English for business, management of business lesson2 PDF

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Session

2

Communication in Business Disciplines [Part 2]

OBJECTIVES At the end of this unit you should be able to: • Write Concisely • Write Coherently There also will be additional exercises to reinforce your understanding of the 3Cs of business writing.

Writing with Conciseness Business writing needs to be concise. However, it is common to find memo, letters and reports that contain redundant words and phrases. Redundancy, rather than poor grammar and spelling, is the biggest source of problems in business writing.

Eliminate Unnecessary Determiners & Modifiers Writers sometimes clog up their letters and memo with one or more extra words or phrases that seem to determine narrowly or to modify the meaning of a noun but don't actually add to the meaning of the sentence. Although such words and phrases can be meaningful in the appropriate context, they are often used as "fillers" and can easily be eliminated. Example 1Clearing the supplies by June is an Clearing the supplies by June impossibility without some form of special impossible without a special plan. plan. For all intents and purposes, Singapore’s economic productivity generally depends on certain factors that are really more social in kind than of any given technological aspect.

is

Singapore’s economic productivity depends more on social than on technological factors.

Here's a list of some words and phrases that can often be pruned away to make sentences clearer: kind of sort of type of really basically for all intents & purposes

English for Business

definitely actually generally individual specific particular

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CHANGE UNNECESSARY that, who, and which CLAUSES INTO PHRASES Example 2 The report, which was released recently The recently released report was disputed. disputed.

was

The system that is most efficient and The most efficient and accurate system accurate is used today. is used today. OMIT REPETITIVE WORDING Example 3 -

Specific words imply their general categories, so we usually don't have to During that time period, many car buyers state both. preferred cars that were pink in color During that period, many car buyers and shiny in appearance. preferred pink, shiny cars.

Activity 1 Correct the sentences below to make them more concise: 1.

In the year 2008, the company took steps to encourage family centredness.

2.

It is our opinion that you should not attempt to move forward until such time as you seek and obtain approval of the plan from the team leader prior to beginning this project.

3.

This is to advise you that beginning with the date of April 1 all charges made after that date will be charged to your new credit card number.

4.

Pursuant to your request, enclosed please find a copy of your August statement.

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Writing with Coherence Business writing needs to be coherent. A message is made up of bits of information that needs to be linked together to form a flow of thought that starts from the beginning of the message and ending with a close. The way to link the information together effectively is through the use of transitional words. Now compare Paragraph A & B: Paragraph A The duties of most cashiers include receiving money, making change and filling out charge forms. They need to have good arithmetic skills. They must often handle a lot of money on a single day. They must be honest. Cashiers meet the public. They should look neat, act friendly and helpful. Paragraph B The duties of most cashiers include receiving money, making change and filling out charge forms. Therefore, they need to have good arithmetic skills. They must also be honest, because they must often handle a lot of money in a single day. In addition, since cashiers meet the public, they should look neat, act friendly, and be helpful. Note how the words in italics in Paragraph B help signal the reader to connect ideas made in the paragraph: Therefore Also Because In addition Since

-

shows effect shows addition shows cause shows addition shows cause and effect

TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES The following are transitional words that help to connect ideas more smoothly. They provide logical organization and understandability. Transitions indicate relations whether within a sentence, paragraph or a complete paper. Transitions Showing ADDITION again, also, and, and then, besides, equally, finally, first, further, furthermore, in add ition, in the f irst place, last , likewise, moreover, next, nor, then, th ird, too Transitions Showing COMPARISON also, as well as, at the same time, equally important, in like manner, in the same wa y, likewise, similarly

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Transitions Showing CONTRAST although, and yet, at the same time, but, conversely, despite, even so, even though, f or all that, however, in contrast, instead of, in spite of, nevertheless, nonetheless, regardless, notwithstanding, on one hand, on the contrary, yet, o n the other hand, otherwise, rathe r than, still, whereas, while Transitions Showing CAUSE and EFFECT accord ingly, as a result, because, consequently, evidenced by, for this reason, hence, if, provid ing that, since, so, so that, that, then, theref ore, thereupon, thus, un less, whenever Transitions Showing TIME after, af terwards, and then, as long as, as soon as, at last, at length, at present, at the same time, before, currently, finally, during, even tually, ever since, in the meantime, gradually, immediately, in the future, no w, in the past, later, meanwhile, until, soon, suddenly, then, fir st, second…etc, when, whenever, while Transitions Show ing SUMM ARY OR RESTATE MENT again, as has been noted, as you have read, for these re asons, in brief, in conc lus ion, in fact, in other words, in sum, of course, on the whole, that is, to be sure, to su m up Transitions Show ing EX AMP LE an example is , an illustration is, for an other thing, for e xa mple, for instance, for one thing, in fact, one such, some e xamples are, specially, such as Transitions Show ing PURPOSE By the way, for this purpose, for th is reason, if , in order to, lest, so that, to this end, whenever, with this object in mind Transitions Show ing EMPH ASIS above a ll, especially, indeed, in any e vent, in fact, in particular, most important, to tell the truth Transitions Show ing LOC ATIO N above, adjacent to, below, beside, beyond, close r, further, here, inside, nearby, close r, further, here, inside, nearby, next to, outs ide, there, where, opposite to, on the opposite side, north (east, south , west) of Important Note: When selecting a transition, do NOT base the decision on how it sounds, in relation with the sentence. Instead, • understand the function of each category of transitions • choose the most suitable transition based on the relationship of the sentences / the phrases before/after the blank. English for Business

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Activity 2 Using appropriate Transition Words , write a paragraph connecting the ideas found in the boxes in the following exercise. The topic sentence for each of the paragraph is given: Q.1

o not enough time to study o requires tight scheduling o not enough free time

Holding a job while going to school is not easy. ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ Q.2

Put the following points in the box below in the right order before you write your paragraph. o o o o o

considered other job possibilities filled out many applications decided on job I wanted to look for was unhappy with old job was called in for a few interviews

I finally got the job I wanted.

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Activity 3 - Revision Exercise on Parallel Structure 1. Jennifer is smart, beautiful, and loves everyone.

2. Andy’s day is so long that he gets up at 6:00 a.m., leaves for work at 6:30 a.m., is eating dinner at 11:00 p.m., and goes to bed at 2:00 a.m.

3. Bob was not only Sam’s roommate, but also he was his best friend.

4. If you go to the store, please remember to pick up your prescription, buy some shampoo, and a notebook.

5. I spent two hours with Ms. Smith, reviewing my job performance, evaluating my goals, and my future with the company was also discussed.

6. Most people play golf for pleasure, for exercise, and so they can meet people.

7. The most dangerous forms of transportation are bicycles, cars, and riding a motorcycle.

8. Many people share the same three fears: making speeches, being in high places, and numbers.

9. At the workshop, the car was sanded to the bare metal, painted with primer, and blue enamel was sprayed on. English for Business

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Activity 4 - Revision Exercises on Transitions

Because

instead

consequently

furthermore

A vegetarian can be defined as someone who does not eat meat, fish, or other animal products, such as eggs or cheese; 1) _____, he or she eats vegetables, fruits, grains, and seeds. 2) _____ this diet consists of non-meat food sources, a vegetarian typically consumes less fat and cholesterol than an individual who consumes meat. 3) _____, raising animals for food uses valuable land, water, and energy. 4) _____, adopting a vegetarian diet helps conserve the valuable resources that our future depends on.

in fact

moreover

but

unfortunately

for example

Massive energy consumption is having a negative impact on the planet. 1) _____, in the summer of 2006, Western Europe experienced some of the hottest weather on record. 2)______, this temperature increase is not an isolated occurrence. 3)_____, almost every credible scientist today believes that the earth is experiencing climate change due to the emissions of greenhouse gases from cars and coal-burning power plants. Ninety per cent of the energy used in the US comes from fossil fuels, oil, coal, and natural gas, 4)_____ problems arise from other sources, too (e.g., nuclear power plants leave radioactive by-products, making storage difficult). 5)______, dams are not much better, as nearby populations must be relocated, and the surrounding habitat is destroyed.

Recently By contrast

For example

In other words

Whereas

And

1) _____, studies investigating the pros and cons of single-sex versus coeducation schools have come to public attention, 2)_____ the results show some dramatic differences between the genders. 3)_____, single-sex schools appear to help girls with their work habits; 4)_____, boys achieve a higher success rate in a coeducational system. 5)_____, girls seem to work best when communication and co-operation are stressed, 6)_____ boys may be more comfortable with individual and competitive styles of learning. English for Business

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