I Am Writing To Express My Interest

Business English: Common Writing Mistakes

Do you make these common mistakes when writing business English letters and e-mails?

Read today's lesson and learn how to avoid the errors that can make your writing look unprofessional!

To learn common phrases for business English letters, e-mails, interviews, meetings, presentations, negotiations, and more – check out theBusiness English Course.

OK, let's take a look at these 10 errors and how to correct them.

1. I am writing in respect of our recent purchase.

There are several correct ways to fix this mistake:

I am writing in reference to our recent purchase.
I am writing with regard to our recent purchase.
I am writing regarding/concerning our recent purchase.

2. We would like to regret the delay in shipping.

"Regret" means you feel bad about something you did wrong, so you need to say either:

Weregretthe delay in shipping.
We would like toapologizefor the delay in shipping.

3. I ensure you that our products are of the highest quality.

Toassuresomebody means to help remove doubt from their mind. After the word "assure," we usually have a person (assure you, assure him/her, assure them, etc.)

Toensuresomething means to guarantee a certain fact or condition. After the word "ensure" we often have "that" + a fact.

Iassureyou that our products are of the highest quality.
We have a quality control process toensure that every item is free from defects.

4. Your order will be shipped until Wednesday at the latest.

When you want to say that a single, specific event will happenbeforea certain date in the future, useby.

Until is only used when acontinuousevent will continue up to a date in the future:

Your order will be shippedbyWednesday at the latest.
(shipping the order is a single event)
We will be performing maintenance untilthe 25th.
(the maintenance work is continuous until finishing on the 25th)

5. I would like to request someinformationsabout your services.

The wordinformationin English is anuncountable noun, meaning it cannot be plural.

I would like to request someinformationabout your services.

6. Weexceptall major credit cards as well as checks and money orders.

Acceptmeans to receive willingly;exceptmeans to exclude.

Weacceptall major credit cards as well as checks and money orders.
We offer free shipping to every U.S. stateexceptAlaska and Hawaii.
(Alaska and Hawaii are not included in the free shipping offer)

7. We appreciate yourcooperate.

It's important to pay attention to the correctformof the word. After articles (a, an, the) and possessives (my, your, his, her, our, their) – always use anoun:

We appreciate yourcooperation.

8. I want you to send me the files right now.

In professional communications – or when writing to somebody who isn't a close friend – it's important to be polite and respectful. Sometimes English learners accidentally write sentences that are "too direct" and can come across as a little bit rude. When making a request, it is good to use"Could you…?"and"Please…"

Could you please send me the files as soon as possible?

9. the conference begins on friday july 8 it will be held in los angeles california

When writing for business or in any sort of professional context, correct punctuation and capitalization are essential! If you write without capitalizing properly or using punctuation, it makes a very bad impression. This is important both in regular letters and in e-mails.

In English, we capitalize:

The first word of each new sentence
Proper names (people's names, company names)
Names of cities, states, countries, and languages
Names of days of the week and months

The correct way to write this sentence would be:

Theconference begins onFriday, July8. It will be held inLos Angeles, California.

If you're not sure that your letter or e-mail is correct, ask a native English speaker to check it for any mistakes.

10. I am looking forward to hear from you.

After the expression "look forward to," always usea nounor the-ing form of the verb:

I am looking forward to hearing from you.
I am looking forward toour meeting.
I look forward tovisitingyour company.
I look forward tothe visit.

If you want to improve your English for your job and career, the Business English Course will teach you hundreds of vocabulary words and useful phrases. After taking this course, you'll be able to speak and write in English more confidently at work.