LECTURE NOTES

ENGL6163
English Professional

Week 8
Sesssion 12

Composing Business Documents

ENGL6163 - English Professional

 LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this Course, students will be able to:

LO 4: Demonstrate the Intermediate-level Academic English writing skills in terms of

Introduction, Middle and Conclusion (a minimum of BINUS English Writing scaled
score of 15 of scale 30)
LO 1: Demonstrate the Intermediate-level Academic English Listening skills of Basic
Comprehension, Pragmatic Understanding, and Connecting Information (a minimum of
iBT TOEFL Listening scaled score of 15 of scale 30)

OUTLINE:

INTRODUCTION
DISCUSSION
 Grammar: Reviewing passive voice
 Writing Skill: Composing a business proposal, memo, email, letter, and report
 Listening Skill: Doing and extensive listening from various text and media
CONCLUSION

ENGL6163 - English Professional

 INTRODUCTION

In this session, we will focus on English grammar, writing, and listening skill.
Specifically, there are three main discussions related to the passive voice, business documents
such as business proposal, memo, email, letter, report, and lastly doing an extensive listening
from various texts such as lecturing, news, speech, debates, etc. The materials are commonly in
the form of theoretical discussion followed by some examples.

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 DISCUSSION

1. Grammar: Reviewing passive voice

A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a
sentence. Verbs are also said to be either active (The executive committee approved the new
policy) or passive (The new policy was approved by the executive committee) in voice.
Tense Subject Auxiliary Past
Singular Plural Participle
Present The car/cars is are designed.
Present perfect The car/cars has been have been designed.
Past The car/cars was were designed.
Past perfect The car/cars had been had been designed.
Future The car/cars will be will be designed.
Future perfect The car/cars will have been will have been designed.
Present progressive The car/cars is being are being designed.
Past progressive The car/cars was being were being designed.

2. Writing Skill: Composing a business proposal, memo, email, letter, and report

A business uses documents and reports to share information, data and numbers to
improve operations, management and sales, among other reasons. The term “business
documents” usually refers to several types of documents and reports, each of which has different
sections and content. Read about each type of document you wish to write before crafting the
sections required.
a. Business Proposal

A business proposal is the first document a business owner writes prior to starting the
business and offering services. A business proposal document includes a description of the
business, a list of services and products to be offered and a chart of the current management and
departmental structures. In addition, it should also include a list of risks associated with running
the business, a fully developed budget and sales forecasts. If the business is a wholesaler, a list of

ENGL6163 - English Professional

manufacturers and products should also be included. The business plan serves as a guide to
starting and running the business, and is typically required if your business is seeking funding.

b. Memo

A memo (or memorandum, meaning “reminder”) is normally used for communicating

policies, procedures, or related official business within an organization. It is often written from a
one-to-all perspective (like mass communication), broadcasting a message to an audience, rather
than a one-on-one, interpersonal communication. It may also be used to update a team on
activities for a given project, or to inform a specific group within a company of an event, action,
or observance.

c. Email and Letter

If you are writing a formal communication, it's likely that you want to convey your
message in a business letter. For example, if you are writing about a contractual issue, it's wise to
have a hard copy of your correspondence. The disadvantage to this is that pieces of paper can get
lost, and a business email can remain in an electronic folder forever. A business email can
convey the same message, but if it is a serious matter, business email often is seen as less formal
than a business letter. If your communication requires a wet signature, you obviously cannot sign
a business email in ink. You can affix an electronic or digital signature to an email message,
however.

According to the Northern Michigan University Writing Center, the commonly used
format for business letters is block style. Every section of the letter is flush with the left margin
in the traditional block style. A modified block positions the closing salutation and signature at
the bottom middle section of the letter; semi-block format means the paragraphs are indented. If
you are writing a business email, it's actually easier to replicate the traditional block format by
typing your greeting, body and closing salutation flush with the left margin, because if you tab
over for paragraph indents and closing salutations, the format might look odd, depending on the
size of the monitor or screen from which the recipient reads the communication.

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 d. Business Reports

Business reports are written reports that share information or data, often in relation to
research for a project, marketing campaign or new product launch. These types of reports include
an introduction, a presentation of the data and research found, a list of suggestions of how the
company can use the research or data for the project or marketing campaign in question and a

conclusion that discusses the next steps. Some business reports may serve as written proposals,
such as how to target a new niche market or what products to add to a new product line.

3. Listening Skill: Doing and extensive listening from various text and media
Extensive Listening (EL) is a way to improve your listening fluency. But what
is listening fluency? When you learn a language, there are two things you need to do. Extensive
listening is a way to practice your English listening skills. It means listening to many different
recordings, videos and interviews about the same topic. This will help you get context for what
you are listening to and will help you learn more vocabulary.

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 CONCLUSION

A passive construction occurs when you make the object of an action into the subject of a
sentence. A business uses documents and reports to share information, data and numbers to
improve operations, management and sales, among other reasons. Some common business
documents are: business proposal, memo, email. letter, and business reports. Beside the written
document, in listening, Extensive Listening (EL) is a way to improve your listening fluency. This
will help you get context for what you are listening to and will help you learn more vocabulary.

ENGL6163 - English Professional

 REFERENCES

1. Deborah Phillips. (2014). Longman Preparation Course for the TOEFL Test: IBT. 3rd
Edition. Pearson Longman. New Jersey. ISBN-10: 0133248127/ ISBN-13: 978-
0133248128
2. http://englishreinforcementrs.blogspot.com/p/the-passive-voice.html
3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vO2Mbyu4NSM

ENGL6163 - English Professional