Welcome to Chapter 3.

Overview

In the last two chapters, you’ve learned and practised the first two stages of the Writing Process: Plan and Organise.

In this chapter, you’ll look at the next two stages: Draft and Revise. Together, these two stages take the most time. Writing the first draft takes less time than revising. You’ll focus on writing the first draft and taking the first step in revising your draft.

Plan to Organise to Draft to Revise

This course is based on the Writing Process, a step-by-step procedure for producing effective correspondence. Therefore, HSBC recommends that you study each chapter of this course in order, beginning with the introductory chapter "Getting Started".

Objectives

In this chapter, you’ll start working on a writing project.

As you do so, you’ll be able to

l draft a letter and

l revise your letters to make them complete.

Planning and Organising: A Quick Review

In the first two stages of the Writing Process, you plan and organise what you’re going to write.

In planning, you decide

why you are writing (writer’s purpose)

how your reader will respond (reader’s response)

what your reader needs to know (reader’s information).

You then organise your plan by creating an outline.

Drafting: Before You Begin

In this chapter, you’ll begin to write a letter. As you write this letter, you’ll work through all five stages of the Writing Process.

LETTER TO MR PERRY: THE SITUATION

The letter you will write is based on the following situation:

Situation:

Our customer, Mr Robert Perry, deposited a cheque through ’Quick Deposit’ into his Premier account. Unfortunately, the name on the cheque (the bearer’s name) was not exactly the same as the name on the account. The name on the cheque was Mr Robert Pery (instead of Perry). As a result, the money was not credited to Mr Perry’s account.

Solution:

Mr Perry needs to ask the drawer to write another cheque, making sure the name is exactly the same as on the account card. Then, the money can be deposited into his account.

LETTER TO MR PERRY: THE TASK

You are a Customer Relationship Officer. Although there is a standard form to deal with this situation, your manager has asked you to write a letter to Mr Perry, as he is a valued customer.

Mr Perry’s details are as follows:

Address: Flat 3A, Bayshore Tower, Mary’s Point, Vancouver

Account no: 613 556556 888

Cheque no: 60263

Payee name: Mr R Pery

Name on account record: Mr R Perry

What will you do next? Think about this...

You’re not going to start writing immediately, are you?

Remember: there are five stages in the Writing Process. You always need to begin with the first stage.

LETTER TO MR PERRY: PLANNING

What should you do first? You should plan what to write!

Do you remember the 3 strategies you use when planning to write?

The 3 strategies in planning are

WHY are you writing to Mr Perry? (ie the Writer’s Purpose)

WHAT do you want Mr Perry to do? (ie the Reader’s Response)

WHAT does Mr Perry need to know? (ie the Reader’s Information).

LETTER TO MR PERRY: PLANNING

How did you do? Here is a suggested plan:

Suggested Answer

Writer’s Purpose

- To explain the situation (why the cheque was not accepted)

- To propose / suggest a solution

Reader’s Response

- To understand why the cheque was not accepted

- To accept our suggestion

Reader’s Information

- The name on the cheque needs to match the name on the account card

- The writer of the cheque needs to issue another cheque with the correct name

Remember to always keep your plan with you as your guide. This will ensure that you get the results you want from your writing.

LETTER TO MR PERRY: ORGANISING

Now that you’ve completed your plan, you need to organise it.

Do you remember the five sections of a letter?

To help you recall these sections:

Salutation

Opening (Background & Purpose)

Facts (Reader’s Information)

Action (Reader’s Response)

Remarks

LETTER TO MR PERRY: ORGANISING

How did you do?

Suggested Outline

Salutation:

Dear Mr Perry

Opening:

refer to "Quick Deposit" cheque

apologise that cheque cannot be accepted

writing to explain situation and suggest solution

Facts:

explain that name was misspelled

explain that name on cheque needs to match name on account card

Action:

ask the writer of the cheque to issue another one

Remarks:

hope information is useful

Now that you have completed your outline, you’re ready to move on to the next stage in the Writing Process.