Luận Văn A study on how to write an effective thank you letter

Khóa luận tốt nghiệp
Đề tài: A study on how to write an effective thank you letter


Table of contents
Acknowledgements
Part I. Introduction Page
1. Rationale 1
2. Aims of the study 1
3. Scope of the study 1
4. Methods of the study 2
5. Design of the study 2
Part II. Development
ChapterI . Theoretical background
1.1 An overview of kinds of letters 3
1.1.1. Purposes of general letters 3
1.1.2. Kinds of letter 3
1.1.2.1. Formal letter 3
1.1.2.2. Informal letter 5
1.1.3. The differences between two kinds of letters 5
1.1.4. Factors of an effective letter 7
1.2. An overview of kinds of thank you letters
1.2.1. Purposes of thank you letters 11
1.2.2. Kinds of thank you letters 11
ChapterII . An insight into an effective thank you letter
2.1 Organization and content
2.1.1 Formal thank you letter 13
2.1.1.1. Heading 13
2.1.1.2. Introduction 14
2.1.1.3. Body 15
2.1.1.4. Closing 15
2.1.2. Informal thank you letter 16
2.1.2.1. Heading 16
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2.1.2.2. Introduction 16
2.1.2.3. Body 17
2.1.2.4. Closing 17
2.2. Stylistic features of thank you letters
2.2.1. Form 17
2.2.1.1. Organization 17
2.1.1.2. Punctuation 18
2.1.1.3. Capitalization. 19
2.2.2. Content 19
2.2.2.1. Accuracy 19
2.2.2.2. Coherence 21
2.2.2.3. Tone 22
2.3. Linguistic features of thank you letters
2.3.1. Language choice 22
2.3.2. Abbreviation 23
2.3.3. Part of speech 23
2.3.4. Types of Sentence 25
3.1. Some tips of an effective thank you letters
3.1.1. Compose (and personalize) thank-you letters to each person you met 26
3.1.2. Keep thank-you letters short, concise and direct 27
3.1.3. Be genuine in your appreciation 27
3.1.4. Use short sentences and paragraphs 27
3.1.5. Make sure it is appropriate 27
3.1.6. Remind the recipient 28
3.1.7. Make it personal 28
3.1.8. Check spelling and grammar 28
3.1.9. Close your thank-you letter with repeated thanks and appreciation 28
3.1.10. Carefully proofread/edit 29
3.1.11. Good impression 29
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ChapterIII . Some possible mistakes made by students, suggested
solutions and models of thank you letters
4.1. Some possible mistakes made by students
4.1.1. Not identifying the purpose of the letter. 30
4.1.2. Not getting to the point. 30
4.1.3. Redundancy. 31
4.1.4. Using unfamiliar acronyms, abbreviations or technical language. 31
4.1.5. Using ambiguous or confusing words. 31
4.1.6. Monotonous sentence structure. 31
4.1.7. Inconsistency. 32
4.1.8. Fragments, run-on sentences and missing or incorrect punctuation. 32
4.1.9. Bad spelling and missed words 32
4.1.10. Not reading it over before sending it. 33
4.1.11. Others 33
4.2. Suggested solutions to overcome these problems 33
4.3. Models of thank you letters 35
4.3.1. Formal thank you letters 35
4.3.2. Informal thank you letters 40
Part III . Conclusion 45
References 46


Part I. Introduction
1. Rationale.
Giving and receiving something back is a necessary law of life, which makes the
relationship between people and people become fine. But how to keep this law is
an also considerable problem. Sometimes, deep gratitude can not be expressed
by one, two words or a conversation but a thank you letter may then be an
effective way to express thanks.
A standard thank you letter should satisfy many factors. Yet, sincerity, courtesy,
and accuracy are the most important ones. Therefore, to write an effective thank
you letter, the writers not only need to be the knowledgeable about writing both
business and personal English but also different writing style with common
obligation features such as stylistic and linguistic.
For the above – mentioned reasons, the writer has decided to study how to write
an effective thank you letter. And the writer hopes that it can be a useful material
and make the readers understand the way to write a thank you letter effectively.
2. Aims of the study.
This study is to help readers understand the way to write letters clearly and then
they can write an effective thank you letter. Its main purposes are:
To give theoretical background of letters in general and thank you
letter in particular.
To analyze stylistic and linguistic features of thank you letters.
To discuss some possible mistakes made by students and to give some
suggested solutions.
3. Scope of the study
There are a lot of interesting fields to study in English. Yet, how to write an
effective thank you letter is a subject that attracts me much. So I have decided to
do research in to this field.
In this study, due to the limited time and knowledge of a un- experienced writer, I
only concentrate on analyzing formal and informal thank you letter with its
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linguistic and stylistic features and some tips to write an effective thank you letter.
4. Methods of the study.
To study successfully and effectively, methods used in this study are collecting
data from books and authentic materials, analyzing common mistakes made by
students and giving solutions to these problems.
5. Design of the study
The study is divided into three parts:
Part I: ‚Introduction‛ includes rationale, aims, scope, and design of the
study.
Part II: “Development‛, includes three chapters.
Chapter I: ‚Theoretical background‛ provides an overview of general letters
and thank you letters.
Chapter II: “An insight into an effective thank you letter” provides
organization and content of formal and informal thank you letters; the stylistic
and linguistic features and tips of writing an effective thank you letter.
Chapter III: ‚Some common mistakes made by students, suggested
solutions and models of thank you letter‛ analyzes the mistakes possibly made
by students, gives suggested solutions and some models of thank you letter.
Part III”: ‚Conclusion‛ summaries the main mentioned points in the study
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Part II. Development
Chapter I. Theoretical background
1.1 An overview of kinds of letter
1.1.1 Purposes of general letters
Writing letters serves many different purposes. But the main ones are to
communicate between people and people. Communication can be made through
emails, phones, chatting However, letters remain a very important part in daily
life.
Letter is a tool for communication. People write for both business and personal
purposes. Letters can help people clarify the facts, and express their feelings
such as sadness, happiness, anger, or request.
Letter writing provides both the writer and the reader with a record of ideas,
concerns, personal reactions, and suggestions – a letter helps to avoid confusion.
The discipline of carefully organizing and expressing your ideas courteously on
paper is an exercise that helps others understands your position in a positive and
inoffensive manner.
[http://www.writeexpress.com/letter-writing.html]
For the above purposes, the letter is really an indispensable means of
communication in today’s life.
1.1.2. Styles of letters
Some communications can be made informally - a phone call or an email is
sufficient. But for formal situations, only a letter will do. In general, letter is
divided into two styles: formal and informal.
1.1.2.1. Formal letters
Formal thank-you letters should be used on many different occasions, including
job interviews, job offers and rejections, and even resignation. Writing thankyou letters will really impress on employers and it could be just the thing the
writer needs to get next job or leave a lasting impression. Formal letter consists
of the some kinds as:


References
*Books:
1. Dung.Anh -Yen.Hai, (2006), H-íng DÉn Tr¶ Lêi Pháng VÊn TiÕng Anh,
NXB Thanh Nien.
2. Phuc.Hoang, (2001), §äc & ViÕt th- b»ng TiÕng Anh, NXB Thong Ke.
3. Son.Tran Thanh, Giao.Tran Thi Quynh,(1997), Thùc tiÔn doanh th-¬ng vµ
th- tÝn anh ngư, NXB Dong Nai.
4. Yen.Nguyen Thanh, (2004), Thñ thuËt viÕt mét bøc th- xin viÖc,NXB
Thanh Pho Ho Chi Minh.
5. Lien.Tran Thi Ngoc, (2003), Academic Writing, Hai Phong Private
University.
6. Kristine Brown and Susan Hood, (1989), Writing Matters, Cambridge
University.
7. Randolph Quirk, (1996), University Grammar of English, NXB Hai
Phong.
8. Richard knight(1986), Writing 2, Cassell Ltd.
9. Shaun Fawcett, M.B.A, (2004), Writing success secrets-Practical Tips and
Tricks for Everyday Writing. Notre-Dame West, Montreal, QC, Canada.
* Websites:
1. http://classroom-activities.suite101.com/article.cfm/letter_writing_
lesson plan
2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/thank you letters
3. http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Difference-Between-Formal-andInformal-Writing&id=594208
4. http:// writinghelp-central.com/ articles-letter-writing-html
5. http://www. instantletterwritingkit.com/indexmain.html
6. http://www.quintcareers.com/thank_you_letter-tips.html
7. http://www.vocw.udn.vn/content/m11322/latest
8. http://www.worktree.com/tb/MB_thanklet.cfm
9. http://www.writeexpress.com/letter-writing.html