By the end of the training, participants will be able to:
Through analysis of good and bad examples, participants will learn the basics of what makes an effective email and will also discover what to avoid. We will look at some misconceptions that people tend to have about emails in terms of tone and formality, and we will learn tips for writing a warm and customer-friendly email.
In the second session, we begin by examining ten common grammar mistakes that Malaysians make when writing emails. Participants then learn a fool-proof three-step structure that can be used to ensure clarity in any email. The role of sentence length is then explored and participants learn how to use Microsoft's readability tool to check their writing, as well as how to use ChatGPT as a writing assistant. Finally, we look at clauses and how they help or hinder a reader's understanding.
The afternoon session consists of a writing workshop. Using what they have learned in the morning, participants practise writing emails asking for information/quotations, replying to requests, asking for adjustments, making a complaint and replying to a complaint. For each email, feedback will be provided from the trainer and their peers.
The first session of Day 2 begins with an exploration of what is meant by 'formal writing' and how this differs from informal styles of writing. The rest of the session is devoted to improving grammar for writing. The first grammar topic is passive voice, which is useful for report writing. The second topic is linking words, which is useful for improving coherence in writing.
The session will begin with the tips on better paragraph writing, using good and bad examples as a guide. Participants will examine ways of describing charts and statistics with an online activity. The next topic is parallelism, which helps with writing longer sentences or placing information in bullet points. Finally, there is a proofreading activity that covers the three areas where Malaysian writers often make grammatical mistakes.
In the third session, basic report writing skills are covered. Participants learn how to format a short report and how to write an introduction, terms of reference, executive summary, conclusions and recommendations. A final grammar topic, modal verbs for report writing, is covered in brief.
This final session consists of a second writing workshop where participants are required to complete a short report.