Good morning everyone,

There is an idiomatic expression in English that describes one of the cultural norms of business writing in North America. The expression is “in a nutshell,” which means to present the facts briefly and concisely without a lot of unnecessary details. So when someone says, “Just give me the facts in a nutshell” or “Please get to the point,” they are asking for a summary of the facts in the most concise way possible.

This week's theme is Business Writing. First thing we need to understand all the acronyms and abbreviations that people use in workplace correspondences.

Task 1:

Write the meaning of each of the common email emoticons listed below. Search the Internet

for other emoticons used in email and add them to your list.

Possible search term: emoticons

1. : )      smile                          6.

2. ; )     wink                           7.

3. : (      sad                            8.

4. : o      surpriced                   9.

5. :-<     mad                          10.

Task 2:

The following acronyms and abbreviations are commonly used in business writing.

Write their meanings and explain when you would use them.

1. asap   as soon as possible                                                       

2. FYI     for your information                                                      

3. TTYL  talk to you later                                                           

4. FAQs   frequently ask a question                                                       

5. BTW    buy the way                                                      

6. Att.      attachment

7. Encl.    enclosure 

8. Cc       carbon copay

9. Bcc      blind 

10. e.g.    for example 

11. c/o    care off

 12. n/a    not applicable 

13. i.e.     in other words

 14. w/o  with out 

 15. tks.  thanks

Task 3:

Imagine the following scenario. Then write an email message for this situation below. Decide whether the style is semi-formal or informal.

You have received an email from a team member requesting a report on the progress of a project.

You were away on holidays for two weeks and still need more time to collect and process the information.  

Write an email in response and include the following:

• confirm receiving the request

• explain the reason for the delay in submitting the report

• suggest a new deadline

• end the message appropriately

Hi parvin

It was nice to hearing about you. I was in holiday since two weeks ago. It was very enjoyable. the internet was not available for me, that is why that I cannot prepare the reports project. I promise to finish it until Monday on 11 p.m.

I am in laboratory all Monday, I hope this will be convenient for you.

I am happy to hear back from you.

Love

zahra