Summary
In this chapter, you learned how to revise your sentences
to make them courteous.
To make your sentences courteous, you need to
be
l
polite (by using magic words as well as modal
verbs, and by turning statements into questions)
l
positive
(by stating what you can do and by
using the "if-contract")
l
personal
(by using personal pronouns,
people's names and the active voice of the verb)
l
professional
(by using standard English
expressions correctly).
Summary Exercises
There are two exercises in this section. In both
exercises, you will practise revising a letter to make the sentences more
courteous.
SUMMARY EXERCISE
1
You know the letter below is not very courteous. Revise
the letter to make the sentences more polite, positive, personal and
professional. Write your revised letter on a piece of paper.
|
12 May 200X
Ms Rachel Harrison
34 Smythe
Court
Westfield
Dear Madam
Reference is made to your letter of 1 May regarding
the status of the application for a Privilege
Card.
The Bank has checked the relevant records. The
application was received, but the cheque was not
enclosed.
Be advised that the cheque must be received before
the Privilege Card can be sent.
Yours faithfully
S Martin
Personal Relationship
Manager |
Compare your letter with this suggested
revision.
|
12 May 200X
Ms Rachel Harrison
34 Smythe Court
Westfield
Dear Ms Harrison
Privilege Card
Application
Thank you for your letter of 1
May.
I would like to inform you of the status of your
application for a Privilege Card.
We have checked our records carefully. We received
your application on 4 May, but not the
cheque.
If you can send us a cheque, we will immediately
send you the Privilege Card. If you have any questions, please call me on
2318 1215.
I look forward to hearing from
you.
Yours sincerely
S Martin
Personal Relationship
Manager |
SUMMARY EXERCISE 2: LETTER TO
MR PERRY
In Chapter 3 you drafted a letter to Mr Perry and then
revised the document for completeness. In Chapter 4, your revised the paragraphs
of the letter and made them cohesive. In Chapter 5, you revised the sentences of
the letter to make them clear and concise.
In this exercise, you will revise the letter to Mr Perry
again. This time, you will try to make the sentences
courteous.
To do this exercise, you will need the letter which you
revised in Chapter 5.
Check each sentence to make sure that it is courteous.
You should write your revision on a piece of paper. When
you finish revising the sentences in your letter to Mr Perry, keep both the
"first draft" and this "fourth revision". You'll need them in Chapter 8.
Well Done!
You've now completed Chapter
6!
You've also completed the fourth stage of the Writing
Process: Revise.
So, now you know how to
l
write
courteous sentences
l
revise
sentences to make them courteous.
You also should know that, to produce courteous
sentences, you need to be
l
polite
l
positive
l
personal
l
professional.
In the next chapter, you'll learn how to reply to
difficult letters. You'll discover how to structure the contents of your letter
in an appropriate way.
See you there!
（来源：中国物流论坛 实习生江巍 英语点津 Annabel 编辑）
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