GROUP 4
Name:
1. Wahdatul Ngulya Fauziah
( 12203183049 )
2. Iva Nikmatul Maulidiyah
( 12203183067 )
3. Laela Rahmadayanti
( 12203183226 )
4. M. Fahrudin Farid
( 12203183301 )
English for Secretary and Administrative Personnel
Module
Unit
Unit 1
People at Work
Unit 2
LISTENING
Taking and Giving
massages
Grammar
Simple Present :
questions, for habit;
possessive adjective
Simple past; verb +
object pronoun
Unit 3
Review of grammar in
Receiving Visitors
module
Punctuation
and Letters
WRITING
Unit 5
Requests
Company organigram;
Frequency adverbs
Time expressions
Greetings;
introductions; offering;
prepositions of place
Salutations and closing;
Unit 4
Forms, Envelopes,
Vocabulary
British English vs
American English
Present continuous
Company advertising
Simple past questions
Jobs
Relative clauses
Jobs; money
The passive
Office equipment
Unit 6
CVs and Application
Letters
Unit 7
Office Duties
Unit 8
READING
Office Equipment
Unit 9
Working with
Computers
Comparatives and
superlatives
Computer terminology
Unit 1
People at work
Secretarial or administrative jobs are found in almost any area of work: education,
health, construction, government, sports, travel, commerce, etc. In one way or another all
these areas are related to business, which is a human activity found in all societies.
ObjectIves

To learn how to address clients in a polite manner

To talk about habitual action work

To describe a daily work schedule

To practice phone conversations

To revise possessive adjectives, frequency adverbs and time expressions

To learn vocabulary and expressions commonly used in conversations at work

To contrast the /I/ and the /i/ sounds
 LISTENING
1 Look at the organigram. Define the activities of each department!
Example : the marketing department involves publicity, market research….
2
Listen to the dialogues and write
the name of the person to speak to in each
case
R= Receptionist C= Client V= Visitor
A.
R : Thornton and Thiennes Associated. Good morning
C : Good morning, I’d like to speak to someone
about the MCM machine, please
R : Hold on a moment sir, I’ll put you through to
the Sales Department
C :Could I have the name of Sales Manager?
R : Its Mr. Phillips
B.
R: Good morning sir, What can I do for you?
C : Good morning, I work for Printer
Manufacturers, a Canadian company. Could I
have an appointment with the Purchasing
Manager?
R : You have to ask his secretary, Miss Jones.
She’s upstairs, in office number 6
C : May I have the name of Manager please?
R : Certainly. It’s Mr. Rogers, Robert Rogers.
V : Thank you very much.
C.
R: Computer Service. Good afternoon.
C: I’m interested in renting some equipment. Who
may I speak to, madam?
R: Mr. Simpson, from the Rental Department. I’ll
put you through this secretary. Her extension is
busy. Can you hold on a moment?
R: Yes, I’ll hold on.
.
3
Cover the dialogues and listen again.
Which ones use the present simple?
Pair work
 Look at the organigram again and ask
and answer about the correct department.
Example:
Student A : I’d like to speak to someone
about my salary, please
Student B : I’ll put you through to the
Finance Departement
 My salary
 Benefits
 Market research
 Publicity
 Manufacturing my product
 Training new people
 SPEAKING
1
Listen and repeat. Then practice with partner!
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
What do you do?
What does Miss Hill do?
What do they do?
What do you do?
What does Mr. Lee do?
What does he do?
What position does Elaine hold
in the company?
KEY
1. I’m Mr. Thornton’s secretary. I work in the
Finance Department
2. She’s a receptionist. She greets visitors and
answers the phone
3. They’re sales representatives. They have to travel
a lot
4. We’re clerks. We work in the Credit Department
5. He’s an accountant. He deals with accounts taxes
6. He’s an engineer. He supervises the Production
Department
7. She’s a lawyer. She represents the company in
court
VOCABULARY
Asking about someone’s job
What do you do?
What position do you hold?
What’s your job title?
What does he/she do?
What position does he/she do?
What’s his / her job title?
Group work
Now choose a job from activity 1.
Answer questions from your group.
Example:
What position do you hold?
I’m a receptionist. I greet visitors
FOCUS
ON
GRAMMAR
Present Simple for habit
I
he
You
she
We work/have/go it
They
works/has/
goes
2
Listen and answer the following
questions after the speaker
Example:
 An auditor
What does your boss do?
He’s an auditor
a. A typist
d. an air traffic controller
b. An engineer e. clerks
c. Doctors
f. a union leader
Now ask questions
Example:
 Your boss
What does your boss do?
a. You
d Miss Lee
b. Mr. Freeman
e those people
c. Mr. and Mrs. Reed f Mrs. Newman
Pair work
Choose a dialogue and act it out
with a partner.
Then, in pairs make up a new
dialogue using the organigram and
fictitious names.

LET’S PRACTICE!
 Asking Questions
1
Listen and practice intonation in questions!







2







May I talk to Mr. Willis?
Could I speak to Mr. Smith?
Can I see the General Manager, please?
Could you spell that, please?
Would you like to wait?
Will you call back?
Will they arrive tomorrow morning?
Ask questions using Do or Does.
Then, compare with the
recording!
1. Does your office close on Saturdays?
2. Do you have to type letters every day?
3. …you practice English with your
classmates?
4. …Mr. Smith travel abroad every
month?
5. …they send the invoices by post?
6. …we have to type in the numbers in
the computer?
7. …the order specify the delivery date?
Pair work
Student A : Ask question. Choose a question
from below!
Student B : Answer using frequency adverbs
from the box below!
Example:
A: How often do you type letters in English?
B: I often type letters in English
How often do
Does
Do you event
Now answer these questions in your
notebook!
FOCUS
ON
GRAMMAR
Is your boss in?
Are the letters ready?
Is she available now?
Are you busy?
Who’s at reception?
What’s his name?
Where’s the meeting?
KEY
…flight arrive at Middle
West airport?
…you type letters in
English?
…your boss ever travel
abroad?
…you use a fax machine?
…wear a uniform?
VOCABULARY
Frequency adverbs
Present Simple Questions
Affirmative
I
You
Do
we
they
he
Does she
it
Negative
work?
go?
speak?
have to?
like?
travel?
practice?
Do not
(don’t)
Does not
(doesn’t)
Always
Usually
Often
sometimes
rarely
never
Habitual time expressions
Every day
daily
Every Monday
once a fortnight
Every week/month
twice a year
Every two years
four times a year
 LET’S FOCUS ON…
 Pronunciation: the /I/ and the /i/ sound
1
Listen to the /i/ sound and repeat after the speaker!
Repeat
Seat
Three
Fourteen
Deal
Speak
Dean
See
Free
Receive
Meeting
Leader
Keep
Leave
We
2
overseas
beeper
increase
colleague
brief
achieve
Leeds
Tennessee
New Zealand
believe
employee
e-mail
cheap
read
east
could you repeat that please?
Mr. Reed is on his leave
take a seat, please
what do you mean?
the meeting is at three
I see!
are you free?
our deals with the east increased
who’s the leader of the team?
let’s meet in New Zealand
my colleagues are in Leeds
we’ll see them in Tennessee
Practice saying these words and decide
if they use the /I/ or the /i/ sound!
Miss
Minute
Meeting
Delivery
thirteen
receive
simple
receipt
 Possessive adjectives
FOCUS
ON
Make up a dialogue with
expressions from the lists
in 2. Practice it with
different partners
Choose 5 words from the ox and write
sentences in your notebook that
include possessive adjectives.
Example:
Tell me about your job
Group work
GRAMMAR
Possessive adjectives + noun
My
Your
His
Her
Its
Our
your
their
3
Pair work
Name/office
Department/job
Signature/age
Extension/boss
Monitor/disc
Computer/office
Salary/decision
Project/employer
Write a dialogue using two sentences
from each of your notebooks
 CULTURAL AWARENESS
 Find out about business culture in another country and share your information
with the class
 How does your information compare with business culture in your own country?
 In your opinion, should higher status positions keep their distance from lower
status positions?
 In your country, is language modified according to the person you are talking to?
DON’T FORGET!
 Company organigrams: Human Resources
 Position hierarchies: The Managing Director
 Asking about people’s jobs: What do you do?, what
position do you hold in company?
 Asking about frequency: How often? Do you ever?
 Present simple for habitual actions: He works every
Monday, she doesn’t work on Saturdays, They work
every day
 Pronunciation /i/: repeat, keep, brief
Unit 2
Taking and giving messages
Introduction
There are different ways of taking or passing messages on to somebody else, but one thing is
clear; you must write them down at the very moment you take them, otherwise, they may never
reach the addressee. Besides, a message is not only the subject itself, other essential parts of it are
the names of the people and companies involved, the date and time and the phone or fax numbers
ObjectIves

To listen for important details

To take notes while listening

To ask for important information

To revise the simple past

To learn vocabulary and expressions used when taking and giving messages

To practice the different sounds of the simple past –ed suffix
 LISTENING
1
Listen to the conversation and match them to pictures
R= Receptionist
C= Caller
A.
R: Miss Jones is out for lunch, madam. Would
you like to leave a message?
C: Could you tell her to ring me back when
she gets back?
R: May I have your name and phone number,
please?
C: Paula Jane, my phone number is 887 98
987
B.
R: Mr. Costner isn’t in, I’m afraid. Can I take
a message?
C: Would you tell him I called?
R: Certainly. Your name, please?
C: Alan Hamilton, from Georgia
C.
R: The manager is busy at the moment. May I
take message?
C: Tell him I sent the invoice by mail, please.
R: Where are you calling from, sir?
C: From Johnson and Johnson Ltd.
D.
R: Mrs. Moore’s at a meeting now. Do you
want to leave a message sir?
C: This is Mr. Hutchinson. Tell her I received
the samples she sent me
R: Sorry, could you spell your name, please?
C: H-U-T-C-H-I-N-S-O-N
2
Cover the dialogues. Listen again
and write down the caller’s name
and message in your notebook!
FOCUS
ON
GRAMMAR
The simple past tense
Irregular verbs
Come came
Have had
Leave left
Ring rang
Say
said
Think thought
Regular verbs
Accept accepted
Book booked
Call
called
Like
liked
Phone phoned
Want wanted
Verb + object pronoun
Me
You
Him
Her
It
Us
You
Them
Call me on Monday
Give him the phone
number
Send it tomorrow
Take them to the airport
 GIVING MESSAGES
1
2
Look at the examples below and ask
questions by putting the verb in
parentheses into the past or future form
Examples:
 (ring) Could you tell him I rang?
Could you tell him I’ll ring again
this afternoon?
 (come)
(come) next week
 (phone)
(phone) tomorrow
 (book)
(book) next Friday
 (accept)
(accept) next week
3

Listen and leave a message about a
past action.
Example:
Would you like to leave message?
 Mr. Clifton / Mr. Harris / call
Tell Mr. Clifton Mr. Harris called, please.
1. Miss Jackson/Mr. Brown/Call
2. Mrs. Jones/Mr. Hall/sign the contact
3. Him/i/pick up the documents yesterday
evening
4. Her/Mr. Thomas/leave for Paris this
morning
5. Dr. Lane/we/postpone the meeting
6. Mr. Dawson/the lawyer/accept our offer
Group work
4
Listen and leave a message about a
future action.
Example:
Mr. Clifton is busy at the moment
 Call back / this afternoon
Could you tell him I’ll call him back this
afternoon?
1. Ring/tomorrow morning
2. Arrange another meeting/next week
3. Meet/at the bank at 11.15 a.m.
4. See/the Director/on Friday
5. Interview/again next week
6. Confirm / the prices
Passing on messages
Messages often take the following
structure:
Mr. X/wants/you/to do something
Listen and report back a message.
Example:
Miss Lee/the Production Manager/ring him
tomorrow morning
Miss Lee, the Production Manager wants you
to ring him tomorrow morning
1. Mr. Burrows/the firm lawyer/ring him
tomorrow morning
2. Dr. Lawrence/Mr. Maugham/arrange
another appointment for next week
3. Mr. Marshall/your husband/meet him at the
bank at 11.15 a.m.
4. Mr. Duffy/Mr. Barkeley/see the Director on
Friday
5. Mrs. Frazier/the Personnel
Manager/interview the applicant again next
week
6. Miss Nicholls/the Chief Buyer/confirm the
prices
Use the information below to pass on messages to your classmates
The Director
Mr. Lang
The engineer
My boss
Wants
Wanted
Would like
Asked
You
The lawyer
The accountant
us
To pick him up
To set a new date
To pay the client
To sign the contract
 LET’S PRACTICE!
 Polite questions
When asking somebody to do something it is frequent to add a polite comment or
question to confirm the request or to elicit some kind to answer from the speaker
ON
FOCUS
LANGUAGE
Polite question
Is that all right with you?
Is that possible?
Shall I call him back?
Would it be possible?
Would that be possible? Do you want me to call him/her back?
2
Listen to the following dialogues. Pay attention to the speaker’s pronunciation and
intonation. How do the polite questions affect the tone of the conversations?
S= Secretary
B= Boss
A.
S: Mr. Hamilton is on the line, sir. He’d like
to attend a meeting in Brussels next
Tuesday. Is that all right with you?
B: Could you check my diary? Am I free on
Tuesday next week?
S: Yes sir. Tuesday’s fine
B: OK. Tell him I’ll be there at 8 o’clock
C.
S: The General Manager called. He wants you
to cancel the Purchase Order he signed this
morning. Would that be possible?
B: I don’t think so. I sent it by fax this morning
S: Shall I call him back and let him know?
B: No, no, I’ll do it. Pass me through to him,
please.
B.
S: Mr. Hussein’s secretary called this
morning, sir. Mr. Hussein wants us to give
him 5% discount on his last quotation. Do
you want me to call him back?
B: Let me talk to the Sales Manager first
S: Yes sir. Do you want me to put you
through to him?
B: Yes, please
D.
S: Mr. Stuart is calling from MacPherson’s.
He’d like you to join them for a meeting.
Would it be possible?
B: Let’s see. What time is it?
S: It’s ten past twelve, sir
B: OK. Tell him I’ll be there in twenty minutes
Pair work
Put the following conversations in the correct order
1 -Pass me through to him please
2 -It’s about the balance sheet. He says it’s
-Is he on the line?
urgent
-Yes sir, he’s waiting
-What is it about?
-Mr. Drysdale wants to talk to you
-Mr. Dreyfuss wants you to phone him as
right away sir
soon as you get here. Shall I call him back?
-Yes, call him back, please
 LET’S FOCUS ON
 Pronunciation: the –ed suffix
1
Listen and repeat!
Pronunciation of the past
If the verb ends in sounds
such as:/s/f/k/ /t /p/the
‘-ed’ is pronounces as…
/t/
If the verb ends in vowel
sounds or in sounds such as
/z/,/m/,/l/,/r/,/n/, the
‘-ed’ is pronounced as…
/d/
If the verb ends in /d/ or in /t/
the ‘-ed’ is pronounced as…
/id/
Pass
Ask
Work
Laugh
Like
Finish
Try
Prepare
Propose
Call
Deliver
Phone
End
Attend
Recommend
Rent
Interrupt
Want
Passed
Asked
Worked
Laughed
Liked
Finished
Tried
Prepared
Proposed
Called
Delivered
Phoned
Ended
Attended
Recommended
Rented
Interrupted
Wanted
Group work
Now listen to the words used in context. Then, practice the dialogues with
your classmates.
A.
1.
2.
3.
4.
B.
1.
2.
3.
4.
C.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Did you pass the call on to Mr. Spencer?
Did he like the new furniture?
When did you finish?
What did he ask for?
I passed it on a few minutes ago, sir
Yes, he liked it very much
I finished yesterday morning
He asked for the new price list
When did they deliver the goods?
Who did you call?
Who did he phone?
What did she prepare?
They delivered them last Friday
I called the Manager
He phoned the safety equipment supplier
She prepared the annual budget
What did they want?
When did it end?
What did you attend?
What did you rent?
They wanted a salary raise
It ended last semester
We attended a seminar
I rented a car
2
Invent a short dialogue with
your group. Act it out for the
rest of the class.
 CULTURAL AWARENESS
 Do you know any names that can be used for both men and women?
 What is the tradition in your country in relation to names?
 Is the mother’s maiden name represented by an initial? If not, how is
represented?
Debate
Do women in your country keep their maiden name after they marry? In your opinion,
should women keep their maiden name or not? Do you think this custom is sexist?
DON’T FORGET!
 Leaving messages: I’m calling from Hamilton Inc
 Giving messages: Ask her to call me back when she
can, Tell her we sent the goods by post
 Asking polite questions: what do you think?, Shall I
send them a fax?
 Simple past: Could you tell him I rang?, He cancelled
the meeting
Unit 3
Receiving Visitors
Introduction
Office work not only implies being efficient and qualified in specific functions but also being
helpful and polite when dealing with people, especially visitors. When receiving visitors, the first
important step is greeting them and introducing yourself. Sometimes it’s necessary to offer them a
seat, or a cup of coffee. And any times, visitors need accurate directions to find their way around
the office. Finally, small talk also plays an important role, short conversations about the flight, the
weather or other common topics that puts the visitor at ease
ObjectIves

To greet visitors

To give directions

To learn ways to be hospitable

To make polite conversation

To practice sentence stress and intonation
 LISTENING
1
Listen to the following dialogues
and match them to the correct pictures. Now
name the characters in each scene.
V= Visitor
S=Secretary M= Mr. Norton
A.
V: Good morning. My name’s Richard Dale
S: Mr. Dale? How do you do? I’m Mr. Jensen’s
secretary.
V: How do you do?
S: Could you wait a few seconds, please? I’ll
tell Mr. Jensen you’re here
D.
V: Good morning. I’m Paul Geraldine. Mr.
Hall is waiting for me
S: I’m afraid Mr. Hall is in a meeting at this
moment, but it won’t take long. Take a
seat, please.
V: Thank you
S: Would you like a cup of coffee while you
wait?
V: I’d love one! Thank you.
KEY
VOCABULARY
Formal Greetings
B.
V: Good morning. I’m Marcelo Simone. I have
an appointment with Mr. Norton
S: It’s very nice to meet you, Mr. Simone. I’m
Mr. Norton’s secretary
V: Nice to meet you, too
S: Come on in, please. Mr. Norton, this is Mr.
Simone.
M: How do you do?
V: How do you do?
C.
V: Good afternoon. I’m Pamela Harrison. I have
an appointment with Mr. Hall
S: Good afternoon. Miss Harrison. Mr. Hall will
see you in a minute. Can I take your coat?
V: Yes, please. Thank you.
How do you do?
I’m delighted to meet you
I’m (very) pleased to meet you
It’s (very) nice to meet you
It’s (very) good to meet you
Informal Greetings
Pleased/Nice/Good to meet you
Hello
Hi
Introductions
I’m Mary Simpson
My name’s Mary Simpson
1
Cover the dialogues and listen
again. Have they used formal or
informal greetings?
Pair Work
Choose a dialogue and act it out
with a partner
 SPEAKING
 Small Talk
After greetings and introductions, start short conversations with visitors. The topics
should be of general interest, nothing too personal. You can offer something to eat or
drink, talk about the trip, accommodation, the weather etc.
KEY
VOCABULARY
Offering

1
May I …take your coat?
…help you?
…offer you something?
Can I get you something?
Would you like a…?
What would you like to…?
How about a…?
Pair Work
Substitute the phrases in blue above
with questions and answer from below.
Then, practice with a partner
Did you have a good trip?
How long did it take you to get here?
About two and a half hours
I usually like flying
Too long, I’m afraid
No, it stopped in Brussels
Listen and select the answer from below
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What would you like to drink?
May I offer you something to drink?
How about a cup of tea while you wait?
Would you like a cup of coffee?
Can I get you something to drink?
V= Visitor
S: How do you do, Miss Lane? How
was the flight?
V: Fine
S: Was it a direct flight?
V: Yes, I usually travel direct
 Offering
A cup of coffee for me, please
With a dash of milk
A cup of tea,please
No, Thank you
I’d love one
Only if it’s not too much trouble for you
Listen to the conversation. Pay
attention to the pronunciation
and intonation.
S= Secretary
Flights
How was the flight?
It was fine/rather long/too long as usual
There was an awful thunderstorm
There was a very long stop in…
I had to change planes twice
The flight was delayed
1
Flights


Around the Building
Look at the pictures. Then say
3 where to find places in the building
you are in now.
Example:
The bathroom is next to the classroom
 LET’S PRACTICE!
 Talking about countries
 The Weather
1
Listen to the following
conversations. Where are the
visitors from?
S= Secretary
Read the question below. Then, in pairs, create
a dialogue by choosing from the visitor’s
replies
V=Visitor
A.
S: And what was the weather like when
you left?
V: Sunny, but windy
S: Was it cold?
V: Yes, a bit colder than here
B.
S: Are you in mid winter there?
V: Yes. And this winter has been
extremely cold
V: Quite a lot!
 The Hotel
2
Put the sentences in order. Then
check your dialogue with a partner.
a. Where are you staying?
b. Yes. I think so. The room service is
very good
c. It’s very far from here actually. It’s
downtown
d. Is it far from here?
e. At the Michelangelo’s
f. It’s very comfortable
g. And what is it like?
h. Do you have everything you need?
What is the weather like?
In spring/summer?
Cold and cloudy/pretty warm
Rainy/wet and humid
Hot during the day, cool in the evening
What is the hotel like?
It’s a bit too noisy
It’s overlooking a beautiful park
The rooms are nice and comfortable
The food is really great
There are plenty of facilities
It has everything I need
It’s too far from downtown
Which part of Australia are you from?
What is it like?
And what about the people?
How long are you going to be here?
Is this your first visit to Spain?
Have you ever been to Granada before?
Visitor
No, this is my first visit here.
It’s beautiful. I like the weather and it’s the
largest city in Australia.
Only for a couple of days
From Sydney
No, it isn’t. I was here in 2003
They are very friendly. They like sports and
outdoor life.
Group Work
Listen to the speakers and answer them in
your notebook. Check with the recording.
What was the weather like when you left?
Getting cold/about to snow/cold as usual
Raining heavily/nice and bright/fairly mild
 LET’S FOCUS ON
 Stress and Intonation
The production and understanding of a foreign language not only implies the correct
pronunciation of the sounds, but also the correct stress and intonation of words and sentences.
Sentence stress refers to special emphasis given to certain syllables within the sentence
1
Listen to the following conversations.
Pay attention to the pronunciation
and sentence stress.
S= Secretary
V=Visitor
A.
V: Good morning. I’m Alexis Mouskuori. How
do you do?
S: How do you do?
B.
V: My name’s Harold Hackman, from Montreal
S: Mr. Hackman. Nice to meet you
V: Nice to meet you too.
C.
V: Good morning. I’m Patricia Nichols
S: Miss Nichols. Oh, we’re talked on the phone
so many times. Pleased to meet you. I’m
Sarah Lee
V: Pleased to meet you too, Miss Lee.
Listen to the stress and intonation
of these sentences. Write the
stresses words in your notebook.
1. I’m Maureen. How do you do?
How do you do?
2. Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
3. Can I take your coat?
Yes, please.
4. What would you like to drink?
A cup of coffee, please.
5. Can I get you something to drink?
Only if it’s not too much trouble
6. How was the flight?
Fine, Thank you
7. Where are you from?
From Salzburg
8. What is it like?
It’s a beautiful city
9. Where are you staying?
At the Plaza’s
10. Are you planning to stay here long?
No, I’m leaving tomorrow
2
Pair Work
Listen and say the stressed words in the questions. Practice asking and answering them
with a partner.
a. Where do you come from?
b. Excuse me. Where’s the General
Manager’s office?
c. What’s the best season to visit your
city?
d. I’m Pamela. How do you do?
e. What is your country like this time of the
year?
f. would you like a cup of coffee?
 CULTURAL AWARENESS




How do you people greet each other in your country?
Is it different in work situations?
Are there any differences between men and women when greeting?
In what country do people kiss on the mouth when greeting each other?
Survey
In pairs or small group, choose a country and find out how people greet each other there.
DON’T FORGET!
 Greeting visitors: How do you do?
It’s nice to meet you
 Being hospitable: Would you like a cup of coffee?
Can I take your coat?
 Making polite conversation: How was your fight?
What’s the weather like there?
What is your hotel like?
Are you planning to go sightseeing?
Unit 4
Forms, envelopes and letters
Introduction
A large part of office work involves written communications. Some of these writing activities
involve filling in forms, addressing envelopes and writing letters. The purpose of filling in forms
is to provide information for companies and institutions in an orderly and easy to read format.
Letters should always be as clear and simple as possible
ObjectIves

To fill in forms

To address envelopes

To write business letters

To distinguish between American and British English

To learn some abbreviations used in bussiness English
WRITING LETERS
Business English letters are usually brief and precise. The purpose is clearly stated and there is o room for
irrelevant information. Through there are different types of letters (applications, orders, circulars, letters of
complaint, letters of request) they all look alike because their form or layout contains similar parts.
1
Read the letter and answer the following questions in your notebook
1. Who signed this letter?
2. Who has a copy of this letter?
3. What is the letter about?
4. Who typed up this letter?
The salutation is the way you greet the person you are writing to. There are two styles, formal or
informal. The most common punctuation style is with a comma (,); but many American
companies still use the colon (:).
Formal situation
Dear Sir, / Madam,
Less formal situation
Dear Sir: / Madam: (Am.)
Dear Mr. / Mrs. / Miss Morris,
Dear Mr. / Miss Stanfield
When writing to a company in general, use: Dear sir or Madam followed by (,) or (:)
Close your letter in the same style you used in the salutation
Formal closing:
Yours sincerely, (addressee’s name is known)
Less formal closing:
Sincerely, Sincerely yours, Kind regards,
Yours faithfully, (addressee’s name is not known)
Cordial wishes, Best regards,
The body of the letter is the main content. It may start with a reference to another letter or fax
oreviously received or sent. It must include a statement of purpose of the present letter. Finally, it
usually includes closing lines to express a more personal wish or comment related to the aim of
the letter.
Common Phrase
2
Say if these salutations and
closing match.
Reference
Correct those which are wrong
Thank you for your letter of June 16th.
We refer to your fax dated......
With reference to your letter dated......
Purpose
Iam writing to apply for the vacancy of.....
We would like to order the following items.....
Closing
I/We would be very grateful.... to receive a trial
order.
I/We look forward to hearing from you.
I’m looking forward to.... (informal)
Dear Mr. Wells,/ Yours
sincerely
Gentlemen: / Best regards
Dear sir or madam: / Kind
regards
The Finance Manager, /
Yours sincerely
Messrs. Jones & Co., /
Sincerely
Dear Sir, / Yours faithfully
Dear Ms. Black: / Cordial
wishes
Madam: / Yours truly
Group Work
In small groups, identify the mistake in each sentence. Then, individually, write the
corrections in your notebook.
Dear Mrs.
April the 10, 2006
Lewis and Co, West Road 13, Bristol BR3 8HG
Sirs. Sinclain and Hughes.
Sales Manager
Mr. Keith Morgan
2 Elm Street
Santa Barbara
Filling in forms
1
Look at the form and answer the
questions.
Is Mr. James in the USA or in
Great Britain?
What is his current job?
Is he married?
How old is he?
What month is his birthday?
What kind of phone has he got
at home?
The purpose of filling in forms is to provide information for companies, agencies and
institutions in an orderly and easy-to-read format.
PairWork
Write these dates in American
and British style. Then partice
reading them to your partner.
Example: 17/8/2006
August 17th 2006 (Am)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
30/1/93
5/9/94
21/7/92
23/4/03
9/2/2000
Let’s focus on....
Observe how the period is used with abbreviations.
The periode is used with abbreviations to indicate that some letters have been omitted from the
full word. Some commonly usCabbreviations in business writing are:
1
Find the words that can be
shortened in the letter and write
their abbreviations in your
notebook.
2
Look up lists of abbreviations in
an English dictionary. Read words
to a partner who writes down the
abbreviations
Cultural awareness



Find some memos written in your native language and compare them with memos written in
English State differences and similarities in style. Are they more/ less formal? More / less
elaborate?
Do you have a personal style for writing letters? How would you describe it?
Do you like writing? Wwhat do you usually write?
DON’T FORGET!
 How to start a business letter:

How to close abusiness letter:
 How to address an envelope:
Dear Sir:
Dear Mrs, White
Dear madam
Sincerely yours,
Yours faithfully,
Best regards,
Messrs. Brown and Sons
P.O. Box 123
London SE1 2TF
England
Unit 5
Request
Introduction
You write a request when you need information about goods and services and when you need
general information of some kind. A response letter answers someone’s request. It usually
accompanies the goods or service the other person has requested
ObjectIves

To ask for information

To request catalogues or samples

To send a written letter or an e-mail

To respond to request

To examine company advertising

To focus on the use of the gerund

To look at email abbreviations
Request letters
The purpose of a request letter is to ask for information, samples, quotations, catalogues,
brochures..
Include the information that will help the receiver answer your question satisfactorily
Say why you are making the inquiry
State your request as a question or statement
Identify specifically what you want: catalogue, brochure, samples, information about an item or
service
1
What is each letter requesting?
Have the sender and receiver corresponded before?
What differences in style are there between two letters?
FOCUS
ON
LANGUAGE
PairWork
Opening sentences
I saw your advertisement in...
We are interested in...
Inqiury
Could you please send / us... ?
I / we would like to know if / about...
I would be grateful if you could inform me / us
about...
Complete the following
sentences with an expression
from the language box. Check
with a partner.
.... samples of the products you
advertised in Sunday’s paper?
....more information about the
possibility of subscribing to your
magazine
....shipping costs of text books
....an estimate of the large size
jackets, please?
....yesterday’s newspaper?
Response letters
Always reply promptly to routine requests from a potentially interesting client or to large and
regular orders
FOCUS
Opening sentences
Thank you for your email / inquiry of...
We have received your letter of...
We were pleased to receive...
ON
LANGUAGE
Closing response
I will be pleased to send you any further
information you may need.
We look forward to receiving your order.
We will deal promptly with any order you
send us
1
Who wrote a letter on 11th February?
What did they request?
What is Gary Fisher’s response to the dient’s request?
Who wrote a letter on October 21st?
What is the difference between the FCX and FC models?
Company advertising
1
Which advert are selling goods?
Which company is advertising a specific job?
Which advert offers service?
Who is the target audience for the travel?
Where does James O’connor work?
2
Let’s focus on....
The present continuous is often used in letter writing because it refer to an action we are doing
at the moment, or at least, the moment of writing the letter. It is formed by the present tense of
the verb (to be) and the gerund of the main verb (-ing suffix)
Example:
I’ m enclosing a cheque
We’ re enjoying our holidays in France
I’d like information about the books you are printing
You should not confuse this tense with other users of the gerund (ing) form.
As a noun: i enjoy travelling and visiting friends
As an adjective clause: We have received your letter concerning our orders
FOCUS
ON
GRAMMAR
Present continuous
Full form
I
am
You
We
are + verb (-ing)
They
He
She
It
+ is
Interrogative
Am
I
Are
you + verb (ing)
We
They
Is
he
She
it
Short form
I’m
You’re
We’re + verb (ing)
They’re
He’s
She’s
It’s
Negative
I’m not
You’re
We’re not + verb (ing)
They’re
He’s
She’s
It’s