First, the structure of English letters
Second, the form and writing essentials of letter writing
Third, the letter writing practice and its reference model essay
Letters are an important communication tool. English letters are divided into two categories: official letters and private letters. An official letter is a letter between units or between units and individuals, which can be a letter of recommendation, a cover letter, an application for admission, an invitation letter, or a letter asking, replying or reflecting opinions (such as a complaint letter). Personal letters refer to correspondence between relatives and friends. These two types of letters have their own formats. Generally speaking, private letters are informal, and most of them are handwritten or printed; Official letters are strict and must follow a certain format. Official letters must be printed.
Section 1 Structure of English Letters
English letters generally consist of the following six parts: header, address, title, body, ending and signature.
5. 1. 1 title
The letterhead refers to the address and date of the sender, usually written in the upper right corner of the first page. The first line can be written side by side or indented line by line. The address is written in descending order: house number, street, city, province (state), postal code, country name, and finally the mailing date. Personal letters generally only need to write the date of mailing. For example:
Tianhe Road 123
Tianhe district
Guangzhou 5 10620
Guangdong Province
Page (abbreviation of page) reinforced concrete.
2065 1 8/month 438+00
5. 1.2 internal address
The name and address of the recipient should be written on the address of the letter. This item should be made clear in official letters, but it is often omitted in private letters. This item is written in the upper left corner of the line next to the date of writing, in the same format as the sender's address.
5. 1.3 greetings
Salutation refers to the address of the recipient, which should be aligned with the left line and written on the line 1-2 below the recipient's name and address. After addressing, British people often use commas and Americans often use colons. In private letters, you can call the recipient by his first name, but in formal letters, you must write the recipient's last name. Most letters begin with "dear". For example:
Dear Professor/Professor Bergen:
Dear Dr. Johnson,
People you don't know can be called by gender:
Dear sir: or dear lady: dear ladies.
If you don't know the gender of the recipient, you can use Dear Sir or Madam:
5. 1.4 letter body
The text is the main body of the letter. Different from Chinese letters, English letters don't start with some greetings, and then clarify the purpose of writing, but directly explain the identity and purpose of writing, and then put forward the writer's situation, ideas or requirements, and make necessary explanations or explanations. When stating the purpose, English letters should be straightforward, clear in meaning, clear in level and concise.
The first sentence or paragraph in the body of a letter is usually called the beginning. Generally speaking, people are used to using some polite writing methods as the beginning of the letter, that is, simply describing the date and theme of the other party's letter first, so that the other party can know which letter the letter is replied to at a glance. If it is the first time to write to others, you can also introduce yourself in the opening remarks and indicate the main purpose of writing.
5. 1.5 Free closing
The conclusion of the official letter consists of two parts: the conclusion of the sender and the signature. The conclusion is written on the line above the signature, with the first letter capitalized and a comma at the end of the phrase. In official letters, the common ending phrase of the sender is:
You are sincere, respectful, sincere and so on.
In private letters, the sender's common ending phrase is:
Your sincere, beloved, lovely, beloved son/daughter, and so on.
5. 1.6 signature
The signature of the screenwriter is often one or two lines below the closing ceremony. Unless you are writing to someone you know very well, the signature must generally be written in full name. The signature is usually illegible, so the full name must be printed directly below the signature.
The second part: the form of writing questions and the main points of writing letters
From 1990 to 1 in 2002, the letter composition * * appeared twice (5438+0 in June 2006 and 1 in June 2002). Next, let's take a look at the composition questions of CET-4 in June 2006:
Note: For this part, you have 30 minutes to write a letter. Suppose you are Zhang Ying. Write a letter to Xiao Wang, one of your classmates, who will come to see you during the one-week holiday. According to the suggestions given below, you should write at least 120 words in Chinese:
1. Welcome
2. Make suggestions on holiday arrangements
3. Remind what should be paid attention to.
A letter to the students
June 23, 2006 5438+0
Dear Xiao Wang:
__________________________________
__________________________________
__________________________________.
Yours,
Zhang ying
As can be seen from the above examples, the letter composition not only gives the outline of the main content, but also gives the framework of the structure of each part of the letter. In other words, we only need to consider how to express the content of the outline, not the structure of the letter.
When writing a letter composition, we should first extract the outline of the letter body and expand it into a finer English outline, and then express the extracted outline in concise, clear, polite, correct and appropriate language. For example, the previous letter can list the following outline:
Title: A letter to my classmates Question: What are the holiday arrangements and precautions?
Outline: First, expand my welcome circle. Holiday plan 1. 1 Day 1–Campus 2. Day 2-Art Gallery & Concert Hall. Day 3-Climbing Mountain 4. The next 3 days-other places of interest (Swan Cave, Jinhu …)5. Last day-department three. Precautions 1. Train number and train number. Arrival time 2. SunglassesIV。 Looking forward to meeting you. Introduction text 1 text 2 conclusion
Fan Wen:
A letter to the students
June 23, 2006 5438+0
Dear Xiao Wang:
I'm glad to learn that you will come to see me during the one-week holiday. My parents will be happy to see you again, too. I'm sure you'll enjoy every minute here.
I have arranged our holidays as follows. On the first day of your arrival, I will show you around our campus. The next day, we will visit art galleries and concert halls. The next day, we will climb a hill in the northeast of this city. At the top of the mountain, we can have a bird's eye view of the city. In the next three days, we will take a short trip to some nearby places of interest, such as Swan Cave and Jinhu. On the last day, I will go to the railway station to see you off.
Please remember to call me and tell me your train number and arrival time so that I can meet you at the railway station. By the way, it's hot here and we have a lot of sunshine, so don't forget to put on your sunglasses.
I look forward to seeing you soon.
You are sincere,
Zhang ying
The date of writing is called the first paragraph of the text: the second paragraph of the welcome text: the arrangement of the first day, the second day, the third day, the fourth day and the sixth day, and the seventh day: the third paragraph of the farewell text (remarks): the first remark, the second remark and the closing ceremony signature.
These are examples of private messages. Let's look at a letter of complaint.
The purpose of the complaint letter is to make the recipient sympathize with your experience and solve your problems after reading the letter. Therefore, when writing a complaint letter, we should reflect the situation realistically, pay attention to the wording, don't use too much sarcastic or blaming language, and don't digress because of venting anger, so as not to cause distrust or disgust of the recipient.
Generally speaking, the complaint letter includes the following contents: making demands and reasons; Explain the details; Make a specific request and indicate the date you want the recipient to take action. For example:
September 2006 1
Dear sir or madam,
I am writing to complain about a typewriter I bought seven months ago.
In February of 200 1 year, I bought a Jones portable special typewriter in ABC store. I only used it for a few days, and the space bar was broken.
I took it to a local shop, and they told me it was a factory defect and suggested that I take it back to ABC. ABC accepted the machine and sent the parts in. I waited for three months, but because your company didn't send me a substitute, they let me use the space bar of another typewriter.
Now, half a year later, it is broken again. I took it back to ABC. They no longer carry your typewriter, but they assured me that the guarantee was still valid and suggested that I write to you with further instructions on what steps to take.
I will appreciate anything you can do to help us in this matter.
Respectfully,
(signature)
James Bergen
The date of writing a letter is called the first paragraph of the text: indicating the purpose of writing a letter; The second paragraph: explain the time, place and problems of purchasing products; The third paragraph: explain the attempted solution; And the fourth paragraph: explain that the attempt is invalid, and ask the closing ceremony to sign and print the name.
This is a cool-headed, well-worded and restrained letter complaining about the poor after-sales service. As this kind of letter involves dealers (manufacturers) and sellers, the complaint letter states the following details:
1) Shopping time: February 2006 5438+0
2) Shopping location: ABC store
3) Product model: Jones typewriter, portable special model.
4) Time of use: I only used it for a few days; ; Six months later,
5) Main problem: the space bar is broken.
6) Cause of the problem: factory defect.
7) Why should I report to you:
They no longer deliver your typewriter, but they assured us that the guarantee is still valid and suggested that I write to you to further explain what steps should be taken. Your typewriter is no longer in the shop, but they convinced me that the warranty card is still valid and suggested that I write to your company and try to solve it. )
In addition, the author also used a polite conclusion:
I will appreciate anything you can do to help us in this matter.
Summary: 1) the structure of English letters; 2) the form of letter writing; 3) Writing essentials of letter composition.
Let's do some writing exercises. I'll give you a composition question, please finish it in 30 minutes according to the content of this lesson. In the process of writing, everyone should pay attention to the examination of questions, consider the structure of the article, the opening and closing remarks adopted, and so on.
Exercise 5:
Note: For this part, you have 30 minutes to write a letter. Suppose you are Xiao Li. Write a letter to Xiao Zhang, an old smoker's roommate. According to the suggestions given below, you should write at least 120 words in Chinese:
1. Smoking has become a big problem in the dormitory.
2. The harm of smoking
Suggest quitting smoking
A letter to my roommate.
March 2002 16
Dear Xiao Zhang:
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________.
You are sincere,
Xiao Li
Reference article:
A letter to my roommate.
March 2002 16
Dear Xiao Zhang:
I have noticed recently that you have been smoking heavily, which is becoming a serious problem. As long as you are here, our bedroom is filled with that terrible smell. The ashtray is always full of cigarette butts.
You are destroying your health and brain cells that can never be replaced, not to mention your lungs and trachea. Smoking, especially heavy smoking, is highly related to lung cancer. It is possible that you will catch up with it. I didn't scare you. Besides, smoking is also harmful to the health of our roommates and our friendship. Roommates avoid staying in the bedroom for fear of being polluted. As a result, the brotherhood between roommates is gradually disappearing.
If I were you, I would try to get rid of this bad habit. If you are really determined to quit, it is not difficult to get rid of it. Remember "where there is a will, there is a way". I'll always be there to help you if you need me.
You are sincere,
Xiao Li
Common sentence patterns in college English band 4 letter writing
It's great to hear from you again.
I'm glad to be able to ...
I am very happy to learn that …
I must apologize for not writing to you earlier.
Suggestion:
According to my experience, in your case, _ _ _ _ _ seems reasonable.
In my opinion, it is wise for you to take the following actions:
Thank you:
I really appreciate your kindness.
Thank you sincerely. ...
Apologize:
I sincerely apologize for … ...
I'm sorry to have caused you so much trouble. ...
Invitation:
We would be honored if you could go with us. ...
I will pay all related expenses.
Complain:
I regret to inform you that. ...
We will appreciate your willingness to compensate for the loss.
I hope the above situation can be improved as soon as possible.
Consultation:
I want to ask some information about ... ...
Please let me know if I need to send more materials.
Job hunting:
Mr www.cet4v.com advertised in your company for a position of ….
I hope to get an interview …