy
4. Completeness
5. Correctness

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What is Clarity
 What you say should be clear & easily
understood.

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What is Conciseness
 The words you write should give only the
information that is necessary & important,
using few words.

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What is Courtesy
The way you write should be polite.
 You should post your letter on/ in time.

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What is Completeness
 Your letter should provide all the
information & data necessary for what you
talk about.

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What is Correctness
 There should not be any mistake in your
letter. Neither language nor data.

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The purpose of BL is
To make a favorable impression on their
customers;
 To work in an efficient way.

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II. The layout of a BL
A letter should contains:
1. The heading,
2. The inside address,
3. The salutation,
4. The body,
5. The closing,
6. Signature.
Heading
1. Can be omitted in an informal letter
2. Should not be omitted in a formal letter
 Printed at the top of the stationary
 Consisted of the letterhead & date

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The Inside Address
 The inside (the receiver’s) address is written
at the left below the heading, including the
name of the receiver, the address, the postal
code,etc.

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The Salutation
 Should be typed at the left below the inside
address. They are:
 Dear Mr./ Mrs./ Ms./ Miss/ Sir/ Madam,
etc.
 Dear Mr. +family name
 Dear +first name

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The body of the letter
 Principles:
1. Write clearly & to the point;
2. Be sincere, polite & thoughtful;
3. Use an appropriate tone & style;
4. Write naturally & avoid jargons;
5. Make sure you make no grammatical
mistakes
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Function of the Paragraphs
 Paragraph 1:
 To review the previous topic
 To introduce the topic you’re going to deal
with
 To make some relationship with the reader
you want to

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 Paragraph 2( or more than one paragraphs)
 To provide the information you want to deal
with or the reader needs to know---- it is the
most important section of the BL.

 At the end of this section the writer should

give a statement that the reader should take
an action or the writer may take.

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The End of the Body
 Best Wishes
 Good Luck
 Thank you for your cooperation
 We look forward to hearing from you
 etc.

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