UCJANGBP25 English commercial correspondence

Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Winter 2021
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 3 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
PhDr. Diana Adamová, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Mgr. Barbora Hamplová (seminar tutor)
PhDr. Libor Práger, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Guaranteed by
PhDr. Diana Adamová, Ph.D.
Institute of Foreign Languages – Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava
Timetable of Seminar Groups
UCJANGBP25/A: Fri 13:00–14:40 H3, B. Hamplová
Prerequisites
Basic skills with MS Word.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The aim of this course is to introduce the basics of written business communication and communication within a company. Tutorials will present the most common types of letters and e-mails of business communication. Students will learn the characteristics of formal as well as informal correspondence, various types of commercial letters, personal correspondence, and materials concerning areas of marketing, law and commerce. The tutorials will concentrate also on style, formal aspects and structure of commercial letters and e-mails.
Learning outcomes
The student will be able to:
- understand the information concerning common commercial correspondence;
- write a business letter, application, complaint;
- address common business process issues.
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction to the business correspondence: types of letters in business correspondence, the phenomenon of electronic letters, differences between written and electronic correspondence.
  • 2. Written and electronic documents: main features, greetings, structure of the letter/email, content, stylistics.
  • 3. Effective business writing, business letters structure, planning and organising a letter, creating an email.
  • 4. Types of neutral letters, writing neutral letters, writing inquiry, requests – formal versus informal letters/documents.
  • 5. Letters of inquiry, requests in depth – basic features, styles, form, content.
  • 6. Letters of proposal, bid – basic features, styles, form, content, selected business English vocabulary.
  • 7. Letters of claim, complaint – basic features, styles, form, content, selected business English vocabulary.
  • 8. Contracts (reservation, confirmation) – business contracts, job contracts and their features.
  • 9. Covering letters and CVs – form, content, selected business English vocabulary, style, way of manipulation
  • 10. Application forms, job documents, insurance documents, applications in general.
  • 11. Dismissal documents, ending a job (job related) – form, features, content, style.
  • 12. Miscellaneous correspondence – newsletter, marketing, documents, memorandums, reports (daily, annual).
  • 13. Practical usage – templates and topics, revision test on selected business English vocabulary.
Literature
    required literature
  • Ashley, A. (2002). Oxford Handbook of Commercial Correspondence. Oxford: OUP.
  • Haigh, R. (2006). Oxford Handbook of Legal Correspondence. Oxford: OUP.
  • Cenere, P. et al. (2015). Communication Skills for Business Professionals. Cambridge: CUP.
    recommended literature
  • Reynolds, S., Valentine, D. and Munter, M. (2011). Guide to Cross-Cultural Communication. New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
    not specified
  • „How to write a business letter“ https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/writing-help/how-to-write-a-business-letter
  • „Formal business letter templates“ https://templates.office.com/en-us/Formal-business-letter-TM00002133
Teaching methods
Tutorial
Assessment methods
attendance, regular written assignments, final project
Language of instruction
English
The course is also listed under the following terms Winter 2020, Winter 2022, Winter 2023, Winter 2024.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Winter 2021, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.slu.cz/course/fpf/winter2021/UCJANGBP25