Episode 134

EPISODE 134
LEVEL A2

READING COMPREHENSION

 

The art of writing business e-mails

It’s easy to write an email. You type it onto a computer screen, press a button and off it goes. But the speed of the process is also a problem. It doesn’t encourage us to think much about what we write. As a result, e-mail messages are often grammatically incorrect, disorganized and full of spelling and typing errors. Badly-expressed ideas are more difficult to read. They can also cause expensive misunderstandings. Managers now have to read enormous quantities of e-mails, and this contributes to the stress of their jobs. Unnecessary and badly-written messages don’t help.

The object of modern business communication is to be fast and efficient. Think about ways to help the reader process the information as quickly as possible. Space is not limited in an email, so you can use extra line breaks to separate text into paragraphs. This makes the message easier to read. Aim for short simple sentences too, and use a standard font in a size which is not too small and not too big.

One frequent feature of e-mail is that writers use a cheerful, informal tone. In many cases this is inappropriate, even in an internal e-mail. The tone used needs to be businesslike, but not too abrupt. You don’t want to seem cold and unfriendly. For example, an opening sentence like ”It was good to talk to you the other day” is a good starter before you get down to the main point of your message. On the other hand, don’t waste the reader’s time with a long opening paragraph full of social gossip.

Remember that an offensive message can stay on file for years. The reader can easily redistribute e-mails which reflect badly on the writer and the company represented. It may be just another message, but when you put something down in black and white, be careful what you say and how you say it.

 

Exercise 1

Match these adjectives from the text with their meaning:

1. incorrect
2. disorganized
3. enormous
4. efficient
5. limited
6. frequent
7. cheerful
8. inappropriate
9. abrupt
10. offensive

a. częsty
b. niepoprawny
c. niestosowny
d. obraźliwy
e. ograniczony
f. olbrzymi
g. pogodny
h. szorstki
i. w nieładzie
j. wydajny

 

Exercise 2

Complete the phrases with words from the box:

break / business / frequent / message / misunderstanding /
screen / space / standard / tone / typing

1. computer _______________
2. _______________ error
3. expensive _______________
4. _______________ communication
5. limited _______________
6. line _______________
7. _______________ font
8. informal _______________
9. _______________ feature
10. offensive _______________

 

 

Phrasals, phrasals:

Let’s have a look at these sentences from this lesson’s text:
“(…) an opening sentence like ”It was good to talk to you the other day” is a good starter before you get down to the main point of your message.” and “It may be just another message, but when you put something down in black and white, be careful what you say and how you say it.” They list two new phrasal verbs:

• get down to sth
• put sth down

Which of them means zapisać coś, and which zabrać się do czegoś?

 

I know English idioms:

The topic of this lesson is writing e-mails. That’s why the text teaches us the idiomatic expression: “in black and white”, which can be translated as “czarno na białym”.
How to use it?
For example: It’s good to have a guarantee in black and white.

 

Grammar corner…

Let’s analyse this sentence from the lesson’s text:

As a result, e-mail messages are often grammatically incorrect, disorganized and full of spelling and typing errors.

The underlined part is a useful linking phrase to express cause and effect. We can translate it as “w wyniku (czegoś)”. Apart from it, there are many other phrases with a similar function.

Try and match them with their Polish equivalents:

• because of
• consequently
• hanks to
• to lead to
• to result in

• dzięki
• pociągać za sobą
• prowadzić do
• w rezultacie
• z powodu

 

GLOSSARY

to type – pisać na komputerze
screen – ekran
to press – wcisnąć
button – guzik, przycisk
speed – prędkość
to encourage – zachęcać
incorrect – niepoprawny
disorganized – w nieładzie
spelling error – błąd ortograficzny
badly-expressed -źle wyrażone
misunderstanding – nieporozumienie
enormous – olbrzymi
quantity – ilość
to contribute – przyczyniać się
efficient – wydajny
to process – przetwarzać
limited – ograniczony
line break – odstęp między wierszami
paragraph – akapit
to aim – mieć na celu
font – czcionka
frequent – częsty
feature – cecha
cheerful – pogodny
inappropriate – niestosowne
internal – wewnętrzy
businesslike – biznesowy
abrupt – szorstki
to get down to – zabrać się do czegoś
gossip – plotka/i
to waste – marnować
offensive – obraźliwy
to stay on file – pozostać
to redistribute – rozesłać
to reflect – odzwierciedlać
to put sth down – zapisać
in black and white – czarno na białym

 

download lesson (pdf)