基本格式
　　20 May 2000
　　Date Line
　　日期) 
 
　　Kee & Co., Ltd
　　34 Regent Street
　　London, UK
　　Inside Address
　　收信人地址 
 
　　Dear Sirs:
　　Salutation
　　稱呼
 
　　We have obtained your name and address from Dee&Co. Ltd, and we are writing to enquire whether you would be willing to establish business relations with us.
　　We have been importers of shoes for many years. At present, we are interested in extending our range and would appreciate your catalogues and quotations.
　　If your prices are competitive we would expect to place volume orders on you.
　　We look forward to your early reply.
　　Body
　　信文

　　Yours faithfully
　　Complimentary Close
　　客套結束語

　　Tony Smith
　　Signature Block
　　簽名欄
 
　　Enc.
　　Enclosure Notation
　　附件說明

　　書寫基本原則
　　一、Courtesy 禮貌
　　語言要有禮且謙虛，及時地回信也是禮貌的表現。
　　例如：
　　We have received with many thanks your letter of 20 May, and we take the pleasure of sending you our latest catalog. We wish to draw your attention to a special offer which we have made in it.
　　You will be particularly interested in a special offer on page 5 of the latest catalog enclosed, which you requested in your letter of 20 May.
　　二、Consideration 體諒
　　寫信時要處處從對方的角度去考慮有什么需求，而不是從自身出發，語氣上更尊重對方。
　　例如：
　　“You earn 2 percent discount when you pay cash. We will send you the brochure next month. ”就比 “We allow 2 percent discount for cash payment. We won't be able to send you the brochure this month.” 要好。
　　三、Completeness 完整
　　一封商業信函應概況了各項必需的事項，如邀請信應說明時間、地點等，確忌寄出含糊不清的信件。
　　四、Clarity 清楚
　　意思表達明確，要注意：
　　（一）避免用詞錯誤：
　　例如：As to the steamers sailing from Hong Kong to San Francisco, we have bimonthly direct services.
　　此處bimonthly有歧義：可以是twice a month 或者once two month.故讀信者就迷惑了，可以改寫為：
　　1.We have two direct sailings every month from Hong Kong to San Francisco.
　　2.We have semimonthly direct sailing from Hong Kong to San Francisco.
　　3.We have a direct sailing from Hong Kong to San Francisco.
　�。ǘ�）注意詞語所放的位置：
　　例如：
　　1. We shall be able to supply 10 cases of the item only.
　　2. We shall be able to supply 10 cases only of the item.
　　前者則有兩種商品以上的含義。
　　（三）注意句子的結構：
　　例如：
　　1.We sent you 5 samples yesterday of the goods which you requested in your letter of May 20 by air.
　　2.We sent you, by air, 5 samples of the goods which you requested in your letter of May 20.
　　五、Conciseness 簡潔
　�。ㄒ唬┍苊鈴U話連篇：
　　例如：
　　1.We wish to acknowledge receipt of your letter...可改為：We appreciate your letter...
　　2.Enclosed herewith please find two copies of...可改為: We enclose two copies of...
　�。ǘ�）避免不必要的重復：
　　（三）短句、單詞的運用：
　　Enclosed herewith----->enclosed
　　at this time----->now
　　due to the fact that----->because
　　a draft in the amount of $1000----->a draft for $1000
　　六、Concreteness 具體
　　七、Correctness 正確
　　外貿函電范文:咨詢
　　Consultation
　　Dear Mr. / Ms,
　　We are much concerned that your sales in recent months have fallen considerably. At first we thought this might be due to a slack market, but on looking into the matter more closely, we find that the general trend of trade during this period has been upwards.
　　It is possible that you are facing difficulties of which we are not aware. If so, we would like to know what we can do to help. We, therefore, look forward to receiving from you a detailed report on the situation and suggestions as to how we may help in restoring our sales to their former level.
　　Yours faithfully
　　咨詢
　　尊敬的先生/小姐：
　　我們非常關心你方銷售近幾個月大幅度下降。開始我們以為是市場疲軟，但仔細研究問題，我們發現過去這段時間貿易的總趨勢是上升的。有可能你方面臨我方還不知道的困難，如是這樣，我方想知道是否能幫助什么。我們期望收到關于問題的詳細報告，及建議我們怎樣幫助才能把銷售恢復到原來的水平。