正式书信写作八步指南_BEC初级作文

正式书信写作八步指南

Once you know this, you can — and should — cut everything out that doesn’t serve that purpose.

一旦你明白以上问题，就能撇清所有无关痛痒的事了。

2. Identify your audience

定位对象

Knowing your audience helps you choose your language and target your ideas more precisely. I write differently in a letter to another lawyer than I do when the addressee is a non-lawyer executive or even an elderly “pro bono” client. In a letter to the editor, your real audience is the publication’s readers—who are they? Don’t use jargon that your reader won’t understand.

明确收信人身份有助于更精准地表达意愿。同一封信，我写给律师是一种措辞，写给非律师出身的总裁、甚或年长的慈善客户，又会是另一种措辞。写信给编辑部，刊物读者才是最终收信人——那么，他们是什么样的人呢？千万别用读者看不懂的术语。

3. Keep it short

短小精练

Most of us endure a constant flood of written communications, and we have a limited amount of time to spend reading it. You therefore have a better chance of being read if you keep your letter to one page. A multi-page letter with long paragraphs and complex sentences looks overwhelming. The busy reader will be tempted to set it aside for when she has more time—and she might never get around to picking it up again. Use short paragraphs, short sentences, short words.