A study on improving the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students of english faculty at thuongmai university

THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY ENGLISH FACULTY GRADUATION PAPER TOPIC: A STUDY ON IMPROVING THE SKILL OF WRITING REPLY LETTERS TO ENQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS FOR SENIOR STUDENTS OF ENGLISH FACULTY AT THUONGMAI UNIVERSITY HANOI - 2020 ABSTRACT The study was conducted with the aim of improving the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students of English Faculty After realizing the practicality of Business Correspondence in recent commercial activities, the author hopes to find out the status of the writing skill of business letters of students, difficulties and some common mistakes they often make and suggest feasible solutions to better that skill In fact, Business Correspondence is considered as one of the hardest subjects in English Faculty at Thuongmai University The main reason for this is that business correspondence consists of many different types and each one has its own writing style Therefore, students often have troubles when writing business letters However, due to the time limitation, the author could not analyze and describe the difficulties and popular errors of all the kinds of letters Instead, the author only focused on studying reply letters to enquiries and complaints The research entitled: “A study on improving the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students of English Faculty at Thuongmai University” may be much useful The research was supported by 102 senior English-majored students at Thuongmai University Via data collected from the survey questionnaires, the author analyzed and pointed out the status of the students’ writing skills, difficulties and common mistakes that students often make, and gave some suggestions for students and lecturers to deal with the problems and improve the skills ACKNOWLEDGEMENT During the process of studying, I have been very grateful for the support of many people who helped me accomplish this research successfully Firstly, I would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor at Thuongmai University, Mrs Vu Thi Thanh Hoa for the wholehearted guidance she gave me while I was doing this research I am truly grateful to her for her ideas, comments and instructions, as well as encouragement and constant support Without these, the thesis could not have been completed Also, I would like to show my sincere thanks to all the lecturers of English Faculty for teaching me valuable lessons Finally, I want to give my special thanks to my friends for their great help and comments as well as senior students of English Faculty for taking part in my research They are my sources of spiritual energy to keep me going even when I was in the hardest time Hanoi, 20th April, 2020 Hong Hoang Bich Hong TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT i ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ii TABLE OF CONTENTS iii LISTOF ABBREVIATIONS .v LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES vi CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY 1.1 The rationale of the study 1.2 Previous studies 1.2.1 In the world .2 1.2.2 In Vietnam 1.3 Aims of the study 1.4 Research subjects 1.5 The Scope of the study 1.6 Research methodology 1.7 Organization of the study CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Background knowledge of business correspondence 2.2.1 The meaning of correspondence 2.2.2 The importance of correspondence 2.2.3 Types of business correspondence 10 2.2.4 Essential qualities of good business correspondence .10 2.2.5 Parts of business correspondence 12 2.3 Business Enquiry letter .14 2.3.1 The meaning of enquiry letters 14 2.3.2 Methods of enquiries 14 2.3.3 Some types of inquiry letters 14 2.3.4 Replying to letters of enquiries 15 2.3.5 Points to be kept in mind when writing reply letters of enquiries 18 2.4 Complaint letters .19 2.4.1 The meaning of complaint letters 19 2.4.2 Some types of complaint letters 19 2.4.3 Replying to letters of complaints 20 CHAPTER 3: RESEARCH FINDINGS 22 3.1 The status of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints of senior students of English Faculty 22 3.2 Difficulties and some common mistakes in writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints 24 3.2.1 Difficulties and some common mistakes in writing the opening part of reply letters to enquiries .24 3.2.2 Difficulties and some common mistakes in writing the body part of reply letters to enquiries 25 3.2.3 Difficulties and some common mistakes in writing the closing part of reply letters to enquiries .31 3.3 Difficulties and some common mistakes in writing reply letters to complaints 32 3.3.1 Difficulties and some common mistakes in writing the opening part of reply letters to complaints 32 3.3.2 Difficulties and some common mistakes in writing the body part of reply letters to complaints .34 3.3.3 Difficulties and some common mistakes in writing the closing part of reply letters of complaint 39 CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 41 4.1 Solutions to improving the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students 41 4.1.1 Solutions for lecturers .41 4.1.2 Solutions for senior students 43 4.2 Suggestions for further study 48 CONCLUSION 49 REFERENCES APPENDIX LISTOF ABBREVIATIONS No Abbreviations TMU English name Thuongmai University Vietnamese name Đại học Thương Mại LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES Diagram 3.1 The ability of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints 23 Diagram 3.2 Difficulties and some common mistakes in writing the opening part of reply letters to enquiries 24 Diagram 3.3 Some common mistakes in writing the body part of reply letters to enquiries 27 Diagram 3.3 Some common mistakes in writing the opening part of reply letters to complaints 33 Diagram 3.4 Difficulties in writing the body part of reply letters to complaints 34 Diagram 3.5 Some common mistakes in writing the body part of reply letters to complaints 35 Diagram 4.1 Solutions for lecturers to help students improve the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints 41 Table 3.1 Difficulties in writing the opening part of reply letters to enquiries 25 Table 3.2 Common mistakes in writing the closing part of reply letters to enquiries 31 Table 3.3 Difficulties in writing the opening part of reply letters to complaints 32 Table 3.4 Difficulties in writing the closing part of reply letters to complaints 39 Table 4.1 Solutions to improving the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students 43 CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY ***** The first chapter shows the overview of the study on improving the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students of English Faculty at Thuongmai University (TMU.) In particular, this chapter emphasizes the rationale and further studies, the aims, research subjects, the scope of the study, and the research methodology The organization of the thesis is also pointed out clearly 1.1 The rationale of the study It is evident that English is considered as one of the most vital languages in the today’s world Many countries have declared English an official language at the local or regional level It is estimated that about more than three million people speak English as their first or native language Besides, many other people speak it as a foreign language which is an indispensable means of communication in our daily lives Nowadays, due to global integration trend, the business world has need for the global language of English Many countries not only focus on operating in the domestic market but also expand their scope of business overseas Therefore, it is more necessary for everyone, especially people who work for foreign companies, to have a good command of English to communicate with their customers as well as partners around the world Currently, one of the most popular means of communication in business is business correspondence Due to the geographical distance, it is not feasible to have face-to-face meetings with other parties Meanwhile, compared to other kinds of communication such as telephone or fax, it is a more convenient and economical way to exchange information evidently and keep contact with customers and partners As a senior student of English Faculty at TMU, who will engage in the labor market in the near future, I realize that improving the skill of writing business letters is a crucial issue that helps every student to meet the demands of employers, and as a result, they can expand their professional opportunity in the increasingly competitive market like nowadays There is a variety of business correspondence types but one of the most difficult letters to write is reply letters to enquiries and complaints From the above reasons, in my research, I will investigate some difficulties in writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints of senior-English - majored students at Thuongmai University as well as provide feasible solutions to sharpen their writing correspondence skill Therefore, I would like to conduct my research entitled: “A study on improving the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students of English faculty at Thuongmai University” I hope this thesis will help them find out their common mistakes and obtain some suitable methods to enhance their writing skill 1.2 Previous studies Although there are many previous studies on business correspondence, the one concentrating on improving the skill of writing particular letters for senior Englishmajored students is restricted However, I have found some researches that could support my study and provide me with some useful information which makes my study more evident and reliable 1.2.1 In the world In study of Harrison McJohnston named “Business Correspondence” which was written in 1918, he mentioned how to write effective inquiries and requests In particular, he pointed out that “it is frequently the inquirer’s fault when he gets an unsatisfactory reply to his inquiry His letter may be incomplete or inaccurate or indefinite, or it may have the wrong tone, or in some other way show lack of consideration for the reader’s point of view”, and “it is decidedly important to develop the good-will of the seller” Besides, in his study, he also emphasized to describe why letters fail and why letters make good, which is really useful to help many people, especially students know how to improve their writing business correspondence letter skill He showed some main reasons that led to a failed letter: “When a writer of sales letters deliberately avoids general conclusions and general statements of his own opinions, he makes it just so much easier to fill his letter with punch, in other words, with facts, clearly and interestingly presented, which will influence his addressee to reach the desire conclusion When he states conclusions as well as facts he usually makes the mistakes of telling the reader something which the latter already knows” “Another most common cause of failure is lack of good salesmanship.” The other authors who also contributed to this topic are F.I.L (Ger) and D.Ann Cr “English Business Letters for Foreign Students” was the research they did and completed in 1991 They showed some common mistakes when quoting catalogue numbers or typing figures in the quantity column They pointed out that clarity was a very important factor to constitute a good reply letter Another research that was famous in the world is “Ford Handbook of Commercial Correspondence” written by A Ashley in 2007 It has been designed to provide a comprehensive guide and reference to the essential writing skills needed in the commercial world She presented the ways to write a good reply letter of enquiry: “let the enquirer know near the start of your reply if you have the product or can provide the service he or she is asking about It is irritating to read a long letter only to find that the supplier cannot help.” Besides, she also said that “if you not have what the enquirer has asked for, but have alternatives, offer that But not criticize the product he or she originally asked for.” When writing replies, she emphasized that it is necessary to mention one or two selling points of product, including any guarantees, special offers, and discounts 1.2.2 In Vietnam One of the most well-known researches in Vietnam in this topic is “The Language of business Correspondence in English” written by Professor Nguyen Trong Dan In the 6th, edition (2010) the research presented some points that should be noted when writing enquiries as well as reply to inquiries He pointed out that enquiries should be answered, even those that cannot for some reason be given a complete response”, and “if the information requested cannot be provided at all, if it is confidential you should explain this in your letter” Besides, he provided some samples of reply letters to make it clear for readers More importantly, he also did a research on writing reply letters of complaints and claims In particular, he analyzed some rules that everyone should observe to deal with a complaint such as expressing your regret and promise to put matters right or never trying to excuse yourself by blaming any of your staff “English for Commercial Correspondences” (2006) was the book written by Nguyen Bich Ngoc and Dao Thi Huong It is an important material for business people these errors As we know that when writing a letter, it is not easy for a student to realize her or his own mistakes and with a deep understanding knowledge of business correspondence and other aspects such as grammar, social understanding, etc., lecturers can help them realize their errors 4.1.2 Solutions for senior students The table below will represent all solutions to improving the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students that were collected via survey questionnaires Table 4.1 Solutions to improving the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students % of Solutions for students students agreed with Attending advanced Business Correspondence classes 15 Referring to samples of reply letters to enquiries and complaints 40 Consolidating grammar and expanding vocabulary 18 Avoiding using overly terminologies and uncommon abbreviations 10 Thinking carefully before starting to write letters 14 Reviewing and revising reply letters before sending customers 47 Raising student’s social understanding 11 (Source: Students’ questionnaires) 4.1.2.1 Attending advanced Business Correspondence classes 15% of students agreed that students should attend advanced Business Correspondence classes to improve their skills of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints Due to the globalization trend of economy, English language has become more important than previous time Because of realizing the importance of English, many online and offline English courses has appeared to help people improve their English skills, especially writing skill In particular, in some English centers and universities, there are different courses of business correspondence from basic levels to advance levels which suit everyone 44 It is evident that by attending advanced courses, students will have chances to enhance their writing skills Firstly, if the basic business correspondence courses help students have an overview of business letter, especially of reply letters to enquiries and complaints, the advanced classes will allow them have a deeper understanding of them Techniques you learn from these classes can facilitate your smoother writing As a result, they will know how to write appropriate opening sentences, subject statements as well as how to write a reply letter without making any mistakes Moreover, taking part in these courses, students also have opportunities to practice their writing skills again via exercises in the class It is evident that when we often practice these skills, they can become better and better 4.1.2.2 Referring to samples of reply letters to enquiries and complaints Via survey questionnaires, 40% of students agreed that it was necessary for students to refer to sample letters There are many samples of reply letters to enquiries and complaints that senior students can refer to from different sources For example, you can find them on the Internet or in some books of business correspondence of famous professionals in Vietnam and around the world As we know that, the reference is a one of the best ways to help us improve our writing skills The main reason for this is that by reading the letters of experts, we can learn the language they use when writing, how they organize ideas in a good order Moreover, by analyzing the samples of reply letters, we can expand our vocabulary as well as phrases which are often used in these kinds of letters Besides, we also have chances to know how they write a reply letter to enquiries and complaints professionally which can make customers feel satisfied and appreciate us 45 4.1.2.3 Consolidating grammar and expanding vocabulary 18% of students admitted that it is very important for students to consolidate their grammar and expand their vocabulary Grammar and vocabulary are considered as two basic fields in English When you use English to communicate with customers in a work environment, it means that you must have a good knowledge of English It is unacceptable when you send customers reply letters with many mistakes of grammar and vocabulary These errors may make customers feel uncomfortable and disappointed of you Meanwhile, as we know that word repetition and grammar mistakes are common errors of students when they write reply letters to enquiries and complaints It is understandable because of their word limitation and their weak basis of grammar Therefore, one of the best solutions to improve their writing skill is enhancing the grammar and vocabulary Students can practice grammar by reading books or doing some exercises in classes or at home As I mentioned before, they also can refer samples of letters of experts to learn the way they use English language or impressive grammar structures Other ways which are more interesting are that they can watch videos and listen to English songs in their free time For those who want to expand their vocabulary, they should learn some new words in business and find the synonyms to replace in some certain contexts This will help students avoid word repetition in writing letters 4.1.2.4 Avoiding using overly terminologies and uncommon abbreviations Using abbreviations will help writers save their time when writing a reply letter It means that communication between two parties could be much easier and faster However, if you use them overly, the letter can be more complicated to understand Sometimes, there are some uncommon abbreviations customers cannot know what they mean or even misunderstand readers because these abbreviations have different meanings 10% of students agreed to avoid inappropriately using terms and uncommon abbreviations For example, if you write the word “CPU”, it could be “cost per unit” or “computer parts unlimited” Therefore, it may make customers feel confused and so they could determine the wrong purposes of your letter Besides, terminologies will make a letter become more professional and not wordy However, it does not mean that using many terms is good for a business letter 46 The main reason for this is that it is not easy for everyone to have a full understanding of all the terms used in business Sometimes, to specialized words which are unfamiliar, it is quite difficult for readers to understand and guess their meanings As a result, in some cases, due to misunderstanding, it can lead to customers’ complaints or even conflicts between the writers and the readers Therefore, the writers should know who their customers are and how deep of their understanding is in this field When using abbreviations or terms, they should give further explanations to make their letters more clear More importantly, they should use terms and abbreviations which are common and suitable for the knowledge of the readers 4.1.2.5 Thinking carefully before starting to write letters 14% of students said that they should think carefully before starting to write reply letters As I mentioned in the previous chapter, many students often make some mistakes such as rambling and meaningless contents, lack of information and illogical ideas in reply letters to enquiries, lack of suggestions and inappropriate explanations in reply letters to complaints, etc These errors usually appear because the writers have habits of replying to customers’ letters immediately after reading them just one time However, it is necessary to think thoroughly before writing When receiving a letter, we need time to analyze the main purpose of customers After that, to avoid these above mistakes, we have to draft main ideas such as how to explain the mistake, what suggestions we will give customers, etc and the orders of information in letters as well as find out suitable phrases, terms, words which will be used 4.1.2.6 Reviewing and revising reply letters before sending customers One of the main solutions that were agreed by 47% of students is reviewing and revising reply letters before sending customers Reading and checking the letter after writing play crucial roles in the process of writing business correspondence These steps will help the writers make their letters become more perfect As we know that, when receiving a letter which has many mistakes such as spelling and grammar errors, wrong phrases or complicated terms, customers may feel dissatisfied and uncomfortable or even misunderstand what you mean in that letter This can leave a bad impression on customers and affect the relationship between two parties in a long run Therefore, it is very important to for the writers to send customers good letters which have no mistakes 47 It is evident that reviewing the letter you have written will allow you to find out your errors, inappropriate ideas in your letter and after that you can know how to fix them and make that letter more perfect 4.1.2.7 Raising student’s social understanding Raising social understanding can make the communication between two parties more interesting and effective 11% of students said that students should try to expand their knowledge of society, which will help them be able to write better business letters Many senior students admitted that they often have difficulties in writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints In particular, as the previous chapter mentioned, they often not know how to explain the mistakes to customers and have troubles in suggesting solutions to deal with the problems Besides, from time to time, they feel confused when selling their products It is understandable because their knowledge of handling situations is still limited Therefore, students should read more books, find out more information of business situations which the sellers often meet on books or on the Internet and learn the way they deal with the problems as well as the way they sell their products and services to customers successfully As a result, when students are in the same circumstances, they will know how to reply appropriately and make customers satisfied with them 4.1.2.8 Other suggestions a Practicing writing letters on a daily basis As we know that practice makes perfect It means that if you want to to be good at something, you should practice it everyday It is clear that to have a good writing skill is not easy for every one at all Because in order to create an impressive letter which satisfies the reader, the writer must have a deep understanding of the types of business letter and English grammar as well as have a wide range of vocabulary and phrases Therefore, the first letter you write may be not perfect as your expectation and still have some common mistakes However, if you practice your skills regularly and learn from your mistakes, your writing will become better than before b Using modern apps as editing tools Due to the development of information and technology, many apps which are useful for student’s studying have appeared Instead of attending online or offline English courses, students also can install English apps that are used to improve their writing skills on computers or mobile phones One of the most famous ones is Grammarly This app is designed for users to edit their letters and find out their 48 grammar mistakes Through this app, the writers will find it much easier to realize what they should correct in the letters and then they can make their letters get more impressive c Spending more time on reading in English Good writers tend to be avid readers The more you read in English, the more you are exposed to different types of writing Moreover, through reading, you will have chances to learn how other people use words and organize the ideas Besides, it also allows you to realize the mistakes and get some valuable information You can start with some stories using simple words and having interesting contents that attract your attention 4.2 Suggestions for further study Each research paper also has its own limitation and certain accuracy There is no research paper that is absolutely perfect For this reason, this study is also subjected to several limitations Because of the limited time, the research only could concentrate on senior students of English Faculty at TMU and so all the data collected were based on the survey questionnaires and other related documents As a result, this study may be true with K52 students who are majored in English but not suitable for others Therefore, there are still some shortcomings that need further discussions to handle them All comments and contributions are welcomed to make this study more reliable and helpful for other students CONCLUSION Due to the integration trend of economy, business operations occur around the world without limitation of place or time It means that we can buy products or services not only in our country but also in foreign nations Moreover, more and more companies want to expand their businesses and make their brands famous in the world It is also clear that it is not feasible for people to meet others in person all the time because of the loss of time and money For this reason, communication in written forms has been used in many businesses and has proved effective In other words, the 49 skill of writing business letters is very necessary for those who will work in the economic environment in the near future Realizing this importance as well as the status of this writing skill of senior students of English Faculty, the research attempted to clarify the difficulties and some common mistakes of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints to help them know what they should improve their writing This research was completed with the support of more than 100 final –year English – majored students via online survey questionnaires The writer also analyzed and pointed out the most popular difficulties and errors and suggested some solutions However, due to the time limitation and the scope of the research, the author has not been able to describe and analyze thoroughly the limitations of the proposed suggestions and recommendations In the first two chapters, the author emphasized the subject and the reason why the author should conduct this study Besides, related knowledge on business correspondence such as the general information of business correspondence, parts of a business letter, essential qualities that create a good letter, types of business letters were also presented evidently More importantly, the author also focused on reply letters to enquiries and complaints The last two chapters of this paper pointed out the status of the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints and described the difficulties and common mistakes pointed out by K52N students in detail Finally, via the data collected, the author also provided feasible solutions to help students improve their writing In conclusion, reply letters to enquiries and complaints are considered as the difficult types of business correspondence Therefore, students should understand their current ability and their weaknesses to enhance this skill, which will be helpful for them when they enter the labor market in the future Although the study still has some shortcomings due to the limited circumstances, the author hopes that the findings from the research can contribute a small part to further studies Any further comments and contributions for the thesis are highly appreciated 50 51 REFERENCES A Ashley, 2007.Ford Handbook of Commercial Correspondence, Oxford University Press Aysha Mohd Sharif, 2015 The Analysis of Cohesive Devices in Psychology Research papers using Discourse Analysis Technique, International Islamic University Publishing House, Malaysia Translation and Interpreting Department of English Faculty, Business Correspondence, Thuongmai University F W King F.I.L (Ger.) D.Ann Cr., 1991 English Business Letters for Foreign Students, Longman Harrison McJohnston, 1918 Business Correspondence, Alexander Hamilton Instistute Nguyen Bich Ngoc and Dao Thi Huong, 2006 English for Commercial Correspondences, Hanoi Publishing House Nguyen Trong Dan, 2010 The Language of business Correspondence in English, Labour Publishing House Websites: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_correspondence https://dictionary.cambridge.org/vi/dictionary/english/commercialcorrespondence http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/correspondence.html http://elss.elc.cityu.edu.hk/ELSS/Resource/Academic%20Style%20and%20Tone %20ICOSA%20Version/ https://blog.hubspot.com/sales/cob-eod https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Research_and_development https://authority.pub/common-grammar-mistakes/ https://www.teachertoolkit.co.uk/2018/07/03/improving-writing/ APPENDIX SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE I am a senior English-majored student at TMU This survey helps me conduct my research entitled “A study on improving the skill of reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students of English Faculty at Thuongmai University.” Every question in this survey is supposed to find out the status of the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints of the final-year students, difficulties and common mistakes they often make as well as solutions to bettering their writing skill The data collected are used in the research only, not for any other purposes I would appreciate if you could take a few minutes to complete this survey PART I PERSONAL INFORMATION Full name: Class: Are you a senior student of English Faculty? Yes/ No PART II PERSONAL VIEWS AND OPINIONS ON THE STATUS OF THE SKILL OF WRITING REPLY LETTERS TO ENQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS, DIFFICULTIES AND COMMON MISTAKES OFTEN MADE A THE STATUS What you think about your ability of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints?  Proficiency  No proficiency ………………………………………………………………………… ………… B DIFFICULTIES AND COMMON MISTAKES IN WRITING REPLY LETTERS TO ENQUIRIES What are difficulties and common mistakes you meet when you write the opening part of reply letters to enquiries?  State subject statements and purposes  Write opening sentences  Make spelling mistakes  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) ……………………………………………………………………… What are main reasons that lead to these above difficulties and mistakes? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are difficulties when you write the body part of reply letters to enquiries?  Do not know how to arrange ideas in a good order and have troubles in presenting information logically  Determine wrongly the information customers want to know  Do not know how to “sell products”  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are main reasons that lead to these above difficulties? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are common mistakes you make when you write the body part of reply letters to enquiries?  Word repetition  Inappropriate abbreviations  Rambling, meaningless content  Spelling and grammar mistakes  Lack of information  Illogical ideas  Inappropriate phrases  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are main reasons that lead to these above common mistakes? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are difficulties when you write the closing part of reply letters to enquiries?  Do not know how to express appropriate feelings to get responses from the readers  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are main reasons that lead to these above difficulties? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are common mistakes you make when you write the closing part of reply letters to enquiries?  Spelling and grammar mistakes  Forgetting to encourage further enquiries  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) ……………………………………………………………………………………  Not making any mistakes 10 What are main reasons that lead to these above common mistakes? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… C DIFFICULTIES AND COMMON MISTAKES IN WRITING REPLY LETTERS TO COMPLAINTS What are difficulties you meet when you write the opening part of reply letters to complaints?  Do not know how to write a good opening sentence  Do not know how to write an appropriate subject statement  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are main reasons that lead to the above difficulties? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are common mistakes you make when you write the opening part of reply letters to complaints?  Forget to say “thank you” and apologize  Write cold opening sentences  Not making any mistakes  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are main reasons that lead to these above mistakes? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are difficulties you meet when you write the body part of reply letters to complaints?  Explain the mistake  Solve the problem  Determine an appropriate tone  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are main reasons that lead to these above difficulties? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are common mistakes you make when you write the body part of reply letters to complaints?  Word repetition  Personal tone  Lack of suggestions  Spelling and grammar mistakes  Inappropriate explanations  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) … ………………………………………………………………………………… What are main reasons that lead to the above common mistakes? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… What are difficulties when you write the closing part of reply letters to complaints?  Feel confused when writing closing sentences  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… 10 What are main reasons that lead to these above difficulties? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… 11 What are common mistakes you make when you write the closing part of reply letters to complaints?  Forget to mention that the mistake or the fault is an exception  Forget to apologize for the inconvenience that customers experienced  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… 12 What are main reasons that lead to these above common mistakes? (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… PART III SUGGESTIONS TO IMPROVE THE SKILL OF WRITING REPLY LETTERS TO ENQUIRIES AND COMPLAINTS Which activities you think lecturers should apply to improve the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints of students?  Assign in-class writing activities  Provide guidance throughout the writing process  Give feedbacks on the letters students write  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… Which activities you think students should apply to improve the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints of students?  Attend advanced Business Correspondence classes  Refer to samples of reply letters to enquiries and complaints  Consolidate grammar and expanding vocabulary  Avoid using overly terminologies and uncommon abbreviations  Think carefully before starting to write letters  Review and revise reply letters before sending customers  Raising students’ social understanding  Others (please write your opinion on the line below) …………………………………………………………………………………… Thank you for your support! ... statement and indicates the matter of the latter It can help the reader know the main content of the letter and attract the receiver’s attention immediately For example: Subject: Quotation of Homeware... questions of this research: What is the status of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students of English Faculty at Thuongmai University? What are the most common difficulties... to enquiries and complaints The research entitled: ? ?A study on improving the skill of writing reply letters to enquiries and complaints for senior students of English Faculty at Thuongmai University? ??