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Lesson 23
by Paolo Rossetti

Level  : Intermediate
Topic  : Business E-mail
Grammar: Standard Phrases in business writing
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Vocabulary

 
Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that we have created a mailing list for
our company's export department and you can now e-mail important news
and announcements to your co-workers.  You can also distribute memos,
meeting agendas, or any other work-related message.

Please note that your mailing list messages will be read by all Export
Department personnel. 

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EXERCISE 23.1 - Vocabulary

Please match the words on the left with the meanings on the right.

1. a colleague          k. part of a company; a division
2. to announce          a. make something new
3. to create            b. give to many people
4. a mailing list       c. information to be sent
5. a department         d. new information; something that's happening
6. news                 e. e-mail discussion group; people who exchange
                           e-mail with a group
7. to distribute        f. staff; workers in a company
8. a memo               g. co-worker; somebody you work with
9. a meeting agenda     h. letter inside the company; memorandum
10. a message           i. future topic of discussion
11. personnel           j. tell everybody

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EXERCISE 23.2 - Grammar

Business writing makes use of 'standard phrases' to help clearly explain
the message of the writer.

Most 'standard phrases' are found at the beginning of a paragraph. Here
are two examples from the text:
        
        WE ARE PLEASED TO ANNOUNCE THAT... (good news comes next..)

        PLEASE NOTE THAT... (an instruction comes next..)

There are of course many other 'standard phrases' which are used again
and again by business letter writers in English.

        We are writing to...                    (reason for writing)
        Unfortunately, we are unable to...      (cannot do)
        We regret to inform you that...         (bad news)
        We would be delighted to...             (accept)
        Please do not hesitate to...            (invite your questions)
        We would like to...                     (want)
        I look forward to ___ing...             (future plans)

Please fill in the blanks with a 'standard phrase'.

1. ...... ship your order by Thursday because of an unexpected delay. 
   We will try our best for early next week.
2. ...... you at the conference next month. It will be wonderful to 
   meet you again.
3. ...... clarify the amount on your invoice 9703 which does not appear
to match the amount quoted on your sales estimate of September 12th.
4. ...... request a single room for the nights of October 23-26, please.
5. ...... our company continued growing last year, increasing sales by
   25% to a total of US$ 3.5 million.

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EXERCISE 23.3 - Reading Comprehension

Please read the text and choose the correct answers.

1.  What is the purpose of this text?
        (to inform, to discuss, to advertise)

2.  Who do you think wrote it?
        (the Export Manager, a computer technician, 
         the Personnel Manager)

3.  What kind of message would most likely be sent?
        (an invitation to a company picnic,
         a discussion on future export markets,
         a reminder to attend the weekly meeting)

4.  Why does the writer mention that all personnel will read the
    messages?
        (so that the workers won't write personal messages,
         so that the workers will use it often,
         so that the workers will be careful about discussing secret
         matters.

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