ESL Guide to American Business English

by Geffner, Andrea B.

• ISBN13: 9780764105944
• ISBN10: 0764105949
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1998-10-01
• Publisher: Barrons Educational Services

Summary

Focused especially to fit the needs of ESL students, this handbook for communicating in business situations describes a wide variety of business writings, and recommends appropriate styles and formats for each. Samples and instruction cover sales and public relations letters, reports and proposals, resumes, job applications, and much more. A section on usage reviews basics of English grammar, emphasizing sentence construction and verb forms. Students of English as a second language who plan to do business in North America can become confused by jargon and formalisms that sometimes invade business correspondence. Author Andrea Geffner's advice to them is to relax and stop worrying about sounding "business-like" or "official." Correct but relaxed English is always preferable. This book will meet the needs of all ESL students--especially those in business schools--but can also serve as a general quick reference guide in any business office.

Table of Contents

Table of Model Letters	vii
PART ONE: COMMUNICATIONS	3	(150)
1. AMERICAN BUSINESS STYLE	3	(10)
Tone	3	(1)
Outlook	4	(2)
The "You Approach"	6	(1)
Organization	7	(2)
Electronic Mail	9	(1)
Gender Neutral Language	9	(1)
Summary	10	(1)
Practice Correspondence	10	(3)
2. LETTER FORMAT	13	(12)
Parts of a Business Letter	13	(1)
Arrangement Styles	14	(2)
Punctuation Styles	16	(7)
Postscripts	23	(1)
Special Paragraphing	23	(1)
The Envelope	23	(1)
Summary	24	(1)
Practice Correspondence	24	(1)
3. REQUEST LETTERS	25	(8)
Inquiries	25	(3)
Orders	28	(1)
Summary	29	(1)
Practice Correspondence	30	(3)
4. REPLIES	33	(18)
Acknowledgments	34	(1)
Follow-Ups	35	(1)
Confirmations	36	(1)
Remittances	37	(1)
Order Acknowledgments	37	(6)
Stopgap Letters	43	(1)
Inquiry Replies	43	(3)
Referrals	46	(1)
Refusals	46	(2)
Summary	48	(1)
Practice Correspondence	48	(3)
5. SOCIAL BUSINESS LETTERS	51	(10)
Letters of Congratulations	51	(2)
Letters of Condolence	53	(1)
Letters of Appreciation	54	(2)
Invitations	56	(2)
Announcements	58	(1)
Summary	59	(1)
Practice Correspondence	59	(2)
6. SALES AND PUBLIC RELATIONS LETTERS	61	(10)
Sales Letters	61	(6)
Public Relations Letters	67	(3)
Summary	70	(1)
Practice Correspondence	70	(1)
7. NEWS RELEASES	71	(6)
Summary	75	(1)
Practice Correspondence	75	(2)
8. COMPLAINTS, CLAIMS, AND ADJUSTMENTS	77	(12)
Complaints	77	(1)
Claims	77	(5)
Adjustments	82	(4)
Summary	86	(1)
Practice Correspondence	86	(3)
9. CREDIT AND COLLECTION LETTERS	89	(12)
Credit Letters	89	(7)
Collection Letters	96	(3)
Summary	99	(1)
Practice Correspondence	100	(1)
10. IN-HOUSE CORRESPONDENCE	101	(8)
The Interoffice Memorandum	101	(3)
Minutes	104	(3)
Summary	107	(1)
Practice Correspondence	107	(2)
11. BUSINESS REPORTS AND PROPOSALS	109	(20)
Reports	109	(13)
Proposals	122	(4)
Summary	126	(1)
Practice Correspondence	126	(3)
12. EMPLOYMENT CORRESPONDENCE	129	(24)
The Resume	130	(6)
Letters of Application	136	(5)
Follow-Up Letters	141	(1)
Letters of Reference and Recommendation	142	(2)
Declining a Job Offer	144	(1)
Rejecting a Job Applicant	145	(1)
Letters of Resignation	146	(1)
Letters of Introduction	147	(1)
Summary	148	(1)
Practice Correspondence	149	(4)
PART TWO: USAGE	153	(126)
13. THE BASIC SENTENCE	153	(16)
Recognizing Verbs	153	(1)
Recognizing Subjects	154	(2)
Principal Parts of the Verb	156	(3)
Adjectives	159	(3)
Adverbs	162	(3)
Direct Objects	165	(1)
Predicate Nominatives and Adjectives	166	(1)
Review Exercises	167	(2)
14. BUILDING SENTENCES	169	(8)
Basics Sentence Patterns	169	(1)
More Complicated Sentences	170	(1)
Still More Complicated Sentences	171	(3)
Words of Transition	174	(1)
Review Exercises	175	(2)
15. ADVANCED SENTENCE STRUCTURE	177	(20)
Parallelism	177	(6)
Misplaced Modifiers	183	(3)
Dangling Modifiers	186	(3)
Indirect Discourse	189	(4)
Review Exercises	193	(4)
16. SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT	197	(22)
The Noun S	197	(1)
The Possessive S	198	(2)
The Verb S	200	(15)
Review Exercises	215	(4)
17. VERB FORMS	219	(28)
Tense Formation	219	(3)
Irregular Verbs	222	(8)
The Future Tense	230	(3)
Tense Use	233	(5)
Passive Voice	238	(4)
Review Exercises	242	(5)
18. MECHANICS	247	(32)
Punctuation	247	(17)
Capitalization	264	(4)
Abbreviations	268	(4)
Numbers	272	(2)
Review Exercises	274	(5)
PART THREE: IMPORTANT DETAILS	279	(20)
19. CULTURE AND CUSTOMS	279	(10)
General Values	279	(2)
Customs	281	(5)
Taboos	286	(3)
20. ADDRESSING DIGNITARIES	289	(10)
Clergy	289	(3)
Military	292	(1)
Government/Politics	293	(3)
Nobility	296	(3)
APPENDICES	299	(34)
I STATE ABBREVIATIONS	299	(2)
II A GLOSSARY OF BUSINESS TERMS	301	(4)
III ANSWERS TO EXERCISES IN PART TWO: USAGE	305	(28)
INDEX	333