English: Business Letters For Big 4 (Extended)
Business writing in English for software engineers in Big 4 consulting. The course is not about the format of a letter but about pragmatics: why a Russian-speaking professional is heard as blunter than they are, and how that is fixed. Its axis is room for refusal: an English business message leaves the reader a way to object, decline or explain, and that room is created by the text rather than assumed. Six classes of softening, a 22-item RU→EN interference register, the softening ceiling (where directness is mandatory), the grammar of blameless causation. Genres: client email, code review, chat and tracker, escalation, refusal and change request, status and RAG, incident communication. Every example comes from an engineer’s working day on a project. Entry level B1–B2, model answers are given at two levels.
Path through the course
· 20 unitsthe order is free · the steps below are the order the author suggests, not a conditionView: map · steps
Stage 1
~1 h
1
~1 h
Stage 2
~1 h
2 · by the author’s design, after “Why We Sound Rude”
Face, Distance, and Indirectness
~1 h
Stage 3
~1.5 h
3 · by the author’s design, after “Face, Distance, and Indirectness”
~1.5 h
Stage 4
~1.5 h
4 · by the author’s design, after “Six Classes of Softening”
The Ceiling: When Directness Is Mandatory
~1.5 h
Stage 5
~2 h
5 · by the author’s design, after “The Ceiling: When Directness Is Mandatory”
~2 h
Stage 6
~1.5 h
6 · by the author’s design, after “Grammar Without Blame”
~1.5 h
Stage 7
~2 h
by the author’s design, after “Anatomy: The Twelve Moves”
7
The Ask: Action, Owner, Date, Timezone
~1 h
20 · optional
~1 h
Stage 8
~1.5 h
8 · by the author’s design, after “The Ask: Action, Owner, Date, Timezone”
Writing for a Reader Who Isn't a Native Speaker
~1.5 h
Stage 9
~1.5 h
9 · by the author’s design, after “Writing for a Reader Who Isn't a Native Speaker”
~1.5 h
Stage 10
~4.5 h
by the author’s design, after “Code Review as a Genre”
10 · команда
~1.5 h
13 · клиент
~1.5 h
16 · видимость
~1.5 h
Stage 11
~4.5 h
11 · команда · by the author’s design, after “Chat and Tracker”
~1.5 h
14 · клиент · by the author’s design, after “Disagreement and Pushback”
~1.5 h
17 · видимость · by the author’s design, after “Status Reporting and RAG”
~1.5 h
Stage 12
~4.5 h
12 · команда · by the author’s design, after “The Follow-up Ladder”
Proposals and Design Documents
~1.5 h
15 · клиент · by the author’s design, after “Refusal and Scope Creep”
~1.5 h
18 · видимость · by the author’s design, after “Incident Communication”
Acknowledgement, Thanks, Handover
~1.5 h
Stage 13
~2.5 h
19 · by the author’s design, after 2 of these: “Proposals and Design Documents”, “Complaints and Escalation”, “Acknowledgement, Thanks, Handover”
Capstone: One Friday, Four Channels
~2.5 h
Exam
closed · enrol on the course
final · in the browser, without the assistant
Exam
The path in words
- Stage 1 · Why We Sound Rude — ~1 h
- Stage 2 · Face, Distance, and Indirectness — by the author’s design, after “Why We Sound Rude”; ~1 h
- Stage 3 · Six Classes of Softening — by the author’s design, after “Face, Distance, and Indirectness”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 4 · The Ceiling: When Directness Is Mandatory — by the author’s design, after “Six Classes of Softening”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 5 · Grammar Without Blame — by the author’s design, after “The Ceiling: When Directness Is Mandatory”; ~2 h
- Stage 6 · Anatomy: The Twelve Moves — by the author’s design, after “Grammar Without Blame”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 7 · The Ask: Action, Owner, Date, Timezone — by the author’s design, after “Anatomy: The Twelve Moves”; ~1 h
- Stage 7 · What You Don't Write — by the author’s design, after “Anatomy: The Twelve Moves”; optional; ~1 h
- Stage 8 · Writing for a Reader Who Isn't a Native Speaker — by the author’s design, after “The Ask: Action, Owner, Date, Timezone”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 9 · Code Review as a Genre — by the author’s design, after “Writing for a Reader Who Isn't a Native Speaker”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 10 · Chat and Tracker — by the author’s design, after “Code Review as a Genre”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 10 · Disagreement and Pushback — by the author’s design, after “Code Review as a Genre”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 10 · Status Reporting and RAG — by the author’s design, after “Code Review as a Genre”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 11 · The Follow-up Ladder — by the author’s design, after “Chat and Tracker”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 11 · Refusal and Scope Creep — by the author’s design, after “Disagreement and Pushback”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 11 · Incident Communication — by the author’s design, after “Status Reporting and RAG”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 12 · Proposals and Design Documents — by the author’s design, after “The Follow-up Ladder”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 12 · Complaints and Escalation — by the author’s design, after “Refusal and Scope Creep”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 12 · Acknowledgement, Thanks, Handover — by the author’s design, after “Incident Communication”; ~1.5 h
- Stage 13 · Capstone: One Friday, Four Channels — by the author’s design, after 2 of these: “Proposals and Design Documents”, “Complaints and Escalation”, “Acknowledgement, Thanks, Handover”; ~2.5 h
Programme · 20 units
| 1 | Why We Sound Rude Объяснить, что эффект грубости в английском деловом письме создаётся не выбором слов, а тем, что формулировка не оставляет читателю выхода | ~1 h |
| 2 | Face, Distance, and Indirectness Различать угрозу автономии читателя и угрозу его профессиональному статусу и выбирать соответствующую починку | ~1 h |
| 3 | Six Classes of Softening Различать шесть классов смягчения и опознавать класс по конкретному выражению | ~1.5 h |
| 4 | The Ceiling: When Directness Is Mandatory Назвать контексты, в которых смягчение вредит: инцидент, находка по безопасности, фиксация факта, сорванный срок, жёсткое ограничение | ~1.5 h |
| 5 | Grammar Without Blame Строить безагентную каузацию четырьмя приёмами: пассив, номинализация, предложная причинность, неодушевлённое подлежащее | ~2 h |
| 6 | Anatomy: The Twelve Moves Собирать сообщение из ходов M1–M12, а не из шаблона | ~1.5 h |
| 7 | The Ask: Action, Owner, Date, Timezone Формулировать запрос с четырьмя обязательными элементами: действие, исполнитель, дата, таймзона | ~1 h |
| 8 | Writing for a Reader Who Isn't a Native Speaker Оценивать риск того, что смягчённая формулировка будет прочитана буквально | ~1.5 h |
| 9 | Code Review as a Genre Строить комментарий по схеме признание → наблюдение → гипотеза → вопрос | ~1.5 h |
| 10 | Chat and Tracker Писать в чат одним сообщением с маркером срочности в начале | ~1.5 h |
| 11 | The Follow-up Ladder Строить трёхступенчатую лестницу напоминаний с растущими ставками и ровным тоном | ~1.5 h |
| 12 | Proposals and Design Documents Строить проектный документ так, чтобы он собирал возражения, а не согласия | ~1.5 h |
| 13 | Disagreement and Pushback Открывать несогласие уступкой, которая несёт содержание, а не вежливость | ~1.5 h |
| 14 | Refusal and Scope Creep Превращать запрос вне объёма в оценённый выбор вместо отказа или молчаливого согласия | ~1.5 h |
| 15 | Complaints and Escalation Отвечать на резкое письмо по содержанию, не отвечая на тон | ~1.5 h |
| 16 | Status Reporting and RAG Строить отчёт из трёх блоков: позиция, риски и блокеры, дальше | ~1.5 h |
| 17 | Incident Communication Писать первое уведомление из пяти элементов без причины и без смягчения | ~1.5 h |
| 18 | Acknowledgement, Thanks, Handover Подтверждать получение по схеме «получил — сделаю — к такому-то времени» | ~1.5 h |
| 19 | Capstone: One Friday, Four Channels Развести одно событие по четырём каналам с разными регистрами | ~2.5 h |
| 20 | What You Don't Write Проверять сообщение двумя вопросами: как оно читается без контекста и не пишу ли я это только потому, что раздражён | ~1 h |
