Written Communication in English, PDF

2. Written Communication in the English language ESTRATEGIAS PARA LA COMUNICACIÓN ORAL Y ESCRITA EN LENGUA INGLESA II Facultad de Lenguas y Educación 2  Written Communication More unique and more formal than speech. More valid and reliable. It is more precise and explicit. It pr...

2. Written Communication in the English language ESTRATEGIAS PARA LA COMUNICACIÓN ORAL Y ESCRITA EN LENGUA INGLESA II Facultad de Lenguas y Educación 2  Written Communication More unique and more formal than speech. More valid and reliable. It is more precise and explicit. It provides records and references. It causes delay and takes time as feedback is not immediate. Retrieved from http://effcommskill.blogspot.com.es/2015/09/methods-of- communication.html 3 Written communication can take place through many different modes and has many advantages. Some of them are as follows: -It helps in laying down principles, policies and rules for running an organization. -It is a permanent means of communication. Thus, it is useful where record maintenance is required. -It assists in proper delegation of responsibilities. -Written communication is more precise and explicit. -It provides records and references. -It is the only way out when the message is quite lengthy and it is not possible to convey all the points through oral communication. 4 - Written messages are more carefully formulated than oral communication. That is why, they are more clear and specific. - Written communication is a cheaper means of communication when the parties to communication are situated at distant places. 5  Formal and Informal Language Written language can be divided into: - Informal language  situations that are more relaxed and involve people we know well. - Formal language  situations that are serious or that involve people we don’t know well. They are associated with particular Retrieved from http://www.learnecenglish.com/2017/12/verbal-and-non-verbal- choices of grammar and vocabulary. communication.html 6 Some examples: She has decided to accept the job. formal She’s decided to accept the job. informal: She’s = contraction The girl whom I met in Singapore was formal interested in working in Australia. The girl I met in Singapore was interested informal: relative clause without the relative in working in Australia. pronoun whom We went to Barcelona for the weekend. We formal have a lot of things to tell you. Went to Barcelona for the weekend. Lots to informal: ellipsis (more likely to be written or tell you. texted than spoken) 7 Formal and informal vocabulary:  More formal vocabulary commonly involves longer words or words with origins in Latin and Greek.  More informal vocabulary commonly involves shorter words, or words with origins in Anglo-Saxon. Most dictionaries indicate very informal and/or formal words. For example: Formal Informal commence start terminate end endeavour try 8 MODAL VERBS  We often choose to use certain modal verbs to be more formal and polite: Can I suggest you try this new model? (neutral) May I suggest you try this new model? (more formal) Might I suggest you try this new model? (very formal) 9  Informal Formal say sorry apologize VERBS go up increase go down decrease set up establish look at examine put off postpone, delay stand for represent point out indicate get obtain put up tolerate start commence keep retain free release show up arrive 10 TRANSITIONS– Informal & Formal Informal Formal Anyways Nevertheless Plus/Also Moreover/ Furthermore But However So Therefore/Thus Also In addition, Additionally ASAP At your earliest convenience 11 LETTER EXPRESSIONS– Informal & Formal Informal Formal Hi Robert, Dear Sir or Madam Just wanted to let you know… I am writing to inform you… Love, Yours sincerely, Yours faithfully, Hope to hear from you soon I look forward to hearing from you You can call me if you need anything Please do not hesitate to contact me 12  2.1.-Writing in Informal Language: Email to a friend Greeting Body  Referring to news, giving news, apologies, invitations, requests, thank you, congratulations, good luck, suggestions, recommendations. Closing Retrieved from https://vista.today/2018/03/wall-street-journal-how-to-be- smarter-about-using-email-at-work/ 13 Writing in Informal Language  An informal letter or email is usually between people who know each other fairly well.  In addition to giving news, they are often used to request information, congratulate people, give advice and ask questions.  There are a lot of similarities between informal letters and conversation.  Informal letters ask a lot of questions, show interest and enthusiasm, and imagine a lot of shared information. 14 Greeting Start with Dear followed by the first name of the person who you are writing to. Emails can also start with Hi, for example Hi Ben. Informal emails have a comma after the person’s name, and the email starts on the line below. 15  Body Openings Referring to news Giving news Apologies Invitations Requests Thank you / Congratulations / Good Luck Making suggestions and recommendations 16  Openings How are you? / How have the family been? / I hope you are well. Many thanks for your (recent/last) letter / postcard. It was good great to hear from you again. I was so surprised to hear that... I’m sorry I haven’t written / haven't been in touch for such a long time. It’s ages since I’ve heard from you. 17  Referring to news Great news about… Glad to hear that… Sorry to hear about… 18  Giving news Listen, did I tell you about…? You’ll never believe what… This is just to let you know that… I thought you might be interested to know that… By the way, have you heard about…? 19  Apologies I’m writing to apologise for missing your party but I’m afraid I was with flu. I’m really sorry that I forgot to send you a birthday card but I was busy with my new job. 20  Invitations I’m / We’re having a party on Friday 19th and I / we hope you’ll be able to come. Would you like to come / go to see ‘Room With a View’ with me at the weekend? I was wondering if you’d like to go to the theatre / come on holiday with us. Could you let me / us know if you can come / you’d like to join us? Thank you very much for your invitation. I’d love to come. Thank you for asking / inviting me to … but I’m afraid I won’t be able to … 21  Requests I’m writing to ask for your help / you (if you could do me) a favour. I wonder if / I was wondering if you could help me / do me a favour. I hope you don’t mind me asking but could you (possibly) …? I’d be very / really / terribly grateful if you could … 22 Thank you / Congratulations / Good Luck I’m writing to thank you for your hospitality / the wonderful present. It was so kind of you to invite me to stay with you. I really appreciated all your help / advice. Congratulations on passing your exams / your excellent exam results! I wish you good luck / Good luck in / with your exams / your driving test / your interview. Don’t worry, I’m sure you’ll do well / pass. Do be on time, won’t you, and don’t forget to … 23 Making suggestions and recommendations Why don’t you …? / Maybe you could …? / How about …? You can’t leave New York without (...doing sth) I’m sure you will enjoy (...doing sth). If you like, we can … Do visit... / Don’t forget to... 24  Closing Give a reason why you're ending the letter: Anyway, I must go and get on with my work! / I guess it's time I got on with that studying I've been avoiding. Send greetings and/or make reference for future contact: Give my love / regards to... / Say hello to... / Anyway, don't forget to let me know the dates of the party. / I'll try and phone you at the weekend to check the times. / We must try and meet up soon. / I can't wait to hear from you / Look forward to seeing you again / Hope to hear from you soon / See you soon / Write soon Closing statement such as Love, Lots of love, All the best, Take care, Best wishes, should be written on a new line. If you used a comma after the opening greeting, use a comma here too. Signing off: Your first name then follows on another new line. 25 26  (https://learnenglishteens.britishc ouncil.org/skills/writing-skills- practice/informal-email) 27  2.2.-Writing in formal language CV Covering letter Article Review of a book/film Retrieved from https://www.freepik.es/iconos-gratis/curriculum-vitae-de-un- hombre_727868.htm and http://www.jobmonkey.com/why-cover-letter- Report disaster/ 28 2.2.1. CV Your CV should be clear, concise, complete, and up-to-date with current employment and educational information. The following are examples of information that can be included in your curriculum vitae. The elements that you include will depend on what you are applying for, so be sure to incorporate the most relevant information to support your candidacy in your CV. 29 -Personal details and contact information. Most CVs start with contact information and personal data. -Education and qualifications. Take care to include the names of institutions and dates attended in reverse order; Ph.D., Masters, Undergraduate. -Work experience/employment history. The most widely accepted style of employment record is the chronological curriculum vitae. Your career history is presented in reverse date order starting with most recent. Achievements and responsibilities are listed for each role. More emphasis/information should be put on more recent jobs. -Skills. Include computer skills, foreign language skills, and any other recent training that is relevant to the role applied for. -Brief biography/ Scholarships/ Training/ Study abroad/ Dissertations/ Bibliography/ Research experience/ Graduate Fieldwork/ Teaching experience/ Publications/ Presentations and lectures/ Exhibitions/ Awards and honors/ Technical, computer, and language skills/ Professional licenses and certifications/ Memberships/ Hobbies and Interests 30  There is no need to include your photo, your salary history, the reason you left your previous position, or references in your CV. References should be listed separately and given to employers upon request. A good curriculum vitae should ideally cover no more than two pages and never more than three. 31  Curriculum Vitae Writing Tips Have several versions of your CV. Keep it short. If possible, try to keep your CV short and concise. Include summaries of your employment and education, rather than lots of details. Use formal and well-written language, writing simply and clearly. Tell the truth. Check the format. Look at the format of your curriculum vitae, and again, ask someone else to take a look. Proof your Curriculum Vitae. Double-check your curriculum vitae for typos and grammatical errors. Then ask someone else to review it for you – it is often hard to catch our mistakes. 34 2.2.2. Covering letter Cover letters are one page documents that you send with your resume when applying for a job. It is meant to: Introduce yourself to the hiring manager. Argue why you’d be a good fit for the job. Fill in places your CV cannot describe. Further explain other aspects of your CV 35  To begin, include both the employer’s and your contact information. Find out to whom you’re writing. In the first paragraph, begin by telling the employer the position you are applying for and how you learned about the opportunity. The rest of this paragraph should briefly present basic info about yourself, including: degree, area of study/expertise, and your career goals in terms of how they align with the goals of the company. The second paragraph should respond directly to the job description written by the hiring manager. Describe how your previous job experiences, skills, and abilities will allow you to meet the company’s needs. 36  In a third paragraph, explain how you can fit into that schema, and help push the company forward and achieve any goals you suspect they may have.  Inform them that you would love to get interviewed.  Tell them that you will be in contact with them in a week if you don’t hear back.  Thank them for spending the time to read your letter. 37  Always spell check your cover letter. It is even better to get someone else to read it and point out any mistakes or confusing things. Don’t cut and paste your resume into your cover letter. Try to make sure that you don't fill your cover letter with things like “I believe”, “I have” and “I am”. 38 2.2.3. Article o An Article is usually written for an English-language magazine or newsletter, and the reader is assumed to have similar interests to the writer. o The main purpose is to inform, interest and engage the reader, so there should be some opinion or comment. Add a short title to catch the reader's attention. Introduce the topic. Although you don't know the readers personally, you can address them directly and ask them a rhetorical question. It helps to involve them. Divide your report into sections according to the input. One or two paragraphs will do. Develop the ideas in the task input. Remember: Use a personal or more neutral style, but not formal (you might use contractions). It is important that you show a range of structures. Give examples where appropriate to bring your article to life Use humour where appropriate. Give a conclusion and summary in the last paragraph. 41 Some features that your Article must have are: The reader is identified. It has to get attention. It has to be interesting. It has to be easy to read. Write a good ending. 42 Some useful language for an article, depending on what you want to express, can be found in the chart below: USEFUL LANGUAGE FOR ARTICLE Involving the reader Just imagine... Have you ever...? How would you feel if...? Are you one of those people who...? If the answer is..., you should.... What would live be like if…? Making the article lively and I was absolutely terrified when I realised... interesting More importantly, it was something I... Not surprisingly, it's a good way of raising money. The tent was worryingly small for three people! It was the most amazing experience I have ever had Developing your points Let's start with... Another advantage of... On top of that,... Giving your own opinion I think that / In my opinion... It seems to me that... If you ask me,... 43 To my mind... 2.2.4. Review of a book/film Reviews are short descriptions of books, films, plays, TV programmes, etc. They are written to inform readers and viewers and to give them your opinion/recommendation about whether (or not) they should read a book or see a film/play/etc. A review should consist of: An introduction A main body A conclusion 44  REVIEWS Background The film/book tells the story of... The film/story is set in... The story takes place in... It is starred by... The book/novel was written by... The film is directed by... The film is produced by… It is a comedy/horror film/love story. Main points of the plot The story concerns/is about/begins.... The novel tells the story of... The plot is (rather) boring/thrilling. The plot has an unexpected twist. In the course of the novel the action develops dramatically. General comments It is rather long/boring/confusing/slow. The cast is excellent/awful/unconvincing. The script is dull/exciting. It is beautifully/poorly/badly written. It has a tragic/dramatic end. The novel has an unexpected ending. Recommendations Don’t miss it. It is well worth seeing. I wouldn't recommend it because... What surprised me is... I highly/thoroughly recommend it. It's bound to be a box-office hit. Wait until it comes out on DVD. It is a highly entertaining read. It's a bore to read. 45 2.2.5. Report A report is expected to give some factual information and make suggestions or recommendations. A report should be clearly organised and may include headings to make it clear that your report is not an essay or review. 46  REPORTS Stating the purpose of The main aim/objective/purpose of this report is to… the report (paragraph 1) This report is intended to show/discuss/outline Describing how you got To prepare for this report, I conducted interviews with... / I the information visited three of the most popular... / I discussed the issue (paragraph 1) with... Reporting your results According to... (paragraphs 2, 3...) All those who were interviewed believe that/are concerned that... / It is thought that... / It was commented upon by a number of people we talked to that... A cause of dissatisfaction was... It appears that the majority of … Not surprisingly, … Presenting a list The arguments against... are the following: The following were the main reasons given for supporting...: firstly,..., secondly,... Points mentioned in favour of/against... were: There are several ways in which... might be... They gave/ suggested the following reasons: They made the following points: Making Taking all the factors mentioned into account... recommendations (Last I would therefore recommend.... paragraph) Clearly, more could be done to.... I would make the following recommendations: It would be (highly) advisable to … 47