Unit 14. BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

14.1. Listening Development

Assignment 1. Listen to the recording to Unit 14. Part 1 ‘Written world 1’ describes the early stages of the development of writing. Listen and make a short summary.

Part 2 ‘Written world 2’ dwells on the revolution in technology of writing. Listen and put down those fact you found the most interesting.

Assignment 2. Listen to the recording to Part 3 tackling the religious aspect of the influence of writing for pleasure.

14.2. Vocabulary Enrichment

Assignment 1. The two formats below are great examples of what a business letter should look like. Compare the block layout and the indented layout to see how different they are. Check whether there are any mistakes in writing. Then explain how you understand the words and expressions from the letter.

1. paragraph(s)
2. margins
3. recipient
4. to think in terms of
5. passion – passionately
6. ident on every paragraph
7. justify – justification
8. keep it straight to the point
9. restate the purpose
10. close the letter
11. sign – signature
12. enclosure

Assignment 2. Put the following phrases in the right column.

Assignment 3. Look through the following phrases and try to think of the situations in which you can use them.

1. to act on behalf of
2. always at your service
3. as agreed
4. as far as the payment is concerned
5. as per invoice
6. as per your request
7. as requested
8. at your earliest convenience
9. at your expense
10. on delivery
11. on receipt of the order
12. on short notice
13. on written request
14. order to be confirmed
15. our offer is still open
16. we acknowledge receipt of
17. we apologize for the delay
18. to notify in advance about

Assignment 4. Complete the sentences with the appropriate prepositions.

Assignment 5. Complete each of the sentences below with an appropriate word.

Assignment 6. Proofread the letter asking for reference below and correct all the mistakes.

Assignment 7. Translate the following sentences into English using the active vocabulary.

14.3. Reading Improvement

Assignment 1. Look at the subtitles from the text “Job Search Email Etiquette” – and match them to the paragraphs (1 – 8). The first one has been done for you as an example.

Assignment 2. Mark whether these sentences are true or false.

14.4. Writing Enhancement

Assignment 1. Read the following letter and replace the underlined formal phrases with more appropriate informal ones.

Assignment 2. Write these letters in the appropriate style using 120 – 180 words. Make sure to use the active vocabulary properly.

1. You need to buy new furniture for your company. Write an enquiry letter.
2. Write an order letter for the new furniture for your company.

14.5. Speaking Reinforcement

Assignment 1. Speak about your experience in writing personal letters, business letters, emails. Find out how often your group mates do it, what they enjoy doing, what difficulties they have.

Assignment 2. Discuss what you would write in a letter if you happened to find yourself on the desert island, and had a sheet of paper, a pen, and a bottle with a cork.