TOPIC 5 BUSINESS WRITING 1

5.1 THE LANGUAGE OF BUSINESS WRITING

-Express yourself effectively so that your message is communicated
to the receiver without any misinterpretation
-A direct writing style is encouraged
-reader-friendly and gets the message across easily and quickly
-Selecting right words
-courteous tone and offer greater clarity
-sentences are of the appropriate length with proper paragraphing

5.1.1 Choice of Words

-Use familiar words
-Be concise and precise, and get to the point

( Try activity 5.1 p. 77)

5.1.2 Sentence Structure

-readability and punctuation

-use sentences of various lengths to improve the flow of ideas
-keep sentences of between 15 and 20 words
-proper punctuation helps the reader to pause and adds clarity to
the message

( Refer to Activity 5.2 p. 80)

5.1.3 Paragraph Structure

Three functions of business writing
- To inform
 - To instruct
 - To persuade

( refer to Activity 5.3 on p.81)

5.1.4 Tone
-the choice of words and order of information convey right tone
-be courteous at all times
-written document, words are permanent record which cannot be
deleted
-each paragraph must have a logical development
- use connectors such as however, while, therefore to make a text more
coherent
( Activity 5.4 p. 82)

5.1.5 Word Order

--Every sentence should be complete- contain a subject (S) and a verb
(V)
-The verb may or may not be followed by an object (O)
- A simple sentence has one clause
-Subject is the person or thing
-Object is person or thing affected by the action or situation
- Complement tells more about the subject
( refer to Figure 5.2 p.83, activity 5.5 & 5.6 p.84)
5.2 THE FORMAT OF BUSINESS LETTERS

a.Letterhead
-Information about the writer, the organisation he/she represents,
the address and telephone number
-Include telex, facsimile number and e-mail address

b.Date
-Between the letterhead and inside address
-4 August 2015

c.Inside address
-After the date and greeting/salutation

d.Attention line
-Addressed to the management
-Use attention line if you know the specific person
e. Greeting
-placed two lines below the inside address or the attention line
-Dear Madam/ Dear Sir – you do not know the recipient’s name
-Egs – Dear Sir, Dear Madam, Dear Ms Lim, Dear Mrs Nathan,

f.Subject Line
-Defines the letter’s subject or purpose
-Nor more than 10 words
-Placed after the greeting

g.Body (3 parts)
-Opening- catches reader’s attention, explains the situation
and states the intention
- Middle (body) – details of the purpose, prompt desired action
- Closing(ending) – courteously worded to maintain goodwill
h. Complimentary Close

- Should match address in the greeting

- Eg. Dear Sir/Madam – Yours faithfully
- If recipient’s name is used – Yours sincerely

i. Signature Block

- writer’s signature, name and position or job

( Refer to activity 5.7 p. 87, 5.8 p.88)

5.3 GRAMMAR: SINGULAR AND PLURAL FORMS
2 types – countable & uncountable nouns

5.3.1 Countable Nouns

-individual things, people and places: a diary, a memo, a letter, a
photograph, a receptionist, a factory;
 
-units of measurement such as a metre, a mile, a kilo, a pound, a
litre, a gallon;
 
-used with a/an;
 
-used in the plural (diaries, memos)
 
Follow words such as many, these, several, few, a number of ...
5.3.2 Uncountable Nouns
a. Uncountable nouns include:
- Substances: Gas, glass, gold, iron, oil, plastic, water;
- Abstract ideas: Health, humour, profitability, progress,
relevance, safety; and
- Verbal nouns: Brainstorming, job-sharing, restructuring,
shopping, timing

b. Uncountable nouns:
•Do not take ‘the’ when used in the general sense (e.g. Travel
broadens the mind, not the travel broadens the mind);
•Take the singular form of the verb; and
•Are placed after words like much, a little and a great deal of
( Refer to Activity 5.9,p.90)
5.3.3 Plural Nouns
To change a noun to the plural form
a. add –s  to form the plural of most nouns.
Example: letters, minutes.
If the noun ends in –s, –x, or –ch or –sh, we add –es.
Examples: classes, boxes, bunches, crashes

b. If the final consonant of a noun is followed by –y, the “y”

is replaced with –ies.
Examples: industries, deliveries

c. Nouns which only occur in the plural for example:

Earnings per share have increased.
Their headquarters are in Johor.
The goods will be sent by special delivery.
We have opened new premises in Senawang.
Their new factory is on the outskirts of Bangi.
Many thanks for your invitation.
d. Singular nouns ending in –s
Some nouns end in –s but are not plural:
The news was good.
Politics has never been one of my favourite subjects.
Economics is not an exact science.

e. Groups and organisations

-Singular nouns such as bank or committee can be seen either
as a number of people (plural) or as a collective unit (singular)
-As a result, the verb or pronoun that follows such nouns may be
either singular or plural.

F. Irregular plurals
Some words do not take an –s but have other forms, other
endings or stay the same. See examples given in Table 5.1 p. 90
2
(Activity 5.10 p.92)
 Table 5.1: Irregular Plurals

Singular Plural

aircraft aircraft

criterion criteria

foot feet

formula formulae/formulas

matrix matrices

person people

phenomenon phenomena
5.4 LAYOUT
The parts of a business letter can be arranged in different
ways.
- three main types of layout:
1.Full block layout;
2.Modified block layout; and
3.Modified block layout with indented paragraphs

5.4.1 Full Block Layout

-all the parts of the letter aligned against the left-hand margin
- - optional parts such as enclosure, copy notations and
reference file numbers are set this way
( Refer to the letter in Activity 5.8, p.88 is an example of a full
block layout)
Try Activity 5.11 on p.93
5.4.2 Modified Block Layout

-centres the sender ’s address or aligns it with the right-hand

margin
- The date is placed straight underneath and in line with the
sender’s address
- The inside address (recipient ’s name and address) and the
greeting are placed against the left-hand margin, and so are
the paragraphs
- The complimentary close and signature block are centred in
line with the writer’s address and the date
-more conservative style of layout in comparison to the full
block layout.
Figure 5.4, p.94

( Activity 5.12 p. 94)

5.4.3 Modified Block Layout With Indented Paragraphs
-same as the modified block format except that the first line of
each paragraph is indented (please refer to Figure 5.5, p.96):
5.5 PUNCTUATION STYLES
two styles of punctuating a business letter
1.Open style; and
2.Mixed style

Open style
-does not use punctuation except in the body of the letter

Mixed style
places a comma after the greeting and after the
complimentary close e.g. “Dear Mr Devadas” and
“Yours sincerely”
Summary
•Choosing and using the right word is important part of business
communication

•Sentence structure, word order and proper paragraphing are other

important considerations in effective business writing

•The tone of business letters depends on the degree of familiarity

between the writer and the recipient of the communication

•business letter formats – full block layout, modified block layout and
modified block layout with indented paragraphs

•different parts of a business letter – letterhead, date, inside address,

attention line, greeting or salutation, subject line, body, complimentary
close, signature – have different functions