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Writing reference Levels of formality 1 The table below shows some characteristics of formal and less formal English. Complete it by writing the words/phrases from the box in the gaps. agree with asap dashes !look forward Meeting's Fri pay back satistactory show We-woule-appreciate with reference to more formal less formal no contractions: 1We would. appreciate long words: demonstrate, prepared less common words: 3 one-word verbs: collect, reimburse prepositional phrases: l am writing 5 broadly in agreement with ... 7 no abbreviations: September, as soon as possible =m complete sentences: The meeting will be held in the Raard Banm an Eriday: m commas:, m brackets: () ; We are contractions: We'd like ... short words: 2 , ready 1 common words: good phrasal verbs: pick up, 4 prepositions OR verbs: I'm writing about; We generally 6 Pm looking forward abbreviations: Sept., 8 incomplete sentences: 9 10 ES = in Board Room. 2 Read these two emails. Decide which is more formal and which is less formal, and why. Dear Montserrat, Lam pleased to inform you that we have decided to award your firm the contract for website design. I will be in touch shortly with further details. Meanwhile, we would like to thank you for supplying such a competitive and professional quote. Kind regards, Ferenk Hi Sayed, Just to let you know that the link has been removed and the website is ready to go live again when you want. Sorry about the mix-up. Marta 3 Levels of formality in your writing depend on who will read what you write and your relationship with them. Decide what style (more formal or less formal) you would use when writing to/for each of these people. 1 someone you know well or have worked with a lot less formal 2 someone at the same level as you inside your * organisation someone in a more senior position than you someone outside your organisation someone you don't know, or don't know well mixed groups of people, e.g. writing a report which might be circulated to different departments au 4 Levels of formality also depend on the type and purpose of the document. Decide what style (more formal or less formal) you would use for each of these types of writing. 1 an email applying for a job more formal 2 an email congratulating a colleague on passing her professional exams 3 aletter apologising to a client for a mistake 4 an email to a colleague to change the time of a meeting 5 areport on customers complaints a proposal for a new business activity 5 Read these pieces of advice for when you are not sure what level of formality to adopt. Decide whether the advice is good (G) or bad (B). 1 Look at the level of formality in emails, letters or reportg you have received from the person you are writing to and use the same. Use an informal style with everyone - it makes business relationships friendlier. It is safer to be slightly more formal if you are not certain. Business correspondence: emails, memos and letters Short emails Many business people receive large numbers of emails each day. They want to be able to read them quickly, understand what they are saying without problems and answer them quickly. For this reason, many business emails are quite short. The keys to good email writing are: =m only say what is necessary m say it clearly and concisely. 1 Read the two emails below and answer these questions. Ñ' 2 3 4 5 a What is the purpose of each email? What reason does each writer give? What is Sanjay thanking Anita for? Why does Malcolm start his email Dear all? What action does Malcolm want in the second email? Why does Malcolm apologise? Hi Anita Could you give me an idea of when you'll be able to get me the information I asked for? I have a conference call with our Chinese suppliers today and 1 need to give them a schedule. Thanks in advance. Sanjay Dear all, Unfortunately, one of my clients has rescheduled his visit for Thursday morning, so can we change our meeting to Friday afternoon? Please confirm, and sorry for the inconvenience. Best wishes Malcolm 2 Complete the advice below about starting and finishing emails by writing a word/phrase from the box in each gap. Start emails with Hi or Hello or Dear. 1 is least formal; 2 is most formal. In English-speaking countries, if you use Hi or Hello, you will address the person using their 3 5 If itis not 4 to use their first name, write Dear + the person's family name: Dear Mr Fellini. Use Hi all or Hello everyone when writing to several colleagues or members of your 5 Finish emails with Cheers, All the best, Thanks, Many thanks, Thanks in advance, Best wishes, Regards, Kind regards. 6 is the least formal; 7 is the most formal. When you work 8 with someone, you needn't use any phrase to finish the email. 3 Match the emails below and on page 118 (A-F) with their subject lines (1-6). Ignore the options in italics for now. >OumAwn- Subject: Subject: Subject: Subject: Subject: Subject: appointment change expanding our premises re: customer enquiry re: Fison's account re: website project Vilnius development conference Hi Javier, l'm afraid | won't be able to make it this morning 1 as / so we have an urgent job to finish for one of our clients. Let's check our diaries to find a more suitable and less rushed time 2 and / to meet and discuss our respective businesses. Cheers, Kevin Hello Tanya Thanks for the emails yesterday. When will you send me the link to the demo website? I can see a few simple changes to make to 3 that / ¡t, but hopefully nothing that takes much time. Regards Piotr Hiall, Have we managed to backdate the accounts 4 as / which discussed in the emails below? Tm meeting with the customer in two days and need to have an answer for them 5 for now / by then, as their end- of-year accounts are due. Please advise ASAP. Kindest regards, Werner 
