商务英语写作教案1

Unit OneⅠ. Teaching Objectives1.Let the students have a good understanding of business writing specifications andrequirements.2.Enable the students to enumerate the major steps of writhing process.Ⅱ. Teaching Difficulties1. The definition of some major terms and concepts related to business writing.EG: Expressive writingCommunicative writingBusiness writing2. Some techniques that are useful to solve possible writing problems.Ⅲ. Teaching MethodsDiscuss & TeachingⅣ. Teaching Periods4 periodsV. Teaching Content（1）The importance of business writing1. cost of poor communicationDifficult to read;Waste the reader’s time;May not produce the desired result2. benefits of good communicationSave time;Increase confidence;Increase efficiency and effectiveness;Build goodwill(2) Art of writing1. Purpose of the writer⊙expressive writing⊙communicative writing2. Style & Manner of writing⊙clarity⊙plain style⊙concision⊙rhetoric(3) Aspects of business writing(4) Business writing process1. planning2. researching3. organizing4. composing5. revising6. editing and proofreadingⅥ. Teaching AssignmentsKeys to In-class Exercise1T 2F 3T 4T 5T 6F 7T 8F 9T 10F 11F 12T 13F 14T 15T 16T 17T 18F 19T 20T Keys to After-class Exercise1.Expressive writing –Expressive writing is mainly concerned with academiclearning. It is personal and informal, employed to encourage comprehension and reflection on the part of the writer. Open-ended and creative, expressive writing isa good way to start learning about a topic. The process of writing –a restlesscycle of inquiry, composition, and revision – pushes students and learners toward the true goals of higher education: critical thinking, creativity, analysis, synthesis, and informed judgment. In this view, then, writing is primarily about thinking and learning, not showing off what you already know. If a writing task teaches you nothing, assignment has been a failure.municative writing–By contrast, communicative writing is analytic,formal and more or less impersonal. It presupposes that the writer already has considerable knowledge and understanding of the topic, and is writing to inform or to persuade a reader. It demands adherence to established conventions of tone, voice, diction, evidence, and citation; these conventions will vary according to discipline and type (e.g. memo, E-mail, business report, plan, and proposal, lab report, history paper, legal brief). Writers communicate their thoughts to others in writing via proper application of methods of Persuading and Informing.3.Business–According to the lexical definitions, the term of business coversoperations of all organizations, not just confined to the commercial organizations.Every organization or every business transaction (or dealing) requires communication –a phone call, meeting, letter, memo, oral presentation, formal report, contract, complaint or claim –and the success of the business dealings depends on the effectiveness of the oral and written communications. One of the clichés in business is that nothing happens until somebody sells something.Communication is central in business because it is central in life: it establishes relationships, and makes human organization possible.4.Business writing –It goes without saying that “business”covers an extremelybroad spectrum of entities and activities, and you probably also aware, at least intuitively, that “business writing”covers an equally broad spectrum of organizations and business activities. Therefore, when we talk about “business writing,” we’re talking about a great many different things. In other word, nobody reads business documents or writings for pleasure. Business writing differs from other writings in the following features:➢Purposeful–It solves problems, conveys information, calls for actions, records events and so on;➢Transactional (result-oriented) – Each writing or document must accomplish one specific task. If not, the writing is meaningless;➢Reader-oriented -- It focuses on the receiver, not the sender;➢Dynamic–Business writers are writing in the dynamic and changing business environments; and➢Economical – Time is money, and resources are limited. We must make full use of them, including time.5.Writing process –The writing process consists of series of steps (of planning,research, organization, composition, revision, editing & proofreading) carried out to complete a writing job in a definite order. It provides a framework to learn about business writing. Since writing is a recursive rather than linear business activities, it compels us to realize that writing is an ongoing, dynamic process.Indeed, a piece of writing is never really finished –it’s merely delivered to a deadline.Unit TwoⅠ. Teaching Objectives1.Let the students learn what resumes are, and how to formulate a quality resumefor themselves;2.Let the students study what resume cover letters are, and how to projectthemselves right in the right content format;3.Examine how to formulate other employment-related letters.Ⅱ. Teaching Difficultiesmon resume formats2.Essential contents of resumes3.The writing of Thank-you letter, Job rejection letter, Job acceptance letter andResignation letter.Ⅲ. Teaching MethodsTeaching & Writing PracticeⅣ. Teaching Periods6 periodsⅤ. Teaching Content(1) Resume Writing1. The definition of resumeA resume is a brief summary of one’s life history or the main events of his/her life, and gives a brief, factual summary of your qualifications beginning with the writer’s birth and listing his/her education background, work experience, professional accomplishments and hobbies.A shorter and more generic definition of resume is: resumes are the sum total of the reasons you give a prospective employer to hire you.2. Different meanings of the terms⊙Bio DataIt is a document containing the history of one’s professional and academic career, skills and goal sets.⊙The difference between a Curriculum Vita and a Resume3. Common Resume Formats⊙Chronological Resume⊙Functional Resume⊙Combination Resume⊙Targeted Resume4. Five primary goals of good resumeCut the clutterCatch the eyeSell your skillDirect the reader your wayGet you to the next step5. Essential Contents of a Resume⊙Identification (Personal Data)⊙Objective⊙Qualifications⊙Work experience⊙Achievements⊙Publications⊙References(2) Resume Cover Letter Writing1. The definition of a resume cover letterA resume cover letter introduces your resume and covers points that the resume does not. It is a well-written outline, with a brief summary of who you are and what you are doing, and what you want to do for the prospective employer.2. Types of Resume Cover Letter3. Content Format of a Resume CoverFirst Paragraph——Why you are writingMiddle Paragraph——What you have to offerConcluding Paragraph——How you will follow up(3) Other letters concerning employment1. Follow-up Letter2. Thank-you Letter3. Job Rejection Letter4. Job Acceptance Letter5. Resignation Letter6. Farewell LetterⅥ.Teaching AssignmentsKeys to In-class Exercise1F 2T 3T 4T 5T 6F 7F 8T 9T 10T11F 12T 13T 14T 15T 16T 17T 18T 19T 20TKeys to After-class Exercisemon resume formats –p.212.Essential contents of a resume - p.223.Resume objectives - p.234.Types of resume covering letters - p.255.Content format of a resume cover - p.266.Five important tips for writing a good cover letter p.27Ⅶ. Supplementary MaterialsUseful expressions related to resume cover letter writing:(1) Reference to advertisement1. I am writing in response to the position you advertised in the Nov. 9 issue of China Daily.2. I am interested in the post you advertised in yesterday’s China Daily.3. I am submitting my resume in response to your advertisement which was issued in Nov. 9.4. I should like to apply for the position of which you advertised in the Nov. 9 issue of China Daily.5. I read your advertisement …… with interest.6. I noted your advertisement for ….. in …..7. Your advertisement in ……. Seems a good match for my qualifications/ credentials/ background…8. I should very much like to be considered for the post of which was advertised in……9. I see from your advertisement in …… that ……10. The job which you described in your advertisement in the Nov. 9 issue of China Daily is one for which I think I can show you some excellent qualifications.11. I am looking for a job as ……, and would be grateful if you would consider me for such a post in your firm/ company./ university/ institute12. I am writing to inquiry about possible position as ……, my colleague/supervisor/friend……, suggested I contact you.(2) Brief summary of qualifications or credentials (with reference to position requirements)1.I am a graduate of …… with a degree in ……2.As you can see from my resume, I hold a degree in ……3.My qualifications include…..4.My strength is in ……(3) Enclosure explanation1.Please find enclosed my resume, which highlights…..2.Please review the enclosed resume.3.The enclosed resume will provide you with ……4.Enclosed is my resume which contains details of …..(4) Salary expectations (optional)1. My salary expectations are in the range between …and …2. My compensation requirements are in the $ … to $...(5) Request for response or contact information1.Thank you for your time and consideration, and I look forward to hearing fromyou shortly.2.I appreciate your consideration, and I look forward to the opportunity to have aninterview.3.Thank you for taking the time to review my resume.4.Should you be interested in my qualifications/ credentials/ background, I would bepleased to meet with you.5.I look forward to hearing from you and I do hope I shall have the opportunity ofan interview.6.I welcome the opportunity to talk to you at your earliest convenience.7.I can come for an interview at any time convenient to you.8.I can be reached by telephone/ E-mail/ ……Application for entry to a university.●I am writing to ask whether you could send me some information about youruniversity and for the application forms.●I am writing to you in the hope that I may obtain an opportunity to dograduate/ postgraduate study in your university.Application for scholarships/ assistantships/ memberships●I am thinking of applying for the scholarship of your institute. I would begrateful if you would let me know how I should go about it.●I am writing to apply for membership of your club. Would you be kindenough to let me know the facilities you provide?●I should be pleased if you could let me have details of any teachingassistantships in electric engineering.●I should like to apply for one of the scholarships that your university may beoffering to students from other countries. Would you please send me the necessary application forms and any further details about the scholarships?Unit ThreeⅠ. Teaching Objectives1.Let the students have a general knowledge about the basics of business memo andletter writing.2.Discuss the writing qualities of message formation.3.Examine short document writings.Ⅱ. Teaching Difficulties1.The format of a business memo2.8 C’s for message formationClarity correctness concreteness completenessConsideration courtesy conciseness coherenceⅢ. Teaching MethodsTeaching & PracticeⅣ. Teaching Periods4 periodsⅤ. Teaching Content(1)Basics of Memos and Business Letters1. The definition of MemoA memo is a short note written as a reminder.2. Format of a business memo⊙Heading SegmentMemorandum/ MemoTO:FROM:DATE:SUBJECT:⊙Body SegmentOpening paragraphsDiscussing paragraphsClosing paragraph(2)The 8 C’s for message formation1.clarity2.correctness3.concretenesspleteness5.consideration6.courtesy7.conciseness8.coherence(3)Writing Short DocumentsⅥ. Teaching AssignmentsKeys to In-class Exercise1T 2F 3T 4F 5T 6T 7T 8T 9T 10TKeys to After-class Exercise1.Clarity - The baseline of workplace writing is clarity, particularly in internationalcommunications. Letters must be clear in what they say. Clarity is a presupposition for other prescriptions, and is stressed by management theorists, gurus and practitioners. It involves a conscientious effort to ensure that our writing to both internal and external customers is as dear and easy to understand as possible. All writing advice has boiled down to one sentence; be succinct.Keep your message short and to the point.Good writer build ideas from sentence to sentence. The simple declarative sentence is the easiest way to process information. Sentences that differ from that simple structure may cause readability problems. The trick is to use conversational tone for your business writing because language used in letters and emails was supposed to be modeled on everyday speech of well-educated person, without slipping into vulgarities.2.Correctness– Correctness is all about making it right. Letters filled with errorsare distracting. Readers get so distracted by misspelled words and poor grammar that they miss the point. If you send a letter that’s filled with mistakes, your real message is that you are sloppy and careless. So, correctness is primarily concerned with the mastery of English grammar. This is no surprise. With a clear understanding of the fundamentals of grammar, one has a solid base on which to continually refine one’s knowledge of grammar.Allied with this competence is the mastery of the mechanics of writing. Again,this is no surprise. The ability to form coherent sentences and paragraphs is essential for great writing. One can also develop powerful skills such as predominantly using action words, delimiting subject matter within each paragraph, editing one’s writing so it read smoothly, and so on.3.Concreteness –Concreteness is about making it concrete rather than abstract.Concrete and abstract patterns of language reflect an author’s word choice.Abstract words (for example, “wisdom,”“power,”“beauty”and “dedication”) refer to general ideas, qualities, or conditions. They represent an abstract or intangible concept. Concrete words name material objects and items associated with the five senses –words like “rock,”“computer,”“operating manual”and “basketball.” They are objects and substances that exist physically. Both abstract and concrete languages are useful in communicating ideas. Generally you should not be too abstract in business writing. It is best to employ concrete words, naming things that can be seen, touched, smelled, heard, or tasted in order to support generalizations, topic sentences, or more abstract idea.Abstractions may be interpreted somewhat differently from one reader to the next and therefore may not always be appropriate for business writing for external audiences. Concrete nouns, however, help to convey specific detail and communicate facts rather than impressions.pleteness - Your responsibility as a communicator is to plan, shape andassemble your outgoing message and information so that it will be complete. The opposite side of complete message and information is incomplete. Let’s assume in a case where your decision was made based the incomplete message and information, and then what would happen? You either mightn’t get there or suffered a loss because of poor, deficient, distorted information and message. A complete message or information prevents a poor impressions and unwanted outcome, and saves time for the reader. Unnecessary letters add up to unnecessary time and costs.5.Consideration – Consideration is all about adaptation (writing in you customers’shoes). The styles of a memo and letter should be adapted to the reader and the subject. To superiors it should be respectful and deferential; to inferiors, courteous; to friends, familiar; to relations, affectionate; to children, simple and playful. On important subjects it should be forcible and impressive; on lighter subjects, easy and sprightly; in condolence, tender and sympathetic; in congratulations, lively and joyous.At some point in our lives, most of us have received an angry letter. Your letters may have come from a jilted lover, an ex-spouse and an angry relative, a creditor.What did you feel after reading those angry letters? You may feel ashamed, guilty and threatened, right? In business, letters filled with angry, blaming statements will alienate your customers, suppliers, any neutral decision-makers, mediators, hearing officers, or judges. Sarcastic, threatening and intimidating letters will create negative emotions in your clients’ memory bank. So if you’re tempted to fire off a letter, you may trigger a negative sympathy factor among your customers. It won’t do good to you and your business at all.Remembering to consideration requires business writers to write to be understood, not to overwhelm. This means you need to express ideas in a fashion your readers can read quickly, understand, remember and act upon. Let’s put it another way.Keep your business writing conversational. Your business writing should sound as natural as a telephone conversation. That’s all business writing is –conversation on paper.In his book, “Talking Straight,”Lee Iacocca wrote, “write the way you talk. If you don’t talk that way, don’t write that way.”In school, you are told to use various academic paradigms to impress people with your vocabulary. In the workplace, you should tap your knowledge of business language skillfully to inform, to persuade or to communicate. You will be not writing for getting a grade, but for getting your desired business result. The trick is not to make people guess what you mean.6.Courtesy–Minding your manners not only matters in your oralcommunication but equally, if not more, important in the written communication.Courtesy is a writing quality of message in which the writer must show his/her own sincere, polite and gracious manners. Writing in the reader’s shoes is not enough if you don’t care about your image-building in the written message.Business writers should not take it for granted simply because your style and tone of oral and written message in the eyes of the reader really has a short-and-long effect in the reader’s mind. For instance, a text full of biased, rude, hostile, belligerent and threatening language may leave an indelible mark on its audience.Writers do not have luxury of treating casually any writing that they do. Words outlive actions. Thus, courtesy requires you to write polite, considerate and diplomatic “Mr. Manners” Letters, listing the problems but keeping you style and tone pleasant, professional and businesslike.7.Conciseness –Emails and letters must be concise. Brevity is highly desirable. Onthe other hand, the subject matter should determine length, and clarity, above all, should not be sacrificed for conciseness. As discussed above, we must first make our messages clear in what they say, and then consider making it concise.Conversely, concise and succinct language enhances clarity.Conciseness is all about methods of eliminating wordiness. Conciseness means you write and say in the fewest possible words without sacrificing the other C qualities. A concise message saves time and expenses for both sender and receiver.Conciseness contributes to emphasis and make important ideas stand out, and last longer.8.Coherence –Coherence is a quality in effective writing that results from thecareful ordering of each sentence in a paragraph and each paragraph in the paper.If an essay (the paragraph) is coherent, each part (each sentence) will grow naturally and logically from those parts (sentences) that come before it.Following careful chronological, logical, spatial, or sequential order is the most natural way to achieve coherence in writing. The main devices used in achieving coherence are transitions, which help to connect one thought with another.Unity is another quality of effective writing closely associated with coherence.These two qualities can’t fall apart simply because cohesive sentences and parts are not necessarily unified or consistent with the central idea in an essay. Unity isa feature in an essay whereby all material relates to a central concept andcontributes to the meaning of the whole. To achieve a unified effect in an essay, the writer must design an effective introduction and conclusion, maintain consistent tone or point of view, develop middle paragraph in a coherent, congruent, and consistent manner, and above all stick to the subject, never permitting unimportant or irrelevant elements to enter.Congruity is also closely allied with coherence in writing. Making your message congruent is about making it harmonious and flowing. You may have many great ideas, but present them poorly. Readers may have hard time get at it. Congruity requires business writers to develop their ideas, concepts and thoughts in 2 directions of efforts to be congruent. In one direction, we must admit that “thinking and language are linked together,” as Albert Einstein said. In “so-called abstract concepts, language becomes an instrument of reasoning in the true sense of the word. But it is also this development which turns language into a dangerous source of error and deception.”In the other direction, “we may conclude that the mental development of the individual and his way of forming concepts depend to a high degree upon language.” (Albert Einstein’s essay on The Common Language of Science).Consistency of purpose (COP) is the most important writing virtue because without COP you can’t practice any other virtues consistently. In other word, you can practice any virtue erratically, but nothing consistently without COP. Unless your organization uses a specific style manual for its written communications, the most important thing is to remain consistent, both within a particular document, and from document to document. Furthermore, business writers must connect their writing with the company’s mission, objectives, strategies and policies. For instance, a company declares itself as a customer-focused, quality-oriented and environment-friendly organization. But in reality, the company has never adopted procedures in writing and trained its employees for execution. This may only create mistrust among the publics.Ⅶ. Supplementary MaterialsBuilding Your Business Letters on “Skeletons”Business letters are not literary works. Many of writing conventions and rules students and learners have acquired during their studies of General English are not readily applicable in the corporate world. In fact, business writing is verbal “workhorses” with a purpose only to convey information, and what you want the reader to do with it, as quickly and clearly as possible.One of the writing strategies you can use is to deploy certain “Skeletons” or models or framework by making notes as if to yourself, and leads that guide your writing tasks. These notes and leads will come out in a direct style naturally, because you’re not intimidated or disquieted when writing to yourself. Don’t restrict yourself to a structure at this stage. Just write out everything you can think of that should gointo the letter.Now, match your notes to the sequence in one of the skeletons described below.Discard any notes that aren’t relevant.If you build up your letter along these lines you’ll find that your style is clear and straightforward, with no unnecessary adjectives, adverbs, business phrases such as “corporate speak”, clichés, red tape, or archaic language/legalist styles that some people are still using in business letters. Although our coverage is not complete, we believe that by noting these models and their special requirements, you will be able to adapt to any related situation not covered.M1 – 3-Step ModelThe letter writing in the 3-step mode (opener-body-close) is a conventional structure that sets the solid structural basis for business letter writing. The universally accepted 3-step model guides us to be engaged in the business letter writing in the following light.Opener(Star) –offers reasons and/or references why the letter is written. More specifically, a good star forces the writer to1.Design a sentence to catch the reader’s attention;2.Offer a reason and/or reference for the reader to read on;3.Make a smooth transition (including “buffer”) to the body content.Body (chain) – offers a chain of information, explanations, reasons, logic, emotional links that move readers from their first flicker of interest to the action. They are supposed to be the true “meat” of the business letter. A good chain answers readers’ questions, overcomes their objections, and involves them emotionally. The “meat” for the body of the letter includes, but not limited to, the following:rmation that readers will find useful;2.Explanations, reasons and logic (your selling points) that readers will findreasonable, logic and/or, at least, explorsible even if they do not buy, give, or agree to.Close (action knot)– offers conclusions and motivations for further actions and/or an action knot. The action knot in the business letter plays 4 roles of1.Telling your reader what to do:2.Offering a reason for acting promptly:3.Making the action sound easy:4.Ending with blended outcome:(Samples are omitted.)M2– 4-Step ModelThe 4-step model of business letter writing is developed and constructed by Dr.Joel P. Bowman, the co-author of Business English Writing. It’s a breakthrough, but it’s not a revolutionary one that turn the conventional model upside down. The 4-step model is more business process oriented that guides us to approach the business letter writing tasks tactically. Typically, the 4-step process would proceed as follows: In building up a business letter of making a claim1.Pace–定调(确定本信函的基调, 控制好节奏)I am writing to relate you to the unsatisfactory work you did for us last week.2.Lead–引领(提供信息、理由、解说，让读者明白本信函的中心点)As someone who has work with your company for over 3 years, were very disappointed to see the documents you produced for our latest ABC Company’s publicity campaign.3.Blended Outcome–创造/产生一种和谐的效果/结果As our written agreement stipulated, we expected full color leaflets with fancy explanatory texts, but instead, we found that black and white photos had been included in the prepared leaflets. I think you will agree that a communication problem exists.4.Motivate–激励/给予(做事的)动机We would like you to send out a photographer to provide us with the promised color coverage, or provide us with a refund.In replying the business letter of making an adjustment1.Pace –I was very disappointed to read your letter of xxxxx [date] dealing with the issueof incorrectly produced publicity leaflets.2.Lead –As someone who values your business, I have already begun to find a solution to resolve this problem.3.Blended Outcome–My top photographer will call you to arrange an appointment at your earliest possible convenience to re-take photos in full color.4.Motivate –Also, we will deduct another 5 percent of the bill for the misunderstanding. Thank you for your patience.M3 – 6-Step ModelSame as the 4-step process, the 6-step model would distinctively be:In building up a business letter of an outstanding account1 –Background提供/说明背景I see from our records that you were first invoiced for this amount four months agoand statements have been sent out to you each month since then2 –The sticky issue棘手的问题; 难题;议题This can’t go on, especially as you haven’t contacted us to discuss extending your credit3 –What I want to happen now你现在希望事情如何进展Pay up in the next seven days4 –Or else如行不通，你又如何或又有什么变通的办法We will be obliged to start legal proceedings against you5 –Sweetener增添对方采取行动的动力If you do pay up by return, we won’t take any information action and will restart your30 days’ credit as before6 –Next move接下来的行动/最后的提议Please contact me urgently and let me know what you intend to do Now, let’s say you were the recipient of the above letter and want to winkle out more。