【关键字】合同The Analysis of Business Letter Writing PrinciplesI. IntroductionBusiness letter plays a very important role in international trade. It is the most commonly used communicating method between importers and exporters. Business letter does not call for the elegant language of the poet, but it does require us to express ourselves accurately in plain language that is clear and easily understood. There are some principles for business letter writing, namely: correctness, clarity, completeness, concreteness, conciseness, courtesy and consideration.With the development of globalization and ’s access to the WTO, the communication with foreign countries has been increasing day by day. As many of the business relations are conducted in the form of letters, business letters become more and more important. People need to grasp principles of business letter writing. In the aspect of theory research, many scholars have focused on business letters. “Business Letters tend to be more formal in content, style and format”(31). written by Qi Shouhua in Success in Advanced English Writing –A Comprehensive Guide in 2001. “A good business letter should be short and to the point, yet courteo us”(24). written by Chen Qingbo and Wang Jingxian in Communication and Dialogues for International Financers and Bankers in 2002. Since more and more people will be interested in business letter writing with the increase of business activities, it will become a popular field to study.In 1975, American philosopher Grice proposed “Cooperative principle”, it contains four maxims: the maxim of quality, the maxim of quantity, the maxim of manner and the maxim of relation. The important point of this thesis is to analyze the seven principles of business letter writing (namely: correctness, clarity, completeness, concreteness, conciseness, courtesy and consideration) with the four maxims of the cooperative principle (namely: the maxim of quality, the maxim of quantity, the maxim of manner and the maxim of relation) through specific examples and contrast. The thesis is composed of four parts. Part one is the introduction; part two is an overview of business letter; part three analyzes seven principles of business letter writing; part four is the conclusion.Ⅱ. An Overview of Business LetterA. Definition of Business LetterA letter can be defined as a direct or personally written or printed message addressed to a person or a business or an organization. Some dictionaries also define it simply as a written or a printed message. Business letter refers to the letter used in business transactions. Communication in business is of vital importance for keeping the world economy advancesmoothly. And business letter is the most frequently used means in business communication by business firms to keep in touch with their customers.Business letter is a special kind of communication. Without them, much of the ordinary activities of business would not be possible. Business letters are used to sell products or services, request information and maintain good public relations.B. Four Maxims of the Cooperative Principle in Business LetterThe successful communication needs effort of buyer and seller. People will communicate with customers by observing the cooperative principle, as well as its maxims. The cooperative principle given by Grice consists of four maxims: the maxim of quality, the maxim of quantity, the maxim of manner and the maxim of relation.The maxim of quality means not to say what you believe to be false and not to say what lack enough evidence. It embodies correctness, clarity and conciseness in business letter writing. The maxim of quantity means what you have said should include the information of demand and what you have said should not exceed the demand. It embodies completeness and concreteness in business letter writing. The maxim of manner advises people to use polite expression. It embodies courtesy and consideration in business letter writing. The maxim of relation suggests making your language relating to the subject. It ensures the conversation be coherent. This thesis analyzes the seven business letter writing principles with the maxims by way of examples and contrast.C. Various Principles of Business Letter WritingBusiness letters are the major means of written communication between two parties in the international trade. Based on the cooperative principle there are seven principles, commonly calls seven Cs, because the seven words all begin with the English letter C. They are conciseness, clarity, courtesy, correctness, completeness, concreteness and consideration.The word concise according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, means giving a lot of information in a few words. In business letter writing, conciseness means to write in the fewest words and without sacrificing the quality of the letter. Clarity means the writer must try to express his meaning clearly so that the reader will understand it well. If a letter is to arrive at its goal, its tone must be sincere. The efforts to create friendly and pleasant tone in business letters can help people to build goodwill. That is courtesy. Correctness means the expression in business letters must be correct, words and figures must be accurate and should not be overstated and understated. Completeness means the letters must contain all the necessaryinformation to the readers and answers all the questions and requirements. Concreteness means the information of the letters should be concrete and specific enough. Consideration means try to put you in the reader’s place and to give the consideration to the reader’s demands, wishes and interests. All the principles are important for business letter writing.Ⅲ. Business Letter Writing Principles with Four MaximsA. The Maxim of QualityTo achieve the maxim of quality business letters should be correct, clear and concise. Business letters must have correct information, clear expression and concise language. Therefore, the maxim of quality will produce huge effect in business letter writing, and the writer should pay particular attention to the choosing of accurate facts, words and figures. In business letter writing, principles “correctness”, “clarity” and “conciseness” just reach th e requirement of the maxim of quality. Correctness means business letters must have factual information, accurate figures, correct terms, because they are concerned with the rights and obligations of the two parties. Writers can use many sentence structures and put information in logical orders to achieve clarity. Conciseness means we should clearly express what we would do in the fewest possible words without sacrificing completeness, concreteness and courtesy. So correctness, clarity and conciseness can reach the maxim of quality.1. Correctness in Business Letter WritingA correct business letter can embody the writer’s working attitude and cultural quality. It has advantage for writer to establish the good relationship of trade. Correctness means the letters must have correct statement, commercial terms, numerical expression and grammar.a. Correctness of StatementThe expression in business letters must be correct and should not be overstated or understated. Otherwise, the letter will lead to less confidence and hold up the trade development. Consider the following example:E.g. Improper: This product is absolutely the best one on the market.Proper: This product is the best one we can supply.In the example, it is very difficult to guarantee that this product is absolutely the best one on the market. While the second sentence just take a matter-of –fact attitude to express the fact, so it is preferred in business letter writing. There are other examples as follow:E.g. 1. Improper: It is the lowest price available to you.Proper: It is the lowest price that we can offer you now.2. Improper: We assure you that the error will never occur again.Proper: We will do all we can so that we may not repeat such an error.b. Correctness of Commercial TermsCommercial terms in business letter writing have great numbers and the new terms appear one after another, because of the international cooperation and contact enhanced day by day. Look at the following examples:E.g. 装运港船上交货FOB free on board成本，保险加运费CIF cost, insurance and freight运费付至…… CPT carriage paid to完税后交货DDP delivered duty paidAbove-mentioned commercial terms are short but making sense and the meaning is rich. These terms embody the feature of business letters. When the writer use the commercial terms they will express their function correctly.Some words have different meaning in different writing or sentence. The writer should pay attention to these words. Look at the following example:E.g. Chinese: 你方要求尽量交货。
