Difficulties in writing business refusal letters for the fourth year Englishmajored students at Thuongmai University and some suggested solutions

Throughout the research, the researcher found out the answers for twoquestions: “What problems do the fourth year English-majored students atThuongmai University face in writing refusal

This research was presented with a view to finding out difficulties in writingbusiness refusal letters as well as suggesting solutions to improve business refusalletter skill Throughout the research, the researcher found out the answers for twoquestions: “What problems do the fourth year English-majored students atThuongmai University face in writing refusal letters?” and “What should the fourthyear English-majored students do to improve their business refusal letter writingskill?”

This study was done in both quantitative and qualitative methods The mainmethod of the study was quantitative method – questionnaire which was set up tocollect viewpoints of students about business refusal letters Furthermore, in order

to find out mistakes specifically, qualitative method was applied in collecting 40business refusal letters which were written by the fourth year students majoring inEnglish The letters were checked thoroughly to find out the mistakes that studentsusually made

The study demonstrated the difficulties in writing business refusal letters offourth year students majoring in English at Thuongmai University, who had writtenbusiness letters in Business Correspondence module in their last year They met alot of difficulties which most came from vocabulary, format, grammars andexpressions Based on the findings of the study, solutions to improve refusal letterwriting skill were given They were learning more about business expressions,planning before writing, and reviewing and revising the letter after writing

First of all, I wish to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Mrs.Pham Thi Phuong who has always been willing to give me valuable support,guidance, and encouragement while I was doing this research

I would like to give my sincere thanks to all the teachers at ThuongmaiUniversity, who gave useful lessons and valuable knowledge in this field of thestudy

In addition, I would also like to thank students of Thuongmai University fortheir enthusiastic cooperation during the time I collected data and information for

my research, especially students in English Faculty for their participant in order tocomplete the questionnaire

Last but not least, I am grateful to my friends and family who alwayssupport, encourage and help me during the process of this research

Hanoi, April 2019

Nguyen Thi Loan

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Frequency of writing business letters

Table 3.3: Mistakes of writing business refusal letters

Table 3.4: Difficulties in writing business refusal letters

Table 3.5: Suggested solutions to improve business refusal letter writing skillTable 4.1: Syntactic changes in writing business letters

Table 4.2: Some frequent punctuation mistakes in writing business letters

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY

1.1. Rationale

Nowadays, with the continuous growth of commerce and industry, usefulnessand importance of business letter are increasing gradually Business letter serves as

a formal method of communication between people, providing valuable information

on business related matters, and serving a legal purpose

Business letter does not only secure, promote business, but it also maintainscooperation without complications With the help of business letter, entrepreneurscan easily exchange information with employees, partners and clients Businessletter plays an important role in establishing and maintaining relationships over awide area to enlarge the scope and the extent of the business Moreover, it alsopromotes goodwill and enhances the prestige and the image of the organization.Realizing the importance of business letter, Vietnamese students in general andThuongmai University students in particular have been studying hard in order toimprove their English business letter writing skill, especially in the today’s context

of international economic integration

Business letters are written for the fulfillment of several purposes, so they aredivided into different types such as: enquiry letter, order letter, complaint letter,refusal letter, quotation letter, … Each of these types, besides the characteristics of abusiness letter, also carries some specific characteristics

Among the types mentioned above, refusal letter is a letter written to notifythe reader about the decision of the writer to decline an invitation, an offer, a claim,

a request or any other matter As this letter contains something negative, a lot ofwriters have difficulties in conveying the message without hurting the sentiments ofthe addressees Besides, they also encounter some difficulties which are commondifficulties in writing English business letters

The reasons may come from cultural differences, knowledge and writingskill of each individual Moreover, it seems quite complicated for students to writeperfect business letters in general and business refusal letters in particular whenthey do not have a chance to access and practice in office environment

Therefore, the researcher decided to choose “Difficulties in writing business refusal letters for the fourth year English-majored students at Thuongmai University and some suggested solutions” as the topic for her

research with the hope that the learners will be able to write business refusal letters

in more professional and effective way

1.2. Previous studies

The author has found a lot of notable works about business letters in generalthat expressed the writers’ concern about difficulties in writing business letters andsolutions to deal with the difficulties, but the author has not found previous studieswhich research on business refusal letters "Refusal letter" is a type of businessletter Hence, one when writing refusal letters also encounters difficulties which aresimilar to the difficulties in writing business letters in general

The studies below had been conducted to analyze and find out mistakes aswell as difficulties that writers often encounter when writing business letters Thefindings of these studies share many similarities and can be divided into thefollowing three main groups: language usage, format and writing process Beloware the summaries of those studies’ results

“Business letters writing in business communication: A case study ofIntermat company”, written by Aggoune Amina, offers an examination ofbusiness letters influencing recent and present practice in writtencommunication as well as illustrates the range of features that exist in businessletters at present in order to know what makes business letters effective He foundthat there were mistakes and workers faced difficulties when they communicatedand interacted with non-English speaking colleagues all over the world Thetypical mistakes are related to special spelling; abbreviations and special acronyms;punctuation; and format of the letters

Shafa Firda Nila (Problems in writing English business letter: errors andfactors: Third semester of Bina Bangsa Economics students majoring in Manageme)analyzed the student’s errors in English business letter writing Her research resultsindicated that there are eight types of errors found in English business letter written

by third semester students: verb, noun, article, word choice, sentence structure,spelling, punctuation, and capitalization; and word choice error is the highest

frequency of error type (20.3%) She also found that there are three major factorsthat cause the errors, they are: language transfer, language style, and context oflearning.

“An analysis of some techniques to improve writing English businessletters”, written by Vu Thi Huong Giang (Haiphong Private University), sheemphasized on techniques in writing English business letters The essentialtechniques given in her conclusion belonged to four categories: you-attitude;positive emphasis; tone; and language

The study “Writing business letters” of Nguyen Linh Chi (Hanoi University)aims to share some tips to write successful business letters, focusing on the type offormal letters She classified the mistakes that majority of students met into threemain groups: mistake of format; mistake of planning; mistake of language usage aswell as suggested solutions helping to overcome those mistakes

The thesis “Suggested solutions to improve business letters writng skill forthe fourth year English major students at Thuongmai University”, written byNguyen Minh Thuy (K50), seems to be closest to my study It aims to find outdifficulties and some common mistakes in writing English business letters of thefourth year English-majored students at Thuongmai University; then analyze theproblems in writing business letters and suggest solutions to improve Englishbusiness letter writing skill The writer of this work found out problems related tothe format of business letters; the usage of appropriate words, technical terms,abbreviations as well as tenses and personal pronouns in writing business letters;and the determination of purpose for the letters The solutions the writer suggested

to each problem are also realistic and highly feasible

However, besides similar difficulties in general business letter writing,students also encounter other specific difficulties in writing refusal letters, and so,there are unique solutions needed For this reason, this study was carried out to findout those difficulties and suggest solutions to improve business refusal writing skill

1.3. Aims of the study

The aims of this study are:

- Giving theoretical background of definition, importance, purpose, format and sometypes of business letter as well as business refusal letter

- Finding out difficulties and some common mistakes in writing English businessrefusal letters of the fourth year English-majored students at Thuongmai University

- Analyzing the problems in writing business refusal letters and suggesting solutions

to improve English business refusal letter writing skill

1.4. The research Subjects

The subjects of this study were students at Thuongmai University They were

50 fourth year students majoring in English The students were around 22 years old,14% were male and 65% were female Most of them have a good command ofEnglish in four skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing All of participantshad studied subject Business Correspondence at Thuongmai University

1.5. Scope of the study

There are many different material resources and studies that require a lot oftime and hard labor while the researcher’s personal experience is limited Therefore,this study could only focus on difficulties in writing English business refusal letters,involving a small number of the fourth year English-majored students at ThuongmaiUniversity

1.6. Research methodology

Nowadays, the “Mixed methods” is a research approach that is used widely

in studies on social science, whereby researchers combine elements of qualitativeand quantitative research approaches within the same study In consideration of theresearch’s purposes, this study was done in the light of both qualitative andquantitative methods in which data were collected and analyzed

The main method of the study was quantitative method – questionnairewhich was set up to collect viewpoints of students about business refusal letters.The questionnaire written in English was delivered to 50 fourth year English-majored students The questionnaire was divided into two parts: the first part wasdesigned to gather general personal information about the respondents such asname, age, gender; the second part included five more specific questions with an

aim to get information about common mistakes and difficulties in writing businessrefusal letters as well as suggestions to improve refusal letter writing skill.

Furthermore, in order to find out mistakes specifically, qualitative methodwas applied in collecting 40 business refusal letters which were written by thefourth year students majoring in English The letters were checked thoroughly tofind out the mistakes that students usually made

A combination of the two methods above provided reliable data, based onwhich the conclusions and suggestions were made in the latter parts

1.7. Organization of the study

The study consists of four main chapters:

Chapter one, Overview of the study, provides an overview of the study inwhich the reasons for choosing the study topic were focused It also includesprevious studies, research subjects, research methodology and the aims, scope,organization of the study

Chapter two, Literature review, provides the theoretical background for thestudy, which is about definition, importance, purpose, format and some types ofbusiness letter as well as business refusal letter

Chapter three, Research findings, aims to describe information about currentsituation and difficulties of writing English refusal letters of the fourth year English-majored students at Thuongmai University A detailed data analysis and discussionsare also given

Chapter four, Suggestions, gives solutions to each problem as well asrecommendations for further studies

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1. Business letter

2.1.1. Definitions of business letter

Every business organization has to establish and maintain contact with itsvarious parties like suppliers, customers, government agencies, etc A businessletter is as an indispensable tool of communication in business A business letter

is a powerful way to deliver formal information, establish permanent records, orsend significant, sensitive, or confidential messages in any organization.Although email has taken over as the most popular way to exchange writtenmessages, business letter is still a necessary business communication tool

Discussing the definition of business letter, many prestige economicwebsites have given different definitions basing on particular viewpoints

The article “What is Business Letter or Commercial Letter?” on websitehttps://thebusinesscommunication.com give some important definitions ofbusiness letter below:

According to J H Hanson, “The letters which are exchanged amongbusinessmen connected with business affairs are called business or commercialletters.”

According to M Omar Ali, “Any letter designed and directed to theexchange of information connected with trade and trade related activities isknown as a business letter.”

According to W J Weston, “Business letter is the process ofaccomplishing a business transaction in written form.”

This article then also concluded that “Business letter refers to formalwritten letter where business related issues and information is exchanged withthe suppliers, customers, clients, banks, insurance companies, governmentagencies or other external parts of the organization.”

Another article “The Best Formatting for a Business Letter” by the authorAlison Doyle was published on www.thebalancecareers.com (2/2019) that stated

“A business letter is a formal document often sent from one company to another

or from a company to its clients, employees, and stakeholders, for example.”

Among many definitions, according to https://en.oxforddictionaries.com ,

a “business letter” is “A (usually formal) letter in which business is reported ortransacted”

Definition of business letter was posted on https://en.wikipedia.org that

“A business letter is a letter written in formal language, usually used whenwriting from one organization to another, or for correspondence between suchorganizations and their customers, clients and other external parties”

However different these definitions of business letter are, the commonfeature should be born in mind that “all letters written for business purpose arebusiness letters” For the purpose of this study, the author used the definition thatbusiness letter is “a letter written in formal language, usually used when writingfrom one organization to another, or for correspondence between suchorganizations and their customers, clients and other external parties”

2.1.2. Importance of business letter

Nowadays, business operations are not restricted to any locality, state ornation Today production takes place in one area but consumption takes placeeverywhere Since the businessmen as well as customers live in far off placesthey do not have sufficient time to contact each other personally Thus, therearises the need for writing letters With the continuous growth of commerce andindustry, usefulness and importance of business letter are also increasinggradually

Business letters play an important role in establishing and maintainingproper relationship with various parties Nowadays, business activities are notconfined to any one area or locality The businessmen as well as its parties arescattered throughout the country Business letters reduce the distance between abusiness and its customers, suppliers, and other public groups The customerscan write letters to the businessmen seeking information about products andbusinessmen also supply various information to customers This helps them tocarry on business on national and international basis

Business letters are an inexpensive and convenient mode ofcommunication Though there are other modes of communication like telephone,telex, fax, etc but business information can be provided and obtainedeconomically and conveniently through letters

Business letters promote and sustain good will Good businessrelationships are formed and maintained through effective communication

Properly written letters give a positive impression of an organization orindividual Businessmen at times send letters to enquire about complaints andsuggestions of their customers They also send letters which serve as a micro-level substitute for advertisements to their customers and clients All these result

in cordial relations with the customers, which enhance the goodwill of thebusiness

Business letters also serve as references to future actions, and theyprovide substantial evidence to transactions and disputes Information exchangedthrough letters can be preserved permanently and used as reference when needarise We cannot expect a trader to memorize all facts and figures in aconversation that normally takes place among businessmen Through letters, hecan keep a record of all facts

Business letters help in expansion of business Business requiresinformation regarding competing products, prevailing prices, promotion, marketactivities, etc It is very difficult for businessmen to run from place to place toget information But through business letters, a businessman can find marketseasily all over the world by sitting in his chair He can make all enquiries aboutthe products as well as receive order from different countries on the globe

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that successful operation

of business activities establishing, maintaining and developing businessrelationship and finally achieving business goal all require help of businessletters In a sense, business letter is an indispensable tool of communication inbusiness

2.1.3. Qualities of a good business letter

Writing for a business audience is quite different than writing in thehumanities, social sciences, or other academic disciplines Business writingstrives to be crisp and succinct rather than evocative or creative; it stressesspecificity and accuracy This distinction reflects the unique purpose andconsiderations involved when writing in a business context

Business letters will be the first impression that businessmen make onsomeone A business letter represents the businessman and speaks to theaddressee on behalf of him Defects in a letter will definitely endanger the

chances of winning the attention of the receiver Therefore, business lettersshould be carefully drafted and sent to the addressees The style of the letterhead,the paper on which the letter is written, the neatness of writing etc will createpositive impression in the mind of the receiver

Clarity is the hallmark of any good communication It is important toclarify exactly the purpose of the letter Whether it is to inform, invite,emphasize, remind, announce or correct the earlier message, the purpose shouldclearly be stated Anyone who reads the letter should be able to see what thewriter means to say without having to re-read sentences or look up words Whenthe receiver gets the same meaning from the message as what the senderintended, it is a good letter

A business letter must have simplicity and conciseness Transmission ofmaximum information by using minimum words should be the aim of businessletter writing Difficult words should be strictly avoided There also should not

be excessive use of technical words People are busy, and they receive a number

of letters every day Unless the writer says quickly what he wishes to say, he willnot be able to get the attention of the reader and focus it on the message.Therefore, a letter should be simple and concise

A good business letter needs accuracy The accuracy demands that there is

no error at all in the usage of language - in grammar, idiom, spelling, andpunctuation Besides, the information given in the letter must be accurate Themessage should not be transmitted unless the sender is absolutely sure of itscorrectness

Completeness and relevance are also essential qualities of a good businessletter A complete letter is one that provides all necessary information to thereaders For example, while sending a sales letter the writer should include thedescription of the goods, price, quality, how and where to buy, the date ofdelivery, discounts etc If a letter gives only partial information, its purpose willnot be achieved The given information should be relevant to the purpose of theletter Unnecessary details and roundabout expressions should not be mentionedwhile sending any business correspondence

A good business letter must express courtesy Courtesy wins the heart ofthe reader It softens the sting of an unpleasant piece of information, creates

goodwill and produces a favorable response Goodwill is a great asset for anorganization and courtesy in correspondence is one of the most natural andeconomical means of building it In business letters, courtesy can be reflectedthrough the style, the manner, the choice of words or so on.

The appearance of the letter also needs special attention if the writerwants to make a good business letter It includes the quality of paper used, color

of the paper, size of the paper, envelope, and even folding of the letter Thesefactors must be used properly depending on different types of letters or theeconomic status of the organization

2.1.4. Parts of a business letter

The textbook used in teaching Business Correspondence module forEnglish-majored students at Thuongmai University gives the essential parts of abusiness letter as follows:

Different parts of a business letter

2.1.4.2. Date

The date is normally written on the right hand side corner after theheading The date is supposed to be written in full with day, month and year.Some examples are 31st May 2018 or May 31st, 2018

2.1.4.3. Reference

It indicates letter number and the department from where the letter isbeing sent and the year It helps in future reference This reference number isgiven on the left hand corner after the heading

2.1.4.4. Inside address

The inside address includes the name and full address of the individual orthe organization to whom the letter is to be sent This is written on the left handside of the sheet below the reference number Letters should be addressed to theresponsible head e.g., the Secretary, the Chairman, the Manager, etc.

2.1.4.5. Subject

The subject is a statement in brief, that indicates the matter to which theletter relates It usually starts from the left margin and may also start from thecenter of the sheet The subject attracts the attention of the reader immediatelyand helps him to know quickly what the letter is about

2.1.4.6. Salutation

Salutation is word of greeting used to begin a letter It is courteous gestureand shows respect to the addressee It is written below the inside address or thesubject, and is usually followed by a comma (,)

2.1.4.7. Body of the letter

This comes after the salutation This is the main part of the letter and itconveys the actual message of the sender It is divided into a number ofparagraphs, mostly 3-4 or more depending upon the matter The last paragraphshould sum up the whole letter and offer any assistance or take a course of action

as required or instructed

2.1.4.8. Complimentary close

It is merely a polite way of ending a letter Complimentary close must be

in accordance with the salutation

2.1.4.9. Signature

Signature is to written in black or blue ink, immediately below thecomplimentary close As far as possible, the signature should be legible Thename of the writer should be typed immediately below the signature Thedesignation is given below the typed name The name of the company, phonenumber, email address, and any other contact information, if not provided in theheading, too could be included below the designation of the writer

2.1.4.10. Enclosures

This is required when some documents like cheque, draft, bills, receipts,lists, invoices etc are attached with the letter These enclosures are listed one byone in serial numbers.

2.1.5. Format of a business letter

2.1.6. Types of business letters

Business letters are written for the fulfillment of several purposes Thepurpose may be to place an order, enquire details of the goods, or complaint about aproduct or service, etc There are many standard types of business letters, and each

of them has a specific focus

The Business Correspondence textbook mentions the following main types

of business letters:

2.1.6.1. Inquiry letter

A letter of inquiry is written to individuals or companies to requestinformation and/or verify its authenticity regarding such as the supply of particulargoods or services Prospective buyers may want to know the details of the goodswhich they want to buy, like quality, quantity, price, mode of delivery and payment,

etc They may also ask for a sample Regardless of its subject, the objective is to getthe receiver to respond with an action that satisfies the inquiry.

When composing this type of letter, one should keep it clear and succinct andlist exactly what information one needs The writer also needs to make sure thatcontact information is included so that it is easy for the reader to respond

2.1.6.2. Quotation letter

A quotation letter is written by a seller to supply relevant information afterreceiving the letter of inquiry from a prospective buyer This type of letters iswritten keeping in view the information asked for like price list, mode of payment,discount to be allowed etc Businessman should reply to the inquiries carefully andpromptly

Quotation letter must be written to the point with conciseness and completetone The seller should have the intention to create goodwill through such letterwhich will establish a business relationship

2.1.6.3. Order letter

Order letter are written by individuals or companies to place an order ofgoods or services with a business house These letters must contain specificinformation such as model number, name of the product, the quantity desired andexpected price Payment is sometimes included with the letter

The buyer’s intentions need to be clear and concise The objective is toprovide the seller with detailed instructions for fulfilling an order The reader willfill the order only according to the given instructions Order letters also serve as alegal record of the transaction and, consequently, should be written with care

2.1.6.4. Acknowledgement letter

Acknowledgement letters act as simple receipts Businesses sendacknowledgement letters to let the reader know that they have received the itemsrequested in a prior communication, usually an inquiry or an order letter Anacknowledgement letter is a professional courtesy routinely extended by successfulpeople in the building and maintenance of productive business relationships

Acknowledgement letters tend to be short, just enough to complete abusiness communication cycle Confirming the day in which an item arrived or

expressing some appreciation for having a request satisfied may be all that isnecessary

2.1.6.5. Complaint letter

Complaint letter is a very specific and objective type of letter is generallywritten to deal with a problem situation when the purchaser does not find the goodsupto his satisfaction Through writing complaint letter, the sender advises the reader

of an error in a business transaction or a defect discovered in a consumer product orservice The objective of this type of letter is to provide detailed informationregarding the error or defect and to serve as a legal document recording the writer'sclaim and the corrective action or adjustment being requested

It is important to keep in mind that the reader is a trained customer serviceprofessional and not very likely to be the person responsible for the problem Thewords and tone used in the letter may be the deciding factor on whether thecomplaint is satisfied Rather than being angry, the writer should use a firm butcourteous tone when stating a complaint

2.1.6.6. Adjustment letter

An adjustment letter is normally sent to respond to a claim or complaint.This type of letters aims to inform the receivers that their complaint has beenreceived The letter should reiterate the relevant facts of the claim If the customer isright, the writer should include a forthright admission to that effect and extend asincere apology If not, keep factual tone and explain the reasons clearly and withevery courtesy

2.1.6.7. Recovery letter

The letter written by the seller for collection of money for the goods supplied

to the buyer is called recovery letter The objective of recovery letter is to collectmoney without annoying the customers The letter should include informationregarding the amount of arrears argument for payment, and last date for payment.The language of recovery letter should be polite, so that the customer is notoffended and future transactions with him are not adversely affected

2.1.6.8. Refusal letter

Refusal letter is a negative response which is written to notify the readerabout the decision of the writer to decline an invitation, an offer, a claim, a request

or any other matter The writer has to find a way of writing through which, they canconvey the message without hurting the sentiments of the addressee Hence, it isimportant for the writer to choose appropriate words while drafting a refusal letter.

A refusal letter should be kept fairly short, and only include information that relates

to the reasons for not accepting the offer

2.2. Refusal letter

2.2.1. Definition of refusal letter

Refusal letter is a negative response which is written to notify the readerabout the decision of the writer to decline an invitation, an offer, a claim, a request

or any other matter

In business, there are many other situations where you have to write the letter

of refusal A company offers a position to an individual but he has already acceptedanother offer, then he writes a refusal letter to that company to decline its job offer

A businessman can write a refusal letter to deny a request made by his employees Aclaims officer is not satisfied with the demand of the client, he can write a claimrefusal letter

Refusal letters have all the ingredients of negative and pessimist sentimentsand yet they have to be written and sent to the recipient Although, they seem to be

“bad news letters”, refusal letters need to be sent to someone who is expecting areply Not replying can cause unnecessary concern to the anticipating recipient.Therefore, it is a liability to inform so that things are clear and everyone can move

on with their objectives

2.2.2. Difficulties in writing refusal letters

Writing refusal letters can cope with the similar difficulties that writersusually encounter while writing business letters in general

Writers may encounter difficulties with grammatical issues like wrongspelling, wrong form of verbs, incorrect punctuations, incomplete sentences and so

on Writers easily made mistakes of this type, but these mistakes are also easy to fix.The writers made these mistakes when they do not pay attention to them Then thewriters can correct these mistakes and overcome this type of difficulties with theircarefulness

The usage of language is determined as a type of difficulties that the writerscan cope with when writing a business letter This type is related to how to useappropriate words to convey their message as well as their attitude In other words,the usage of language is related to difficulties with word choice It also involves theusage of technical terms and abbreviations In writing refusal letter, the writersusually find themselves having difficulties in choosing words in which they canconvey their messages in a courteous and tactful tone and without hurting thesentiments of the receivers For each purpose of refusal, it requires specificexpressions Then, who knows these expressions have opportunities to write hisrefusal successfully

Problems related to format of the letter are also considered as greatdifficulties in writing business letters in general and refusal letters in particular Thewriters sometimes find that they do not have enough essential parts in their letters.Containing format mistakes makes the letter look informal Not grasping the format

of the letter also leads to not knowing how to establish a logical order in whichinformation is presented

CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS

3.1. The research context

The study was conducted at English department of Thuongmai Universityfor the fourth year students This study was carried out in the second semester ofthe fourth year when the English-majored students has studied subject BusinessCorrespondence at Thuongmai University

Before taking part in Business Correspondence module, students hadopportunities to approach the fields related to business correspondence as well aswriting business letters Especially, students wrote business letters in BasicEnglish, Business English modules They also had chances to familiarizethemselves with environments using business letters through subjects related toareas such as international economics, foreign trade, logistics, banking andfinance The students understood the fields, scope and purpose when writingbusiness letters in general and business refusal letters in particular

3.2. Procedure of data collection

In the first phase, 40 business refusal letters written by the fourth yearEnglish-majored students were collected All of the letters were analyzed andchecked carefully to find out mistakes that were usually made by the students.The information from the documents was an important basis for building thequestionnaire

In the second phase, the questionnaires were delivered to 50 fourth yearEnglish-majored students by the middle of the second semester of the academicyear 2018-1019 The participants were encouraged to give their true answers

The data collected from 40 particular letters and survey questionnaireswould be analyzed to find out difficulties in writing business refusal letters forthe English students The quantitative data were analyzed in the form of tableswhile qualitative data from the documents were presented by quoting relevantresponses from the respondents Then the data were analyzed both descriptivelyand interpretively

3.3. Results and discussions

3.3.1. Frequency of writing business letters of the fourth year English-majored

students at Thuongmai University

The data about the frequency of writing business letters of the fourth yearEnglish-majored students is summarized in the table below:

How often do you write business letters? Percentage (%)

Table 3.1: Frequency of writing business letters

(Source: Question 1, Questionnaire)

It can be seen from the table that all the students had been writing Englishbusiness letters However, the frequency is low for most students – 86%occasionally wrote business letters with the estimated number is “1 – 3 lettersper week” Of the rest, 10% showed that they wrote business letters more often –

“1 – 3 letters per day” and 4% wrote quite regularly – “> 3 letters per day”.3.3.2. The length of a business refusal letter that students usually write

What is the length of a business refusal letter

Table 3.2: The length of a business refusal letter

(Source: Question 2, Questionnaire)

The table shows that most of the participants (76%) usually wrote from

100 to 200 words for each of their letters The remaining participants (24%)showed that they usually wrote longer letters with a length of 200 to 300 words

A business refusal letter which contains less than 300 words can becompletely presented in range of a paper The documents collected from the