PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH

In recent years, since business has become more global, the English language has become the
standard means of communication in business correspondences. Executives, manufacturers,
suppliers from different countries use standard Business English to negotiate or conduct
business. English language skills are now essential for all executives and senior managers,
therefore in most companies the promotion and also the recruitment of staff depends
increasingly on their knowledge of Business English. So, to be successful in business life and
to continue this success, some basic rules of Business Writing should be studied carefully.

Writing for a business audience is usually quite different than writing in the humanities, social
sciences, or other academic disciplines. Business writing stresses specificity and accuracy and
it reflects the unique purpose and considerations involved when writing in a business context.
When you write a business document, you must assume that your audience has limited time in
which to read it and is likely to skim. Your readers have an interest in what you say in so far
as it affects their working world. They want to know the “bottom line”: the point you are
making about a situation or problem and how they should respond.

Which types of business writing do you know?

Business writing varies from the conversational style often found in e-mail messages to the
more formal, legalistic style found in business letters. A style between these two extremes is
appropriate for the majority of memos, e-mails, and letters. Writing that is too formal can
alienate readers, and an attempt to be overly casual may come across as insincere or
unprofessional. In business writing, as in all writing, you must know your audience.
In most cases, your CV and Statement of Purpose will be the first impression that you make
on someone. Though business writing has become less formal over time, you should still take
great care that your writing’s content is clear and that you have proofread it carefully.
Reports are the results of serious investigations about the business and successfully written
reports show your professionalism.

In this part of Academic Writing Course, you will learn

 the structure of different types of business writing;

 the appropriate language and vocabulary for business correspondences;
 how to write the indicated types.

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 E-MAIL WRITING

E-mail is one of the most commonly used forms of communication in daily life and in the
international business world. If communicating on phone is not possible, e-mail helps people
to get connected. It is used extensively within companies to circulate information, to request
and recommend, to ask for results, to give instruction on a particular subject, to inform about
meetings, etc.

E-mail is an effective, rapid and relatively cheap means of communicating with customers
and suppliers, both nationally and internationally. However, because e-mail is a relatively new
way of communication, in order to write effective e-mails and to reply them appropriately,
some basic patterns should be studied. Otherwise, miscommunication may easily occur.

First of all, you should note that e-mail may not be used in some cases. In which cases is e-
mail preferable?

E-mail is generally used when

 you need to communicate with people who may not be reached on phone, who live in
different parts of the world, and who travel a lot;
 the information that you want to share is not time-sensitive;
 you want to reach a lot of people immediately;
 you need to send an electronic file, like homework or a report;
 you need a written record.

If your message is too long and complicated to explain, or if you need to share confidential
information, do not write an e-mail. Long and complicated information may easily be ignored
or forgotten and confidential information can easily be stolen or shared with a third party.

1. Layout of E-mail

The components below will enable you to write an effective e-mail. You do not have to use
all the components stated, but in some cases you may need to use all of them. The order of the
components is not important since different systems may have different orders.

a. From: name of the person sending the e-mail. When you send an e-mail to your professor
or a person who receives a lot of e-mails during the day, it is important to indicate your
name clearly. It may be impossible for them to realize who you are by looking at the e-mail
address. For example, “st98342819@etu.edu.tr” or “lord_of_darkness@mail.com” may not
mean anything to the receiver. That is why, by using the account settings, change your user
name into your full name.
b. To: name of the person/people the e-mail is addressed to. Generally, when you type the
name or e-mail address of the receiver, the system will automatically indicate the name.
You should be careful about choosing the name if your address book is crowded.
c. Cc (carbon copy): person/people who will receive the mail though it is not addressed
directly to them. For example, if you send an e-mail to your colleague about an important
issue, you can also send it to your boss to inform him/her or if there is a problem about

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 your course registration and you are sending an e-mail to student affairs, you can also add
your counsellor’s address.
d. Bcc (blind carbon copy): person/people who will receive a copy without other people
knowing. If you do not want to share an address with other people, you may use this
feature.
e. Sent: date and time. The system will automatically upload the date and time when the e-
mail is sent.
f. Subject: information about the content of the e-mail. The subject line is the most
important line of your e-mail and it should be to-the-point and informative. One word
subjects such as “Hi”, “Question”, “Homework” are not informative and do not give the
reader an idea of how important your message is. So, try to avoid one word subject lines. If
your message is time-sensitive or urgent, you should indicate it in subject line. For
example, “Important change in meeting venue, Thurs, Dec 2.” If you are replying to an e-
mail that you received before, you can use the subject line of it. In this case, you may use
“reply” option of the system. For example, “Subject: Re: Delivery Delay”.
g. Attachment: files, documents, etc. sent separately rather than included in the actual
message or body of the e-mail. The attached file will also be automatically uploaded to the
system but the thing that you should do is to name the file properly. For example, you are
sending a document to your professor. If you name the file as “message.doc” or
“Katie_Aaron”, it may cause confusion. Instead try to use informative names such as
“KatieAaron/ING 003/E-MailHomework”. You also need to mention in the body of your
e-mail that you are sending a document and do not forget to attach the file.
h. Opening: greeting the person to whom you are sending the e-mail. Start the message with
a greeting so as to help create a friendly but business-like tone. The choice of using the
first name versus the surname will depend on who you are writing to. If you have
communicated with the receiver previously and s/he is at a similar level to you, then use of
first name would be appropriate. If the receiver is more senior to you, or if you are in
doubt, it would be safer to use person’s surname, e.g. “Dear Mr Smithson,”. After the
greeting, you should add a comma.

Formal Semi-Formal Informal

Opening Dear Sir or Madam, (1) Dear John, Hi John,

Dear Sir/Madam, (1) Dear Olivia, Hello Olivia,

Dear Mr Thomas, Hi, (or Hello without the person’s name)

Dear Dr Thomas, John, (first name only)

Dear Ms Smith, (2) J, (the first letter of the person’s name, it is

used in very informal situations)

Notes:
1. Using the indicated phrase when you do not know the name of the receiver is suitable.
2. If the receiver is a woman, even if you know the marital status of her, you should use “Ms”.

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 i. Body of the e-mail. Start with a clear indication of what the message is about in the first
paragraph. If you reply to an e-mail, thank the sender by giving a reference to the previous
message.
Give full details in the following paragraph(s). For each new topic or issue, you should
start a new paragraph.
In the last paragraph of your e-mail, make sure that what should happen next is indicated:
 e.g.: Please let me have your order by the beginning of the month.
 e.g.: We will prepare an action plan as soon as we hear from you.
 e.g.: If we cannot get the refund, we will start the legal process.
After you complete your body paragraphs, you also need to add a line indicating your good
will. You can use the phrases at the end of your e-mail or you can start a new paragraph.
Commonly used phrases are as below:
 Thank you very much for your cooperation.
 I am looking forward to hearing from you.
 It is a pleasure doing business with you.
 If you will have further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

j. Closing. End your message in a polite way. Common endings are “Yours sincerely,”,
“Best Regards,”, “Best Wishes,”, “Regards,”. The language depends on your receiver. You
should add a comma after the phrase that you use.

Formal Semi-Formal Informal

Closing Yours faithfully, (UK) (1) Thanks, Best wishes,

Yours sincerely, (UK) (2) Best Regards, All the best,

Yours, Thanks,

Brian or B (Your Initial only)

Notes:
1. “Yours faithfully,” is used if you start your e-mail with “Dear Sir/Madam,”.
2. “Yours sincerely” is used if you know the name of the receiver.

k. Name and job title. Include your name and job title at the end of your message. If you are
a student, putting your student number and the class code that you are taking is suitable.
For example:
Brian Hastings
189635789
ING 003 – 10

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 Formal E-mail Sample:
From: Peter King (Export Office)
To: Hugh Moore (Export Office Manager)
Cc: Ray Hopper (Human Resources)
Bcc: Joanne Jolie (General Manager of BTech)
Sent: 13, February 2021 10:02
Subject: Resignation
Attachment: Peter King_Resignation_06.13.2021

Dear Mr Moore,

It is with regret that I tender my resignation as Assistant Export Manager.

This follows my appointment as Export Manager with BTech. As I am required under my

contract to give one month’s notice, I understand my last day of employment will be 15 March
2015. I also signed my petition with Human Resources. In order to avoid a future problem,
attached I am sending you a copy of the petition.

May I take this opportunity to thank you for all the invaluable help, advice and encouragement
that you have given me during my three years with Techno C. I have thoroughly enjoyed my
time here, but I feel the moment is now right for me to take up new responsibilities and
challenges.

I hope that I may find a chance to work with you in joint projects in the future.

Yours sincerely,

Peter King
Assistant Export Manager

a
b
c
d
e
f
g

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 k

Semi-formal E-mail Sample:

From: Leilah White (Sales Manager)

To: Kim Potter, Sue Young, Harry Taylor, Jacques Benoist
Cc: Charles Baker (Senior Accountant), Maria Belmondo (General Manager)
Sent: 12 February 2015, 12:40
Subject: Congratulations to the Sales Team!

Hi everyone,

I am writing to congratulate all of you. I am sure you will all agree that the annual Sales
meeting was a great success. This was clearly due to the excellent organisation involved and I
thank you for all your hard work. As you know, we are still waiting for the final figures from
some of our regional sales representatives, but it looks very likely that we will exceed our
targets in every area.

To show her appreciation, Ms Belmondo has instructed the Accounts Department to award you
all an extra 5% bonus.

Keep up the good work.

Best wishes,
Leilah

Formal E-mail Sample II:

To: trusteeboard@brownsales.com

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 From: tmcaden@jonesofficesolutions.com
Date: 21.01.2020
Subject: Anderson Marketing Company Introduction
Attachment: Marketing Endorsement of Anderson Marketing.pdf
Client List of Anderson Marketing.pdf
Anderson Marketing Profile Leaflet.pdf

Dear Sir/Madam,

We are sending you this e-mail on the behalf of Anderson Marketing Company Pvt.
Ltd regarding the marketing proposal in order to promote the services offered by
Brown Sales Corporation Pvt. Ltd. We are an established marketing organization
which is dealing in all sort marketing & advertising strategies on the international
platform. We are dealing with a number of potential clients worldwide. Kindly find
the marketing endorsements, list of our existing clients, a company profile and brief
description of our offered marketing services as attachments.

Anderson Marketing Company Pvt. Ltd is organizing the online marketing

campaigns through e-mails, sending SMS and conducting surveys in order to
evaluate the current client position in the market. Our organization is seeking to
serve Brown Sales Corporation Pvt. Ltd with the best of its services. Furthermore, as
being a new client, you can avail a special discount of 30% under our introductory
plan.

Our customer support department will be happy to answer all of your queries and
questions.

Yours faithfully,

Tina McAden
Administrative Assistant
Jones Office Solutions
2. Language/Tone of E-mails

Because e-mails are shorter than other forms of communication, the language is simple and concise.
However, your tone is determined by your word/phrase choice. The tone of e-mails to superiors or
people outside the company where you work should be formal, but ‘in-house’ e-mails between
colleagues can be semi-formal. When you send an e-mail to one of your classmates, you can choose
an informal tone but you cannot follow the same pattern when you send an e-mail to your professor.

a. Knowledge of Vocabulary – Formal/Informal Vocabulary

Here are three easy guidelines to make sure that you choose the right vocabulary:

1. Use the words you know. Try to avoid using a dictionary to find words, unless you are
sure what they mean.
2. Use vocabulary that your readers know. If you are writing to a professional from the
same area as yours, then it is likely that they will share a common vocabulary with you,

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 including technical terms. You can therefore use these terms with a reasonable
expectation that your reader will understand them.
3. Most importantly, if you are writing to someone who does not share your professional
area, then you may need to simplify your vocabulary to make it understandable.

Deciding on the correct vocabulary depends on the formality and informality of your
language. The formality and informality of e-mails are determined by the phrases, the words
and sentence structures that you use.

Exercise 1: Study the following sentences and decide about the tones of them: Are
these phrases/sentences formal or informal?

 Thank you Thanks.

 Sorry for… I would like to apologize for…
 I would appreciate it if you… Can you … ?
 Do you know…? Would you happen to know ….?
 Unfortunately, I will not be able to… I cannot …
 I do not want to… I would rather not …
 Shall we…. Let’s/How about …?
 I am sorry but your payment terms I regret to inform you that your payment
terms are not OK for us. are not acceptable.
 Could you please clarify the meaning of You wrote that you would send the
EOD? document by “EOD”. What does it mean?
*EOD means ‘end of the day report’.

Exercise 2: The following expressions indicate similar content with different tones.
Match the expressions which communicate the same content.

1. It is of the utmost importance that you… a. See you next week. 2

2. I am looking forward to seeing you on 17 October. b. Hi Peter, 4
3. I am very pleased that you are able to… c. This e-mail is about … 8
4. Dear Mr Bentley, d. It is good that you can … 3
5. I would be grateful if you could clarify … e. This is not at all clear … 5
6. The next stage of the process is to… f. Next we are going to … 6
7. I would appreciate if you could… g. Unfortunately, … 9
8. I am writing in connection with … h. Let me know if I can help. 10
9. I regret to inform you that … i. Make sure that you … 1
10. Do not hesitate to contact if I can be of further assistance. j. You must … 7
11. Kindly check the attachment for further information. k. Check attachment for info 11

Exercise 3: Study the following e-mail. A student has a problem about their
compulsory course and sends an e-mail to their counsellor. However, the

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 tone of the e-mail is not appropriate. Please make the proper changes in
the tone and the structure of the e-mail (please consider all the
punctuation, spelling, paragraphing rules and content of a proper e-mail
as well).

Sent: 08.01.2020 Thursday 13.30

From: sztxyc@etu.edu.tr
To: instructor85@etu.edu.tr
Subject: problem!!!!

Hi Teacher 003&004 classes are full. You know I’m a third year studenthere. I have to take
ing 003 course, but this system doesn’t allow me. I called student affairs. and they told me to
contact you. They said you need to click on something so my system will be OK. I called
you from your office but couldn’t reach. Can you answer me ASAP?
Tomorrow is the last day for registration. If you can handle this, I appreciate. because if you
can’t do it till tomorrow, it will be a problem. I gotta take it next year i will be away from
shool to complete my internship. I don’t want to lengthen the school 
I’ll wait for your reply. I’ll come to your office tomorrow because you need to sign my
papers as well.
Thnaks you alot. Have a nice day.

Exercise 4: Check the following e-mail and try to identify the unsuitable usages. Please
try to consider cohesion as well as style, register and tone.

From: scase@repoffice.com
To: hiringmanager-ds@mail.com
Subject: about Abbey Alden

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 I would like to recommend Abbey Alden as a candidate for a position with your
organization. In her position as Staff Assistant, Abbey was employed in our office
from 2019 to 2021. Abbey did a cool job in this position and was an asset to our
organization during her tenure at the office.

Problems were easily sorted out thanks to her. She has excellent verbal and written
communication skills, is extremely organized, can work without relying on anyone and
is able to follow through to ensure that the job is get done. She was never late for work
in two years. Abbey was always willing to offer her assistance and had an excellent
rapport with the constituents served by our office including clients, employers and
other professional organizations.

We are truly sorry for her leaving but she would be an asset to any employer and I
recommend her for any endeavor she chooses to pursue.

Your attention is of the utmost importance.

Yours sincerely,

Siobhan Case
Area Manager

b. Signalling Intentions in E-mails

Signalling intention means that you explain to your readers the reason(s) for writing. If you
are writing a short e-mail, you will signal your intention, which gives a clear statement about
your objective, at the beginning of the e-mail. However, if you are writing a longer e-mail,
then you may have a number of objectives or points, where each one is written in a separate
paragraph. To signal your intention clearly, you should state your overall reason for writing at
the beginning of the e-mail and you should divide your main part into meaningful paragraphs
depending on your purposes.

Study the following chart to see proper phrases for different intentions:

Intention Sample Phrase

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 Requesting
 I would be grateful if you furnish us with further
Informing information.
 I am pleased to inform you that your visa was
Asking for clarification approved by the Embassy.
 Could you supply us more information on the
Making suggestions new product?
 I propose that a new agreement should be
Drawing attention/reminding conducted as soon as possible.
 I would like to point out the severity of the
figures from previous quarter.

Exercise 5: Choose the correct intention for each key phrase.

a. Expressing improbability d. Refusing a request g. Requesting

b. Making suggestions e. Asking for approval h. Informing
c. Acknowledging f. Giving bad news i. Giving assurance

1. I hereby approve the receipt of the following documents from your firm. c
2. We hope that you would understand the reasons why the production is ceased considering
the situation. h
3. It is unlikely that we will be able to complete the shipping in a week. a
4. I will do my best to ensure that second party of your order will be sent by the end of May.
i
5. I regret to inform you that there will be some budget cuts next month. F
6. We would like to inform you about the next step we will be taking. g
7. We strongly recommend you to receive further information on the issue. b
8. Unfortunately, we are unable to allocate the money in question to your department. d
9. I would appreciate it if you could send the reports until the end of the week. e

It should be noted that if you need to inform your customer/colleague on a negative issue, you
also need to offer your excuse(s) and these excuses should be explained in a professional
manner. For example, “It is unlikely that we will be able to complete the shipping in a week
because we do not have enough workers.” would be highly unprofessional. Instead you may
say: “It is unlikely that we will be able to complete the shipping in a week because;
unfortunately, one week is quite short to ensure the quality of the service we offer.”

Explaining personal excuses is another problem in professional life. While explaining your
personal excuses, you need to act professionally and decide on the related quantity of the
information. For example, instead of explaining the following: “I could not attend the meeting
because my wife got sick and we stayed at the hospital until the morning. Today, she needs to
take some tests and we are worried. Can I visit your office to receive further information on

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 the meeting?”, you may say: “Because of an important familial issue, I could not attend the
meeting. However, I would like to visit you to discuss the specifics of it.”

Replying e-mails

In some cases, it is necessary to refer to the e-mail you received before. In these cases,
using following phrases in the first paragraph is suitable:

 Thank you for your mail.

 Sorry I didn’t get back to you yesterday, but…
 I am writing on your request for last month’s sales figures.
 I could not open the attachment, so can you please resend it as soon as you can?
 Thanks for the information about the appraisal meetings. I will make a note of it.
 I am writing with regard to... 
 Thank you for contacting me regarding... 
 With reference to your email of [date], I would like to bring the following
to your attention.
 As a follow-up to our phone call this morning, I would like summarise the key
issues. 
 Regarding the question you raised in your previous email, please find my
explanation below. 
 Following our meeting on [date] / in [place], please find below a summary of the
points we discussed. 
 In reply to your query regarding..., I would like to make the following
points.

Exchanging information
When you have to exchange information, you should be as clear as you can. In
different cases, different structures may be used and the following phrases are the
examples:

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  Could you mail me the sales figures for last month by 4pm?
 Here is the brochure on the new product you asked for, please see the attachment.
 I am sending you the board’s recommendations with this mail.
 Attached, you may find the reports of the previous quarter.
 Please note that today’s appraisal meetings have been cancelled. They will be
rescheduled for the same times next Monday.
 Just to let you know, I sent attached minutes of Tuesday’s Production meeting to all the
participants.

Exercise 6: Complete the following e-mail by using proper phrases from the previous
exercises. You also need to complete the rest of the sentences by
considering the grammar rules.

To: eng-st@eku.edu
Subject: Summer Language School

Dear Students,

I am writing with regard to summer language school that Engineering Department offers
to its junior students, as discussed before. (Confirming) budget/agreed (1) ……………
……………………………………………………………………………………………..
This will enable you to learn English properly for your future career. (Expressing
improbability) budget/able/all/without/exceeding (2) ………………………………
…………………...……………………………………………………………... However,
depending on the number and range of requests, we may be able to negotiate additional
budget for the next year. (Expressing urgency/necessity) everyone/responds/e-mail
(3) ……...……………………………………………………..…………………..............;
otherwise, not all needs can be considered and some students could miss the opportunity.
(Giving bad news) some courses/Malta (4) …………………………………..
…………………………………………………………….. I understand that all of you
would like to go to England colleagues but under the current financial circumstances,
this is unlikely to be possible. (Offering) situation/discuss (5) ………………………..
…………………………………………….. ………………………………...
The deadline for receiving requests is 20 January 2016. This will give me enough time to
analyze your requests and get back to you with proposals by the middle of February.

Please feel free to contact me by phone or e-mail.

Yours Sincerely,

Gina Bella
Engineering Faculty Secretary

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 Exercise 7a: Read the e-mail below from Max, a senior sales representative, to Jeff, his
sales manager. Then complete it by putting proper sentences. After
completing the e-mail, please think about a proper subject line.

From: maxlugo@salesmargin.com
To: jeffreydoerfler@salesmargin.com
Subject: …………………….…………

Dear Mr Doerfler,

I was hoping to be able to talk to you about my problem, but as you know I have to visit a
significant number of customers this week. (1) …………………….. Whenever I am in the
office, you are in a meeting or in one of our branches. For that reason, I have decided to write
instead. As a result, when we meet, we will both have had time to think about the necessary steps
to take about the problem.

I will go straight to the point. I have been here for four years, I love this company, and I think our
sales team is great. (2) ……………………. . Since Dan, Bert and Phil started working here,
things have deteriorated a lot. I and my colleagues certainly do not mind them being much
younger than the rest of us.

(3) ……………………. . For example, they never share any information about customers with
us. Besides, they are arrogant and sometimes even rude, not only towards us, but towards
customers as well. Some of our long-standing customers have told us. (4) ………………… .

It has become very difficult for me to work with those new reps. They have destroyed our team
spirit, and I am afraid they are damaging the image of our company as well. I think that customer
service is important, that is why I was proud of working here. I and some of my colleagues are
now quite demotivated. (5) ……………………. .

I hope we can meet next week to discuss all this. Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,
Max Lugo

Exercise 7b: Assume that you are Jeff and you need to write a proper answer to this e-
mail. Considering the points below, write a reply to Max.

 Thank Max for his e-mail. Say why it is important for you to know about this problem.

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  Explain why you cannot meet Max next week. Say when you will be available.
 Say what you plan to do in the meantime.
 Tell Max you value his work. Ask him to be patient.
 End on an optimistic note.

Dear Mr Lugo,

Firstly, I want to thank you for this e-mail. I wanted to talk about this problem but you know that
both of us are too busy. This problem is too important for me and also company. But I have bad
news. I will not be able to meet you next week. I have meeting about the company in France. I will be
able 2 week after. I like your and your team’s working style. You are doing great. I will warn the Dan,
Bert and Phil about the problems. They must be stop being rude. This is not good for our customers.
If they will continue do same thing when I came the company, I will tell them face to face. If they do
not understand I need to fire them. I want you to be patient. You are star of this company.

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