06formal Writing

VI.
FORMAL WRITING FORMLN PSEMN PROJEV

1. Introducory remarks
Formal written communicaton ranges from filling in forms , writing business letters, letters of
application of various types, cover letters, personal statements, and CVs (rsums), to
academic writing of reports, research plans and reports, essays, papers, and contributions to
scientific journals. Each of these follows its specific layout and strategy; their aim is to
provide facts, ideas, and information. The language used , therefore, should be clear,
straightforward, and without mistakes. All require to take pains to do them well.
Standard Application Form

Various institutions may provide their own applications forms , usually accompanied by
personal statements. This is a standard British form.
1. Exercise:
1) Fill in the form, paying attention to all items.
(Viz ploha 02 Standard Application Form)
Curriculum Vitae [k ,rikjul m vi tai]/ rsum [rezju, mei]

1. Introductory remarks
The CV is a summary of all your activities and professional and practical experience. It may
contain some of the facts given already in the application form /letter of application/ personal
statement. The CV usually goes together with some kind of application, is always written
with some purpose as a response to some job announcement/advertisement/job notice/job
opening announcement, and thus should always be tailored for the specific purpose, be
impressive, and provide only true statements. It will stress different facts for a business job or
for some grant or academic-related position, as below. There is not one universal format how
to write the CV, but there is one universal recommendation: take your time to write an
impressive CV.
2. How to write a CV
1) The CV should be structured and divided into sections. There are many formats how
to arrange the facts and what headings to give the sections. Often only short phrases
are preferred instead of full sentences, e.g. studied for a PhD (instead of I studied
for a PhD byl jsem v doktorandskm studiu), studying for a PhD (instead of I
am studying for a PhD jsem doktorandem)
2) The Personal/identification/statistical Data section includes the name, address,
telephone number (mobile, Skype), e-mail address. Information on age, sex, marital
status, number of children, etc., is not to be included.
3) The Career Goals/Objective section is often seen, suggesting where the applicant is
heading professionally. .
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4) The Qualifications/Education section is often grouped together with the writers

experience, being then Qualifications and Work/Professional/Educational Experience.
The ordering of information is important it can be arranged chronologically or in the
reverse order, i.e., starting from themost recent. If the grammar/secondary technical
school background is relevant to the applicants higher eduation, it can be mentioned,
but not otherwise. The university, faculty, department, the master thesis topic, year of
graduation and degree obtained are important, as well as involvement in research.
Also, all kinds of honours and awards should be mentioned, as well as other out-ofclass activities relevant to the application, unless included in a special section
Honours and Activities, if of great importance.
5) The Extracurricular Activities/Interests/Additional Information/Personal skills section
, if mentioned, will give a broader view of the applicants scope of interests, and will
cover hobbies, special skills, specialised courses taken, language competence, etc.
6) The References section will either state that references are available upon request
or list the references (referees) names and addresses. Before listing someone as a
reference, ask the person if he or she is willing to serve in that role.
3 . Examples of authentic CVs
1) CV of R.Healey
(Viz ploha . 3 - CV)
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2) CV of Brian D.Wylie
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3) CV of Michael Hunt
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4. Exercises :
1) Write your own detailed CV and match it to a chosen advertisement.
Letters
Formal letters include a variety of types, e.g. Letter of Complaint (stnost), Letter of
Recommendation (doporuujcc dopis), Letter of Application (dost), Letter of Application
for Admission (dost o pijet ke studiu), Letter of Application for Employment (dost o
msto), various types of Business Letters (obchodn korespondence).
A slightly confusing term is the Cover Letter -prvodn dopis because it may mean both
a short letter sent with something to explain what you are sending or to give extra
information, especially in business writing, and also dost o msto a cover letter for an
academic or business job, especially in American English. Both differ in their content. The
latter stresses academic accomplishments and is one and a half to two pages long. It may be
similar in content to Personal Statement (motivan dopis), which , in fact, is not written in
the letter layout and format at all.
All letters, however long they may be, follow their given format : introduction/opening
(usually one paragraph, but very important) , body of the letter, and closing. In electronic
letter exchange letters tend to get slightly less formal.
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2. Academic cover letters and Sample Letter Purdue materials
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3. Examples of letters of application : 1) Re: EFL job application
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2) Letter of application for admission
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4. Exercises:
1) Read the Purdue texts and underline all phrases that may be useful for
writing your own cover letter.
2) Get acquainted with the structure and content of the letter.
3) Choose an advertisement/job notice related to your interests and apply
for the post. Follow the suggested structure and use appropriate
vocabulary and phrases.The letter will be at least 1.5 page long.
4) Attach a short letter to your article.
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5. The Basic Business Letter Purdue materials
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6. Useful suggestions and phrases for writing a letter

1) Write your address in the upper right-hand-side corner of the sheet. However, in
academic cover letters it is often omitted, as well as in electronic communication.
Include the postcode (zip code), telephone number, e-mail address. In academic cover
letters the telephone/e-mail contact is given in the closing paragraph.
2) After one blank line in between write the date : day, month, year; the US usage is
month, day, year. If possible, write the month in full. In electronic writing the date is
omitted. In the academic cover letter, if the senders address is not given, the date
comes before the recipients address.
3) On the left side of the sheet in the academic cover letter, write the date, after one blank
line in between, write the addressees name and address
4) After one blank line in between write the salutation: Dear Dr./Professor/Mr/Mrs/Ms/
Miss + surname; Dear Madam/Sir (to unknown person); Dear Sirs/Gentlemen (US
usage) for several people; the salutation is followed by comma (in British usage) or
colon (US usage) note the capital letters
5) In the introductory paragraph you may say:
With reference to your advertisement in . for
I am writing in reply to the job notice
I am applying for the position/post of/as as advertised in
I with to apply for the post of .
6) Explain why you are applying:
I feel that my qualifications match your requirements..
My qualifications are as follows..
I feel I would be a suitable candidate for ..
I wish to gain more experience in .
Having already studied similar issues .
7) Say that there are enclosures:
Please find enclosed / I enclose the names and addresses of referees/references
my curriculum vitae/rsum
8) Make reference to hearing from the institution/employer
I could come for an interview at any time which would suit you
I am available for an interview at your convenience
I would be glad to attend an interview
I look forward to hearing from you
9) To close the letter write
Yours faithfully/Faithfully yours (followed by a comma) if the salutation is Dear
Sir/Madam
Yours sincerely/Sincerely yours/Sincerely (Followed by a comma) with surnames in
the salutation
10) Please note : in English, pronoun I is always capitalized, pronoun,you is never
capitalized; in the salutation, words Doctor and Professor are capitalized , so are
names of institutions and posts held
Personal Statement Motivan dopis

The term motivan dopis in Czech is somewhat misleading because personal statement is
not a letter as such at all. In fact, it is a clever essay written by the applicant and submitted
(very often on request) to the school/university/employer/grant board, or some decision104
making body. That is why it can also be referred to as Statement of Purpose or Statement of
Proposed Activity, as the case may be.
The Statement goes together with the application for admission to undergraduate or
(post)graduate (i.e., Master or PhD) programmes, for a job, for some financial support like a
scholarship, fellowship, grant, etc., and adds information about the applicant that is not
included in the CV or some application form. The Statement is always tailored for the specific
purpose and should support the application by giving detailed reasons for it. It may include
similar information as an academic cover letter.
There are two types of Statements : at first, a free essay, giving the applicant a choice
what to write , and , at second, a response to very specific questions. The latter type is usual
also with grant applications to support projects, where the questions may refer to:
- the applicants/grantees education/research background
- reasons for requested financial support
- time and cost estimates
- place of intended research
- details about the project
- multiplication effect
- language competence (for foreign grants )
Detailed strategies and examples of Statements are given in the Purdue materials.
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2. Sample personal statement and the donts
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3. Writing the Personal Statement (and examples) Purdue materials
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4. Exercises:
1) Write a personal statement accompanying an application for a grant
or postdoctoral fellowship (at least one page long)
Research Plan
1.Introductory remarks
Preparing research is a complex issue involving several steps.
Prior to beginning ones research, any researcher should
1) exactly formulate the problem to be investigted (which is very difficult to do)
2) study the state of the art of the issue both at home and abroad, also get in touch with
peers (i.e., get acquainted with all the possible sources)
3) set the goals
4) design and prepare the solution (how to collect data, how to approach the problem,
who to cooperate with, check facilities for experiments, maybe design new
instruments, assess the required time and finance available, etc.
5) design the expected methodology and strategies
Research has its own ethics summarized in the Ethics Code (not included here)
Research is most often done in teams, so close cooperation and discussions are desirable.
With PhD students, guidance and supervision provided by the supervisor is the way to
teach them do research and to learn its methodology and strategies. Detailed instructions
for preparing the research plan make use of US materials, and following them, the plan
would amount to 30 pages. The outcome of any research is a report/paper/conference
contribution.
2. Exercise
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1) Read the instructions how to organize a research plan. Discuss your

own research plan with your supervisor and try to formulate it in
a written form on two pages according to the instructions
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Report on Studies
After each semester/academic year PhD students are expected to write a report on the
progress they are making and their achievements in reserach. As usual, the report follows the
usual structure :
- introduction, which is an outline of the studies, research, and other responsibilities
- body of the report , which describes what has been done and achieved
- conclusion, which summarizes in short the success or difficulties and looks ahead
2.Exercise:
1) Write a report on your PhD training at least 1.5 page long. Make use of
the technical and professional vocabulary from the previous parts of
these materials.
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VI.

FORMAL WRITING FORMLN PSEMN PROJEV

Standard Application Form

Curriculum Vitae [k ,rikjul m vi tai]/ rsum [rezju, mei]

4) The Qualifications/Education section is often grouped together with the writers

(Viz ploha . 3 - CV)

2. Academic cover letters and Sample Letter Purdue materials

3. Examples of letters of application : 1) Re: EFL job application

2) Letter of application for admission

5. The Basic Business Letter Purdue materials

6. Useful suggestions and phrases for writing a letter

Personal Statement Motivan dopis

2. Sample personal statement and the donts

3. Writing the Personal Statement (and examples) Purdue materials

1) Read the instructions how to organize a research plan. Discuss your

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