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Teaching Grammar for Business Essays

Name: Teaching Grammar for Business Essays
Rating: 4.9 (16 reviews)

Techniques and materials for teaching English grammar for formal business writing at university or in the workplace

Highest Rated

Created byKen Paterson

Last updated 3/2024

English

What you'll learn

At the end of the course, you will be able to teach the 12 key grammatical features that your students require for high-quality business English writing.
You will be able to design your own custom-made course in grammar for business English writing, using the materials and advice provided.
You will be able to provide your students with the grammatical skills they need not only for college essays, but also for formal writing in the workplace.
You will be able to use the course material to describe to colleagues in a talk or presentation how the demands of business English writing shape its grammar.
You will be able to extend your students’ range in formal grammar.

Course content

6 sections • 27 lectures • 2h 54m total length

Course rationale5:40
The three demands on a student writing a business essay, and how these demands have shaped the contents and structure of the course.
How the course works7:28
How each section is organised, the typical format of the main lectures, and how to use the course materials to create lesson plans for your classroom.

Introduction4:26
An overview of the section contents: how to teach the grammar that students need to be 'cautious' in their business writing, and to make definitions.
Cautious language: using verbs5:14
A definition of 'hedging', and how to teach verbs like 'tend', 'appear', and 'may', and phrases like 'it is estimated that'.
Cautious language: using adverbs, adjectives and expressions4:32
How to teach adverbs like 'arguably', 'normally' and 'typically', phrases like 'it is unlikely that', and expressions like 'as a rule'.
Defining language7:28
How to teach different ways of making definitions in business essays, using 'category nouns' such as 'tool' or 'mechanism', relative clauses, and phrases like 'by which' and 'for' + the -ing form of the verb.

Introduction4:54
An overview of the section contents: how to teach simple and complex forms of the passive for business writing, and the impersonal subjects 'it' and 'there'.
Passives: main function7:37
How to teach the concept and form of the passive, and the use of multiple passives in a short business text.
Passives: more complex forms4:28
How to teach passives with modal verbs, and passives in a key group of verbs with prepositions (e.g. 'be based on' and 'be associated with'.)
Impersonal subjects: 'it' and 'there'8:05
How to teach the use of 'it' and 'there' to introduce information in business writing (e.g. 'It is essential to ...', 'There are three main reasons why ...').

Introduction4:23
An overview of the section contents: how to teach noun phrases, relative clauses and verb clauses.
Noun phrases: noun + noun9:02
How to teach nouns in pairs, e.g. 'business analysts', 'research findings'.
Noun phrases: compound adjectives and prepositional phrases6:45
How to teach compound adjectives in phrases such as 'urgently-required banking reforms', and prepositional phrases, e.g. 'the need for change'.
Relative clauses: defining and non-defining9:35
How to teach the difference between the two types of relative clause; when to use commas; and when to use 'that' or omit the relative pronoun.
Relative clauses: 'whose', 'in which' etc. and reduced clauses7:14
How to teach the use of 'whose', a preposition + 'whom/which' (or 'where/when/why' instead), and how to reduce relative clauses.
Verb clauses: 'that' and 'wh-' clauses7:29
How to explain the four types of verb clause, and how to explore the difference between 'that' and 'wh-' clauses (clauses starting with 'what/when/where' etc.).
Verb clauses: infinitive and '-ing' clauses7:42
How to help students to build information in business writing by 'adding' one verb to another, using the infinitive or the -ing form.

Introduction2:25
An overview of the section contents: how to help students to connect ideas in their business writing through cohesion, linkers and conditional structures.
Cohesion8:50
How to teach words like 'this/these' (sometimes with summarising nouns: 'this method' etc.), and how to help students with ellipsis (leaving words out) and synonyms.
Linkers9:37
How to teach linking words and phrases that add to ideas (e.g. 'not only ... but also'), make concessions (e.g. 'although'), exemplify (e.g. 'for instance') or restate (e.g. 'that is to say').
Conditionals7:44
How to teach first, second and third conditional structures for business essays; variations on the structures; 'unless', 'as long as', 'provided that'.

Introduction3:01
An overview of the section contents: how to help students to link cause and effect, to make comparisons, and to use 'signposting' in their business essays.
Cause and effect: linkers6:17
How to teach the concept of cause and effect, and to help students use linking words and phrases such as 'consequently', 'so ... that', 'which means that', 'on account of' etc.
Cause and effect: verbs and nouns6:31
How to teach the verbs and nouns commonly used to express cause and effect, including 'cause', 'result in', 'stem from' and 'source', 'outcome', 'effect'.
Comparison: two main structures6:09
How to teach comparison structures using 'more ... than' and 'as ... as' with modifiers such as 'considerably', 'marginally' and 'almost'.
Comparison: superlative, and key words and phrases6:38
How to check students' knowledge of superlatives in a business context (including ways to hedge them), and how to teach key words and phrases for expressing similarities and differences.
Signposting5:21
How to teach 'signposting' within a piece of business writing, including 'stating the scope', making a thesis statement, and referring to previous and forthcoming parts of the essay.

Requirements

You should be teaching or preparing to teach Business English at college, university, or in the workplace.

Description

Review in IATEFL Voices, March/April 2021: “(Ken Paterson) speaks slowly and succinctly, and as each lecture follows the same pattern, it is easy to follow. Auditory learners will no doubt appreciate the fact that the lecture is accompanied by the text in print. Text-based learners, meanwhile, will also appreciate the element of continuity in terms of how the lessons are produced, including the notes and tips for teachers.” (Sandee Thompson, Coordinator EFL, College of the North Atlantic-Qatar)

Please note: The grammar required for writing business essays is also applicable to formal business writing in the workplace.

This course shows you how to teach the grammar that students need for the three key processes of formal business writing:

Being objective

Building information

Connecting ideas

If you want your students to become confident users of the grammar that supports the best business writing, then this is the course for you.

Master the Teaching of Grammar for Essays and Formal Business Writing

Concentrate on key areas of grammar.

Learn how to teach them.

Build your own lesson plans.

Focus on the Grammar that Supports Successful Business Writing

Successful business writers have mastered a range of grammar items, which enables them to write objectively, and to control and connect information. This course identifies these items and provides you with the techniques and materials to teach them.

Contents and Overview

Under each of the five section headings below, you’ll find two or three grammar items:

1. Being objective in a business essay: grammar for functions

Cautious language; defining language

2. Being objective in a business essay: key grammar items

Passives; impersonal structures

3. Building information in a business essay: key grammar items

Noun phrases; relative clauses; verb clauses

4. Connecting ideas in a business essay: key grammar items

Cohesion; linkers; conditionals

5. Connecting ideas in a business essay: grammar for functions

Cause and effect; comparison; signposting

A typical lecture looks like this:

A short video talking you through each stage of a lesson, including guided discovery of the concept; explanations of key language; controlled practice through exercises; and freer practice through writing or short research tasks.

A lesson-planning Word document that you can download and make editable, containing all the materials that you need to create your own lesson. (See ‘Resources’ in each lecture.)

N.B. You don’t need to write down the language displayed in the lectures: it’s all there in the downloadable document.

Practice and Revision

As a teacher, the best way of practising is to make one or two of your own lesson plans (using the downloadable resources after each lecture) and to try these with your students. I would recommend doing this before you complete the whole course. You could also:

Try the downloadable ‘Grammar terms check!’ (see ‘Resources’ after Lecture 2.)

Do the student exercises during the course before you look at the answers so as to double-check your own knowledge.

Try the student ‘worksheet’ at the end of each section in a similar way (see ‘Resources’ in the last lecture in each section).

Sample Lesson Plan

The aim of this course is to give you the materials to create your own lesson plans to suit your teaching and local circumstances. To see how I’ve done this for my own teaching, go to Lecture 5 and you’ll find, in the ‘Resources’, a detailed ‘Sample plan (cautious language)’ with lesson stages, a student worksheet and a teacher worksheet. Note: this lesson plan combines material from Lectures 4 and 5.

Extra Features

A ‘Grammar terms check!’ after Lecture 2.

Printable revision worksheets for your students at the end of each section.

A downloadable resource (after Lecture 27) titled 'Grammar Dictation', which describes this interesting teaching technique. (After Lecture 27).

Please be aware that this course focuses exclusively on students’ grammatical control, often at a sentence level. It doesn’t deal with research or planning skills.

All the material is set within a modern business context, covering areas such as human resources, marketing, and finance.

Who this course is for:

This course is for English language teachers or college lecturers who want to assist their students in learning the key grammar required for business writing.

Teaching Grammar for Business Essays

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction2 lectures • 13min

Being objective: grammar for functions4 lectures • 22min

Being objective: key grammar items4 lectures • 25min

Building information: key grammar items7 lectures • 52min

Connecting ideas: key grammar items4 lectures • 29min

Connecting ideas: grammar for functions6 lectures • 34min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: