實用英語寫作技巧之 三十三 英文書信寫作English Letter Writing

33.1 Introduction

　　Letter writing tests the English letter writing skill of the examinees.In this unit，we are going to focus on different types of letter writing，their form and language.We will also give you some advice on how to write an effective English letter.

　　33.2 Type of letters（信的類型）

　　English letters are generally divided into two types：

　　a.personal letters個人書信

　　b.business letters事務書信

　　33.3 Form（格式）

　　An English letter usually consists of six parts：heading（信頭），inside address（收信人地址），salutation（稱呼），body（信主躰），complimentary close（結尾客套語）and signature（署名）。

　　1）Heading：In the upper right hand corner of the first page，write your full address and the date.

　　2）Inside Address：On the left side，above the salutation，put the name and full address of the addressee.However，this is often omitted in personal letters.

　　3）Salutation：The greeting to the addressee，written flush with the left margin，two spaces below the inside address.A comma follows the salutation in a personal letter；in a business letter，it is followed by a colon（：）。Besides，in personal letters，first names are usually used，while in business letters，the surnames are used.

　　4）Body：The contents of the letter.

　　5）Complimentary Close：The closing of a letter.

　　The conventional complimentary closes in business letters are：“Yours truly，”“Yours sincerely，”“Sincerely yours，”“Sincerely，”“Cordially yours，”“Yours cordially，”etc.

　　The close of a personal letter is of a more free choice.“Yours，”Affectionately，“Fondly，”“Yours with love，”“Love，”“With best wishes，”etc.

　　6）Signature：Put your name（always handwritten）。

　　The table below will give you a more visual presentation of the letter form：

　　33.4 Language（語言）

　　The style and tone of a personal letter（個人書信的寫作風格和筆調）differ from those of a business letter.While the former is casual（隨便自然），the latter is formal（正槼）。A business letter should be polite in tone（筆調客氣），exact and concise in wording（選詞精確、恰儅）。However，for either of them，the style should be clear and direct（清晰、達意）。Also，paragraphs in business letters tend to be short.The first and last paragraphs are usually single-sentence paragraphs.

　　33.5 Advice on How to Write English Letters in CET—4Exams

　　1）Carefully read the directions and the requirements，distinguish the type of the letter：a personal letter or a business letter.

　　2）Be clear about the purpose of the writing，and what you are to express in the letter.

　　3）Write according to the appropriate form.Pay attention to the different writing requirements of a personal and business letter.

　　4）Try to be clear，direct，concise in your writing，avoiding too many complimentary words.

　　Model of a Business Letter：

　　Department of Computer Science

　　Southeast University

　　Nanjing，Jiangsu Province 210025

　　People's Republic of China

　　February 8，1996

　　Office of Foreign Students

　　Yale University

　　New Haven，Connecticut，06520

　　U.S.A.

　　Dear Sir/Madame：

　　I am a senior at the Department of Computer Science，Southeast University，expecting to graduate in July this year.I am writing to inquire about the possibility of being enrolled in your university as a graduate student as of September，1994.

　　In the past three years，I have majored in Computer Science.Presently，I am doing my graduation project.Enclosed is the transcript of all the subjects which I have so far completed at my university.I received an excellent score in the College English Test Band-Six（CET-6）sponsored by the Educational Commission of China and therefore my knowledge of English is adequate for me to continue my studies in the U.S.A.

　　Please send me information on admission to your univetsity.As I have no relatives in the U.S.A.，I would also like to know about the procedures for applying for finacial aid.

　　Thank you very much.I look forward to hearing from you soon.

　　Yours sincerely，

　　（Mr.）Zhang Hua

　　Writing Assignment for Unit 33

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