Business English Writing introduction

BusinessEnglishWritingAnIntroductionMakeimprovementsonthefollowingwriting:•DearMissJessica,•WehadthemeetingyesterdayoftheProjectManagementtodiscussthewaytomoveforward.Manythingswerediscussedabouttheprojectandwefoundsomeproblems,buttheproblemswecansolvewithsomecareandattentiontothetechnicaldetails.Forexample,howtomakeextratimefortheretrofitphasetocomplywiththecodesnecessary?Weneedyourhelp.Thisdecisionwecouldnottakeatthemeeting,andIbelieveweneedyouradviceonthematter.Mahmud,JoannaandWalidattendedthemeeting,inadditiontomyself.Thereareomeotherthingsthatwediscussedwithgreatsuccess,suchasallthefinalspecificationsforthecollapsibleladderandfinalizationoftheproductionfloorplansafetyfeaturesandequipment,whichwilltobeveryimportant.Wehopeyoucanprovideuswithsomeguidance.•Yours,DanielEnglishasabusinesslinguafranca•Alinguafrancaisalanguagesystematicallyusedtomakecommunicationpossiblebetweenpeoplenotsharingafirstlanguage,inparticularwhenitisathirdlanguage,distinctfrombothspeakers'firstlanguages.•Objectives:Writeclear,powerfulmessagesusinglogicalargumentsandeffectiveorganizationtofulfillspecificbusinesstasks;•Thinkcriticallyaboutrhetoricalstrategiesandaudienceacceptance;•Analyzewrittenandverbalcommunicationsandmakeevaluationsandassessments;•Designvisuallyattractivedocumentswithinformativeandeye-catchingvisualelements;•Usetechnologytoeffectivelypresentyourmessages.•Contents:•UnitoneBusinesswriting:Processandprinciples(Week1-2)•UnitTwoBusinesscorrespondence(Week3-5)•UnitTwoMemos(Week6-7)•UnitthreeMeetingmaterials(Week8)•UnitfourBusinessreports(Week9-11)•UnitfiveProposals(Week12-13)•UnitSixInstructions(Week14-15)•UnitSevenPressreleases(Week16)•UnitEightContracts(Week17-18)Reference:•Geffner,B.Andrea.BusinessEnglish:TheWritingSkillsYouNeedforToday'sWorkplace.Barron'sEducationalSeries,2010.•Talbot,Fiona.HowtoWriteEffectiveBusinessEnglish.KoganPagePublishers,2009Attendance:•Onlyonefreeabsence.Grading:Youwillbegradedbasedona100-pointscale.•30points–classperformance.•40points–Writingassigments•30points--finalexam.Whatarebusinesswritings?•Cf.Academicwriting&generalwriting•Collectively,businesswritingsarethehard-copypaperrecordingtheproposals,activitiesandresultsofcountlessbusinessactivities.2.Businesswritingasaprocess:Goal----tocreatemessagesthathaveaclearpurpose,meettheneedsofyouraudience,andcommunicateefficiently.Athree-stepprocessPlanningWritingCompletingDefinethePurposeAnalyzetheaudienceGatherInformationSelecttheRightMediumOrganizetheInformationAdapttoYourAudienceComposetheMessageRevisetheMessageProducetheMessageProofreadtheMessageDistributetheMessage•Timeallotmentforeachstep:Planningbusinessmessage•1.Definethepurpose•WhyamIwritingthisdocument?•generalpurpose:•Explainorjustifyactions•Conveyinformation•Influencereaders•Deliverbad/goodnews•Requestactions•specificpurpose(Objective):identifieswhatyouhopetoaccomplishwithyourwriting.(e.g.tosecureacontract;toanswerspecificquestionsconcerningmarketingstrategies)•Explicitpurposes:•askforabid;•thankacustomer;•congratulateanewemployee•IMplicitpurposes:•togenerateatrust;•topersuade/blame;•toestablishyourcredibility.EXERCISEs:Foreachofthefollowingcommunicationtasks,stateaspecificpurpose(ifyouhavetrouble,trybeginningwith“Iwantto...”).•1.Areporttoyourboss,thestoremanager,abouttheoutdateditemsinthewarehouse•2.Ablogposting(onyourexternalwebsite)tocustomersandthenewsmediaaboutyourcompany’splanstoacquireacompetitor•3.Alettertoacustomerwhohasn’tmadeapaymentforthreemonths•4.Ane-mailmessagetoemployeesabouttheoffice’shighwaterbills•5.Aphonecalltoasuppliercheckingonanoverduepartsshipment•6.Apodcasttonewusersofthecompany’sonlinecontentmanagementsystemPlanningbusinessmessage•2.AnalyzetheaudienceandtheirneedsWhoamIgoingtoaddressat?WhatdoIwantthemtodo?WhatdoIwantthemtothinkorfeel?PlanningbusinessmessageAudienceanalysis•■Identifyyourprimaryaudience.•■Determineaudiencesizeandgeographicdistribution.•■Determineaudiencecomposition.•■Gaugeaudiencemembers’levelofunderstanding.•■Understandaudienceexpectationsandpreferences.•■Forecastprobableaudiencereaction.EXERCISES:AudienceProfileForeachcommunicationtaskbelow,writebriefanswerstothreequestions:(1)Whoismyaudience?(2)Whatismyaudience’sattitudetowardmysubject?(3)Whatdoesmyaudienceneedtoknow?•1.Afinal-noticecollectionletterfromanappliancemanufacturertoanappliancedealer,senttendaysbeforeinitiatinglegalcollectionprocedures•2.Apromotionalmessageonyourcompany’se-retailingwebsite,announcingatemporarypricereductiononhigh-definitiontelevisionsets•3.AnadvertisementforpeanutbutterExercises:Audienceprofile•4.Alettertothepropertymanagementcompanyresponsibleformaintainingyourofficebuilding,complainingaboutpersistentproblemswiththeheatingandairconditioning•5.Acoverlettersentalongwithyourrésumétoapotentialemployer•6.Arequest(totheseller)forapriceadjustmentonapianothatincurred$150indamageduringdeliverytoabanquetroominthehotelyoumanagePlanningbusinessmessage•3.GatheringInformation----gatherinformationbasedonyouraudience’sneeds.Yourinformationanswerswho,what,when,where,why,andhow(jour