Unit 2
Letters, faxes and memos
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Objectives
Focus
Warming up
2.1 Communicating in writing
2.2 Names and addresses
2.3 Layout and style
2.4 Thinking about your reader
2.5 Sending messages
Sum-up
Assignment
Objectives
When the learners finish learning this
unit, they should be able to：
 acquire skills required in writing tasks
Focus
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How to lay out a business letter or
memo
Some ‘golden rules’ for writing letters,
faxes and memos
Practice in writing routine letters, emails. Faxes and memos
Warming up
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Q: How do you contact with your
friends?
-- through e-mails, QQ, letters, massages,
phones, …
2.1 Communicating in writing
A Discussion
B Listening & Reading
C Discussion
A Discussion
Q 1: Can you identify the different kinds of
correspondence on the book?
Q2： Which of the items would you attend to first?
Answers to A
Q1: The different forms of correspondence
shown are:
fax airmail
first class post
handwritten letter
typed letter
internal memo
postcard
e-mail (on the computer screen)
Post-It note
magazine
Q2: There is no ‘correct order’ for dealing
with the correspondence, though one might
open the airmail letter first and deal with the
internal memo last of all!
B Reading & Listening
1.Reading
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Read the memo.
Q 1: Who is “HGW”?
Q 2: What is his or her job?
Answers to 1
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`HGW’ seems to be in
charge of staff training.
2 Listening
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Listen to the recording twice.
Q 1: What are the differences between the two
ways of communicating the information?
memo
phone call
Answer to 2
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In the memo a lot more information is
given and it's easier to follow, and you
have a permanent record.
In the conversation there is an
opportunity for discussion and for
questions to be answered. But the details
would only be given if they were
demanded.
C Discussion
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Work in groups
Discuss the questions and try to add
more points to the chart
FACE-TO-FACE communication
Advantages & pleasures
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more personal,
more interaction and
feedback possible
can make more impact
cheaper if no travel
involved
you can smile
Disadvantages & difficulties
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once you've said
something it can't be
unsaid
saying something once
may not be remembered
WRITING
Advantages & pleasures
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a record can be kept
for the files
errors can be changed
you can write or read
when you're in the
right mood
you can take your time
over planning and how
you'll express
complicated or delicate
details
Disadvantages & difficulties
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writing takes longer
there is no feedback or
the feedback is delayed
no `personal touch'
no smiles
no handshakes
Assignment
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The discussion continues in groups of
four or five.
Some of these points may come up:
memo
e-mail
fax
2.2 Names & addresses
A Reading & discussion
B Listening
C Role play
A Reading & discussion
Look at the envelopes and discus the questions:
 Q 1: How are the addresses laid out
differently from the way an address is written
in your company?
 Q 2: How do you feel if you receive a letter
with your name spelt wrong?
 Q 3: What impression is given if the
addressee’s job title or address are incorrect
on the envelope ?
B Listening
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Listen to the recording and take the
dictation down.
Check your work in File 57.
C Role play
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There are three difficult addresses
with hard-to-spell names，which you
must dictate to your partner.
Student A looks at File 2,
Student B looks at File 33.
See Files 2 and 33 in the Student's
Book for the text of this recording,
which lasts 5 minutes 20 seconds.
Abbreviations
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PS
postscript
p.p.
per pro (on behalf of)
c.c. or cc
carbon copy to (often now a photocopy) or cubic
centimeters
ref.
Reference (number)
Rd
Road
St
Street or Saint
Sq.
Square
No. (US＃)
number
c/o
care of
attn
for the attention of
POB
Post Office Box
eg or e.g.
for example
ie or i.e.
that is / in other words
etc.
et cetera /and so on
& Co.
and Company
plc or p.l.c.
Public Limited Company
Ltd
Limited
Corp.
Corporation
Inc.
Incorporated
2.3 Layout and style
A Discussion
B Reading & discussion
A Discussion
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Discuss on the layout and stylistic
conventions illustrated
Q: What are the differences between
the layout on the book and the layout
that is commonly used in China?
B Reading & discussion
Look at the ending of business letters:
Q1: When would you use the different styles
and phrases?
Q2: What do the abbreviations mean?
Q3: Which of the styles and phrases would
you find in American correspondence?
Q4: If you begin your letter “Dear Jim”, how
do you end it?
Q5: If you begin your letter “Dear Sir”, how
do you end it?
Answer to B
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the typical American forms are:
Sincerely
Best regards
While these are more typically British:
Yours sincerely，
Best wishes，
Kind regards
Yours faithfully
2.4
Thinking about your reader
A Reading & discussion
B Listening
C Reading & discussion
D Writing
A Reading & discussion
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Read the two letters
Q 1: Which one is better?
Q 2: Why?
Answers to A
Some rather dull or old-fashioned phrases in the first
letter are:
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`We enclose for your attention…，
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`Should you require further information…’
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‘…your esteemed order…’
Some rather effective phrases in the second letter are:
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`I am sure you will find plenty to interest you…，
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`This year, for the very first time, …’
B Listening
Your will hear eight people talking
about their methods when planning
to write an important letter.
Q：Which of them do you agree with?
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C Reading & discussion
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The 7 Steps are from another piece
of training material.
This text can be referred back to
again and again when letter-writing
tasks are done in later units.
D Writing
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Find the mistakes
Rewriting the extracts ．
Sum-up:
In this unit, we dealt with
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Different forms of communications
Layout and style
Assignment
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Practice spelling out the addresses
(File 2 and File 33)