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TCS VERBAL ABILITY PREP 2

Exercise 1

Read the email and decide which parts are

the intro
the details
the action
the close

Dear Simon,

Thank you very much for showing me round your production facilities. I was most
impressed.

I'm pleased to tell you that your company is one of two short-listed for the production of
our new website video. This is an important part of our marketing strategy and we are sure
you will treat this with the importance it deserves.

I need to have a draft outline of your thoughts for this video by the end of the month.
Please send this to me by email as an attachment.

If you need any further help, feel free to contact me.

Best wishes.

Sandy Benny

Marketing Manager

Exercise 2

Look at the e-mail below and answer the following questions:

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TCS VERBAL ABILITY PREP 2

Who is the e-mail to?


Who is it from?
Is there a signature?
Who has received a copy?
Is there a clear subject heading?
Why was it sent?
What action is required of the readers?
Is the tone appropriate?

Exercise 3

Look at the following suggestions about using e-mails for business writing. Which ones are good
advice, and which ones are bad advice?

1. E-mails are normally read quickly and need to be easily understood. It is important that the
first paragraph includes any action that is requested.

2. If an e-mail is too long it may not all be read. Remember the four Ss when writing an e-mail:
keep it Short, Simple and Straightforward, and Spell correctly.

3. People often reply very quickly to e-mails and this means that the message is not always
clear. Make sure your e-mails are as long as possible.

4. Dont use emoticons. Many people dont like them, and some people dont understand them.

5. Avoid using abbreviations unless you are sure that your reader will understand them.

6. Do type your message IN CAPITAL LETTERS this grabs the attention of the reader.

Exercise 4

Four key words are given ATTACH, ENCLOSE, REPLY and FORWARD. Fill in the blanks in the
sentences given using the most appropriate key word in the most appropriate form.

E.g.: I am sending you all the information about the conference. Please forward it to your

colleagues.
1. I wrote to him three weeks ago but he hasnt ________ yet.
2. In the file _______ to the email you can see the statistics for the last six months.
3. The discount that our suppliers are offering is for this week only, so please ________ to them
as soon as possible.
4. Please see the _________ files for further information.
5. Have you received ________ his letter yet?
6. Our price list _________.

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TCS VERBAL ABILITY PREP 2

LINKING WORDS

You can use words or short phrases which help to guide your reader through your writing, and
to link sentences and paragraphs both forwards and backwards. Good use will make what you
have written easy to follow; bad use might mean your style is disjointed, probably with too many
short sentences, and consequently difficult to follow.

Your mark could be affected either way.

There follows a list of words and phrases that can be used. The list is not exhaustive, and BE
CAREFUL: although grouped together, none is totally synonymous. Their position in the sentence
can also vary.

Giving examples

For example
For instance
Namely

The most common way of giving examples is by using for example or for instance.

Namely refers to something by name.


"There are two problems: namely, the expense and the time."

Adding information

And
In addition
As well as
Also
Too
Furthermore
Moreover
Apart from
In addition to
Besides

Ideas are often linked by and. In a list, you put a comma between each item, but not before and.

"We discussed training, education and the budget."


Also is used to add an extra idea or emphasis. "We also spoke about marketing."

You can use also with not only to give emphasis.


"We are concerned not only by the costs, but also by the competition."

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We don't usually start a sentence with also. If you want to start a sentence with a phrase that
means also, you can use In addition, or In addition to this

As well as can be used at the beginning or the middle of a sentence.


"As well as the costs, we are concerned by the competition."
"We are interested in costs as well as the competition."

Too goes either at the end of the sentence, or after the subject and means as well.
"They were concerned too."
"I, too, was concerned."

Apart from and besides are often used to mean as well as, or in addition to.
"Apart from Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer."
"Besides Rover, we are the largest sports car manufacturer."

Moreover and furthermore add extra information to the point you are making.
"Marketing plans give us an idea of the potential market. Moreover, they tell us about the
competition."

Summarising

In short
In brief
In summary
To summarise
In a nutshell
To conclude
In conclusion

We normally use these words at the beginning of the sentence to give a summary of what we
have said or written.

Sequencing ideas

The former, the latter


Firstly, secondly, finally
The first point is
Lastly
The following

The former and the latter are useful when you want to refer to one of two points.

"Marketing and finance are both covered in the course. The former is studied in the first term
and the latter is studied in the final term."

Firstly, secondly, finally (or lastly) are useful ways to list ideas.

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TCS VERBAL ABILITY PREP 2

It's rare to use "fourthly", or "fifthly". Instead, try the first point, the second point, the third
point and so on.

The following is a good way of starting a list.


"The following people have been chosen to go on the training course: N Peters, C Jones and A
Owen."

Giving a reason

Due to / due to the fact that


Owing to / owing to the fact that
Because
Because of
Since
As

Due to and owing to must be followed by a noun.

"Due to the rise in oil prices, the inflation rate rose by 1.25%."

"Owing to the demand, we are unable to supply all items within 2 weeks."

If you want to follow these words with a clause (a subject, verb and object), you must follow the
words with the fact that.

"Due to the fact that oil prices have risen, the inflation rate has gone up by 1%25."

"Owing to the fact that the workers have gone on strike, the company has been unable to fulfill
all its orders."

Because / because of

Because of is followed by a noun.

"Because of bad weather, the football match was postponed."

Because can be used at the beginning or in the middle of a sentence. For example, "Because it
was raining, the match was postponed."

"We believe in incentive schemes, because we want our employees to be more productive."

Since / as

Since and as mean because.

"Since the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff."

As the company is expanding, we need to hire more staff."

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Giving a result

Therefore
So
Consequently
This means that
As a result

Therefore, so, consequently and as a result are all used in a similar way.

"The company is expanding. Therefore / So / Consequently / As a result, they are taking on


extra staff."

Prices fell by more than 20% last year. Therefore / So / Consequently / As a result, sales
increased by 15%.

So is more informal.

Contrasting ideas

But
However
Although / even though
Despite / despite the fact that
In spite of / in spite of the fact that
Nevertheless
Nonetheless
While
Whereas
Unlike
In theory in practice

But is more informal than however. It is not normally used at the beginning of a sentence.

"He works hard, but he doesn't earn much."


"He works hard. However, he doesn't earn much."

Although, despite and in spite of introduce an idea of contrast. With these words, you must have
two halves of a sentence.

"Although it was cold, she went out in shorts."


"In spite of the cold, she went out in shorts."

Despite and in spite of are used in the same way as due to and owing to. They must be followed
by a noun. If you want to follow them with a noun and a verb, you must use the fact that.

"Despite the fact that the company was doing badly, they took on extra employees."

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On the whole, his speech was well received, despite some complaints from new members.

Nevertheless and nonetheless mean in spite of that or anyway.

"The sea was cold, but he went swimming nevertheless." (In spite of the fact that it was cold.)
"The company is doing well. Nonetheless, they aren't going to expand this year."

While, whereas and unlike are used to show how two things are different from each other.

"Taxes have gone up, whereas social security contributions have gone down."

"Unlike in India, the USA has cheap petrol."

Here are just a few examples of some of the words in action:

Exercise 5

Each sentence below has a blank and is followed by three answer options. Fill in the blank with
the most appropriate option.

1. Polls show that Tony Blair is the most popular Prime Minister this century. ______________ ,
there are even members of his own party who are uneasy with his approach.
In particular However For instance

2. There are some slight variations in temperature, but ________________ 26 to 27C should be
expected.

consequently otherwise as a rule

3. The two main Channel Islands, ________________ Jersey and Guernsey, are much closer to
France than to England.

for example namely in particular

4. It was announced that nurses' working hours would be increased by 25%. ______________ ,
even fewer trainee nurses are expected to join the profession.

As a result So that Likewise

5. Sales of CDs have experienced a small but steady fall over the past 12 months. _____________ ,
vinyl records have seen an increase in their share of the market, up to 1.7%.

Above all Correspondingly In contrast

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6. The Vice Chancellor explained that in light of the current financial climate and because of
unexpected bad debts, it would be necessary to peg salary levels at their current level for all
grades of staff. ______________ , no-one was getting a pay rise.

Nevertheless In other words Similarly

7. It is clear, therefore, that the situation in Brazil will improve only slowly. ______________ the
economic problems being experienced in Japan, the outlook is slightly more optimistic.

Furthermore In comparison With reference to

8. In order to try to reduce car use in the inner cities, the government has announced new
restrictions on company parking spaces and ______________ , a new tax on individual car use.

as well as in addition in the same way

9. Essays must be handed in by the deadline; ______________ they will not be marked.

obviously otherwise as a result

10. ______________ it has been shown that fractures can occur at even relatively low pressures,
the use of the material should not be completely discounted.

Nevertheless Because Even though

Exercise 6

Fill in the gaps with appropriate words (from the choice below) to link the paragraphs.
Remember that the topic of one paragraph should follow logically from the topic of the last
paragraph and should lead on to the topic of the next paragraph.

After Leave The whole process The next stage Finally Start Next

How Pottery is Made

_______by preparing the clay to make sure its texture is even and that its free from air bubbles.
Air trapped in clay expands when heated in the kiln, causing it to explode.

____ make the thing you want. There are four basic methods to use. Firstly, pinch pots, made
by squeezing clay with your fingers. Secondly, slab pots, made by joining flat sheets of clay.
Thirdly, coil pots made with sausages of clay, and finally, pots made on the wheel (thrown pots).

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TCS VERBAL ABILITY PREP 2

_ the clay to dry for about a day until it becomes leather hard, like firm cheese. At this
stage, you can finish fine details or decorate the clay.

______a week or so, when the clay is completely dry, you bake, or fire the pot at about 980C to
make it hard. This is called biscuit firing. It also makes the clay porous for the next stage.

______is to cover the pot with a special kind of powdered glass called glaze. You mix the powder
with water and apply it to the pot by dipping, pouring, brushing or spraying.

__ you fire the pot again - to a higher temperature this time (between 1,000C and 1,400C
depending on the clay).This is called glaze or ghost firing. It makes the glaze melt and gives the
pot an even, glass-like coating.

_ ,from start to finish, takes about two weeks.

Exercise 7

Look at the text from three emails that contain words which can often be confused. Underline
the correct or most appropriate word.

Email 1

I am writing with (1) connection/reference/regarding to our telephone conversation this morning


about your order 7895LG. I must (2) regret/apologise/sorry for the delay in processing this
order. I can now confirm that the goods have been shipped and should (3) arrive/reach/deliver
you within 10 working days. We have taken special (4) care/attention/caution to make sure that
the items are exactly as you requested.

Once again, please (5) take/have/accept our apologies. If you have any further questions, do not
(6) stop/fail/hesitate to contact me again.

Email 2

I was (1) sorry/unhappy/afraid to hear about the damage to the products that you received this
morning. However, I am (2) afraid/apologise/regret that we cannot (3) accept/except/have
responsibility in this (4) topic/material/matter. All our products are (5)
controlled/checked/looked very carefully before leaving the factory, and the damage in this case
must have been caused in transit. I (6) propose/suggest/tell that you contact the shipping
company directly about possible compensation.

In the meantime, we can ship the same order to you again, if it would help. If you give us a firm
instruction to do so (7) until/by/within the next few days, it should reach you (8) until/by/within
the end of the month.

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TCS VERBAL ABILITY PREP 2

Email 3

I am writing to you (1) affecting/connecting/concerning the meeting that we (2)


combined/appointed/arranged for this Friday. I am afraid something urgent has come up and I
will not be able to attend. Can we (3) cancel/postpone/schedule the meeting until next week? I
can make any time Wednesday or Thursday.

I apologise for any (4) disadvantage/inconvenience/unfortunate this may cause, and I (5) look
forward/wait/anticipate to (6) hear/hearing/know from you.

Exercise 8

1. Use the given outline to write an email to your manager, William requesting for a meeting to
seek clarifications on your tasks in the project. Sign the email as Margaret.

Outline:

Meeting-Tuesday morning-seek clarification-financial advice project-task-status-person left-


abruptly-no handover-your availability-by tomorrow- top priority

2. Use the given outline to write an email to a member of your team, Michael, appreciating his
work on the project just completed. Sign the email as Anna.

Outline:

Thank you-efforts-Accounts Receivable project-hard work-extended working hours-night-


week-end-client-appreciating the work-not have been possible-beyond the call of duty-keep it
up

3. Write an email to your training manager requesting a training session for your team. Sign the
email as Maria.

Outline:

Training-Nineteen Associates-3 days-tenth-twelfth August- Communication skills-Norway


client-Presentation skills-email writing-assertiveness-confirm-two days-clarifications

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