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| "3. Seven Principles of Business Correspondence Writing 撰写函电的 7C 原则 A good business correspondence is brief, straightforward and polite. If possible, it should be limited to one page. ？ The following principles should be involved in formal business correspondence. (1) completeness 完整 A business letter should include all the necessary information you intend to send. All the questions the reader asked should be answered because those are the matter he is concerned a?bout and interested in. The complete letters can make us obtain the expected effect and with no other writing a letter, to build better corporate reputation. So it is essential to check the mes?sage carefully before it is sent out. (2) concreteness 具体 Make the message specific, definite and vivid. What the letter comes to should be specific, definite rather than vague, abstract and general. ？ For example, some qualities or characters of goods should be shown with exact figures instead of words like short, long or good. ？ Give specific time (with date, month, year and even offer hour, minute if necessary) . ？ But avoid expressions such as yesterday, next month, immediately and etc. (3) clarity 清楚 The writer must try to express his meaning clearly so that the reader will understand it well. The writer should do as follows: ？ Apply the KISS formula — “Keep It Short and Simple” . ？ Choose short, familiar, conversational words. ？ Avoid unfamiliar words, abbreviations, or slang to make the messages easy to understand, e. g. : It’s better to say “ after”, “ use” and “ January”, instead of “ subsequently”, “utilize” and “Jan. ” . ？ Use short sentences. Short sentences lead to clear meaning and easy understanding. The average sentence length is about 17 ~ 20 words. You can use sentences containing 3 ~ 40 words. If there are more than 40 words in a sentence, you can consider rewriting it into more than one sentence. ？ Have paragraphs of suitable length. In business writing, it is suitable for paragraphs to be less than 8 lines. If a paragraph is too long, it may make the main idea unclear and lead to a loose structure. ？ Make ideas clear. ？ Put one idea in a sentence, put one topic in a paragraph, and put one subject in a letter. (4) conciseness 简洁 A good business letter should be precise and to the point. Avoid wordy languages and redundancy, or repetition and eliminate excessive detail: ？ Shorten or omit wordy expressions. ？ Include only relevant statements. ？ Avoid unnecessary long sentences, relative pronouns, abstract subjects and passive verbs. (5) courtesy 礼貌 Avoid irritating, offensive, or belittling statements and answer letters promptly. Answer letters in good time and write to explain why if you fail to do it promptly. Even if you don’t think the recipient is right, you should still respond tactfully and politely. (6) consideration 体谅 |