PREPARE A BUSINESS LETTER IN ADVANCED ENGLISH

D1.LAN.CL10.10

Slide 1

Assessment

Assessment for this Unit may include

Oral questions

Written questions

Work projects

Workplace observation of practical skills

Practical exercises

Formal report from employer or supervisor

Slide 2

Prepare a business letter in advanced English

There are three elements in this unit:

Element 1: Recognise the purposes of different types of business letters in the workplace

Element 2: Understand the conventions of writing a business letter in English

Element 3: Apply the conventions of writing a business letter in English

Slide 3

Recognise the purposes of different types of business to business letters in the workplace

The performance criteria for this unit include:

1.1 Identify the purposes of various business to business letters

1.2 Identify the purposes of business to customer letters

1.3 Identify the purposes of letters from employer to employee

Slide 4

1.1 Identify the purposes of various business to business letters 2There are many different reasons why a business may send another business a letter :

Explaining terms and conditions

Complaining about faulty goods or poor service

Requesting a refund or exchange

Giving a price quotation

Giving or refusing a credit application

Sales letters or product information updates

Introducing a new person or policy

Invitations to a product launch or event

Persuading through promotional material or marketing and sales offer letters

Slide 5

1.2 Identify the purposes of business to customer lettersSome examples of purposes of business to customer letters include:

Confirming bookings, itineraries, payments

Sending an invitation

Offering special deals and discounts

Persuading

Providing information about terms and conditions

Responding to a complaint, suggestion or enquiry

Thanking and welcoming new customers

Slide 6

Complaints

In groups, discuss the following:

Have you ever had a bad experience while travelling?

What was it?

Was it someone else’s fault or was it yours?

Who did you complain to?

Slide 7

1.3 Identify the purposes of letters from employer to employee

There are many different purposes for letters from an employer to an employee and these could include:

Confirming employment and welcoming an employee

Outlining company policies and procedures

Explaining employee’s responsibilities and entitlements

Congratulating and acknowledging fine performance

Confirming staff appraisal outcomes and training plans

Warning and/or dismissing

Slide 8

Job Advertisement

Front-desk attendant required

187 room, 5 star hotel in the heart of Roma

The suitable candidate should have experience in front office computer

systems, be able to work in a team and have high standards of customer

service.

Please send your CV and letter of application to:

Mr Marsha Thana

Personnel Manager

Roma Hotel

67 Makan Road, Roma

Phone 456 222 980

Applications close on 30th July.

Slide 9

Listen, speak, take notes

You are now going to do an activity which requires you to listen, speak and take down notes. Read the following instructions:

Your trainer is going to give you a job card

Read the job card carefully

Look up any words from the job card that you do not understand

Move around the classroom and ask other trainees ‘What do you do in your job?’

Listen carefully as other trainees read out their job description

Write the name of the job and the trainee’s name in the spaces provided on the survey sheet below

Slide 10

2.1 Identify an appropriate format for a business letter

(1) Jester Restaurant & Bar 22 Long Rd, Mayes, UK

(2) 1st April

Harry Stone

(3) Chief Accountant, Big Beer Brewery

The Industrial Estate, Bruntsfield, UK

(4) Dear Mr. Stone,

(5) I am writing to request a refund or replacement for our last shipment of beer we received on the 8th September. 27 bottles were broken or damaged. Attached are several photos of the damaged goods.

Please advise when you can respond to this request.

(6) Regards,

(7)Caroline Hobbes Caroline Hobbes(8) F& B Manager

Slide 11

2.2 Explain the importance of tone when writing a business letter in English

When writing a business letter there are many factors to consider including:

Understanding the purpose of your letter

Identifying who the audience is

What is the intended outcome of the letter or what do you want readers to learn or do after they read the letter

Understanding the relationship between your role and others. For example, you may use a different tone when writing to your boss as opposed to writing to a close colleague in the same position

Slide 12

Using the appropriate tone

Tips for getting the tone right

Use fairly formal tone

Don’t be too formal if the situation does not require it

Avoid CAPITALISATION as this is the same as yelling when writing

Use short sentences

Create a compassionate and professional tone

Avoid using the passive voice (for example, ‘You can write a letter.’ not ‘A letter can be written by you.’)

Use the pronoun ‘we’ or ‘the organisation is happy to....’ or ‘the resort ...’

Use the active voice (for example, ‘We made a mistake with your delivery.’ not ‘A mistake was made with the delivery.’)

Be careful when using the pronoun ‘you’ as it sounds accusatory in some instances

Use the pronoun ‘you’ to create a closer relationship to the reader (for example, ‘You can use the internet facilities for free.’ not ‘Clients can use the internet for free.’)

Slide 13

2.3 Discuss the type of language preferred in business letters in English

You should use:

Language that is unambiguous and concise

Active voice rather than passive, for example, “I will discussthe matter with my staff.” not “The matter will be discussed.”

Friendly language that avoids difficult vocabulary and complex sentences

Language that is specific rather than general, for example, “I will get back to you by close of business today.” not “I will get back to you later.”

Non-offensive or sexist language

Polite language; not bossy or demanding language

Offers of assistance in the last paragraph, for example, “Feel free to contact us for further information.”

Correct grammar and spelling with a clear order and cohesion of ideas

Correct spelling and punctuation Slide 14

2.4 Plan a response to a business letterAfter carefully reading the letter or email that you have received, it is important to plan how you will respond. Before writing your response you should:

Read the letter again and identify all of the main points

Determine the purpose of the response

Identify the audience or reader

Note down everything you need to include in the response

Make sure that you cover all parts of the letter

Put your points in a logical order

Determine the correct format for the response

Slide 15

Summarising the main points

When summarising a letter or text you must remember to:

Only include the most important points from the original text

Keep the summary as short as possible

Do not include any extra information that is not in the original text, or any personal opinions about the topic

Leave out descriptive words, such as adjectives and adverbs

Write the summary in your own words

Slide 16

Header

Slide 17

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3.1 Apply an appropriate format for a business letter in EnglishIt is important to:

Use the appropriate format for the style of letter

Write the sender’s and receiver’s address in as much detail as possible and in the correct order

Write the month of the date in words not figures

Use the correct title for the receiver

Use the correct salutation and close, for example, Dear/Sir with Yours faithfullyDear Mr/Ms. Smith with Yours sincerely

Include your job title, if appropriate, in the signature block

Leave a space between paragraphs

Slide 18

3.2 Use an appropriate friendly and professional tone when writing a business letter in English

Slide 19

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing to enquire about our booking request which we belatedly lodged with your establishment earlier this month. Although we sent our booking several days ago, we are as of yet to receive a reply confirming our forthcoming lodgings. This may be due to the fact that you are currently being bombarded with requests and are thus pressed for time to engage in correspondence informing us that our booking is granted. We are currently in the midst of arranging our travel itinerary and it would be most gracious of you if you could acknowledge our room booking so as to be able to complete our preparations knowing that we have a roof over our heads when we arrive.

Yours sincerely,

Baron Munster

Tone

Slide 20

Baron,

I already emailed you two hours ago and confirmed your booking.

CHECK your emails in future before you blame others for not doing their job!

Regards,

Anne

3.3 Use the type of language preferred in business letters, including correct spelling, punctuation and grammar

When writing business correspondence you should:

Include the necessary information that responds to the reader of the letter

Always plan before you write

Make sure the information is in a logical order

Use simple and polite language

Make sure that the your writing is clear, concise and easy to understand

Avoid using colloquial language or being too informal

Avoid using pompous or overly formal language

Be accurate in your writing using correct titles, names, figures, dates and times

Check your writing when you have completed the letter and pay attention to spelling, grammar and punctuation Slide 21

What is a paragraph?

Slide 22

A paragraph is a group of sentences. In a good paragraph, every sentence is about the same topic.

For example, if the topic is about the best tourist spots in Russia, then every sentence in the paragraph is about those tourist spots.