实用商务英语写作chapter

1、经济与贸易学院,Overview,Welcome to Chapter 4. In Chapter 3, you learned how to * draft a document and * revise a document to make sure it is complete.,经济与贸易学院,cohesive,In this chapter youll continue to learn how to revise what you write. Youll concentrate on the paragraphs of your written documents. In oth

2、er words, youll learn how to make your paragraphs cohesive.,经济与贸易学院,Objectives,By the end of this chapter, youll be able to revise your paragraphs and make them cohesive. Cohesive: when all the parts are related to form a whole.,经济与贸易学院,2 things,Youll make your paragraphs cohesive by learning two th

3、ings. * define a cohesive paragraph and * write a cohesive paragraph using a topic sentence supporting sentences and transitions.,经济与贸易学院,Being Cohesive: What Is A Paragraph?,Look at the following letter. In Chapter 3, you revised it to make it complete. But something is still wrong. Do you know wha

4、t it is?,经济与贸易学院,Letter,22 April 200X Ms Fiona Green 100 Clearwater Bay Road Sai Kung NT Dear Ms Green PPS I refer to your recent communication, and for your information please be advised that the PPS details and application form were sent to you at an earlier date. If you complete and return the fo

5、rm to us, we can process your application immediately. Thank you for your kind attention. Yours sincerelyClever Man Clever Man ManagerSmart Branch,经济与贸易学院,Whats wrong with this letter?,Can you see that it only has one paragraph? the paragraph is very long? there are several unrelated ideas in the pa

6、ragraph?,经济与贸易学院,Being Cohesive: What Is A Paragraph?,A cohesive paragraph is a group of sentences related to one another by a single idea or subject.,经济与贸易学院,Rule,What you have just learned can be summarised in a simple rule: New idea: new paragraph,经济与贸易学院,Correct letter,Dear Ms Green PPS I refer

7、to your recent communication. For your information please be advised that the PPS details and application form were sent to you at an earlier date. If you complete and return the form to us, we can process your application immediately. Thank you for your kind attention. Yours sincerelyClever Man,经济与

8、贸易学院,The ten sentences below all describe a market.,*The building between Henessey Road and Lockhart Road is the market. *It was built in 1875. *The market sells fresh food, like fish. *It also sells fruit. *It also sells vegetables. *It used to sell meat. *Meat is now sold in the supermarket. *The

9、market is open seven days a week. *It is open from 7 am to 1 pm and then again from 4 pm to 8 pm. *It is closed during the New Year Holiday.,经济与贸易学院,Question,A:If you were writing an essay on the subject of the market using these sentences, how many paragraphs do you think you would need?,经济与贸易学院,B:

10、What would be the main ideas of each of these paragraphs? The building The food Opening times,经济与贸易学院,The three paragraphs below contain the ten sentences from the exercise on the previous screen. The building The building between Henessey Road and Lockhart Road is the market. It was built in 1875.

11、The food The market sells fresh food, like fish. It also sells fruit. It also sells vegetables. It used to sell meat. Meat is now sold in the supermarket. Opening times The market is open seven days a week. It is open from 7 am to 1 pm and then again from 4 pm to 8 pm. It is closed during the New Ye

12、ar Holiday.,经济与贸易学院,identify the idea in each paragraph,Each of these paragraphs contains a group of sentences that are related to a single idea. * Paragraph 1 talks about the building: where its located and when it was built. It doesnt talk about anything else.,经济与贸易学院,2-3,Paragraph 2 talks about t

13、he different kinds of food that were sold and are sold now. It doesnt talk about anything else. Paragraph 3 talks about the opening times. It doesnt talk about anything else.,经济与贸易学院,What Is A Topic Sentence?,In this section, youre going to discover two things: what a topic sentence is and what a to

14、pic sentence does.,经济与贸易学院,Top sentence,In business writing, the topic sentence is: *usually the first sentence of the paragraph *short, with only 7 to 10 words *the most general sentence in the paragraph.,经济与贸易学院,Topic Sentence 2,Look at the following example of a topic sentence. It describes the H

15、SBC Home Mortgage Loan. Our Home Mortgage Loan eases the stress of buying property. Our terms are very competitive. The flexible repayment schedule enables you to budget your expenses. In addition, it gives you a clear picture of your financial commitment for the whole period.,经济与贸易学院,Do you know wh

16、at a topic sentence does?,In business writing, the topic sentence: summarises the main idea of the paragraph helps the reader predict what the paragraph is about.,经济与贸易学院,Letter again,Look again at the example of the topic sentence describing a mortgage loan. Note that the topic sentence summarises

17、the main idea, ie that a Home Mortgage Loan eases the stress of buying property suggests the rest of the paragraph will describe how the Loan eases the stress.,经济与贸易学院,Exercises,In the exercise below, each group of sentences could form a paragraph if they were re-organised. Try to identify the topic

18、 sentence in each group, ie the sentence that should go first. Click on the answer that you think is correct.,经济与贸易学院,1,a. Your staff need to feel that you value their work. b. As a team leader, you face several challenges. c. Staff also want to be treated as individuals. d. In addition, you need to

19、 make them aware of the teams work. e. Through your actions, you must earn their respect.,经济与贸易学院,2,a. Everyone also knows in what areas they need to improve. b. Finally, everyone knows what is expected of them in the future. c. In addition, everyone knows how they can improve. d. A good appraisal s

20、ystem produces four results. e. Everyone is aware of their achievements.,经济与贸易学院,3,a. Inflation seems to be on the rise. b. Every day the newspaper brings more bad news. c. Older people are worried about their pension schemes. d. Major department stores are closing down. e. The unemployment figures

21、are rising.,经济与贸易学院,Exercises again,In this exercise, the topic sentence is missing. In the space provided, write a topic sentence that introduces the subject of the paragraph and summarises the main idea of the paragraph.,经济与贸易学院,1,a. First, phones are answered too slowly. b. Second, customers are

22、put on hold too frequently. c. Third, messages are not taken down accurately,经济与贸易学院,Answer,There are three major problems with our telephone answering service.,经济与贸易学院,2,a. Our records show that your income has been irregular. b. We also note that your overdraft limit has been reached. c. Moreover,

23、 your other personal loan has not been fully repaid.,经济与贸易学院,Answer,Unfortunately, we are unable to grant you another loan.,经济与贸易学院,What Does A Supporting Sentence Do?,Now, youre going to learn another feature of cohesive paragraphs: supporting sentences. Do you know what a supporting sentence does?

24、,经济与贸易学院,Answer,business writing, supporting sentences support the main idea by: expanding or developing the main idea explaining, eg identifying causes, effects, reasons etc providing specific details. Remember each supporting sentence must be related to the main idea (topic sentence).,经济与贸易学院,What

25、 Does A Supporting Sentence Do?,Look at the example paragraph again. Notice how the supporting sentencesdevelop the main idea by continuing to talk about the Home Mortgage Loan explain how the loan can ease the stress of buying a property provide specific details.,经济与贸易学院,Also, see how each supporti

26、ng sentence is related to the main idea (topic sentence). Finally, note the number of supporting sentences in a paragraph. The example paragraph contains three. Usually, there are no more than five!,经济与贸易学院,Being Cohesive: Supporting Sentences,In each of the paragraphs that follow, there is a senten

27、ce that doesnt belong. 1. a. Most people know that coffee contains caffeine. b. Few people realise that tea also contains caffeine. c. Many soft drinks, such as cola, contain caffeine as well. d. Diet soft drinks contain fewer calories than regular soft drinks.,经济与贸易学院,Answer,The fourth sentence doe

28、snt belong in the paragraph because it discusses a different idea. The paragraph is about “caffeine”; the fourth sentence is about “calories”.,经济与贸易学院,2.,a. Our new Premier account has many benefits. b. You can use your Premier card at any HSBC ATM machine worldwide free of charge. c. Also, you will

29、 receive a Premier Mastercard with no annual fee. d. In addition, the minimum balance is $300,000.,经济与贸易学院,Answer,D is not a benefit, it is a requirement.,经济与贸易学院,3.,a. The company is experiencing serious financial difficulties. b. For the past five years, the company has had low profits. c. All imp

30、ortant decisions are made at managers monthly meetings. d. Recruitment efforts have been curtailed to save money,经济与贸易学院,Answer,C says nothing to support the fact that the company is experiencing serious financial difficulties.,经济与贸易学院,4.,a. The company has become very selective in recruiting. b. Al

31、l executives must now be university graduates. c. They will also receive an enhanced benefits package. d. In addition they need to demonstrate computer skills.e. Finally, they are required to pass an English test.,经济与贸易学院,Answer,C does not support the idea that the company has become selective with

32、its recruiting.,经济与贸易学院,Supporting Sentences,Look at the two topic sentences below. Write two or three sentences that support the main idea expressed in each topic sentence. 1. I recommend that Larry Grafton be promoted.,经济与贸易学院,Answer for reference,“He has performed well throughout the year. Moreov

33、er, he shows potential beyond his present position.”,经济与贸易学院,2.,To finalize the details of the staff party, I would like some more information.,经济与贸易学院,Answer for reference,“Could you please tell me the exact number of guests and the seating arrangements? I would also like to know if you would prefe

34、r a Chinese menu or an English menu.”,经济与贸易学院,Youve now looked at two things that make a paragraph cohesive: one idea, summarized in a short topic sentence and supporting sentences that provide additional information about the main idea.,经济与贸易学院,Being Cohesive: What Are Transitions?,In this section,

35、 youre going to look at the next feature of cohesive paragraphs: transitions. In business writing, transitions link sentences together and show the relationships between sentences.,经济与贸易学院,Exercise,Read the following paragraph, which has NO transitions. What do you think of this paragraph? The custo

36、mer had proper identification. Her records showed that her account was overdrawn. She didnt have a pre-arranged overdraft facility. The counter service officer couldnt make the withdrawal for her.,经济与贸易学院,Analysis,This is NOT an effective paragraph. The ideas dont flow smoothly. The writer “jumps” f

37、rom one idea to another. The ideas are not linked together. Its difficult to guess whats coming next.,经济与贸易学院,Different Types Of Transitions,Look at the paragraph again. This time, you will see that three types of transitions are used. The customer had proper identification. However, her records sho

38、wed that her account was overdrawn. In addition, she didnt have a pre-arranged overdraft facility. Therefore, the counter service officer couldnt make the withdrawal for her.,经济与贸易学院,Being Cohesive: 5 Types of Transitions,Show results of actions,Show results of actions,Therefore, As a result, So, Co

39、nsequently,Cause-effect,经济与贸易学院,In the previous screen, you saw how to use three types of transitions: 1) comparison / contrast2) equal weight3) cause-effect,经济与贸易学院,Transitions,Look at the following sentence to see how the other two categories of transitions are used. Then you can write an opening

40、sentence, such as, “Thank you for your letter of 14 February 2000,” .,经济与贸易学院,Then/such as,Notice how Then is giving an instruction for the next action in a sequence of events. Such as tells you that an example of an opening sentence (mentioned in the first phrase) is about to follow.,经济与贸易学院,Learni

41、ng Point,There are five basic types of transitions: Example Sequence Contrast / compare Equal importance Cause / effect.,经济与贸易学院,Transitions make a paragraph cohesive by linking the sentences together smoothly showing the relationship between sentences helping us move quickly between ideas. They sho

42、w the reader where weve been and where were going with our writing.,经济与贸易学院,Transitions,In this exercise, choose the set of three transitions that you think is the most suitable for the paragraph. Nancy is very busy. She wants to go home but she has to telephone a long list of new customers to confi

43、rm their orders. _, she has to write many e-mails. _, she will have to stay late at the office. _ , when shes finished, she will go home. In addition, Consequently, Later If, Therefore, Besides Then, Finally, Again Then, For instance, Later,经济与贸易学院,2,There will be an important company meeting this w

44、eekend. All the Directors will be there. _ , all the Senior Managers will be there. We will discuss new business developments on Saturday. _ , on Sunday, we will look at new business strategies. _ , the Chairman will address everyone and give a speech in the evening before dinner. Later, Finally, Co

45、nsequently In addition, Then, Finally Later, So, Consequently However, Before, For example,经济与贸易学院,3,Life is full of difficult questions. _ , what would you do if you suddenly had an accident? _ , what if the accident prevented you from working? Maybe everything would be fine without HSBC insurance.

46、 _ , for just a few dollars each month, you could provide your family with complete peace of mind. Also, In fact, On the other hand Nevertheless, However, To illustrate For example, Moreover, On the other hand First, Then, For example,经济与贸易学院,Exercises,In each of the sentences below, the transitions

47、 are missing, unnecessary or incorrect. Correct each sentence. We sell insurance. We sell investment products. A: We sell insurance. We also sell investment products. (missing transition),经济与贸易学院,2,Our advertising budget has increased over the last quarter. Sales have not increased. A: Our advertising budget has increased over the last quarter. However, sales have not increased. (missing transition),经济与贸易学院,3,Although, I wanted to go to the seminar, but I didnt have the time. A: Although, I wanted to go to the seminar, but I didnt have the time.Although I want