| Acknowledgements | 第1-3页 |
| 中文摘要 | 第3-4页 |
| Abstract | 第4-6页 |
| 中文提要 | 第6-9页 |
| Synopsis | 第9-15页 |
| Chapter 1 Introduction | 第15-19页 |
| ·The Definition of Politeness | 第15页 |
| ·The Importance of Politeness in Business Communication | 第15-17页 |
| ·The Significance of the Paper | 第17页 |
| ·The Layout of the Paper | 第17-19页 |
| Chapter 2 Theoretical Framework | 第19-34页 |
| ·An Overview of Politeness Theories | 第19-27页 |
| ·A General Survey of Politeness Theories | 第19页 |
| ·Grice’s Cooperative Principle | 第19-20页 |
| ·Lakoff’s View of Politeness | 第20-21页 |
| ·Leech’s Politeness Principle | 第21-23页 |
| ·Brown and Levinson’s Face Theory | 第23-27页 |
| ·An Overview of Business Correspondence | 第27-34页 |
| ·The Definition and Classification of Business Correspondence | 第27-29页 |
| ·Politeness and Business Correspondence | 第29-31页 |
| ·Face Relationships in Written Discourse | 第31-32页 |
| ·Indirectness and Directness in Business Correspondence | 第32-34页 |
| Chapter 3 Manifestations of Politeness in Good-news Business Letters | 第34-45页 |
| ·The Direct-deductive Approach in Good-news Business Letters | 第34-35页 |
| ·How to Arrive at Politeness in Good-news Business Letters | 第35-38页 |
| ·Use Concrete and Specific words Instead of Abstract Words | 第35-36页 |
| ·Use Active Verbs | 第36页 |
| ·Use You Language | 第36-37页 |
| ·Use Affirmative Sentences | 第37页 |
| ·Use Shorter Sentences for Ideas to be Emphasized | 第37-38页 |
| ·Case Study | 第38-43页 |
| ·Summary | 第43-45页 |
| Chapter 4 Manifestations of Politeness in Bad-news Business Letters | 第45-58页 |
| ·The Indirect-inductive Strategy in Bad-news Business Letters | 第45-46页 |
| ·How to Arrive at Politeness in Bad-news Business Letters | 第46-51页 |
| ·Use Positive Tone | 第47-48页 |
| ·Use Passive Voice | 第48页 |
| ·Use Abstract Words | 第48-49页 |
| ·Use Subjunctive Mood | 第49页 |
| ·Use Disclaimers | 第49页 |
| ·Use Modal Auxiliaries | 第49页 |
| ·Use Compliments | 第49-50页 |
| ·Use Dependent Clauses and Complex Sentences | 第50页 |
| ·Avoid You-expressions When they Imply Impoliteness | 第50-51页 |
| ·Shift Responsibility | 第51页 |
| ·Elements of Mitigating Steps in Refusal Letters | 第51-53页 |
| ·The Buffer | 第51-52页 |
| ·The Reasoning | 第52页 |
| ·The Refusal | 第52-53页 |
| ·Possible Alternatives | 第53页 |
| ·Case Study | 第53-57页 |
| ·Summary | 第57-58页 |
| Chapter 5 Manifestations of Politeness in Persuasive Business Letters | 第58-71页 |
| ·The You-attitude in Persuasive Business Letters | 第58-59页 |
| ·Politeness in Sales Letters: AIDA Formula | 第59-62页 |
| ·The Four Elements of AIDA Formula | 第59-60页 |
| ·Case Study | 第60-62页 |
| ·Politeness in Application Letters: a Similar Pattern with Sales Letters | 第62-65页 |
| ·A Survey of Application Letters | 第62-63页 |
| ·Case Study | 第63-65页 |
| ·Politeness in Collection Series: Politeness is Gradually Decreased to Achieve Maximal Efficiency | 第65-69页 |
| ·A Survey of Collection Series | 第65页 |
| ·Case Study | 第65-69页 |
| ·Summary | 第69-71页 |
| Conclusions | 第71-73页 |
| Bibliography | 第73-76页 |
| 个人简历和研究成果 | 第76页 |
