You've reached the end of your free preview.
Want to read all 245 pages?
Unformatted text preview: Handouts 201 Business and
Technical
English ENG201 Business and Technical English Business and Technical English
ENG201 © Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan Page 1 Business and Technical English Contents
LESSON 1 ....................................................................................................................................................................5 INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS & TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION ..................................................... 5
LESSON 2 .................................................................................................................................................................. 11 ORAL COMMUNICATION .............................................................................................................. 11
LESSON 3 .................................................................................................................................................................. 19 READER-CENTERED WRITING...................................................................................................... 19
LESSON 4 .................................................................................................................................................................. 27 AUDIENCE ANALYSIS ................................................................................................................... 27
LESSON 5 .................................................................................................................................................................. 29 EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION DEFINING OBJECTIVES-I ............................................................... 29
LESSON 6 .................................................................................................................................................................. 33 DEFINING OBJECTIVES-II ............................................................................................................. 33
LESSON 7 .................................................................................................................................................................. 41 ACCURACY, CLARITY, CONCISENESS AND COHERENCE ............................................................... 41
LESSON 8 .................................................................................................................................................................. 48 THE SEVEN C’S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION-I ..................................................................... 48
LESSON 9 .................................................................................................................................................................. 54 THE SEVEN C’S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION II..................................................................... 54
LESSON 10 ................................................................................................................................................................ 58 THE SEVEN C’S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION III ................................................................... 58
LESSON 11 ................................................................................................................................................................ 64 THE SEVEN C’S OF EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION ........................................................................ 64
LESSON 12 ................................................................................................................................................................ 70 PLANNING BUSINESS MESSAGES ................................................................................................. 70
LESSON 13 ................................................................................................................................................................ 75 COMPOSING BUSINESS MESSAGES ............................................................................................... 75
LESSON 14 ................................................................................................................................................................ 82 REVISING BUSINESS MESSAGES ................................................................................................... 82
LESSON 15 ............................................................................................................................................................... 89 MEMORANDUMS, MEETING DOCUMENTS AND PROPOSALS ......................................................... 89
LESSON 16 ................................................................................................................................................................ 92 © Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan Page 2 Business and Technical English
LETTERS ...................................................................................................................................... 92
LESSON 17 ................................................................................................................................................................ 96 LETTERS II ................................................................................................................................... 96
LESSON 18 .............................................................................................................................................................. 100 WRITING DIRECT REQUESTS ...................................................................................................... 100
LESSON 19 .............................................................................................................................................................. 103 WRITING ROUTINE, GOOD-NEWS AND GOODWILL MESSAGES .................................................. 103
LESSON 20 .............................................................................................................................................................. 106 WRITING BAD-NEWS MESSAGES ............................................................................................... 106
LESSON 21 .............................................................................................................................................................. 109 WRITING PERSUASIVE MESSAGES.............................................................................................. 109
LESSON 22 .............................................................................................................................................................. 113 WRITING SHORT REPORTS ......................................................................................................... 113
LESSON 23 .............................................................................................................................................................. 118 PLANNING LONG REPORTS......................................................................................................... 118
LESSON 24 .............................................................................................................................................................. 122 WRITING LONG REPORTS ........................................................................................................... 122
LESSON 25 .............................................................................................................................................................. 125 GENERAL REPORTS .................................................................................................................... 125
LESSON 26 .............................................................................................................................................................. 128 EMPIRICAL RESEARCH REPORT.................................................................................................. 128
LESSON 27 .............................................................................................................................................................. 134 FEASIBILITY REPORTS ................................................................................................................ 134
LESSON 28 .............................................................................................................................................................. 140 PROGRESS REPORTS ................................................................................................................... 140
LESSON 29 .............................................................................................................................................................. 145 PROPOSALS ................................................................................................................................ 145
LESSON 30 .............................................................................................................................................................. 152 INSTRUCTIONS ........................................................................................................................... 152
LESSON 31 .............................................................................................................................................................. 158 USING VISUAL AIDS .................................................................................................................. 158
LESSON 32 .............................................................................................................................................................. 161 CREATING TWELVE TYPES OF VISUAL AIDS .............................................................................. 161
LESSON 33 .............................................................................................................................................................. 166 WRITING SPECIFICATIONS AND ANALYSIS REPORTS .................................................................. 166
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan Page 3 Business and Technical English
LESSON 34 .............................................................................................................................................................. 170 HOW TO AVOID COMMON WRITING PROBLEMS......................................................................... 170
LESSON 35 .............................................................................................................................................................. 174 LANGUAGE REVIEW ................................................................................................................... 174
LESSON 36 .............................................................................................................................................................. 183 LANGUAGE REVIEW: SENTENCES .............................................................................................. 183
LESSON 37 .............................................................................................................................................................. 186 LANGUAGE REVIEW: SENTENCES II ........................................................................................... 186
LESSON 38 .............................................................................................................................................................. 191 LANGUAGE REVIEW ................................................................................................................... 191
LESSON 39 .............................................................................................................................................................. 195 LANGUAGE REVIEW: PUNCTUATION II ...................................................................................... 195
LESSON 40 .............................................................................................................................................................. 202 LANGUAGE REVIEW: MECHANICS ............................................................................................. 202
LESSON 41 .............................................................................................................................................................. 208 LISTENING AND INTERVIEWING.................................................................................................. 208
LESSON 42 .............................................................................................................................................................. 213 PLANNING INTERVIEWS AND CONDUCTING MEETINGS .............................................................. 213
LESSON 43 .............................................................................................................................................................. 220 GIVING SPEECHES AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS I........................................................................ 220
LESSON 44 .............................................................................................................................................................. 227 GIVING SPEECHES AND ORAL PRESENTATIONS II ...................................................................... 227
LESSON 45 .............................................................................................................................................................. 234 REVIEW WRITTEN COMMUNICATION ......................................................................................... 234 © Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan Page 4 Business and Technical English LESSON 1
INTRODUCTION TO BUSINESS & TECHNICAL
COMMUNICATION
Outline
• Introduction to Business & Technical Communication
• Books & Materials
• Modules
• Importance of Business & Technical Communication
• Types of Communication
Introduction to Business & Technical Communication
The main objective of this course is to equip the students with skills that will enable them to
communicate clearly and concisely in diverse business situations. The students will learn the
importance of planning and organizing effective written messages. The course is divided into
two sections:
1. Written Communication 2. Oral Communication
Written communication will cover planning, structures, and stylistic issues. The students will
learn to write memos and letters, proposals, short and long reports, and procedure & policy
documents. Moreover, the students will learn to simplify complex information through editing
and revising for enhancing their ability to create powerful documents to sell their ideas. The oral
communication section will cover planning and execution of effective presentations; group
behavior, planning and conducting effective meetings.
Books & Materials
•
• The Mayfield Handbook for Technical Writing
Business Communication Today by Bovee, C.L. & Thill, J.V. Modules
Module 1: Basics of Effective Technical and Business Communication
Module 2: Forms of Written Communication: Reports, Proposals, Letters, Memos, Applications,
Resumes, Instructions, and Specification documents.
Module 3: Research &Writing
Module 4: Oral Communication
Importance of Business & Technical Communication
Learning ‘Business & Technical Communication’ helps a person to identify different roles at
workplace. For instance, you will need to identify your two roles at work. As a specialist, you
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan Page 5 Business and Technical English
need to generate ideas which will be potentially useful. Secondly, you need to share the results of
your ideas with co-workers, customers, etc. as a communicator.
Example
Naila, a newly hired dietitian, must communicate to make the work valuable to her employer, at
a large hospital. She has devised a way to reorganize the hospital kitchen that saves money, etc.
Her insights will benefit the hospital only if they are communicated to someone who has the
power to implement them, such as the kitchen director.
Writing is critical to your success. As a college graduate, you will need to spend an average of 20
percent of your time at work writing. That comes out to one out of every five-day work week. A graph plotted for percentage of hours spent versus the number of people who
responded for the survey. The study was conducted for a total number of 896 students in
the US Universities.
Besides enabling you to do your job, writing well can bring you many personal benefits
as well:
• Recognition in the form of praise
• Raises
• Promotions
In many organizations, the communication with the upper management is not feasible. In
such a company, your memos, reports, and other writings may be the only evidence. They
only have specimens of your good written work as either a specialist or a communicator.
Writing is an important responsibility of mangers who have to communicate a wide
variety of messages to those working above and below them. Consequently, employers
look for writings when considering people for advancement. © Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan Page 6 Business and Technical English
In a study, 94 percent of the graduates from seven departments that send students to
technical writing classes reported that the ability to "write well" is of "some" importance
to them. Furthermore, 58 percent said that it is of great or critical importance to them.
In a survey of people listed in the "Engineers of distinction", 89 percent said that the
writing ability is considered when a person is considered for advancement. Survey of people listed in the "Engineers of distinction" plotting the importance of writing skills
to people versus the number of people who responded.
In addition to bringing you recognition, writing well at work can bring you personal satisfaction
too. It will enable you to make an important impact. To succeed in any endeavors during your
professional career, you will need to influence people's opinions, actions and decisions mostly
through your writing skills.
Writing at work differs from writing at school
To write successfully at work, you will need to develop new writing skills and even new ways of
thinking about writing. That’s because writing at work place differs in some very fundamental
ways from writing done at school.
Purposes of Writing
As a student, you communicate for educational purposes, for example, writing term papers or
taking a written exam, etc. In contrast, as an employee, you will communicate for instrumental
purposes. Most of your communications will be designed to help your employer achieve
practical business objectives.
At school, where your aim is to show how much you know, one of your major writing strategies
is to write as much as you can about your subject. At work, your communications should only
include the information your readers need. Extra information would only clog your readers’ path
resulting in:
o decreased efficiency
© Copyright Virtual University of Pakistan Page 7 Business and Technical English
o increased frustration
Audience
• At school your interaction is only with one person, the instructor. In contrast at work, you
will often create communications that will address a wide variety of people with different
backgrounds.
• The use they will make of your information.
• The kinds of professional and personal concerns they will bring to your presentation. Example
Consider the report in which Naila will present her recommendations for improving the hospital
kitchen. Her recommendations might be read by her supervisor Mr. Nadeem who will want to
know what measures he will have to take in order to follow her recommendations. The vice
president of finance, Mr. Altaf, will want t...
View
Full Document
