Inglês de Negócios I School year 2014/15 Lurdes Martins

What makes a good business letter? No person can hope to succeed in business without being able to write GOOD business letters. A ‘good’ business letter is one which is written in GOOD English in clearly understandable words, is brief and to the point and, above all, is persuasive.

In a formal letter, where should the date go? a) At the top right-hand corner of the page, under your address. b) At the top right-hand corner of the page, above your address. c) At the bottom left of the page. d) At the bottom right of the page

Which beginning does NOT go with a letter that ends with 'Yours faithfully'? a) Dear Sir b) Dear Ms Adler c) Dear Madam d) To Whom It May Concern

How should you end a letter that begins with 'Dear Miss Fahad'? a) Your sincerely b) Yours sincerley c) Your sincerly d) Yours sincerely

"__________ the documents you requested". Which phrase should you use in a formal letter? a) Please find in b) Please look inside for c) Please find attached d) Please find enclosed

"__________, Anna". Anna is ing the CEO of a company. She has never met her face-to-face so she is writing formally. Which is the best way for Anna to end the ? a) Love from b) Regards c) See you d) Kisses

"I am writing to __________". Which phrase could begin the first line of a formal letter of complaint? a) express my dissatisfaction with… b) request your assistance with… c) inform you about… d) demand…

Order the following 1.I am writing to thank you 2.The meetings were very productive and 3.As well as the business side of things 4.The next time that you are in Munich 5.Please give me my regards 6.For your hospitality 7.During my recent trip to Paris 8.I really appreciate the time you took 9.I am sure that they lay the basis for 10.To show me Notre Dame, and 11.To your colleagues in the Paris office, 12.The wonderful meal that we had afterwards. 13.A good long-term business relationship. 14.It will be my pleasure to return your kindness. 15.It was a great pleasure to meet them all.

Corrected I am writing to thank you for your hospitality during my recent trip to Paris. The meetings were very productive and I am sure that they lay the basis for a good long-term business relationship. As well as the business side of things I really appreciate the time you took to show me Notre Dame, and the wonderful meal that we had afterwards. The next time that you are in Munich it will be my pleasure to return your kindness. Please give me my regards to your colleagues in the Paris office, it was a great pleasure to meet them all.

Match informal and their formal equivalent

Formal, neutral and informal

Match the words of Latin origin in box A with the shorter words in box B

writing: Does Use an informative subject line, which says what the is about. Write the most important information first. Use numbers and bullet points to make the message clearer. Use simple grammar. Avoid things like the passive. (As s are a fast means of communication, they tend to be less wordy and complex than formal letters.) Write short sentences. Use paragraphs to keep the clear and easy to understand

writing: Don’ts Write ‘hello’ as your subject line. Write about irrelevant issues. The reader will soon hit ‘delete’ if the doesn’t get to the point. Give personal information that you don’t want anyone else to know.(The could end up in the wrong hands) Use capital letters to write whole words as in s, this is considered shouting. Use different fonts in the (the recipient’s computer may not be compatible)

writing: Don’ts Use Italics (the reason may be misunderstood, due to cultural differences). Use exclamation marks. Use abbreviations as the recipient may not understand them. Use acronyms like WTM for the same reason. Use smileys. They may be misunderstood and come across as unprofessional.

CorrectCorrect the following

Common mistakes

Add the missing word