ADVANCED BUSINESS ENGLISH 1

REMEDIAL EXAM
NAME: ___________________________ SCORE: ____________

PART I. (20 MARKS) INTEROFFICE MEMO

A. (10 Marks) Multiple Choice

Read each statement below carefully then write the letter of the best answer in the
provided table.

1. Memos are a much more formal means of communication than business letters.
a. True
b. False

2. What purpose does the first sentence of the body of a memo serve?
a. Introduces the writer of the memo
b. Serves as a formal greeting
c. Tells the audience who to contact if they have questions
d. States the purpose of the memo and/or what action the reader needs to take

3. Which of the following statements is true in regards to the spacing of a memo?

a. The entire document is double spaced
b. The entire document is single spaced
c. Everything is double spaced except for the body paragraphs
d. Only the body paragraphs are double spaced

4. Memos are usually _____ page(s) long.

a.   1
b.   2
c.   3
d.   4

5. Which of the following statements are uses of memos:

a. To inform others about new or changed policy, procedures and organizational details
b. To announce meeting, events and developments
c. To present decisions, directives and proposals
d. All of the above

6. If a memo is more than one page, the top of the second page should contain __________.
a. The page number
b. The date
c. The name of the recipient of the memo
d. All of the above

7. Which two adjectives best describe a memo?

a. Lengthy and in-depth
b. Short and concise
c. Detailed and formal
d. Verbose and succinct
8. All of the following are parts of the memo EXCEPT ________________.
a. To
b. From
c. Date
d. Objective

9. Memos reflect a company’s image except ________________.

a. politics
b. policies
c. organization
d. environment

10. Greeting and complimentary close are omitted in writing a memo.

a. True
b. False

MULTIPLE CHOICE Score

1 3 5 7 9

2 4 6 8 10

B. (10 Marks) Writing a subject

Read the memos and write the correct subject on the subject line of each memo.

To: Katherine Chu, Regional Manager

From: Stephen Yu, Sales Manager 1
Date: 30 November 2014
Subject: ____________________________________________

I am writing to inform you of my intention to resign from G & S Holdings.

I have appreciated very much my four years working for the company. The training has been
excellent and I have gained valuable experience working within an efficient and professional team
environment. In particular, I have appreciated your personal guidance during these first years of my
career.

I feel now that it is time to further develop my knowledge and skills base in a different
environment.

I would like to leave, if possible, in a month's time on Saturday, 27 December. This will allow me
to complete my current workload. I hope that this suggested arrangement is acceptable to the
company.

Once again, thank you for your support.

To: All Employees 
From: Abul Hasnat, Manager  2
Date: November 25, 2014
Subject: ________________________________________________

This is to inform you all that the farewell ceremony in honor of Mahmudul Hasan, Assistant
Manager, is going to be held at 11am on 25 January 2015. All concerned are requested to attend the
ceremony.

Thank you very much.

To: Office Manager 

From: Abdul Islam, Purchase Officer  3
Date: November 25, 2014
Subject: ________________________________________________

As desired, the order for the supply of 500 office chairs has been placed with Navan Furniture Mart,
16 Jatraburi, Dhaka 1204. The chairs will be supplied in two lots of 250 each on 26 and 30 January
2015.

Please be guided accordingly.

To: Marketing Officer 

From: Hasan Mahmud, General Manager  4
Date: November 25, 2014
Subject: ________________________________________________

Recently, I visited the manufacturing plants at India and discussed with the production managers
the possibility of increasing the production so that we can export these items to western countries.
They see no difficulty in doing so but before they take any define initiatives in this direction, they
would like to have an estimate of the demand for our products in these countries.

So, I request you to contact our agents quickly and let me know the estimates by the end of
September.

To: The Vice Principal 

From: Hasan Mahmud, General Manager  5
Date: November 25, 2014
Subject: ________________________________________________

This is to inform you with great anxiety that the authority has noticed some teachers are not
punctual and indifferent to their duties. In these circumstances, you all are requested to be more
punctual and to take all necessary steps to maintain smooth environment of education in the
institution.

Thank you very much.

PART 3: (30 MARKS) WRITING SKILLS
A. (10 Marks) Writing a Memo
Write a memo up to three paragraphs long for one of the following scenarios. Decide who
the memo should be sent to and what the subject of the message is. Add your own
information to the body of the memo. Write your writing in the space provided on the next
page.

Situation 1:

You are the office manager and want to remind everyone to clean up after themselves in
the lunchroom. There was recently an infestation of cockroaches. The building has since
been fumigated but you still require the cooperation of staff to prevent a re-infestation.
State the purpose of the memo, your reason(s) for sending it (example: the kind of
behavior you have noticed) and what actions you want taken.

Situation 2:

You are an administrative assistant. You want to tell 10 people about an upcoming
computer training seminar. You are attaching a brochure about the seminar from the
presenter, but you also need to inform them of the following:
 what the training is for
 who the presenter is, including a brief statement about his/her background
 where the training will be held, including the date and time
 whether or not parking is available
 whether or not lunch and/or any refreshments will be served

Situation 3:

Write a memo about a topic of your choice. Tell recipients the purpose of the memo, your
reason(s) for sending it and what action (if any) you want taken. Provide suggestions in
your memo if appropriate.
 Writing a Memo

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Content (4) Accuracy and Fluency (4) Format (2) Score (10)