Communicating in English effectively is essential in today's global economy.

　　在今日全球化的經濟環境下，有效地用英語交流已經變得至關重要。

　　But conveying your ideas clearly is a skill that needs to be learnt. Too often people simply copy the style of their co-worker and especially their superiors as they think this "good English". You see examples in your in-box every day - emails that are difficult to understand and that you need to read over and over again to get the message.

　　然而如何清晰地表達你的想法卻是門大學問。太多時候人們只是簡單地照抄他們眼中同事，尤其是上級寫出來的“漂亮英語”。你每天都能在收件箱里看到很多例子——那些難懂的需要你讀好多遍才能理解的郵件。

　　A big mistake is to pad out your writing with unnecessary words and phrases. Remember that the purpose of your writing is to communicate your ideas clearly.

　　一個巨大的錯誤就是用一些不必要的單詞和詞組讓你的文章變得冗長。你要牢記你寫作的目的是為了更清晰地交流你的想法。

　　Always try to reduce the number of words in your sentences and avoid lengthy phrases that can be replaced with a shorter alternative. Here are some examples:

　　總是盡可能減少你句子中使用的字數，避免使用可以用更短的詞代替的長詞。以下是一些例子：

　　*Instead of "prior to" use *before*

　　用“before”代替“prior to”

　　*Instead of "subsequent" use *after*

　　用“after”代替“subsequent”

　　*Instead of "in order to" use *to*

　　用“to”代替“in order to”

　　*Instead of "in the event that" use *if*

　　用“if”代替“in the event that”

　　*Instead of "with reference to" use *about*

　　用“about”代替“with the reference to”

　　*Instead of "state of the art" use *latest*

　　用“latest”代替“state of the art”

　　*Instead of "due to the fact that" use *since*

　　用“since”代替“due to the fact that”

　　*Instead of "not later than 2pm" use *by 2pm*

　　用“by 2pm”代替“not later than 2pm”

　　*Instead of "at the present time" use *now*

　　用“now”代替“at the present time”

　　Remember about organisation as well. Use topic sentences to indicate what each paragraph is about. In addition, keep your emails short. No one likes to read an email 10 paragraphs long!

　　同時也要記得文章有組織性。第一句話就要開門見山地點出你每一段要講什么。除此之外，要控制你郵件的長度。沒人想讀一條長達10段的郵件。