Luận Văn An analysis of some techniques to improve writing English business letters

Khóa luận tốt nghiệp
Đề tài: An analysis of some techniques to improve writing English business letters


TABLE OF CONTENTS
Acknowledgements . i
Table of contents ii
List of figures . v
PART ONE: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale . 1
2.Aims of the study . 2
3. Scope of the study . 2
4. Method of the study 2
5. Design of the study . 3
PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT 4
CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
I.1. An overview on Business letter . 4
I.1.1. Definition of Business letter 4
I.1.2. Importance of business letter . 5
I.1.3. Purposes of Business letter 6
I.1.4. The format of the English business letter 7
I.1.5. Abbreviation 15
I.2. Several types Business letters . 15
I.2.1. The sales letter 16
I.2.2. The inquiry letter 18
I.2.3. The order letter . 20
I.2.4. The acknowledgement letter 22
I.2.5. The refusal letter . 23
I.2.6. The complaint letter . 25
I.2.7. The adjustment letter 27
I.2.8. The resignation letter 29
CHAPTER II. ANALYSIS OF SOME TECHNIQUES IN IMPROVING WRITING
ENGLISH BUSINESS LETTERS.
II.1. Essential techniques in writing English business letters 31
II.1.1. You-attitude . 31
II.1.2. Positive emphasis . 33
II.1.3. Tone 35
II.1.4. Language . 37
CHAPTER III. SOME SUGGESTIONS TO VIETNAMESE LEARNERS FOR
IMPROVING TECHNIQUES IN WRITING ENGLISH BUSINESS LETTERS
III.1. You-attitude 39
III.1.1. Focusing on “you” instead of “I / We” 39
III.1.2. Avoiding “you” in criticism and refusals 40
III.1.3. Emphasizing reader benefits. 41
III.2. Positive emphasis . 42
III.2.1. Eliminating negative words, using positive words 42
III.2.2. Focusing on what the reader can do rather than what cannot be done 44
III.2.3. Giving an alternative if possible 45
III.3. Tone . 46
Avoid stiff, outdated expressions . 47
III.4. Language . 49
III.4.1. Avoid the using of slang in writing letter 49
III.4.2. Avoid using overly technical terms, unfamiliar abbreviations. 49
III.4.3. Avoid using cliches . 49
III.4.4. Avoid sexist language . 50
III.4.5. Avoid repetition in writing letter . 51
III.5. Raising student’s awareness of cultural differences between Vietnamese and Western
style in writing a business letter. . 53
PART THREE: CONCLUSION 55
References . 56


PART ONE
INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
Nowadays, English plays an important role in international communication. It is wisely
used in all fields of life such as economy, politics, tourism and education. And in this globalizing
trend society, the modern evolution of business becomes more and more necessary and in order
to satisfy this trend, the business letter has became increasingly important.
Whether a mail order business is carried on or not, the letter is no less important. Goods are
bought, collections made, complaints adjusted, instructions given, business policies and selling
campaigns outlined in the business letters. Realizing the important role of business letter,
Vietnamese students have been studying hard because to deal with English business letter
effectively is significant in the integration process into WTO.
However, there is a fact that not everyone can write a successful business letter in English
because writing a letter presents a particular type of the language and the writer should make it
natural, lively and persuasive.
It is very difficult to learn business letter writing well and understand it deeply. We can not
only learns its basic rules of format, styles but also studies all of its aspects. Writing a correct
form of English business letter is really a problem not only to elementary students but also to
students at upper levels or even graduated one.
Thus I decided to choose “ An analysis on some techniques to improve writing English
business letter” as the topic for my research with the hope that learners will able to know more
about the usage of techniques in writing business letters.
2. Aims of the study
You have right to express yourself and your intension in any manner you please in an
English business letter, but if you wish to communicate effectively, you should use standard
English and follow all of rules in English business letter writing.
The aims of this paper are :
- Giving theoretical background of definition, importance, purpose, business letter format
and some types of business letter.
- Finding out some common mistakes in writing an English business letter.
- Analyzing and suggesting some techniques in order to have good will in writing
English business letter.
3. Scope of the study.
There are so many different material resources and researches that require a lot of time and
hard labor while my personal experience is limited. Therefore, this study can only focus on study
some effective techniques in English business letter writing skills, especially through the
analyzing the business letters in order to suggest appreciate solutions to overcome such
difficulties in writing.
I hope that this study is a good reference material for the English learners who wish to build
a goodwill in writing English business letters.
4. Methods of the study .
To finish this paper, I myself carry out the method of Inductive study which means that I
go from concrete materials of sample business letters to remarks and conclusion.
A part from that, The Qualitative method is also applied to analyze the tone, the language
usage in different collected business letters
The theoretical background, the types of business letters are extracted from variety of
resources such as books, websites and experiences of businessperson who deal with those in their
daily work.
5. Design of the study.
My graduation paper is divided into three parts, in which the second naturally is the most
important part.
Part one, is the introduction, in which the rationale of the study, the aims of the study,
the scope of the study, the method of the study, design of the study are presented.
Part two, is the development, the main part that includes three chapters.
1. Chapter one : theoretical background which focuses on the definition, important
role, purpose, format and types of business letters.
2. Chapter two : analysis of some techniques in improving writing English
business letter.
3. Chapter three : some suggestion to Vietnamese learners for improving techniques in
writing English business letter.
Part three, is the conclusion, summarizes the previous parts.


PART TWO
DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
I.1. An overview on Business letters
I.1.1. Definition of Business letter
In 2007, the Post Office of Vietnam estimated that of the 72 million items of post they
delivered daily, 80% were business communications. Business letter are business tools, they are
used to provide or request information, confirm less formal communications or highlight a
problem that needs to be resolved. So, What is a business letter ?
A business letter is a formal communication between people or organizations who are
involved in trading, exchanging money for goods or services.
Writing a business letter is about developing that trade, so it is important to remember that
a business letter is an official document. Of course there are many other communications
between peoples and companies, for instance telephone conversations, email, meetings,
presentations, contracts, orders and invoices. A business letter is the most powerful
communications tool for providing structured and considered information in a formal way.
A business letter is a letter written in formal language, usually used when writing from
one business organization to another, or for correspondence between such organizations and
their customers, clients and other external parties. The overall style of letter will depend on the
relationship between the parties concerned. ( wikipedia.org )
A business letter serves the main purpose of communication between two companies, or it
is a method to talk to different people within a business.
( eduers.com )
Business letter is a letter dealing with business.( synonym.com )
Among many definitions, a “business letter” according to the Oxford English dictionary is
“ a missive, communication in writing addressed to a person or body of person. Also in extended
use applied to certain formal documents issued by persons in authority”
In my opinion, business letters are formal letters used for business to business, business to
client, or client to business correspondence. A business letter is a formal means of
communication between two people, a person and a corporation, or two corporations. Business
letters differ from personal letters because they follow very strictly set rules for composition.
Many people are intimidated by the prospect of writing to strict guidelines, however business
letters are nothing to be afraid of. They are too useful a tool to be stigmatized by the public.


References
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Billet, C.D. 1997. Better Business Writing Skills. Cannes : Media Training Publishers.
Bisticco, M.1989. Instant Business Letter. Wildwood House.
Bovee, C.L. et al. 2001. Business Communication Essentials. Prentice Hall.
Guffey, M.E. 2003. Business Communication. Thomson South-Western.
Lesikar, R.V. 1991. Basic business communication. Richard D. Irwin. Inc.
Locker, K.O. 1992. Business and administrative communication. Richard D. Irwin. Inc.
Walte E.O & et al. 1998. Writing That Work. ST. Martin’s Press.
Wolf, M.P & Kuiper,S. 1984. Effective communication in Business. South Western
Publishing Company.
www.businessletterpunch.com/
www.business-letter-writing.com
www.writeexpress.com/download.html
www.smcps.k12.md.us/mbms/writing/ltrforms.html
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www.writeexpress.com/letter-writing.html
www.writinghelp-central.com/ articles-letter-writing-html