人們進行寫作的一般目的是向讀者傳遞信息、溝通情況或闡述作者對某一主題所持的觀點，用英文寫作也不例外。為讓讀者更好地理解所傳遞的信息，使用英文進行寫作時，行文一定要注意做到清晰(Clarity)、準確(Precision)、簡潔(Conciseness)這三點，這就是公認的英文寫作“黃金三定律”。

　　怎樣寫出一封地道的英語書信

　　書信寫作要求

　　書信(Letter)一般可分為事務(wù)信件或公函(Business Letter or Offical Correspondence)以及私人信件

　　(Private Letter)兩大類。一般包括以下幾個要點：

　　1) 收信人的姓名和地址;

　　2) 寄信人的姓名及其與收信人的關(guān)系;

　　3) 寄信人的地址(有時可以省略);

　　4) 寫信的時間;

　　5) 信的內(nèi)容。

　　1. 書信的格式

　　1) 信頭(Heading);

　　2) 稱呼(Salutation);

　　3) 正文(Body of the letter);

　　4) 結(jié)束語(Complimentary close);

　　5) 簽名(signature)。

　　2. 書信的種類

　　1) 邀請信

　　邀請信有正式和非正式之分，也有介于兩者之間者。正式邀請信一般屬于公函類，私人邀請信一般屬于非正式文體。邀請朋友、熟人參加某一聚會時，再詞句上不一定多加斟酌，用詞太正規(guī)倒顯得關(guān)系不密切。但是如果與被邀請人不太熟悉的話，最好用正式文體。如雖認識但并不十分了解，文體可介于兩個者之間。由此可見，私人邀請究竟用什么文體，關(guān)鍵看與被邀請人之間的親疏的程度。邀請信要明確寫出活動(是晚會、晚餐還是一般的聚會等)、活動的時間地點組織這項活動的理由，有時還應(yīng)告訴對方可能出席的人，另外一般希望對方給予答復。

　　(1) 非正式邀請信，如;

　　26 Coventry St.

　　London

　　Sept. 15th, 1999.

　　Dear Jack,

　　I am going to the cinema to see the Red River Valley and I have two tickets. Would you like to come? The film starts at 7:30 p.m. Maybe we can meet at the Covent Garden Station at 7:00 p.m. and have a drink before the film starts. Please phone me at home to let me know.

　　Looking forward to seeing you.

　　Love

　　Mary

　　這封信是寫給朋友的，所以用語比較隨便，比較口語化。

　　(2) 正式邀請信，如：

　　Dear Ms. Gupta;

　　It’s our great pleasure to announce that Jan. 19th is the 3rd anniversary of the founding of our corporation. We have a small party as follows: 7:00p.m.,Jan. 19th, Room No.123, Kunlun Hotel. At this moment, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to our clients for both courtesy and support over the past three years. Please confirm if you plant to attend.

　　Yours Sincerely,

　　Lewis

　　這是一封正式邀請信，十分正規(guī)，無論從句式，還是用語都十分講究。

　　(3) 介于正式和非正式之間的邀請信，如：

　　No.4 Middle School

　　Beijing 100034

　　April 29th,2000

　　Dear Miss Katherine,

　　I am very pleased to write to you. My name is Yu Hong and I am monitor of Class One, Grade Three of the No.2 Middle School of Ji'nan. Last year, you came here to give a speech, which was "Fast Reading". My classmates and I all thank you very much. We will have an English evening at 7:00--9:00 on the evening of May 4th in our classroom. Would you please come and attend the evening party? At the party, we will sing English songs, play games and so on. And we are anxious to invite you to come to sing us an English song. After that we can enjoy the music. We hope to see you soon.

　　Yours

　　Yu Hong

　　這封信是寫給一位外籍教師的，這位外籍教師曾經(jīng)到過這所學校，雖然作者認識，但并不十分了解。

　　2)感謝信

　　感謝信可分為感謝饋贈、感謝款待、感謝幫助、感謝送行和感謝探病等。

　　感謝信一般包括以下幾點：

　?、賹κ招湃说姆Q謂;

　?、趯懶诺哪康?(Thank you for…)

　?、壑轮x并詳述所收到的禮物或得到的幫助等;

　?、芙Y(jié)尾及謙稱。

　　如：

　　Dear Ms. Gupta:

　　How regretful I must leave you house. Thank you for the many good things you provided. The chess game, tennis match and Mr. Gupta's delicious dishes gave me lots of enjoyment. If you came to Beijing for any reason, please come to my family. The kids are looking forward to seeing Aunt Jean. I believe we will have a very happy time.

　　Yours Sincerely, Lewis

　　3)求職信

　　求職信屬于公務(wù)信函，格式和用詞比較規(guī)。信的內(nèi)容大體上分為三部分

　?、賹懶诺哪康?，

　　②自我介紹，

　?、垡?。

　　注意下面幾點：

　?、賹懶诺哪康囊苯亓水?shù)卦谛诺拈_頭提出。

　?、谧晕医榻B部分主要介紹自己的學歷、工作經(jīng)歷、解決問題的能力等等。在行文、用詞上要表現(xiàn)出自信、懇切的態(tài)度，語言簡明扼要，突出介紹自己的優(yōu)點，與眾不同的特長或有利條件。還要緊扣用人單位的需求，巧用詞語，有國地說服對方，此職非你莫屬。

　?、圩詈筇岢鲞M一步聯(lián)系的途徑，如：時間、地點。還可以主動提出接受面試或考核等。

　?、芮舐毿旁趯懽魈攸c上主要用第一人稱以及動詞的一般現(xiàn)在時。如：

　　Ms Li Ling

　　P.O.Box 231

　　Beijing

　　July 10,1999

　　Dear sir(s),

　　I have just read in the newspaper that a secretary of the English language in wanted in your company. I am therefore writing to you to introduce myself. I'd like to get the job. I am a girl college student of 22 years old. My name is Li Ling. I am studying in the language department. I can speak, read and write English very well. As a second language, I can read and speak a little French. I have some work experience as a typist in my spare time at school, and as a tourist guide during summer holidays. The bosses I worked for were all satisfied with my work. I am sure I'll satisfy you as well. You can get more information about my studies and work from the college. I am looking forward to visiting your office at any time for a talk or a test.

　　Faithfully

　　Li Ling

　　3)回信

　　寫回信時應(yīng)特別注意正確理解寫信人的意圖、所提問題、必須對寫信人的問題給予明確的答復。如下例：

　　No.1 Middle School of Nanjing,

　　Jiangsu, China

　　Jan.23rd, 2000

　　Dear Jack

　　Thanks for your letter. Yes, I have some difficulty in learning English. For example, I can't tell the difference between written English and spoken English. Sometimes I often make mistakes while speaking to others. I want to improve my spoken English. But I don't know how. Would you please give me some advice? As you say, it is really difficult to write toe Chinese characters, but don't worry about it. Have you considered doing plenty of practice? And I suggest you write them as much as possible. I think it will be of great help. I'm looking forward to hearing from you again.

　　Best wishes.

　　Yours

　　Li Ling

　　原信中作者問到英語學習的情況，同時征求學習漢語的建議并談到自己在學習漢語的過程中遇到的問題?；匦胖凶髡邔硇胖械膯栴}作了詳細的回答并給出了建設(shè)性的建議。