Chapter 3: Workplace Communications
17 Writing
Before you write
In this section, we will practise writing an informal workplace email.
Writing email messages is an important skill that you will need for many tasks related to employment and daily life. The way you write an email will depend on the purpose of the message, but there are some basic things you must know:
- Use the appropriate salutation and closing.
- Use the appropriate level of formality.
- Organize your information.
- Be brief and to the point.
The context
Read the context below. Think about the context and talk about it.
Paul and Raja are supposed to meet at a particular time to discuss another idea for the 20-year anniversary campaign. Paul cannot meet Raja at that time. Paul writes a message to Raja about this.
Talk about whether the message will be formal, semi-formal, or informal. Give reasons.
Read the three email messages on the next page. Select the most appropriate message for the above context. Discuss reasons for your choice.
The content
Let us look at Paul’s message more carefully.
- It is important to organize your email message and keep to the point. It is also important to use the right level of formality. You can see how Paul does this in the example below:
| The steps Paul follows | Sentences from his email |
| He tells the receiver of the message about the context/ situation. | We had agreed to meet at 9:30 on Monday morning to discuss ordering the bags and T-shirts. |
| He apologizes and explains the problem. | I am sorry, but something has come up. I won’t be able to make it at 9:30. |
| He suggests a solution and asks the receiver for his/her input. | I was wondering if we could meet at 10:00 instead. Let me know if this works for you. |
| He uses more formal and more careful language when asking for something that may need some extra effort from the receiver. | I was wondering if we could meet at 10:00 instead. |
- When we talk about time, we need to use the right prepositions. These prepositions are the words in, on, and at. It is important to use them correctly.
Fill in the blanks with the correct prepositions: in, on, or at.
a) I have a meeting 10:30 the morning.
b) The meeting noon has been cancelled.
c) I left work very early the afternoon.
d) I like the weather May.
e) I arrived here Tuesday.
f) He was born February 29, 2016.
g) She was in Vancouver Labour Day.
h) She went to the park Sunday morning.
Writing practice
- Write an email message to Paul. In the message, do the following:
Tell Paul that you have to cancel a lunch appointment with him. You have an urgent meeting with Sima. Remember to write an appropriate subject for your email.
- Refer to the rubric on the next page so that you are aware of the expectations of the task.
Writing progress check
Rubric
The table on the right is a special type of form called a rubric. Rubrics are often used to measure how well a person completes a task.
On the left side is information about the writing task, with