Part 1　Introduction of Business Letter

Business letters are written in formal style between business organizations, business organizations and customers to get or convey business information, to make or accept an offer, to deal with various businesses.

Nowadays, with the rapid economical development, China’s position on the international stage is getting more and more important. When our foreign trade is booming and foreign-related economic activities are increasing frequently, English for business correspondence are used in more and more areas, such as establishing business relations, enquiry, offer, contract, packing, shipment, insurance and so on. It could be sent by letter, telegram, telex, fax and e-mail.

It is taken for granted that the language in business letters belongs to English for specific purpose (ESP). Because English for business correspondence is a combination of business knowledge and English, its language has distinct industrial features and unique style. It is made up of three elements: background knowledge of business, language in business settings and business communication skills. English in background knowledge of business involves the capability of word, sentence, section, pronunciation and tone. Language in particular circumstances lies on the rest elements. The contents of business decide the specialized vocabulary while business communication skills decide the sentence pattern, section structure, style, intonation and language rhythm changes.

As one of the ESP courses, English for business correspondence has its special linguistic and stylistic features. The purpose for business correspondence is to write in English. To write a good or bad business letter depends on whether the user has mastered the natures of this language or not. A good business letter can play an important role in trade to enhance mutual understanding and trust, and strengthen exchange and cooperation.

So before you start to learn this course, you’d better master some knowledge, especially for practice in foreign trade and higher standard English. Then you should know well some principles for a good business letter as follows.