1、Bec higher writing,bec writing (p 64),composition - report (module 7.2, p72)- letter (module 6.3, p 64)- proposal (module 10.2, p102) describing a graph,Report writing,Format: title, date, introduction, findings, conclusion, recommendations. Word limit: 200-250 (longer than the report we wrote last
2、term) Length of the report what it should contain who is it written for how is it organized style and tone,Organization of reports,Report Organization,Introduction (Purpose)-Findings-Conclusion-Recommendations Introduction (Purpose)Always begin by telling readers why you are writing and by alerting
3、them to what you will discuss and why it is significant. Give your readers a summary of key events and details at the beginning to help them follow the remainder of the report quickly. When you establish the scope (or limits) of your report, you help readers zero in on specific times, places, proced
4、ures, or problems.,Report Organization,FindingsThis should be the longest part of your report and contain the data you have collectedfacts about prices, personnel, equipment, events, locations, incidents, or tests. Gather the data from your research; personal observations; interviews; and/or convers
5、ations with co-workers, employers, or clients. Again, remember to choose only those details that are of most importance to your reader.,Report Organization,ConclusionYour conclusion tells readers what your data means. A conclusion can summarize what has happened; review what actions were taken; or e
6、xplain the outcome or results of a test, a visit, or a program.,Report Organization,RecommendationsA recommendation informs readers what specific actions you think your company or client should take market a new product, hire more staff, institute safety measures, select among alternative plans or p
7、rocedures, and so on. Recommendations must be based on the data you collected and the conclusions you have reached. They need to show how all the pieces fit together.,exercise p 72,good points: clearly organized; address all the points requested bad points: no clear recommendation; too informal styl
8、e; no linking phrases,Report Sample,Fenway Software,Introduction,This report aims to analyze the number of visitors to the company website in the last three months and propose a marketing strategy for the next three months.,Findings,Over the last three months, the number of visitors has increased by
9、 650 from 2300 to 2950. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, we began to circulate newsletters for subscribers in March; secondly, we organized, in May, a contest on our services, which turned out to be quite popular among subscribers.,Date: 16 April 2010 Report on: Company Website Traffic and M
10、arketing Strategy,Report Sample,Fenway Software,Conclusion,It was concluded that the increase in visitors is more attributable to newsletter circulation and contest organization than to banner advertising.,Recommendations,Newsletters and contests were felt to be fairly effective in increasing visito
11、rs. I recommend that we step up our efforts in newsletter spread and contest organization and cut the budget on banner advertising or switch to search engine marketing for a trial in the three months that follow.,With regard to costs, banners on other sites have not generated the desired result beca
12、use very few people clicked those banners and got linked to our website, though we spent 3,200 on that in May. On the other hand, the monthly newsletters I emailed to subscribers seemed to have worked very well and, more importantly, they did not cost anything save my time.,Complaint Letter,When wri
13、ting a complaint letter, avoid the following: name calling sarcasm insults threats emotion-charged words intimidating type fonts (e.g., all capital letters),Complaint Letter,1. Begin with a detailed description of the product or service. Give the appropriate model and serial numbers, size, quantity,
14、 color, and cost. Specify check and invoice numbers. Indicate when, where (specific address), and how (through a vendor, the Internet, at a store) you purchased it and also the remaining warranty. If you are complaining about a service, give the name of the company, the date of the service, the pers
15、onnel providing it, and their exact duties.,Complaint Letter,2. State exactly what is wrong with the product or service. Precise information will enable the reader to understand and act on your complaint. How many times did the product work before it stopped? What parts were malfunctioning? What par
16、ts of a job were not done or were done poorly? When did all this happen? How many times? Where and how were you inconvenienced?,Complaint Letter,3. Briefly describe the inconvenience you have experienced. Show that your problems were directly caused by the defective product or service. To build your
17、 case, give precise details about the time and money you lost. Dont just say you had “numerous difficulties.” Did you have to pay a mechanic to fix your car when it was stalled on the road? Did you have to buy a new printer or DVD player? Where appropriate, refer to any previous telephone calls, e-m
18、ails, or letters. Give the names of the people you have written to or spoken with and the dates.,Complaint Letter,4. Indicate precisely what you want done. Do not simply write that you “want something done.” State precisely that you want one or more of the following: your purchase price refunded you
19、r model repaired or replaced a completely new repair crew provided an apology from the company for discourteous treatment,Complaint Letter,5. Ask for prompt handling of your claim. In your concluding paragraph, ask the reader to answer any question you may have (such as finding out where calls came
20、from that you were billed for but did not make). You might even specify a reasonable time by which you want to hear from the reader or need the problem fixed.,Sample Complaint Letter,Sample Complaint Letter,Typical Topics for Internal Proposals,purchasing new or more advanced equipment to replace ob
21、solete or inefficient computers, transducers, robots, and the like, or upgrading equipment obtaining document security software and offering training sessions to show employees how to use it recruiting new employees or retraining current ones on a new technique or process eliminating a dangerous con
22、dition or reducing an environmental risk to prevent accidentsfor employees, customers, or the community at large improving technology/communication within or between departments of a company or agency expanding work space or making it greener, more private, ergonomically beneficial to employees, or
23、more inviting to customers,Proposal Organization,Purpose (Introduction)-Problem-Solution-Conclusion The PurposeBegin your proposal with a brief statement of why you are writing to your supervisor. State right away why you think a specific change is necessary now. Then succinctly define the problem a
24、nd emphasize that your plan, if approved by the reader, will solve that problem.,Proposal Organization,The ProblemProve that a problem exists. Document its importance for your boss and your company; as a matter of fact, the more you show, with concrete evidence, how the problem affects the bosss wor
25、k (and area of supervision), the more likely you are to persuade him or her to act. Here are some guidelines for documenting a problem.,Proposal Organization, Avoid vague (and unsupported) generalizations such as “Were losing money each day with this procedure (piece of equipment)”; “Numerous compla
26、ints have come in”; “If something isnt done soon, more problems will result.” Provide quantifiable details about the problem, such as the amount of money or time a company is actually losing per day, week, or month. Indicate how many employees (or work hours) are involved or how many customers are i
27、nconvenienced or endangered by a procedure or condition. Verify how widespread a problem is or how frequently it occurs by citing specific occasions. Relate the problem to an organizations image, corporate reputation, or influence (where appropriate). Pinpoint exactly how and where the problem lesse
28、ns your companys effectiveness or hurts its standing in the market. Indicate who is affected and how the problem affects your companys business community.,Proposal Organization,The Solution or PlanIn this section describe how you are to make the change you propose and want approved and demonstrate t
29、he likelihood of its success. Your reader will again expect to find factual evidence. Be specific. Supply details that answer the following questions: (1) Is the plan workablecan it be accomplished here in our office or plant? (2) Is it cost-effectivewill it really save us money in the long run and
30、not lead to even greater expenses?,Proposal Organization,For example, if you propose that your firm buy a new piece of equipment, Supply the dealers name, the costs, major conditions of service and training contracts, and warranties. Describe how your firm could use the equipment to obtain better or
31、 quicker results in the future. Document specific tasks the new equipment can perform more efficiently at a lower cost than the equipment now in use.,Proposal Organization,A proposal to change a procedure must address the following questions. How does the new (or revised) procedure work? How many em
32、ployees or customers will be affected by it? When will it go into operation? How much will it cost the employer to change procedures? What delays or losses in business might be expected while the company switches from one procedure to another? What employees, equipment, or locations are already avai
33、lable to accomplish the change?,Proposal Organization,The ConclusionYour conclusion should be shorta paragraph or two at the most. Remind readers that (a) the problem is ongoing and serious, (b) the reason for change is justified and will be beneficial to your organization, and (c) action needs to b
34、e taken. Reemphasize the most important benefits.,Sample Proposal,Sample Proposal,IntroductionThe aim of this proposal is to examine how to save the image of our company when it is involved in bad publicity and to propose what action shall be taken to fix this problem. Statement of the ProblemUnfort
35、unately, a whistle-blower recently wrote a letter to the local newspaper, accusing our company of launching a new cosmetic product that contained illegal chemical ingredients hazardous to the health of the customers. The letter reported in great detail how customers might be negatively affected when
36、 applying this product.,Sample Proposal,In this situation, we have to face the problem of possibly losing the trust of our customers and consequently suffering a sharp decrease in sales and profits. Proposed SolutionsIt is recommended that we address the bad publicity issue by sending the new produc
37、t sample to the Product Safety Quality Supervision and Inspection Center for professional testing and quality assurance. In the meantime, we need to invite some influential local media, including the newspaper that received the letter, to follow up the event and testify that our product is completel
38、y free of any unhealthy chemicals. This PR campaign will surely cost our company a big fortune and disrupt our normal work routines. However, considering the urgency of the matter and the potential threat it may pose to the image of our company, we shall waste no time in organizing an ad-hoc group c
39、onsisting of members from PR, marketing, sales, etc. to handle this problem.,Sample Proposal,ConclusionTo sum up, it is important that we implement the PR campaign immediately to keep under control the risk of having our corporate image damaged by the event and mitigate as much as possible the bad i
40、nfluence it may bring to our customers.,exercise p 102,claudia: good: well laid out and organized; clear identificiation of main problems; tone is appropriate; good use of language and expressions bad: only one concrete proposal (headphones)otherwise add nothing useful to the discussion, ie it doesn
41、t really answer the managers request,David: good: examples given are more concrete and the recommendations are more thoughtful / original, useful. The tone is less formal but acceptable bad: not laid out quite so clearly; use of numbering and bullet points would help the reader greatly. Also it is n
42、ot clear if he has consulted other staff - using “I“ in the opening sentence is staylistically wrong (two subjective),claudia: good: well laid out and organized; clear identificiation of main problems; tone is appropriate; good use of language and expressions bad: only one concrete proposal (headpho
43、nes)otherwise add nothing useful to the discussion, ie it doesnt really answer the managers request,David: good: examples given are more concrete and the recommendations are more thoughtful / original, useful. The tone is less formal but acceptable bad: not laid out quite so clearly; use of numberin
44、g and bullet points would help the reader greatly. Also it is not clear if he has consulted other staff - using “I“ in the opening sentence is staylistically wrong (two subjective),Describing performance,Time phrases Verbs Nouns Prepositions Qualifiers Cause and result,Adj: typical, upward, sharp, c
45、urrent, strong, recent Adverbs: fairly, predictably, finally Verbs: go, take off, soar, fall, double, peak, collapse Nouns: trend, gains, level, losses, recovery, value Prepositions with time phrases: over the last twelve months, in the first six months, by December last year, in January, by May, in
46、 the last four weeks Prepositions with figures: from, to almost/ over, at nearly / just over, by nearly , down almost,Describing Graphs,(1) (2),Describing Graphs,(1) to peak/reach (2) to level offa high (peak) of,Describing Graphs,(3) (4),Describing Graphs,(3) to rise /climb/pick up/a general upward
47、 trend (4) to fall/drop/collapse/plummet/bottom out,Describing Graphs,(5) (6),Describing Graphs,(5) to shoot up/take off/soar/rocket (6) to recover/improve a recovery/improvement,Describing Graphs,(7),Describing Graphs,(7) to fluctuate,Describing Trends or Movements in Graphs,Describing Trends or Mo
48、vements in Graphs,Describing Trends or Movements in Graphs,Describing Trends or Movements in Graphs,Describing Trends or Movements in Graphs,Describing Trends or Movements in Graphs,Ex 2 describing performance,Introduction (what is it about? Time phrases, general trend) Details (follow the time line
49、, what happened, noticeable period, reason, analysis)Tense: simple past (except that it is a forecast graph / chart),Listening,Average growth in sales over the last two years and the relatively stable state of market The launch of the new slow-release version of the drug Bayer having distribution problems Just a seasonal factor The launch campaign of the new version of the drug,Presenting figures,Presentation structure: Greeting Introduction / overview Main body of presentation (referring to any chart, graphs etc) Concluding comments Invite questions Thank audience,
