《商务英语》讲义厦门大学2012年第一学期

AnOverviewofBusinessWriting商务

英语写作概论Objectives:Understandtheimportanceforbusinesspeopletohaveagoodcommandofmodernbusinessskills;Identifyfunctionsofbusinesswritings;Knowthecharacteristicsofgoodbusinesswriting;Appreciatewhycourtesyislistedasanimportantfactorinbusinesswriting;Fellthedifferencesbetweenagoodwritingandapoorwriting.AdaptationandSelectionofWords适应读者合理选词Objectives:Discusswhyadaptationissoimportantinbusinesswriting;Identifytheusualprocedurestofollowinadaptingyourmessage;SatisfyyouraudienceJsneedsindifferentcircumstancesinbusinesswritings;Masterthegeneralprinciplesofselectingtherightwords;Avoidimproperwordsundervariouscircumstances.ConstructionofEffectiveSentencesandParagraphs有效地组织句子和段落Objectives:describehowsentencelengthandsentencedesignarerelatedtoadaptation;discusstheeffectofsentencelengthonemphasis;explaintheprincipalcausesofunityinsentence,paragraphandlongerunitsofwritings;identifyredundancy;understandtheimportanceoftopicsentence.WritingforEffects商务写作的特殊技巧Objectives:discusswhateffectsyouneedtocommunicateinbusinesswritingandwhy;analyzetheessenceofyou-view-point;identifyoldlanguageofbusiness;discussthemajortransitionaldevices;explainthedirectorderanditswritingstrategies;determinewhichsituationsrequireusingtheindirectorderandwhatstrategiestotakeinindirectorder;discusswhatelementsofalettercanhelpbuildgoodwill.TheStructureandStyleofBusinessLetters商务书信的结构与格式Objectives:namethesevenessentialpartsofabusinessletter;namethesixspecializedpartsofabusinessletter;knowthelayoutoftheenvelope;knowthedesignandplacementofabusinessletter;understandthepunctuationstyles;understanddifferentstylesofabusinessletter.Invitationsandthank-youletter邀请函和感谢信Objectives:understandthegeneralstructureofinvitationsandthank-youletters;applythegeneralstructureinwringinvitationsletters;identifysituationinwhichdifferentspecialgoodwilllettersarewritten;applydifferenttechniquestospecialgoodwillmessages.NotesandAnnouncements便条与通知Objectives:applythebasicprinciplesofclearwritinginnotesandannounments;identifythesuggestedplanusedinpreparingnotesforleave;identifytheplanusedinlettersofresigation;identifytheindispensablequalitiesoflettersofcongratulation;identifythesuggestedplanusedincondolenceletters;discusstheeffectivewaystocomposeannouncements.LettersofApplication申请信Objectives:explainwhyitisimportantforyoutowriteagoodresume;determinewhatsectionsshouldbeincludedinaresumeandwhatelementsshouldbeemphasized;distinguishthefourdifferentkindsofresumesandselectmostappropriateoneforthespecificsituation;usetheguidelineswhenyouwritearesume;writeaneffectiveresume;formatyourresumeinanacceptableway.Resume简历Objectives;explaintheimportanceofresumeletters;determinewhatshouldbeincludedinaresumeletterandwhatelementsshouldbeemphasized;distinguishthetwodifferentkindsofresumelettersandselectmostappropriateoneforthespecificsituation;usetheguidelineswhenyouwritearesumeletter;writeaeffectiveresumeletter;formatyourresumeletterinanacceptableway.recommendationletters推荐信Objectives;explaintheimportanceofrecommendationletters;determinewhatshouldbeincludedinarecommendationletterandwhatelementsshouldbeemphasized;distinguishthetwodifferentkindsofrecommendationlettersandselectmostappropriateoneforthespecificsituation;usetheguidelineswhenyouwritearecommendationletter;writeaeffectiverecommendationletter;formatyourresumeletterinanacceptableway.Memorandum,Informal,ShortReports备忘求与非正式的短篇报告Objectives:describlethefunctionsofmemorandum;identifytheformatofmemorandum;tellthedifferencesbetweenformalandinformalreports;discussthecharacteristicsofshorterreportsandkindsofshortreportsinworkplace;writememorandumsandshortreportsundertheguidanceofyourinstructors.ProposalandFormalReports意向书与正式报告objectiveslbgiveabriefintroductiontowhatisaProposalandareport;awareofthesamplesfornotesandstudythem;Tbpracticeusingtheusefulwordsandexpressions.EstablishingBusinessRelations建立业务关系Objectives:understandthenecessityofwritinglettersofestablishingbusinessrelations;knowthecharacteristicsofwritinglettersofestablishingbusinessrelations;tellthedifferencebetweenagoodletterandapoorone.InquiriesandRequests日常询函Objectives:identifythecharacteristicsofinquiresandrequests;befamiliarwiththeformatandstyleofrequests;writerarequestforinformation,catalog,product,serviceandetc.;composeeffectiverequestsforinformationoraction.Replies回复函Objectives:knowthegeneralstructureofneutralandpositivemessages;writeletterssayingyestoinquires;writeeffectivereplies;conveyunsolicitedinformationalmessagesclearlyandcompletely.DecliningaCounteroffer拒绝还盘Objectives:identifythetypesofnegativemessages;explainthefeaturesoftheindirectorganizationalplanandknowwhenitshouldbeusedtoconveynegativenews;selectadistributionmethodappropriatetomessagesthatconveynegativenews.Orders订单Objectives:knowthebasicstructuresofwritingorders;makesurewhatinformationshouldbeincludedinaorderletter;understandtheimportanceoftheopeningtotheorderletter;toshowyourappreciationtothesenderinaproperway.ComplaintsandClaims投诉与索赔Objectives:identifythecharacteristicsofthedirectapproachofwritingcomplaintsandclaims;understandthegeneralstructureofwritingcomplaintsandclaims;knowhowtostatetheproblemdirectly,giveenoughfactsandendpositively.AdjustmentstoClaimLetters索赔复函Objectives:identifythecharacteristicsofadjustmentstoclaimletters;understandthegeneralstructureofadjustmentstoclaimletters;applythegeneralstructureinadjustmentstoclaimletters.UrgingEstablishmentofLetterofCredit催证Objectives:identifythecharacteristicsofurgingestablishmentofL/C;understandthegeneralstructureofurgingestablishmentofL/C;applythegeneralstructureinurgingestalishmentofL/C.《商务英语》教学大纲ー、课程的重要性随着中国经济国际化的步伐加快,给商务英语教学带来了机遇的同时,也带来了挑战。英语在商务上的应用,远远超越贸易领域,渗透到经济生活的各个方面。商务英语写作能力也就成为国际商务人员走向成功的关键之ー。商务英语写作是ー门应用性极强的英语课程,作为经济学领域的学生教学的补充和扩展,得到学生和企业的普遍欢迎。商务英语写作不仅提高了我校学生在职场中的竞争力,也满足了社会,尤其是应对国际竞争形势的需求。二、课程介绍(一)课程的重点和难点在于帮助学生培养自己的写作习惯、写作方法、写作技巧,打造自主学习能力;打好扎实的商务语言基础:注重和培养跨文化交际意识,全面提高学生的语言综合运用能力;以英语为工具,深入钻研了解自己专业的学术前沿和实际业务,进而为专业英语的学习打下坚实基础。商务英语写作课程教学难点有:经贸英语词汇、经贸英语函电套语以及格式;有关经贸业务知识。在于利用较少学时提高学生语言综合运用能力,尤其是将商务英语写作技巧、指导原则与有关商务知识和经验有机结合和灵活运用的能力,不断英语思维能力、英汉转换能力和写作能力；增强学生的创新能力和自主学习能力,分析问题和解决问题的能力,尤其是学生的分析创造能力和判断能力。(-)教材为了使学生具有较强的英语综合写作和应用能力,本课程目前使用的《现代商务英语写作》教材,由胡英坤教授主编,并由外语届权威出版社外语教学与研究出版社出版,被列入高等学校英语拓展系列教程商务英语类教材,也是教育部大学外语推荐教材,并于2007年被评为教育部“十一五”规划教材,在国内同类教材中处于领先地位。《商务英语》网络课程资源建设基本完成,其中的网络课件和教学堂件对教材内容进行了丰富和补充,并提供了大量的课内、课外练习和案例,供学生自主学习使用。课程教学除涵盖一般的商务交易往来函信,还包括求职信函写作、公共关系函信写作、商务报告、意向书、商务报告等商务应用文。另外补充了很多商务专业知识,以拓展学生的专业知识。除了学习内容更有新意、更体现时代气息之外,教学手段、教学方法、教学模式都在不断创新和进ー步优化,课堂教学采用PPT课件,并结合多媒体技术和网络资源建设,全方位来培养学生的商务英语写作能力。三、课程的教学目标通过本课程的学习,商务英语写作的教学目标是:在英语专业基础知识和基本技能方面已经得到强化和提高,并且在学生已学完或正在学习与商务英语写作的内容密切相关的“国际贸易实务”等课程的基础上,了解经贸英语函电的英语知识和有关经贸业务知识,对学生进行严格的阅读、翻译、写作等基本技能训练,培养学生实际运用语言的能力和独立工作能力。学生通过本课程的学习和训练,将了解现代国际商务书面交际的规律和特点,掌握国际商务写作的原则和技巧,同时了解读者的商业心理和心理接受过程以及文化差异在书面交际中的作用,熟练掌握国际商务交际的原则和技巧、语言和行文特点,全面培养和提高商务英语书面交际能力,熟练并有效地起草文体得当、表达准确和语言效果良好的各种商务英语应用文,成功地达到国际商务交际的目的,同时具备较强综合分析能力和解决问题能力,成长为综合素质较高的高层次应用型国际化的复合型人才。四、学习方法商务英语写作具体体现了学生应用语言的实际能力,既强调专业的基础知识,又重视英语语言的应用能力。商务英语写作是交互式的情境交际,拥有强烈的语境标志。(一)掌握专业词句所谓基本词汇和基本句型应与高级经贸英语课和高级经贸口语课的基本词汇和基本句型相互渗透,相辅相成。所以学生要准确理解课文,必须弄懂ー笔交易的来龙去脉,做到ー丝不苟,掌握如何准确的表达各种商务环境的情景。要熟悉课文。(-)案例分析学生可以通过案例分将内容、对象、语言、知识等多种要素结合在ー起的情境,进行创造性的学习,培养学习的热情和兴趣。学生在案例分析和讨论中综合运用自己的商务知识和英语能力,写出具有实际内容和针对性强的文章,锻炼运用商务英语写作手段处理实际问题的能力。（三）情景模拟学生可以通过模拟商务情景和案例,确定各类商务文书的写作任务,学习不同类型的商务文书的写作格式和规范、了解它们在商务活动中所起的作用、熟悉各种文体的写作风格,进而起草通俗易懂、简明完整、清楚正确的商务文书,建立有效的沟通,实现从理论到实践,再从实践到理论的提升,提高学生分析问题和解决问题的能力。（四）大量练习商务英语写作是实践性很强的课程。要提高写作熟练程度需要通过大量的接近现实生活的活动,使学生在学中做,在做中学,强化知识和技能。要写出规范、得体和有效的商务信函和文件,需要进行大量的练习。五、课程特点（一）以学生为中心在创新的教学模式下,采用“以学生为中心的互动式教学方法”，提高了学生对英语学习的兴趣,同时课堂教学做到尽可能地接近真实语境,有效地培养了学生的语用能力。学生需要跟各个层次和行业的人士进行沟通,在此过程中,学生自觉主动思考如何将商务文化与商务理念贯穿于实践中,从而培养了学生自主学习的能力。另ー方面,外延模式的操作形式使学生感受到极具挑战性,也很大程度上激发了他们的学习兴趣和热情。（二）教学模式灵活多样基于计算机/网络的教学与课堂教学相结合,能激发学生扩展性学习。采用启发式、讨论式、研究式的教学,注重培养学生获得知识的能力及创新精神。“案例教学与情景教学相结合”等方法得到广泛应用,并已取得较好的教学效果。这种教学模式打破了课堂灌输的传统模式,突破了传统教学的局限性,不仅有益于对课堂教学内容的巩固,还能很快检验课堂教学的效果,促使教学双方及时检讨课堂所学与现实操作的差距。六、课程内容商务英语写作课程体系共分20章,总讲授课时30学时。教学内容分三大部分,内容包括:第一部分（1一4章）商务写作的基本原则和技巧;第二部分（5—12章）商务信函写作一理论结合实例阐述和说明各种信函（社交书信、申请信、简历、推荐信、通知、便条等）的写作原则和方法,报告写作,介绍较短的非正式报告（备忘录、意向书及其他非正式报告）和正式报告等:第三部分（13—20章），商务函电。其中,第一部分是基础知识,用10%的时间掌握基本的原则和技巧；第二部分是各种商务信函（重点）,用30%的时间要学会使用；第三部分（重点中的重点）,要求用60%的时间掌握商务流程的背景知识,熟识各种商务信函的应用。

学时分配表教学内容学时标题第一章1.5商务写作概述第二章1.5适应读者合理选词第三章1.5有效地组织句子和段落第四章1.5商务写作的特殊技巧A/r-T--?^一弟九早1.5商务书信的结构与格式第六章2邀请函与感谢信第七章1.5便条与通知第八章1.5申请信第九章1简历第十章1.5推荐信第H^一・章1.5备忘录与非正式的短篇报告第十二章1.5意向书与正式报告第十三章1.5建立业务关系第十四章1.5日常询函第卜五章1.5回复函第十六章2拒绝还盘第十七章1订单第十八章1.5投诉与索赔第十九章1索赔复函第二十章2催证Chapter1AnOverviewofBusinessWriting商务英语写作概论IFunctionsofBusinessWritingEverybusinessmessageisdesignedtoachieveaspecificbusinessobjective.Itssuccessdependsonwhatitsaysandtowhatextentitinducesafavorableresponsefromthereader.Thus,businesswritinghasthreefunctions:toinformMessagestoinformareusedtoconveythevastamountofinformationneededtocompletetheday-to-dayoperationsofthebusiness—explaininstructionstoemployees,announcemeetingsandprocedures,acknowledgeorders,acceptcontractsforservices,etc.Themajorpurposeofmostofthesemessagesistohavethereceiverunderstandabodyofinformationandconcentrateonthelogicalpresentationofthecontent.toinfluenceInadditiontoprovidinginformation,abusinessmessagemustalsoinfluencethereader'sattitudesandactions.Thesemessagesmightincludeletterspromotingaproductorserviceandseekingsupportforideasandworthycausespresentedtosupervisors,stockholders,customers/clients,andothers.toentertainTosecurethedesiredresponse,itisnecessarytohaveanadequateknowledgeoftheEnglishlanguageandanunderstandingofhumannature.Thewritershouldhaveanacquaintancewiththeparticularinterestand,ifpossible,theemotionsofthereader.Itseemseasyenough,forexample,toaskpaymentofabill,butitisquitedifficulttosecurepaymentwithoutoffendingthereaderandlosinghisorherfuturepatronage.Nocommunicationiswhollysuccessfulunlessitretainsthereader'sgoodwill.IICriteriaforEffectiveBusinessWritingAbusinessmessageisconsideredsuccessfulwhen(1)thereceiverinterpretsthemessageasthesenderintendeditand(2)itachievesthesender'spurposes.Inordertomeettheseobjectives,AmericanexpertsinbusinesscommunicationdevelopedsixCsprinciples:Courtesy,Correctness,Conciseness,Clarity,ConcretenessandCompleteness.CourtesyReviewofactualbusinesscorrespondencerevealsthatspecialattentionshouldbedevotedtoassuringthecourtesyofbusinesscommunication.Effectivewritersvisualizethereaderbeforestartingtowrite.Theywillconsiderthereader'sdesires,problems,circumstances,emotionsandprobablereactiontotheirrequest.CorrectnessCorrectgrammar,punctuationandspellingarebasicrequirementsforbusinesswriting,Inaddition,correctnessmeanschoosingthecorrectleveloflanguage,andusingaccurateinformationanddata.ConcisenessEffectivewritingisconcise—eachword,sentence,andparagraphcounts.Concisenessmeanstowriteinthefewestpossiblewordswithoutsacrificingcompletenessandcourtesy.Becauseawordymessagerequiresmoretimetowriteandread,businesspeopleputahighpremiumonconcisenessinbusinessmessages.Concisenesswillgiveemphasistoyourmessage.ClarityClaritytellsthereaderexactlywhatheorshewantsandneedstoknow,usingwordsandaformatthatmakeyourwritingstotallyunderstoodwithjustonereading.Short,familiarwordsandsimple,shortsentencesratherthanlong,difficultwordsandcomplexandlongsentencesarebetterforthispurpose.ConcretenessYourwritingshouldbevivid,specificanddefiniteratherthanvague,generalandabstract,especiallywhenyouarerequiringaresponse,solvingproblems,makinganofferoracceptance,etc.Includeallthenecessaryinformationanddatainthemessagebecauseinformationanddatacanhelpsendersgetreceivers,responsesandachievedesiredobjectives.Anincompletemessagemayresultinincreasedcommunicationcosts,lossofgoodwill,sales,andvaluedcustomers,costofreturninggoods,andwastedtimetryingtomakesenseoutoftheincompletemessage.IHAdaptingtoModernChangesinBusinessWritingLanguagesareproductsofthetimesandalwaysbearthemarksofaparticulartime.Therapiddevelopmentoftechnologyhasbroughtchangestobusinesswriting.Faxande-mai1sendmessagesquickly,andnarrowthedistancebetweenpeopleindifferentlocations.Businesswriting,ingeneral,hasmoreandmoreassumedafriendly,easy,andconversationalstyle.Chapter2AdaptationandSelectionofWords适应读者合理选词ITheBasicNeedofAdaptationTheabilitytowriteclearlydependsnotonouraudienceitself,butonhowmuchweknowaboutouraudience.Forwritingtobeclear,itmustadapttothereader.Byadaptationwemeanfittingthemessagetothespecificreader.Readerseveninthesamecountrydonotallhavethesamevocabulary,thesameknowledgeofthesubjectorthesamementalitybecauseofculturaldifferencesthisproblembecomesmoreseriousincross-culturalcommunications.Thus,tocommunicateclearlyyoushouldfirstknowthepersonwithwhomyouarecommunicating.Youshouldbeawareofhisorherculturalbackgroundaridtakecaretoformyourmessagetofitthatreader'smind.Inadaptingyourmessage,youshouldIdentifytheAudience.Whenseveralpeoplewillbereceivingyourmessage,trytoidentifythosewhoaremostimportanttoyourpurpose.Ordinarily,thosewiththehighestorganizationalstatusarethekeypeople,butoccasionallyapersoninarelativelylowpositionmayhaveinfluenceinoneortwoparticularareas.DeterminetheSizeandCompositionoftheAudience.Largeaudiencesbehavedifferentlyfromsmallonesandrequiredifferentcommunicationtechniques.Ifyouwerewritingareportforwidedistribution,youmightchooseamoreformalstyle,organization,andformatthanyouwouldifthereportweredirectedtoonlythreeorfourpeopleinyourdepartment.Thelargertheaudience,themorediversetheirbackgroundsandinterestsare1ikelytobe.Peoplewithdifferenteducation,status,andattitudesarelikelytoreactdifferentlytothesamemessage,soyoulookforthecommondenominatorsthattiethemembersoftheaudiencetogether.Atthesametimeyouwanttorespondtotheparticularconcernsofindividuals.AnalyzetheAudience*sReaction.Yourapproachtoorganizingyourmessagedependsonyouraudience*sprobablereaction.Ifyouexpectafavorableresponsewithverylittlecriticismordebate,youcanbestraightforwardaboutstatingyourconclusionsandrecommendations.Ontheotherhand,whenyoufaceaskepticalaudience,youmayhavetointroduceyourconclusionsandrecommendationsmoregraduallyandprovidemoreproof.DeterminetheAudience,sLevelofUnderstanding.Ifyouandyouraudiencesharethesamegeneralbackground,youcanassumetheywillunderstandyourmaterialwithoutanydifficulty.Ifnot,youwillhavetodecidehowmuchyouneedtoeducatethem.Ingeneral,youarebetteroffexplainingtoomuchratherthantoolittle,particularlyifyouaresubtleaboutit.Ifyouraudienceisfromanotherculture,youreffortswillbemoreinvolved.AnalyzetheAudienceJsNeeds.Ifyouareunknowntoyouraudience,youwillhavetoearntheirconfidencebeforeyoucanwinthemtoyourpointofview.Theinitialportionofyourmessagewillbedevotedtogainingcredibility.Yourstatusrelativetoyouraudiencealsoaffectsthestyleandtoneofyourpresentation.Youaddressyourpeersonewayandyourbossanother.Youusestillanothertonewhencommunicatingwithemployeesoflowerstatus,andyourstylewithco-workersdiffersmarkedlyfromyourstylewithcustomersandsuppliers.SatisfyYourAudience'sInformationNeed.Thekeytoeffectivecommunicationisdeterminingyourreader'sneedsandthenrespondingtothem.Askyourselfthefollowingfivequestionstohelpyousatisfytheaudience'sinformationneeds:——Whatdoestheaudiencewanttoknow?一Whatdoestheaudienceneedtoknow?—HaveIprovidedalldesiredandnecessaryinformation?一Istheinformationaccurate?一HaveIemphasizedtheinformationofgreatestinteresttotheaudience?BeSureabouttheReader*sNeed.Inmanycasestheaudience*sinformationneedsarereadilyapparent.Whendealingwithavaguerequest,pinitdown.Onegoodapproachistorestatetherequestinmorespecifictermstohelpgettherequestertodefinehisorherneedsmoreprecisely.Onceyou,vedefinedyouraudience,sinformationneeds,becertaintosatisfythoseneedscompletely.Usethejournalisticapproachtocheckwhetheryourmessageanswerswho,what,when,where,why,andhowtotestthethoroughnessofyourmessage.BeAccurateinYourMessage.ThereisnopointinansweringallyouraudienceJsquestionsiftheanswersarewrong.Inbusinessyouhaveaspecialdutytocheckthingsbeforemakingawrittencommitment,especiallyifyouarewritingtosomeonewhoisoutsidethecompany.Yourorganizationislegallyboundbyanypromiseyoumake,somakesureyourcompanyisabletofollowthrough.Besurethattheinformationyouprovideisaccurateandthecommitmentsyoumakecanbekept.MakeImportantPointsStandOut.Whendecidinghowtorespondtoyouraudience'sinformationneeds,rememberthatsomepointswillbeofgreaterinterestandimportancethanothers.Pickoutthepointsthatwillhavethemostimpactonyouraudienceandemphasizethem.Rememberthatyourmaingoalasabusinesscommunicatoristotellyouraudiencewhattheyneedtoknow.SatisfyYourAudience'sMotivationalNeeds.Sometypesofmessages,particularlypersuasivemessagesandbadnews,areintendedtomotivateaudiencememberstochangetheirbeliefsorbehavior.Theproblemisthatpeopleresistideasthatconflictwiththeirexistingbeliefsandpractices.Toovercomeresistance,arrangeyourmessagesothattheinformationwillbeasacceptableaspossible.Oneapproachistouserationalargumentspresentedinanobjectivetone.Anotherapproachistosupportyourpositionwithinformationorstatistics.AppealtotheAudience*sEmotionalNeed.Althoughappealingtoreasonisoftenthebestapproach,youmighttryconvincingyouraudiencebyappealingtoemotion.Yourcredibilitywithanaudiencedependsontheirperceptionofyourcompetenceandintegrity.Peoplearemorelikelytobelieveyouiftheyfeelcomfortablewithyou:ifyouhavesimilarbackgroundsorfriendsincommon,ifyouwearthesamestyleofclothes,enjoythesamesportsandaspireafterthesamegoals.Toestablishrapport,youneedtoemphasizethesecommondenominators.Rememberthatgettingyourmessageacrossdependsasmuchonyouraudience,sreceptivityasitdoesonyourarguments.Besuretoaddressmotivationalneedsbeforeyouintroducecontroversialmaterial.SatisfyYourAudience,sPracticalNeeds.Manyinyouraudiencewillreviewyourmessageunderdifficultcircumstanceswithmanyinterruptions,andtheyarelikelytogiveitalowpriority.Somakeyourmessageasconvenientaspossibleforyouraudience.Bebrief.Generallyspeaking,a5-minutetalkiseasiertofollowthana30-minutepresentation;atwo-paragraphletterismoremanageablethanonethat'stwopageslongandatwomemoismorelikelytobereadthanatenreport.BeBrief.Ifyourwrittenmessagehastobelong,makeiteasyforreaderstofollowsothattheycanpickitupandputitdownseveraltimeswithoutlosingthethreadofwhatyouaresaying.IISuggestionsforSelectingWordsAmajorpartofadaptationisselectingtherightwords.Thesearethewordsthatcommunicatebestthathavecorrectandclearmeaningsinreader'smind.Selectingtherightwordsdependsonyourabilitytouselanguage,yourknowledgeofthereaderandyourgoodjudgment.Herearesomesuggestionstohelpyouselectsuchwords.UseShortandFamiliarWords.Shortwordstendtobefamiliarwords.Familiarwordsareeverydaywords—withsharpandclearmeaningsinmind.Usingfamiliarwordsmeansusingthelanguagethatmostofthenativespeakersuseineverydayconversation.Youshouldavoidthestiff,moredifficultwordsthatdonotcommunicatesopreciselyandsoquickly.Thesuggestiontouseshortandfamiliarwordsdoesnotruleoutsomeuseofmoredifficultwords.Youshouldusethemwhenevertheirmeaningsfityourpurposebestandyourreadersunderstandthem.Agoodsuggestionistousethesimplestwordsthatcarrythemeaningwithoutoffendingthereader'sintelligence.Thebestsuggestionistowritethewordsyouwoulduseinface-to-facecommunicationwithyourreaders.UseConcreteLanguage.Goodbusinesscommunicationismarkedbywordsthatformsharpandclearmeaningsinthemind.Theseareconcretewords.Concreteistheoppositeofabstract.Abstractwordsarevague.Incontrast,concretewordsstandforthingsthereadercansee,feel,tasteorsmell.Abstractnouns,ontheotherhand,coverbroadmeanings,concepts,ideas,andthelike.Theirmeaningsaregeneral.Exactorspecificwordingsareconcrete;vagueandgeneralwordingsareabstract.UseActiveVoice.Activevoiceproducesstronger,livelierwriting.Itemphasizestheaction,anditusuallysaveswords.Thesuggestionthatactivevoicebepreferreddoesnotmeanthatpassivevoiceisalwaysincorrectorthatyoushouldneveruseit.Passivevoicecanbecorrect,andithasaplace.Theproblemisthatmanywriterstendtooveruseit,especiallyinreportwriting.Yourdecisiononwhethertouseactiveorpassivevoiceisnotsimplyamatterofpersonalchoice.Sometimespassivevoiceispreferable.Passiveisbetterwhenthedoeroftheactionisnotimportant,whentheperformerisnotknownorwhenthewriterprefersnottonametheperformer.SelectWordsforPreciseMeanings.Obviously,writingrequiressomeknowledgeoflanguage.Infact,thegreateryourknowledgeoftheEnglishlanguage,thebetteryouarelikelytowriteinEnglish.IfyouwanttobeagoodEnglishwriter,youwillneedtostudyEnglishwordscarefully.Youwillneedtolearntheirprecisemeanings,especiallytheshadesofdifferenceinthemeaningsofsimilarwords.AvoidSexistWords.ManywordsinEnglishsuggestmaledominance.Avoidusingthem.Perhapsthemosttroublesomesexistwordsarethemasculinepronouns(he,his,him)whentheyareusedtorefertobothsexes.Chapter3ConstructionofEffectiveSentencesand

Paragraphs有效地组织句子和段落IDevelopingEffectiveSentencesWordsarethebuildingblocksofcommunication.Sentences,then,aretherowsofblocks,welllaidoutandproperlyplanned.Wordsdonotmakemuchsenseuntiltheyarecombinedinasentencetoexpressacompletethought.Choosingtherightwordsisbasictoclearcommunication.Equallybasicisthetaskofarrangingthosewordsintoclearsentences.Justaswithchoosingwords,constructingclearsentencesinvolvesadaptationtothemindsoftheintendedreaders.Readabilityresearchsuggeststhatwritingcommunicatesbestwhenitdoesnottaxthemind.Soitisadvisabletousesimplersentencestructurestoreachpeoplewithlowercommunicationabilitiesandpeoplenotknowledgeableaboutthesubject.Usemorecomplexsentencestructuresonlywhentheyareappropriate,usuallywhencommunicatingwithknowledgeablepeople.Generally,somesimplificationisbestforallreaders.(1)EmphasisonShortSentencesYoucanwriteshort,simplesentencesintwobasicways:1)by1imitingsentencecontentand2)byusingwordseconomically.LimitingSentenceContentLimitingcontentisonewaytomakeshortsentences.Itislargelyamatterofselectingthoughtunitsandmakingseparatesentencesofmostofthem.Shortersentencesgivemoreemphasistocontentandtoorganizationofthesubjectmatterthanlongersentences.Thustheycommunicatebetter.However,youshouldavoidoverdoingthissugge