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3. Many good compositions of academic writing (e.g. a report, an essay, an assignment, a project) have their organizational structure or their ways in which the different parts are linked together. The following general plan for three paragraph composition will help to control the overall structure of your writing. Composition Structure

4. Structure 1. INTRODUCTION The subject or topic. A statement of the problem, etc. comments on the way it is to be treated. Exercises 2. DEVELOPMENT Presentation, analysis and discussion (involving comments on ‘advantages’ and ‘disadvantages’). 1 main idea (+examples, details) 2 main idea (+examples, details) 3. etc. 3. CONCLUSION Perhaps a summary of the main points in 2. Own views/ opinions and decisions.

5. Write a composition on The Negative Effects of Some Advertisement. Your writing may be based on the following outline in Chinese. 1. 不良广告随处可见。 2. 它们的危害性。 3. 如何禁止不良广告。 Reference

6. Nowadays there are many misleading advertisements in society. They are harmful to society. Generally, the harm takes three forms. First, they exaggerate the functions of the goods they advertise and mislead consumers. Second, some advertisements contain offensive information which may corrupt young people’s mind. Third, they seriously damage the credibility of business because the companies which deal in those goods and the manufacturers which produce them will be trusted and their genuine goods may be rejected by consumers.

7. Personally, I am usually wary of any advertisements and so I have never been taken in. However, some people are too trusting and are easily deceived. Therefore, in my opinion, effective measures must be taken to ban false advertisements and to protect consumers’ interests. First, all advertisements must be strictly censored by the authorities concerned before they are published or on the airing. Furthermore, severe punishment must be inflicted on those who publish illegal advertisements. In conclusion, false advertisements must be eliminated by all means.

8. Missing an appointment or a meeting or a deadline or doing something wrong can slow down a business relationship or even damage your business reputation and credibility. Sending a letter apology is one of the first steps in repairing any damage that has been done. In your business letter of apology, accept responsibility if you are at fault and attempt to reschedule or do some readjustments. If you or your company made a mistake, write a letter of apology to show your honesty and credibility and maintain a good relationship with your customers. Letter of Apology

9. Apology 1.We very much regret/ We are extremely sorry that you are not satisfied with our consignment/ our consignment has been damaged in transit/ you are having trouble with... 2.We are quite unable to account for this unfortunate mistake/the damage to the goods. 3.We offer our sincere apologies for the most unfortunate error in the execution of your order. 4.We are extremely sorry for the inconvenience caused to you. The following patterns can be used in your writing.

10. Explanation 1.Some mistake must have been made in the assembly/ packing/ dispatch of your order.Some mistake must have been made in the assembly/ packing/ dispatch of your order. 2.The consignment must have met with very careless handling at the hands of the crew/ dockers.The consignment must have met with very careless handling at the hands of the crew/ dockers. 3. We have started equerries to discover the cause of the trouble/taken the matter up with the forwarding agents and shall write to you again as soon as we hear from them. 4. We should be grateful if you would hold the goods at our disposal until further notice. 5. We would point out that such slight deviations are quite normal.

11. Adjustments 1.We shall, of course, bear all the expenses which this mistake has caused. 2. We are sending off today/shall send off tomorrow replacements of the reject /damaged/faulty/missing articles. 3. If you are prepared to keep the goods, we are prepared to make a special allowance of... %. 4. As requested we have cancelled the balance of your order. 5. We assume that you accepted the goods under protest. 6.We wish to assure you that we shall do all we can to prevent the recurrence of such an error. The following patterns can be used in your writing.

12. Sample Oct.30, 2002 James Parksun Dept Store Dear Thomas Jiff Thank you for your letter of 30 Oct. 2002, complaining about the conduct of one of our employees. Please rest assured that we have investigated your complaint and that the person concerned will be severely reprimanded. (To be continued on next page.)

13. Sample Please accept our sincere apologies for any distress this situation may have caused you and be assured that it will never happen again. Thank you also for bringing this matter to our attention. We place great importance on the conduct of our employees and your complaint will give us the opportunity to remedy any problem that may exist. Yours Sincerely Godden Sliff Marketing Manager Exercises

14. Ex. 18 Suppose you are the office manager. You got a letter from your customer, Mr. Andi John on 15 March, 2003, for complaining one of your employees for his offensive behavior. Write a letter of apology to him. Reference

15. 20, March 2003 [Name] [Address] Dear Mr. Andi, I was most upset on receiving your letter of [Date] detailing the offensive behavior of one of our employee’s to you. I can assure you such conduct is not, and never will be, tolerated in this company. After a full investigation, disciplinary action has been invoked on the said employee. (To be continued on next page.)

16. I can only offer my full apology and assurance that it will not happen again. We set great store on the relationship our two companies have developed and I hope this incident will not weaken but strengthen that valued relationship. Again, my sincere apologies. Yours Sincerely Chen Yi Office Manager [Your Name] [Your Title]

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