CAES2202

In Unit 2 you learned some general principles about how to make requests on the telephone and through email.

Your contact may ask you to send a formal letter requesting a visit. For the Career Exposure Day we also ask you to send a confirmation letter to the work-shadow host (confirming the details of your visit) and a letter of thanks after the visit. In this unit you will also learn some general principles about writing these kinds of letters.

Letters

Most formal letters have a similar format and style. You will have learned how to write a formal letter already, but you may wish to review the basics in the Letters section of the EPC web, which focuses on job application letters.

Request letters

A letter is not the best way to make arrangements for the Career Exposure Day, but some contacts may ask you to send one mainly because they want to have a written record of your request. If you need to send such a letter, you can use the request letter guide to help you.

Confirmation letter

Once you have arranged your Career Exposure Day and identified your work-shadow host (the person that you will actually meet on the day), you must send a letter to confirm the details of the visit. The purpose of this letter is to make sure that you and your host have a formal written record of the arrangements. It also gives you a chance to introduce yourself to your work-shadow host. You can use the confirmation letter guide to help you compose this letter.

Letter of thanks

It is important to say ‘thank-you’. We can say it in words or writing. Greeting cards are often a convenient way to say thank you to a friend. Thank-you letters tend to be more formal. They allow the sender to choose words carefully to build goodwill: to be effective such a message must be sincere, prompt and concise.

After your Career Exposure Day, you should write a formal letter of thanks to your work-shadow host. You may also wish to send a similar letter to the initial contact, i.e. the person who arranged your visit and others who helped you, if you think it is appropriate.

Your letter should formally thank your work-shadow host, using his or her full name, for giving you the opportunity to visit their workplace. Note also that in English letters, it is usual to thank your host (mentioning their kindness or patience), but not to apologise for causing inconvenience. It is also a good idea to refer to a specific experience on your Career Exposure Day that you particularly valued.

The language of your letter should be formal, but perhaps less formal than your confirmation letter. The tone of the letter should be appropriate to the relationship that you established with your host on the day. Remember that accuracy is still important! Use the request letter guide to help you design the letter.

Reader-friendly writing

Make your letters and emails reader-friendly:

	Be clear
	Be concise
	Be courteous
	Be correct.

Draft letters

Before you send any important letter, it is a good idea to write a draft and have it checked by a skilled writer.

If you have not yet arranged your Career Exposure Day with a host/employer, your teacher may ask you to write a draft request letter and give you feedback on it. You do not need to send this letter unless a contact asks you to.

Sending your letters

Request. If a contact asks you to send a letter of request, you should do so. Include a copy of your resume and the CEP information package that your teacher will give you. This includes a letter from the Director of the English Centre, and English Centre publicity brochure and some newspaper articles on the project.

Confirmation. Everyone should send a confirmation letter. Because the content of the confirmation letter is very similar to the request letter (except that you are confirming an arrangement rather than making a request), you will be able to write this letter based on your draft request letter. You should also include your resume and the CEP information package.

Note that if you do send a request letter to a contact, you will still need to send a confirmation letter. But your confirmation letter should simply confirm details of the arrangement, without repeating information about yourself and your interest in the workplace.

Thanks. Send out your letter promptly–about a week after your Career Exposure Day.

Resources
The EPC web – Letters
Request letter templateConfirmation letter template
Letter of thanks template

Deadline

Submit a copy of one confirmation letter to your teacher for feedback in week 5 (before you send it to a potential host)!! This submission is not only a requirement, but an opportunity for you to get personalized feedback so you can write better letters when you apply for jobs in the future.

NOTE: You will receive feedback on your confirmation letter. The thank you letter is assessed but you will not receive any feedback because it is expected that you will have learned the format and style of a formal letter from your experience in writing the confirmation letter.