商务信函应包含的内容：
(1)Letterhead: A letterhead is the heading at the top of a sheet of letter paper.It usually consists of a name and an address, a logo or corporate design, and sometimes a background.A letterhead may also refer to a piece of letter paper imprinted with such a heading.
(2)Date: It includes the accurate year, month and day.
(3)Inside address: The inside address should include the receiver’s name and title, company name, street address, city, state (province), post-code, and country (if necessary).They are typed at the upper left-hand margin of the sheet, starting two to three lines below the last line of the letterhead.
(4)Salutation: It is placed two lines below the inside address.The salutation is “Gentlemen” if the letter is addressed to an organization.In business correspondence, the most commonly used salutation forms are:
Dear Sirs, (British Style)
Gentlemen: (American Style)
Dear Sir,
Dear Madam:
Dear Mr.Brown:
Whether married or unmarried, a woman is always addressed as “Dear Madam”, never as“Dear Miss”.The Americans prefer to use “Gentlemen” while the British use “Dear Sirs”.Even when the firm’s name is the name of a single individual, the salutation of plural form is preferred.
In writing to a firm consisting of both men and women, or even to a firm consisting of women alone, the salutation of “Gentlemen” is preferably used.
The salutation of “Dear Sirs” is followed by a comma and “Gentlemen” is followed by a colon.
(5)Body of the letter: This part is the most important one in business correspondence.The body of the letter generally consists of four essential parts.
① Opening (or Introduction)
The opening is actually the background of the letter.It indicates the referring letter,contract or letter of credit to which response will be made.
② Details
The details refer to the enquiries, problems, requirements, etc.which will be put forth by the letter.Some relative details will be illustrated in this part.
③ Response (or Action)
In this part the expected response or possible decision will be expressed here.
④ Close
In this part a short close must be made politely.Attention must be paid to the keeping of friendly relations between the writer and receiver of the letter.Business development should not be hindered by a discourteous letter close.
In writing the body of the letter you must always ask yourself about the purpose for writing this letter.You must always consider the best ways of accomplishing your hope and conveying your ideas to your correspondent.Try your best to streamline your letter and use short sentences and short paragraphs for giving your correspondent a brief letter to read fast.Start a new paragraph for each point you wish to stress and make your letter to be read easily and clearly and as well inspire the action or response you desire.
(6)Complimentary close: courtesy expressions used when ending the letter.Complimentary close is used to provide the letter with a courteous ending.The correct position for complimentary close is two lines below the body of the letter to the right side of the page, in line with the date block at the top.
In business correspondence, “Yours truly” is the style used most frequently.Here are some more styles which can be used: “Yours sincerely” “Sincerely yours” “Yours faithfully” and“Faithfully yours”.
If continuation sheets are needed, plain paper of the same quality as the letterhead must be used and typed with a heading to show the following:
① The number of the sheet (in the center of the page)
② The name of your correspondent (on the left-hand side)
③ The date of the letter (on the right-hand side)
Example:
(7)Signature: signature of the sender
The signature is the signed name of the person writing the letter.It is signed by hand in black or blue ink.Since the hand-written signature is illegible, the name of the signer should be typed below the signature.The name should be written out in full, as initials may be misleading or confusing.It is common to have the writer’s name typed several lines below the complimentary close, leaving space between for the hand-written signature, followed by one’s job title or position.
If the writer writes the letter for his firm, not for himself, he should type the name of his firm in capital letters below the complimentary close, followed by his signed name right below it.
(8)Postscript When the letter writer forgets to mention or to emphasize something in his letter, he may add his postscript two spaces below the CC notation.For example,P.S.The catalogue will be airmailed to you under separate cover.(www.xing528.com)
However, the adding of a “P.S.” will show that the writer’s letter is lack of good planning and consideration, so the adding of a “P.S.” should be avoided as best as one can.
商务信函的形式：
商务信函基本上有三种形式。
（1） Block Style（齐头式）
除了信纸的信头（letterhead）已印制于公司专用信纸的中央顶端，其他各行均从左边顶格写。
（2） Semi-block Style（混合式）
又称“Modified Block Style with Indented Paragraphs”。
混合式把日期（date）和参照号（references）的位置固定在右边，以方便归档和检索工作的进行；结尾语（complimentary closing）、签名（signature）及打印的名字（typed name）同信纸的信头（letterhead）一起放中间，其余部分从左边顶格写。
（3） Indented Style（缩行式）
缩行式可以选择以上两者任意一个形式，只有正文（main body）部分起头处向内缩五六个空格。
以下为这三种直观形式：
a.Block Style（齐头式）
Example:
b.Semi-block Style（混合式）
Example:
c.Indented Style（缩行式）
Example:
商务信函写作时应注意的要点：
The following seven principles all begin with the letter “C”, so we can call them the“7Cs”：
1.Consideration
In preparing every piece of information and before taking every step, you must always keep your reader in mind.There is an old saying, “Put yourself into the reader’s shoes.” It means that you must always show your consideration for your correspondents.
2.Courtesy
When writing to your correspondents, it is necessary for you not only to be polite, but also to be sincere, tactful, thoughtful and appreciative.It is also a kind of courtesy for the tradesmen to answer the letters and the enquiries promptly.Any delay in dealing with the matters is discourteous.
3.Clarity
The writer should express his aims, ideas and requirements clearly not only by distinct and understandable wordings, but also by correct phrases, tenses, voices and sentence structures in order not to be misunderstood or misinterpreted.Writing letters to and fro for enquiring about the same thing will make you miss business opportunities.
4.Conciseness
A letter written with wordiness or redundancy will not be welcomed in the business circle.The business field is just like a battle field.The aim of doing business is to gain profits from fighting a quick battle to force a quick decision in winning over the business opportunities.In writing letters, the sentences you use must be brief and to the point.
5.Concreteness
The enquiries of others about something and your answers to the others’ letters must be made with reality and concreteness.Any ambiguous and vague words must not be used and the information must be supplied with definiteness and concreteness.
6.Completeness
The business letters must consist of complete and intact information.The incomplete information will fail to enable the tradesmen to seize the business opportunities of doing mutually beneficial trades.
7.Correctness
In spite of holding some important and beneficial information in hand, lacking correct skills and certain level to express it in writing will make you unable to achieve your aim of conveying the business opportunities to others.Therefore, it is very important for you to study well the English grammar and syntax to achieve this goal.Whenever you are writing letters,faxing or e-mailing, you must check the typing of figures, types, specifications, etc.again and again before sending them out in order not to make any mistakes which will be unfavorable for your business.
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