Business letter 1 - Memo

   Coursebook, page 14, Dilemma&Decision (this was your homework)

   Read the brief and the three tasks. Decide if the two companies will merge or not and why (or
   why not), i.e. highlight the common points (or the differences if the decision is negative).
   You can use page 145 for inspiration if you want to. Then write a memo from the boss of
   Unilever to its staff, informing them of the decision and the reasons (The 'Write it up'
   task). Use your notes from the memo lesson, your corrected memos and the Style Guide to
   produce a perfect memo.

   

   Business letter 2 - E-mail

   Coursebook, page 22, Dilemma&Decision

   Inform the senior management of the decision and reasons for it (we did this in the lesson, so
   write what you have talked about and decided in your groups). Don't be too brief, you have to
   convince the managers that the decision is good. Senior managers are above you, so use the
   appropriate style. This e-mail should only be in the form of a letter, so just keep a logical
   structure (salutation, intro, main point, supporting points, don't forget to 'say goodbye' and
   sign) plus the To:, From: etc. information.

   

   Business letter 3 - Fax

   Coursebook, page 26, Writing

   If you don't know anything about paintball, do some research (this will come in handy once
   you're managers and have problems with your teams) and write a fax in which you mention
   everything the instructions say, i.e. describe what you do, how much it costs, what the terms
   (or conditions) are, when the team could come and have fun killing the other team members.
   Don't forget that this is an answer to a company which asked about your services, so open the
   fax in an appropriate way (background info). Also don't forget about the structure (consult
   the Style Guide), make sure nothing is missing. Even if you don't have a fax number yourself,
   put something there, if it's empty, it doesn't look professional.

   

   Business letter 4 - Factual report

   Coursebook, page 40, Dilemma&Decision

   Remember the "meeting" you held in the lesson and write a report of it. If you don't remember
   or weren't present, make something up, but make it relevant to the situation described in the
   book. Don't forget to give background information in the introduction (what the problem is and
   why was the meeting held). Report on the views held by the three participants, on the
   development of the discussion and on the conclusions reached. In the end paragraph, state what
   you agreed on and give recommendations. You are writing it as an observer, not one of the
   participants. Use constructions appropriate for reports. Consult the Style Guide for useful
   phrases and basic info about reports, you can also use phrases from the copies I gave you.
   Reports are formal pieces of writing.

   The length should be about one page (1800 characters including spaces is the standard), don't
   make it much longer, have mercy on me. In case it's shorter, it has to be comprehensive.

   

   Business letter 5 - Formal correspondence

   Copies from Skillsbook which you got from me in the lesson, page 61, Task 2, Step 1

   Choose one of these tasks/situations (student A or student B) and write a formal letter.

   Student A: You work for a charity. Write a formal letter to a business person. Ask their
   company to donate something to a charity auction (choose a charity and an object). Give a
   reason why you chose their company.

   Student B: You work for a local business. Write a letter to someone from a different company
   asking them to come and give a talk (i.e. lecture; choose the subject, location and date).
   Give the reason why you have chosen them.

   Include all these points:

   ·   Say why you are writing

   ·   Say what you want

   ·   Give reasons

   ·   Thank the person for their help

   Use appropriate greeting and ending. It's formal and you want a favour, so choose words and
   constructions accordingly. Your letter should persuade the recipient to help, flattery is
   welcome (in limited amounts). Remember everything we said about formality and politeness.

   This letter should be about one page long (see letter 4), it can be shorter, but the impact on
   the recipient must be strong enough. Don't make it longer, please.

   

   

   Now get back to the beginning and read the instructions again. Repeat until you understand
   everything.

   

   If there are any questions, mail me.

   

   Please, mind the instructions and CHECK YOUR SPELLING before uploading the letters. If the
   letters are sloppy, they'll be returned and you will have to rewrite them.