对商务写作中的 organising 感到头痛吗？下面就教你organising 的 SOFAR 五步法。
Organising: SOFAR Strategy
So far, so good?
Actually, if you remember that expression - SOFAR -- it'll help you remember how to organise external correspondence.
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Salutation |
Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms/Miss... |
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Opening |
Background + Purpose |
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Facts |
Reader's Information |
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Action |
Reader's Response |
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Remarks |
Polite Closing |
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You can also use this outline for memos and internal e-mails. Just leave out the salutation. |
SALUTATION
The Salutation begins with 'Dear'.
The Salutation should include the reader's name (eg, Dear Mr Chan, Dear Ms Lewis). You can use the reader's first name (eg, Dear John) if you know them well.
If you do not know the reader's name, use "Dear Sir" or "Dear Madam".
If you do not know if the reader is a man or a woman, use "Dear Sir or Madam".
OPENING (BACKGROUND)
The Opening includes two parts (and usually two paragraphs):
the background (referring to previous contact with the reader or introducing a situation)
the writer's purpose
These provide a logical introduction to your correspondence and help the reader focus on the subject.
The background "sets the scene" by referring to a previous contact (memo, letter, phone call etc). If you've had no previous contact with the reader, you should briefly describe the situation that you are writing about.
EXAMPLES:
Previous contact: Thank you for your call this morning.
A situation: Our annual staff party is coming soon!
An attention-grabbing statement or question: Have you heard
about...? Our Department Open Day is coming soon!
Some opening sentences are better than others.
Read through the sentences in the table below. Decide which sentence of each pair (in Column A and Column B) is better.
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Column A |
Column B |
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With reference to your correspondence of 21 August... |
Thank you for your letter of 21 August. |
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Further to our conversation earlier today... |
Thank you for your call today about... |
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Regarding your request for credit approval... |
I have just received your request for credit approval. |
If you chose the sentences in Column B, you've chosen the better ones.
Why?
Sentences that begin with prepositions (eg, with, in, further, for, following, regarding) are difficult to write correctly. They are also quite long and therefore more difficult for your reader to understand.
So, keep your writing simple by writing shorter, more direct sentences.
OPENING (WRITER'S PURPOSE)
In the second part of the opening you state the writer's purpose.
You've already learned (in Chapter 1) that there can be many purposes for writing.
Two of the most common reasons are:
to inform someone about something
to request someone to do something.
Look at the memo from the General Manager again. Which sentence states the manager's purpose for writing?
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To: All Staff |
Date: 20 July 200X |
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From: General Manager |
Reference |
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Subject: Dress Code |
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As you know, we have always enforced a strict dress code. We have now revised this code.
I would like to inform you of the changes.
The code for branch staff and office staff is different. As I'm sure you will appreciate, there are no changes for branch staff. All branch staff must wear the correct uniform at all times. On the other hand, if you work in the office, you may wear 'smart-casual' wear. However, on any day that you do meet people from outside the company, please ensure you are dressed in a business-like manner.
Please adopt the new dress code from 1 September. If you have any questions, please call Annie Wong on 2344 7765. |
Answer: I would like to inform you of the changes.
To practise writing openings, do the exercise below.
Read the two situations below and write an appropriate opening for each of them.
Situation 1: You are replying to a customer who called this morning asking for details about opening a new account.
Situation 2: You are replying to a customer's letter that you received yesterday. He would like to know why delivery of his order is late.
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Suggested answers:
Situation 1:
Thank you for calling this morning asking about how to open a new account.
I am delighted to give you the details about opening a Premier account.
Situation 2:
Thank you for your letter of 28 April about the delivery of your order.
I apologise for the delay and would like to explain what has happened. |
FACTS
In the Opening, you provide your reader with background information and state your purpose.
In the next part of the letter - Facts - you provide all the information your reader needs so that they can
understand your purpose completely
respond appropriately.
Remember, though - only one main idea per paragraph! If you have a lot of information for the reader, write several paragraphs in this section.
ACTION
After reading the information you have provided in the Facts section, your reader should be able to respond.
In the next section -- Action -- you should tell your reader
how to respond (what they need to do)
when to respond (by what date/time).
For example, if you are writing to invite someone to lunch, what do you want your reader to do? Come to lunch, right? It may seem obvious to you, but you need to make it obvious to your reader, too. That will get the result you want.
Example: