KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION Jidhafs Secondary Girls School. 215 Writing Samples. Done by: Ms. Safeya Mustafa & Ms. Masooma A.

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1 KINGDOM OF BAHRAIN MINISTRY OF EDUCATION Jidhafs Secondary Girls School 215 Writing Samples Done by: Ms. Safeya Mustafa & Ms. Masooma A. Aziz English Language Teachers Supervised by: Mrs. Ahlam Yusuf School Principal Mrs. Asadiya AlKhalow Principal Assistant Mrs. Ghaniya Alnashaba

2 1- Invitation to an event or a meeting You are the executive secretary at a big company in Bahrain and your name is Ms. Janahi. You have organized a meeting at the meeting room. Write an to all the staff (around words) explaining: - when & where the meeting will be. - the importance of the meeting and ask everyone to be present. - Send a copy of meeting agenda To: all staff Subject: meeting Dear All, This is to invite you all to our next weekly meeting. It is going to be held on Monday 22 May at 10:00 in the meeting room. We will discuss the problem with our new supplier so it is important that everyone is present, we would be delighted to hear your suggestions. I will send the meeting agenda to your s, if you have any questions please contact me. Regards, John Peters (69 words) 2

3 2- Invitation to an event or meeting You arranged with your colleague Mr. Chris for a meeting next month. Write him an to confirm your availability. (around words) include: - when & where the meeting will be. - who will be present in the meeting - what the meeting will be about To: all staff Subject: meeting Dear Chris, Thank you for your I received the file and will write my report as soon as possible. I am writing this with regard to our meeting next month. I am available on Tuesday 15 th June. The meeting will be in our meeting hall at 11 a.m. 11:30 a.m. with our department manager and Mr. John from Batelco we will discuss the latest offers from Batelco and how we can benefit from those offers. Please confirm your availability at this time? Regards, Peter (82 words) 3

4 3. Reply to an invitation You have arranged to meet an important business client. Unfortunately something unexpected has cropped up. You cannot attend the meeting. Write an in apology to her, suggesting another time. To: Ms. Van Subject: meeting Dear Ms. Van Linh, This is regarding our meeting next Sunday. Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend the meeting since I will be away on business for 5 days. Would you please tell me if it is alright to meet on Monday 20 May at a.m. in Costa coffee? This will help me to prepare more brochures about our products to give away when we meet. Please confirm your availability. I look forward to hear from you. Yours sincerely, Chris John (77 words) 4

5 4. asking for permission You are an employee in a bank. Your car will be in the garage for 3 weeks, you need to arrive late and leave early. Write an to your manager Mr. Ali (80 words) explain: - your situation - How you will make time up To: Ali@yahoo.com Subject: emergency situation Dear Mr. Ali, I write this hoping you can help me with my problem. My car has broken down and it will be in the garage for three weeks. I will use the bus to come to the office, and there are not any buses at the night times. I would be grateful if you allow me to arrive late and leave early for two weeks only, I could make up the time by having shorter lunch breaks and promise to submit all the reports on time. I look forward to hear from you Yours sincerely Noor Ali (92 words) 5

6 5. delegating You are a manager for a large bank and you planned for a trip to London next month. Unfortunately, you cannot go and you would like a colleague to go on this trip. Write an to your colleague (between words): - explaining when the trip will be and for how long - why you cannot go - ask him / her to write a report when she comes back To: Ali@yahoo.com Subject: emergency situation Dear Noor, How are you? Hope everything is going well with you. I am writing this to ask you to ask for a favour. Well I arranged for a trip next month to London. The trip is to visit our new factory and follow-up with the work there. Unfortunately I cannot go because I will be having an urgent meeting with our new supplier. I would like to ask you to go on this trip which will last for 8 days and submit a report about your visit when you come back. Please note that the company will take care of all the trip expenses during your stay in London. I look forward to hear from you. Yours sincerely, Sabah Ali (120 words) 6

7 6. giving feedback Noor Ali, a temporary member of staff, is leaving your office. The new manager has asked for a report on her performance. Plan a report reviewing Noor s performance. Use your imagination to think of relevant examples and comments. Write your report (between words) Dear Sir, Further to your letter asking for a report about Ms. Noor Ali s performance at work, here s some information about her work abilities. During her work Ms. Noor provided great support to the sales team, in fact she had good relationship with all staff and everybody respects her. She has also excellent telephoning skills and can deal with different customers in different situations. Ms. Noor is a very reliable person; she always meets deadlines and finishes her tasks on time. Ms. Noor has always shown positive attitude to work. She is highly self-confident and works for the success of the company. However, Ms. Noor needs to improve her leadership skills; she has sometimes reacted poorly when put under pressure. She also needs more training Microsoft applications. Overall, Ms. Noor is a fast learner and I am confident that she will excel at her new position. Yours sincerely John Peter (148 words) 7

8 7. wrong order Bahrain Computers has recently made an order (purchase order no. 2209) to receive a delivery of 100 ipads from your shop, Hope Computers, but there were some problems. Write an to the secretary of Bahrain Computers to explain what happened and rectify the situation. To: Mr. Hassan Ahmed@yahoo.com From: Mona Ali@gmail.com Subject: Re: Purchase order no. 2209) Dear Mr. Ahmed, Thank you for your . We re sorry you did not receive your order on time. You know that we are known for our fast reliable service, but I don t know how that s happened. Well, after checking, I m sorry to say it seems that the item was out of stock, so your order wasn t shipped on time. We received new items yesterday so I ll call the forwarder and make sure that they send your order (purchase no. 2209) today. Please accept our apologies and we promise that this will not happen again. Please let me know as soon as you receive your order. Best regards, Mona Ali Secretary (102 words) 8

9 8. Covering letter: Applying for a job Kanoo Travel Requires a Sales Manager Kanoo Travel has a vacancy at its main Manama office for an assistant to the Marketing Director. The successful candidate will be a graduate with at least 3/years marketing experience and preferably a second foreign language. Key responsibilities will include helping to plan and manage our range of package holidays. If you think you have the ability and confidence, please apply by writing to Kanoo Travel, P.O. Box 445, Kanoo Building, Kingdom of Bahrain. Dear sir / Madam, I would like to apply for the post of sales manager advertised in this week s newspapers. I have worked as a manager of the sales department for one year. I am very interested in this position and am keen to pursue a career in this area. I am driven to succeed and committed to the company s success. I have strong communication skills and am a great listener. In fact, I can get along with any team setting. I graduated from university and have a degree in business management. I have also attended many training courses in leadership so I can develop a positive work environment. Please find enclosed my CV and a reference letter from my previous employer. If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely, Noor Ali (146 words) 9

10 9. Writing an advert A) Write an advertisement for one 80 words) a. A portable DVD player b. An electronic translator of the following objects. (Write about 50- Are you interested in learning a new language? Are you fed up with using dictionaries? Here is the best solution for you: The new Wikilang. It will change your life. The Wikilang is a very advanced electronic dictionary, it uses modern technology. It is also practical and very light. It is easy to use. Anyone can use it easily. It has rechargeable batteries and the battery can last for weeks not hours. Moreover, it has a very stylish look. The Wikilang is available in a small size. It is as big as a calculator. In addition, it is a top quality one which is made of strong materials. The Wikilang has no wires or cables, so you can move freely. Hurry up to get one because the amount is limited. The Wikilang is a bargain at only 200BD. For more information contact us on (145 words) 10

11 10. Writing a report A. The table below shows the monthly expenditure of an average Bahraini family in 2007 and Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant. Write at least 150 words BD Per Month Food Electricity and Water Clothing Housing Transport Other goods and services* Total The table shows changes in the spending patterns of an average Bahraini household between 2007 and In general, Bahraini household spending was higher in 2201 than in 2007 but the difference was not considerable (BD 715 per month and BD 675 per month respectively). The amount of monthly spending on electricity and water saw a dramatic increase over the 5-year period from BD 75 to BD 120. Yet in terms of the expenditure on other goods and services, the rise was less obvious with a minor increase of BD 20. At the same time, the amount of money spent on food and housing rose only slightly from BD 155 to BD160 and BD 95 to BD100 respectively. However, there was a decrease in expenditure on the other two items. Bahraini spent one third less on clothing, which fell from BD30 to BD 20. Similarly, expenditure on transport dropped from BD 70 in 2007 to BD 45 in Over all, it seems that food and other goods and services were the two biggest items of expenditure. Altogether, they accounted for more than half of the total household spending. By comparison, Bahraini spent little on dressing up. (197 words) B. The chart below shows male and female fitness membership between 1970 and Summarize the information by selecting and reporting the main features, and make comparisons where relevant.

12 Write at least 150 words. The chart shows male and female fitness membership over a thirty-year period from 1970 to Overall, the chart indicates that there were greater fluctuations in fitness membership among men than among women. The number of male members started at just over two thousand and reached the peak to four thousand in 1975 and five thousand around The lowest rates were in 1985 and in 2000 when the rate dropped as low as one thousand. On the other hand, female fitness membership began lower at one thousand, doubled by 1975, and then fluctuated between two and three thousand for the remainder of the period. When male rates were at their lowest, female rates were higher. This was particularly true in 1985 when around three thousand women held fitness membership. In brief, there were considerable differences in rates of male and female fitness memberships in the period covered. (148 words) 12

13 Workplace Communication 1. Workplace communication is the process of exchanging information, both verbal and non-verbal, within an organization. An organization may consist of employees from different parts of the society. In order to unite the activities of all employees, communication is crucial. Communicating necessary information to the entire workforce becomes essential. Effective workplace communication ensures that all the organizational objectives are achieved. The following are the factors influencing workplace communication. 2. Different people absorb information in different ways. To make sure that the information conveyed is understood by all, the way you use for communication needs to be simple and clear. When presenting vital information, using pictures will make way for easy understanding. Preferring two-way communication is considered best for communicating. Sufficient importance can be given for discussion, questions and clarifications. 3. The content of the information plays a major role in workplace communication. The level of detail must be according to the grasping capacity of the audience. Giving too much detail may get the audience bored and switch them off. On the other hand, too little detail won t make them involved. Use of jargon while communicating is not considered good for effective workplace communication. 4. While formal workplace communication that is done too rarely or too often is not good for an organization, frequent informal workplace communication has its benefits. A perfect balance is required for the proper functioning of an organization. Information must be communicated as and when required rather than holding unnecessary meetings frequently. At the same time important information must not be held till the last hour or day, instead they have to be communicated as early as possible to get the employees in tune with the objectives of the organization. 5. Getting the message across efficiently depends on the skills of the communicator such as presentation skills, group facilitation skills and written communication skills. Successful communication also depends upon the capacity of the employees to understand the information. This requires providing the employees with some basic financial literacy like financial statements, sales, profitability, etc. 13

14 A: Match the headings (a-f) to the paragraphs (1-5). Note that there is an extra heading. Paragraph 1: Paragraph 2: Paragraph 3: Paragraph 4: Paragraph 5: a. Method of communication b. Frequency c. Content d. Advantages of good communication e. Skills f. What is office communication? B: What do the underlined words mean? Write the answer on the space provided. 1. Crucial (paragraph 1) a. enough 2. Sufficient (paragraph 2) b. easy c. important C: Now answer these questions. 1. How can you exchange information at the workplace? a. b. 2. Why is it important to communicate with employees? a. b. 3. What is the purpose of having simple and clear ways of communication at work? D: Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)? 1. What you say is not important when you communicate with employees. 2. The use of jargon makes communication more effective. 3. Regular communication at the workplace is good 4. It is good to meet with your employees at the end of the working day. 14

15 Reading answer key: A: 1 F 2 A 3 C 4 B 5 E B: 1 C 2 A C: 1 a. presentations b. two-way communication 2 a. to ensure all objectives are achieved b. To unite the activities of all employees 3 to make sure the information is understood by all D: 1 F 2 F 3 T 4 F 15