Question 1:Task 1: Report
Assume you are Josie Eskander. You are writing in response to techno trading P/L’s advertisement of a new laptop at 20% below normal price. You want information on brand name, availability of service and repairs, delivery times and methods of payment. Write the letter using the seven basic parts of the letter. In the opening paragraph present a clear and courteous request.
Secondly write a response from techno trading giving details and proposing the sale. Provide draft of both emails in the space below.
Question 2:
Task 2: Report
In pairs, nominate a good and a bad letter writer. Discuss the key differences. Write a good/bad letter from techno training to Alex Antonov accepting/declining his proposal to invest in the business
Question 3:
Task 3: Report
Write a letter from techno trading p/l to a new client ‘new realities p/l’ urging them to buy techno new virtual reality software. Make a strong argument for the product.
Question 4:
Task 4: Report
Write a letter from William light professional education to Capricorn university seeking payment of contract fees (now overdue) in association with the writing of the University’s new degree in cyber safety written for it by William light.
Question 5:
Task 5: Report
Write a memo from the CEO setting up a meeting of William Light’s staff to discuss the organisations new budget.
Question 6:
Task 6: Report
Write an email to someone you haven’t met asking for advice on the best app for soil moisture monitoring. Use the correct greeting, sign off and the language
Write the same request to the same person after you have met them and spent time working with them.
Question 7:
Task 7: Report
Aptech P/L is an Australian IT company in the entertainment industry. Aptech is seeking new graduate staff in web design; app design; programming; cyber security and; network administration.
Submit the following 4 documents to the facilitator.
1. Write a job application letter nominating one of the above positions. The letter needs to summarise your skills and interests and convince the reader that your CV is worth reading and that you are a good candidate for the job.
Aptech’s address is 356 Technology St Adelaide and the person you need to address your application to is the HR Manager Ms Bessie Badbreath.
2. Write a response letter from Bessie to you which sets up an interview for the position. You need to specify the location, date and time and who will be interviewing you. Also that you need to bring your transcripts and work experience evidence.
• FOR LETTERS ONE AND TWO GET ONE OF YOUR PYP COLLEAGUES TO SUGGEST SOME EDITS BEFORE YOU SUBMIT IT TO FACILITATOR
3. Write a memo from Bessie to the Managers of each of the five project areas (first paragraph above) looking for staff setting up interview times with the selected candidates.
4. As the Manager for New Apps Development send Bessie an email confirming that you will attend the interview at the specified time.
Question 8:
Task 8: Activity Report – see appendix 1
For this task find out the appendix 1 attached at the end of the assessment and fill in blanks with either ‘the’, ‘a’ or ‘an’.
Once complete tick the box bellow.
Task is completed YES NO
Question 9:
Task 9: Activity Report – see appendix 2
• Pick a quantifier from the list given below and complete each sentence in APPENDIX 2 attached at the end of the assessment.
Quantifier:
A FEW | A GREAT DEAL | A LITTLE | A LOT | A LOT OF | A MAJORITY OF | ENOUGH | MANY | MUCH OF | PLENTY | SEVERAL OF | SOME
• Some similar quantifiers give very different meanings to their noun. Write a sentence using ‘a little’ meaning ‘some’ and another sentence where ‘little’ means ‘not much’ (in APPENDIX 2)
• Do the same for ‘few’ and ‘a few’ (in APPENDIX 2)
Hint: in formal business writing its preferable to use ‘many’ or ‘much’ and avoid ‘lots’ ‘lots of’ or ‘plenty of’
All three tasks are completed YES NO
Question 10:
Task 10: Activity Report – Active and Passive Voice
‘Active voice’ is where the subject takes the action: Greg hugged his dog.
‘Passive voice’ is where the subject is acted upon: The dog was hugged by Greg.
ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE
1. They had given us visas for twelve months Visas……
2. The data is being uploaded
3. By next month, we will have finished the Unit on business writing
4. Computers are shipped to many foreign countries
5. The programmer completed the app
6. The laptop was delivered yesterday
7. The manager was making an announcement
8. The network will be down overnight
Question 11:
Task 11: Activity Report
Correct the following sentences for verb tense consistency:
• The facilitator explains the table to students who asked questions during the lecture
Correction:
• About noon the sky darkened, a breeze sprang up, and a low rumble announces the approaching storm.
Correction:
• Yesterday we walk to Uni but later rode the bus home.
Correction:
Question 12:
Task 12: Activity Report
• Change the following sentences to the third person:
• I am going for a short bus ride.
Change:
• We have decided not to attend the cricket match.
Change:
• Change the following sentences to the first person:
• It was a good match to watch.
Change:
• Her speech was inspiring to us all.
Change:
Question 13:
Task 13: Activity Report
1. TENSES AND WRITING PARAGRAPHS TIPS:
• Use past tense to narrate events and to refer to an author
• Use present tense to state facts and discuss ideas or those expressed by an author
• Use future tense in writing recommendations for action
• Try to limit each paragraph to one idea or key point.
• Don’t mix your tenses.
1.1 Task:
Write a four paragraph report on your favourite subject or technology in IT. Choose either first person or third person narration.
• An introductory paragraph introducing the subject.
• A past tense paragraph talking about the background to this subject or technology
• A present tense subject identifying the facts and key uses or advantages
• A final paragraph in future tense recommending what should happen next.
1. An introductory paragraph introducing the subject.
2. A past tense paragraph talking about the background to this subject or technology.
3. A present tense subject identifying the facts and key uses or advantages.
4. A final paragraph in future tense recommending what should happen next.
Question 14:
Task 14: Activity Report
Assume you are to prepare a short justification report for William Light Professional Education P/L asking for new computer technology. You are given the following instructions on the order of information to use in the report
• Use the first person
• Create a title
• Develop a series of headings
• Open by stating the proposed changes and then go straight into the current problems of computing software being inadequate for the size of the company. (introduction)
• Start the body of the report with some concrete examples of the advantages of the new software. Briefly explain the advantages. Present the problem of the existing system.
• Place the conclusions and recommendations at the end of the report.
Question 15:
Task 15: Report
Working with a colleague, edit each other’s short report created in task 14. Provide some discussed and identified key points in the report.
Question 16:
Task 16: Report
Follow the link below to read and review: Purdue OWL ‘Avoiding plagiarism’
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/589/01/
• Write a short report not more than 100 words on ‘avoiding plagiarism in business writing’
• Write an example of a reference from (a) the internet and (b) a paper journal using Harvard referencing https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/docs/harvard-style-guide.pdf
Question 17:
Task 17: Role play
See detailed handout on the exemplar report and its background
Read and discuss the report in small groups
Discussion in full group:
• Audience
• Structure
• Data and analysis
• Logical flow
• Conclusions and justifiable recommendations
• Executive summary
• Review and edit
Ask the facilitator to provide the handouts on the Exemplar Report if enable to find out in the assessment resources.
Third party/facilitator’s comments:
Signature: Observation date:
Question 18:
Task 18: Report
The facilitator to identify a list of Australian businesses headquartered in that campus’s city (in APPENDIX 8). The report is to be written for axis investments, a large international investment house interested in acquiring Australian companies with a growth trajectory.
• You need to nominate a business from the list provided
• Research the industry, the company, where it fits, its main competitor’s and potential for growth. On completion discuss your research with the facilitator who will approve your moving to the next stage.
DOCUMENT AND USE THE CPMPANY’S STYLE GUIDE OR OTHER FORMAT APPROVED BY THE FACILITATOR
• Develop a draft table of contents for approval by the facilitator
• Write your report. The facilitator will provide assistance as you progress.
• Complete the executive summary
• Edit and review your completed report and document your changes
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA CHECKED BY THE FACILITATOR
Student name:
Facilitator name:
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA COMPETENT NOT YET COMPETENT
Can write an email in the correct format, using clear structure
Can write a business report (BSBWRT401 2.5; 3.1;3.3;3.4)
Demonstrate planning of a report (BSBWRT401 Element 1 Plan documents 1.1;1.2;1.3;1.4;1.5.1.6)
Understands how the formality of language differs depending on the document and the audience (use appropriate level of formality according to document) (BSBWRT401 1.2;.1.3; 4.1)
Understands what constitutes plagiarism and how to successfully avoid it
Understands Australian business email etiquette
Use correct language and tone in emails with few errors
Can write paragraphs and sentences in a logical order
Use appropriate structure and logical order in writing (BSBWRT401 1.5;1.6)
Can analyse a document to determine whether it is in the active/passive voice, written in the first or third person
Revise apostrophes, tenses and subject verb agreement
Use correct grammar (BSBWRT401 Element 3 Prepare final text 3.2)
Use correct spelling and punctuation (BSBWRT401 Prepare final text 3.2)
Use appropriate language (BSBWRT401 2.6)
BSBWRT401 Write Complex Documents performance criteria
Review and organize available data, information and knowledge according to proposed structure and content
Ensure data, information and knowledge is aggregated interpreted and summarized to prepare text that satisfies document purposes and objectives
Include graphics as appropriate
Identify gaps in required data and information, and collect additional material from relevant enterprise personnel
Draft text according to document requirements and genre (style guide)
Assessment task 8 – Appendix 1: GRAMMAR TASKS
Fill in the missing article in the following report:
Not so long ago, many of us resisted separating glass, cans, and paper out of our garbage. What hassle. Today, of course, every primary school kid knows that world’s resources are limited and that recycling helps preserve them. We act locally, while thinking globally. It’s time to bring same consciousness to health care as we face growing medical crisis: loss of antibiotic effectiveness against common bacterial illnesses. By personally refusing — or not demanding — antibiotics for viral illnesses they won’t cure, we can each take step toward prolonging overall antibiotic effectiveness.
Media reports have likely made you aware of this problem, but they have neglected implications. Your brother catches cold that turns into sinus infection. His doctor treats him with antibiotics, but bacteria are resistant to all of them. The infection enters his bloodstream — a condition known as septicemia — and few days later, your brother dies. Or instead of cold, he has infected cut that won’t heal, or any other common bacterial disease, such as ear or prostate infection.
Far-fetched? It’s not. antibiotics crisis is real. Consider Streptococcus pneumoniae: This common bacterium often causes post-flu pneumonia. (Pneumonia and influenza combined are country’s sixth leading cause of death, Before 1980, less than 1 percent of S. pneumoniae samples showed any resistance to penicillin. As of last May 2012, researchers at San Diego University discovered that 22 percent of S. pneumoniae samples were highly resistant to it, with another 15 percent moderately so. And most recent statistics from Sentry Antimicrobial Surveillance Program, which monitors bacterial resistance at 70 medical centers in U.S., Canada, Europe, and South America, show that 44 percent of S. pneumoniae samples in the U.S. are highly resistant, and worldwide, resistance is at all-time high (55 percent).
Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a direct outgrowth of the overuse of these drugs. In classic Darwinian fashion, more doctors prescribe antibiotics, more likely it is for some lucky bacterium blessed with minor genetic variation to survive antibiotic assault-and pass its resistance along to its offspring. The solution is obvious: Doctors should prescribe antibiotics only as last resort.
This strategy works. In early 1990s, Finnish public health authorities responded to rising bacterial resistance to erythromycin by discouraging its use as a first-line treatment for certain infections. From 1991 to 1992, erythromycin consumption per capita dropped 43 percent. By 1996, bacterial resistance to antibiotic had been cut almost in half. But many doctors are doing spectacularly lousy job of keeping their pens off their prescription pads, most notably by prescribing antibiotics for common cold and other upper respiratory tract infections (URIs). Data from National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey show that bronchitis and URIs account for third of nation’s antibiotic prescriptions. Antibiotics treat only bacterial infections and are completely powerless against viral illnesses. Every doctor knows this.
Why are doctors so ready to prescribe antibiotics? Physicians are quick to blame public. Patients, they say, demand antibiotics, and doctors are so terrified of malpractice suits they prescribe them to keep their customers happy and their lawyers at bay. Prescribing antibiotics is the doctors’ path of least resistance. It’s easier than taking time to explain that antibiotics are worthless against viral infections, and to recommend rest, fluids, and vitamin C-or, herbal, homeopathic, Chinese, or other complementary treatment. Most medical practices schedule patients at 15-minute intervals. Rather than doing what they know is right for public health, it’s much quicker for doctors to whip out the prescription pad and send people on their merry, albeit misinformed way.
If we hope to preserve antibiotic effectiveness, it’s up to us, public, to convince doctors to prescribe these drugs only when they’re necessary. This from-the- bottom-up approach is nothing new. Health consumers have taken the lead in showing doctors value of fitness, nutrition, and alternative therapies.
Nouns Task:
Identify two other ‘count nouns’ and two ‘non-count nouns and put them into sentences:
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
Assessment task 9 – Appendix 2: Quantifiers Tasks:
Pick a quantifier from the list below to complete each sentence
Quantifier:
A FEW | A GREAT DEAL | A LITTLE | A LOT | A LOT OF | A MAJORITY OF | ENOUGH | MANY | MUCH OF | PLENTY | SEVERAL OF | SOME
1. I’m having of trouble passing my driving exam.
2. the movies were rated PG.
3. information proved to be outdated.
4. We’re close to the project deadline, but there is still time left.
5. Although there are brilliant students in this state — thousands, even, only will choose to remain in the state after graduation.
6. We were able to destroy the parasites with our antigen, but of them survived to cause trouble.
7. a student has passed through these doors.
8. Although of the lawn is open to the sun, there are of shade trees to make it comfortable.
9. I think he drank wine last night.
10. the evidence was taken from the police safe last night.
• Some similar quantifiers give very different meanings to their noun. See if you can write a sentence using ‘a little’ meaning ‘some’ and another sentence where ‘little’ means ‘not much’
(i)
(ii)
• Do the same for ‘a few’ and ‘few.’
(i)
(ii)
Hint: in formal business writing its preferable to use ‘many’ or ‘much’ and avoid ‘lots’ ‘lots of’ or ‘plenty of’
Assessment task 10 – Appendix 3: Active and Passive Voice
‘Active voice’ is where the subject takes the action: Greg hugged his dog.
‘Passive voice’ is where the subject is acted upon: The dog was hugged by Greg.
FILL IN THE MISSING SENTENCES:
ACTIVE VOICE PASSIVE VOICE
9. They had given us visas for twelve months Visas……
10. The data is being uploaded
11. By next month, we will have finished the
Unit on business writing
12. Computers are shipped to many foreign
countries
13. The programmer completed the app
14. The laptop was delivered yesterday
15. The manager was making an
announcement
16. The network will be down overnight
Assessment task 11 – Appendix 4: VERB TENSE CONSISTENCY
Most reports are written using either the simple past or simple present tense. Where you are talking about the future its best to start a new sentence such as ‘in future…..or…. growth could be achieved……or It is recommended that in future….
Don’t shift from one tense to another if the time line for each action remains the same.
Correct the following sentences for verb tense consistency:
1.2 The facilitator explains the table to students who asked questions during the lecture
Correction:
1.3 About noon the sky darkened, a breeze sprang up, and a low rumble announces the approaching storm.
Correction:
1.4 Yesterday we walk to University but later rode the bus home.
Correction:
PERSONAL PRONOUNS
In general business reports are written in the third person. However shorter reports particularly where an opinion is given are written in the first person.
Pronoun Function Use Subjective
Case Objective
Case Possessive
Case
First Person Representing a
Person speaking Personal
Experience
Often in emails I, we Me, us My/mine
Our/ours
Second Person Representing a
Person or thing
Spoken to Rarely as key
Pronoun in business writing you you Your/yours
Third Person Standing for a
Person or thing
Spoken of Most commonly used in business writing He/she/it Him/her/it His/hers/its
Assessment task 12 – Appendix 5: Change the following sentences to the third person:
(a) I am going for a short bus ride.
(b) We have decided not to attend the cricket match
Change the following sentences to the first person:
(c) It was a good match to watch.
(d) Her speech was inspiring to us all.
Assessment task 13 – Appendix 6:
2. TENSES AND WRITING PARAGRAPHS
TIPS:
• Use past tense to narrate events and to refer to an author
• Use present tense to state facts and discuss ideas or those expressed by an author
• Use future tense in writing recommendations for action
• Try to limit each paragraph to one idea or key point.
• Don’t mix your tenses.
2.1 Task:
Write a four paragraph report on your favourite subject or technology in IT. Choose either first person or third person narration.
2.1.1 An introductory paragraph introducing the subject.
2.1.2 A past tense paragraph talking about the background to this subject or technology
2.1.3 A present tense subject identifying the facts and key uses or advantages
2.1.4 A final paragraph in future tense recommending what should happen next.
Appendix 7: Business Writing Slide Handout:
Assessment task 18 – Appendix 8: List of companies
Other companies can also be added to the list after approval from the facilitator.
1. AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND BANKING GROUP LTD (ANZ)
FINANCIALS
2. NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK LIMITED (NAB)
FINANCIALS
3. BHP LIMITED (BHP)
4. CSL LIMITED (CSL)
HEALTH CARE
5. TELSTRA CORPORATION LIMITED (TLS)
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES
6. RIO TINTO LIMITED (RIO)
METALS & MINING
7. TRANSURBAN GROUP (TCL)
INDUSTRIALS
8. AMCOR LIMITED (AMC)
MATERIALS
9. NEWCREST MINING LIMITED (NCM)
METALS & MINING
10. VICINITY CENTRES (VCX)