MEMORANDUM
 

Click > 2. Background Background Back Ground Background to the Situation -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
Click > As we all know We all know (Nothing) -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) , since the move to the new office in Kowloon Bay, staff have had difficulty in finding a nearby place to buy lunch. Click > It is because This is because It is due to This is due to -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) the new office is in a factory area, and Click > lack of there is a lack there is lacking there is a lack of -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) restaurants. A Sharpe R-3R29 microwave oven Click > (nothing) is has does was were -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) purchased so that staff could eat hot lunches at work. However, some staff Click > have has had was were did -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) expressed dissatisfaction with the microwave.

Click here > Method Methodology Survey Details How I Surveyed the Staff Procedure 3. Method -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
Click > 60% of Sixty percent 60 Sixty -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)   Click > staff staffs staff's members of staffs -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) Click > are is was being had were -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) surveyed by questionnaire Click > in at on from between -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) .

Click > Results 4. Result Finding 4. Finding 4. Findings Findings -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)

Click > 4.1 Introduction 4.1 Size Introduction Size a. Introductions a. Size -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
In general, staff Click > is are being had has was were (Nothing) -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) not satisfied Click > to of on for with among -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) the power Click > , & and also in addition -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) size of the microwave. Some were Click > satisfy satisfied satisfying satisfaction satisfactory -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) with the location of the microwave, and most were Click > satisfy satisfied satisfying satisfaction satisfactory -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) with its reliability (see Click > Figure 1 Diagram 1 Chart 1 Table 1 Graph 1 -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) ). On analysing the data, two distinct groups of staff emerged. The first group were 40 staff who had usually eaten in the office when the office was in Central. The second group of 20 staff had usually eaten outside in Central.

Click > Figure 1 Diagram 1 Chart 1 Table 1 Graph 1 -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) : Staff Satisfaction  with the Microwave Oven

Feature	Staff Satisfaction
	Group A Usually ate in the office (n=40)	Group B Usually ate outside the office (n=20)	Both Groups
Size	55%	35%	48%
Power	30%	25%	28%
Location	70%	75%	71%
Reliability	95%	95%	95%
Average	62.5%	57.5%	60.5%

Click > Firstly, Power b. Power 4.2 Power Size b. Size 4.2 Size -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
Only Click > a quarter 25 less than a third one quarter -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) of Group B staff said that Click > a an the that (nothing) -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) oven was powerful enough for their needs. Also, less than a third of Group A staff were satisfied, giving a total for both groups of less than 30%. Staff responded that Click > it he this that (nothing) -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) took too long for the oven to cook their food, and Click > also in addition moreover furthermore besides beside therefore however despite this -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) they Click > always a lot frequent (Nothing) -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) had to queue at lunchtime.

Click > Secondly, 4.3 Size 4c. Size c. Dissatisfaction with Size Size 4.3 Power Power 4 c. Power -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
Click > Besides In addition Moreover Furthermore On the other hand -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) , about Click > two third two thirds two-third of two thirds of two-thirds two-thirds of many a number of quite a few -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) Group B staff said that the microwave was too small. For example, one member of staff Click > complaint complained complaining -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) that his 10" pizza would not fit in the oven. However, more than half of Group A staff were satisfied, giving a total satisfaction for both groups of just under 50%.

Click > Thirdly, 4.4 Location Location d. Location of the Oven The Place where the Oven is -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
About Click > three quarter three-quarters three quarters most -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) of both groups of staff thought that the location of the oven was acceptable. Click > The And the But the For the -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) rest of the staff Click > didn't did not doesn't does not -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) agree on a better position for the oven.

Click > Fourthly, Finally, 4.5 Reliability Reliability e) Reliability of the oven The Lack of Breakdowns of the Oven -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
Click > As regard For Regarding Regarding to Concerning to -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) reliability, Click > 90% of just under all of almost all of the majority of -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) the staff were satisfied. Three Click > employee staffs member of staff member of staffs members of staff members of staffs -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) did not understand how to operate the oven.

Click > Conclusion Conclusions 6. Conclusion 6. Conclusions Recommendation Recommendations 6. Recommendation 6. Recommendations 6. Recommendations -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
There are Click > several option quite few options number of options a number of option a number of options a numbers of option -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) we Click > could will would -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) consider, Click > as follow as the following as follows as following -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) :

Click > 6.1 Exchange Swapping Returning 6.1 Returning a. Returning -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
Given that we need a better microwave, we Click > could should may might would -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) return the microwave to the shop and ask them if we can buy a bigger one, and only pay the difference. I suggest Click > try tried to try trying that try -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) this first.

Click > 6.2 Purchase of a New Microwave Purchase of a New Microwave b. Purchase of a New Microwave -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
If the shop will not take back the old microwave I recommend Click > buy to buy buying bought -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) a new one, and keeping the old one Click > in at on to -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) another part of the office for the staff Click > who which that -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) do not like the present location. Alternatively, we could Click > sell to sell selling sold -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) the old microwave second hand.

Click > No Change c. No Change 6.3 No Change 6.3 Queuing System -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers)
We Click > could should may might would -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) let the staff arrange a system for different staff to use the microwave at different Click > time times -------------- (Show Me a Tip) (Show This Answer) (Show All Answers) .

MEMORANDUM
 

At the monthly staff meeting on , you requested information about staff satisfaction with the new microwave oven. (Your answer: The correct preposition here is 'with'. Click here for more information on satisfaction.)

The aim of this report is to present this information, and make suggestions about how to improve the situation. (Nothing) (Your answer: 'This is because the staff are not satisfied.' is a Finding.
'Improving the situation would improve morale.' is a Conclusion.
'I surveyed the staff to find their opinions.' is part of the Method.
'It is hoped that this will improve staff morale.'  assumes that morale is bad, but this can only be shown by the Findings, which have not been described yet.)

2. Background (Your answer: Sections should be numbered so that it is easy for people to refer to sections of your report; e.g. "You said in Section 2 that...". ' to the Situation'  is redundant, and should be omitted to make the heading concise.)

(Nothing) (Your answer: 'As we all know' and 'We all know' are not appropriate expressions for formal written reports, as they are more suitable for persuasive speaking. They are also redundant, as if everyone knows, then it is not necessary to write it.) 

Since the move to the new office in Kowloon Bay, staff have had difficulty in finding a nearby place to buy lunch.

This is because the new office is in a factory area, (Your answer: 'This' refers to the situation of staff having difficulty. 'It' is wrong, because it would refer to 'lunch', and therefore would mean 'Lunch is because...'.  'It is due to' and 'This is due to' are wrong because after 'due to' the grammar of verb 'to be' is usually 'being', not 'is'; e.g. 'This is due to the new office being in a factory area...').

and there is a lack of restaurants (Your answer: 'lack' can be a verb or a noun. As a verb, this part of the sentence would be 'a factory area which lacks restaurants.'  However, 'there is lacking' is bad grammar because, 'there' does not mean in Kowloon Bay. 'There is' is the same 'there is' as in 'There is a test soon.' The correct preposition after 'lack', when it is a noun, is 'of', so 'there is a lack' is wrong. Click here for more information on how to use 'lack'.) 

A Sharpe R-3R29 microwave oven was (Your answer: this is a past tense passive voice. The passive voice uses the verb 'to be' before the main verb, and the oven was purchased in the past, and is singular, so 'was' is correct.)  purchased so that staff could eat hot lunches at work.

However, some staff have (Your answer: )  expressed dissatisfaction with the microwave. The main verb is 'expressed' and the '_ed' ending shows that it must be past tense or present perfect. If it was past tense there would not be an auxiliary verb, and the correct option would be (Nothing). However, as this option is not available, the verb must be present perfect. Due to the word 'some' the uncountable noun 'staff' is thought of as a plural here because you can't have 'some' of one person, so 'has' is wrong and 'have' is correct. )

3. Method (Your answer: Sections should be numbered so that it is easy for people to refer to sections of your report; e.g. "You said in Section 1 that...". The Method section can also be called the 'Methodology' or the 'Procedure', but they should be numbered.)

 
Sixty (Your answer: ) staff (Your answer: ) were (Your answer: ) surveyed by questionnaire... (In the second box, 'staff'  can only be plural if you are referring to the staffs of more than one company. A staff is like a team, in that sometimes a writer or speaker is thinking of the staff as one group, especially when they act together; and sometimes as individuals that make up a group, especially when they act or think differently. In a questionnaire situation it is normal to expect staff to reply differently, and therefore they are viewed as individuals. 'Members of staffs' is wrong because there is only one company's staff being questionnaired. Click here to learn more about 'staff'.

In the first box, '60% of' is correct in its preposition, but wrong in its style. It is bad style to start a sentence with a number, so the number should be written as words. As 'Sixty' is a word, and does not need the preposition 'of' because it is not a percentage or a fraction, it is the right answer.

In the third box you should have chosen a form of the verb 'to be', because it is part of a passive voice. As 'staff' is viewed as a plural in this situation (see above), the correct word is 'were'.

from (Your answer: the dash ( - ) between the two numbers means 'to'. Of the options, only 'from' and 'between' are used to refer to two dates. 'From' matches the 'to', and 'between' matches 'and'; e.g. between the first and fifth day of next month.).

4. Findings (Your answer: 'Findings' should have an 's' at the end because questionnaires almost always ask more than one question, which results in a plural number of findings. Also, report headings should be numbered for clarity.)

4.1 Introduction (Your answer: It is important to have an introduction to your Findings to summarise them for busy people who do not have time to read all of them, and to give readers an overview of what to expect in the Findings. This helps them to understand the Findings more easily, because the information is not totally new.

Click here for more details of the numbering system.)

In general, staff were not (Your answer: 'satisfied' is an adjective, and therefore should have part of the verb to be in front of it. The questionnaire took place in the past, and is finished, so the word you choose should show the past tense. 'Staff' is a plural here, because if they were singular the noun phrase would be 'the staff', or 'our staff'. The past tense plural form of the verb 'to be' is 'were'.)

satisfied with (Your answer: 'with' is the correct preposition between 'satisfied' and the performance or quality of something) the power and size (Your answer: 'power' and 'size' make a list of two items. 'Size' is the last item in the list. It is a rule of writing lists in formal English that you should write 'and' before the last item in the list. '&' is too informal for a report.) of the microwave.

Some were satisfied with  the location of the microwave, (Your answer: After 'were' the part of speech is often  an adjective or a past tense verb, so 'were satisfy' and 'satisfaction' are not correct.  Objects and actions are 'satisfactory', but not 'satisfactory with'. Two adjective options left, 'satisfying' and 'satisfied'. Adjectives ending in '_ing' are the causes of feelings, but adjectives that describe the feeling itself end in '_ed'. Click here to find out more about 'satisfied'.)

and most were satisfied (Your answer: See the previous explanation) with its reliability (see Table 1 (Your answer: This is a table. The word 'Figure' is used for the titles of charts, graphs and diagrams.)

On analysing the data, two distinct groups of staff emerged. The first group were 40 staff who had usually eaten in the office when the office was in Central. The second group of 20 staff had usually eaten outside in Central.

Table 1: Staff Satisfaction with the Microwave Oven (Your answer: This is a table. The word 'Figure' is used for the titles of charts, graphs and diagrams.)
 

Feature	Staff Satisfaction
	Group A Usually ate in the office (n=40)	Group B Usually ate outside the office (n=20)	Both Groups
Size	55%	35%	48%
Power	30%	25%	28%
Location	70%	75%	71%
Reliability	95%	95%	95%
Average	62.5%	57.5%	60.5%

4.2 Power (Your answer: 'Power' is the first feature described because it is the most important feature. This is because the satisfaction level is lowest for this feature. The organisation of the findings is from the feature with the least satisfaction level from staff to that with the most. This is because the writer wants to highlight the problems, and then lead into solutions. If the writer wanted to minimise the importance of the problems, they would start by describing the most satisfactory features first.

Click here for more details of the numbering system.)

Only a quarter of Group B staff (Your answer: '25' is wrong, as it is not a percentage. 'Less than a third' is not accurate enough. 'One quarter' does not have a hyphen, so the punctuation is not correct. Click here for more details on approximation.)

said that the oven  (Your answer: 'a' and 'an' are both wrong because they mean an oven that the reader does not know about. 'The' and 'that' can both refer to the oven that the reader already knows about, but 'that' shows distance between the writer and the oven, which is not correct in this situation. For more information, see Unit 71 in the book 'English Grammar in Use', available in CILL. )

was powerful enough for their needs.  Also, less than a third of Group A staff were satisfied, giving a total for both groups of less than 30%.

Staff responded that it took too long for the oven to cook their food (Your answer: 'it' does not mean 'the oven' It is the subject of this 'that' clause, and is the same use of 'it' as in e.g. 'It is hot today.' So 'it' is the correct answer. 'He' is wrong because there is no male person in this situation. 'This' and 'that' are used to refer to previously-mentioned situations, but the previous situation here is about power, not cooking time.)

and therefore (Your answer: This answer must show the link between the oven taking a long time to cook their food, and the staff having to queue. As this is a cause and effect relationship the correct word is 'therefore'. All the other options show addition, not cause and effect, and therefore do not show the relationship accurately. Click here for more on cause and effect.)

they (Nothing) had to queue at lunchtime. (Your answer: The answer must be an adverb, because it gives more details about the next word, which is a verb phrase 'had to queue'. Therefore, 'frequent' is wrong, because its adverb is 'frequently'. 'Always' is wrong because it does not describe the situation accurately, in that the first people to use the microwave will not have to queue. Therefore it is an over-exaggeration, which is not suitable in workplace writing. 'A lot' is an adverb, but it usually goes after the verb; e.g. 'they had to queue a lot at lunchtime'.)

4.3 Size (Your answer: 'Size' it the second most important feature of the oven as it is the second-most dissatisfactory. 4.3 continues the numbering system that was used previously.)

In addition, (Your answer: 'Besides', 'moreover' and 'furthermore' all mean that the following information is more important than the previous information. This is both bad organisation and is not correct. 'On the other hand' is used to signal a change, for example from  positive to negative or satisfactory factors to dissatisfactory ones. However, staff are not satisfied with both the power and size of the oven, and therefore 'on the other hand' is wrong. 'In addition' is correct because size is an additional dissatisfactory factor.) 

about two-thirds of Group B staff said that the microwave was too small. (Your answer: The options can be divided into two groups, fractions and non-fraction. The non-fractions, 'many', 'a number of ' and 'quite a few' are too inaccurate. The fractions should have a hyphen after the number, and an 's' after the second number (thirds) because the first number (two) is plural. The correct answer should also have the preposition 'of' to show that this is a fraction of the staff.)

For example, one member of staff complained that his 10" pizza would not fit in the oven. (Your answer: The answer must be a verb because of the sentence structure. Therefore, 'complaint' is wrong because it is a noun. The member of staff said this in the past, and 'complaining' is not a past tense verb. Therefore, 'complained' is correct.)

However, more than half of Group A staff were satisfied, giving a total satisfaction for both groups of just under 50%.

4.4 Location (Your answer: The next least-satisfactory feature is the location of the microwave, and  '4.4' continues the numbering system from previous headings.)

About three-quarters of both groups of staff (Your answer:  'Most' is not accurate enough. Of the fractions, only 'three-quarters' has a hyphen and an 's' at the end to agree with the plural 'three'. ) 

thought that the location of the oven was acceptable. The rest of the staff (Your answer: It is bad style to start a sentence with 'And' or 'But' ['In addition' and 'However' are better]. 'For' is wrong because the sentence does not have two clauses with a comma in the middle [Click here for more details on topicalisation errors ]. Therefore 'the rest of ' is correct.)

 did not agree on a better position for the oven. (Your answer: As in 'the rest of staff ' shows that staff are thought of as plural in this situation, 'doesn't' and 'does not' are wrong. In formal writing it is not usually appropriate to use apostrophes, so 'did not' is correct.)

4.5 Reliability (Your answer: 'Reliability' is the final feature from Table 1, and the least important because staff are most satisfied with it. The number 4.5. continues the numbering system we are using.)

Regarding reliability, (Your answer: 'As regard' is wrong because it always has an 's' at the end: 'As regards...'. 'For' is wrong, because it should be 'As for,...' 'Regarding to' and 'Concerning to' should not have 'to', so 'Regarding' is correct. )

almost all of the staff were satisfied. (Your answer: '90%' is not accurate, as Table 1 gives a percentage of 95% for satisfaction with reliability. 'Just under' should not be used with 'all'.  'The majority of ' can mean any number over 50%, and therefore is not accurate. Therefore 'almost all of ' is correct.)

Three members of staff did not understand how to operate the oven. (Your answer: 'Employee' is wrong because 'Three' is plural, so the correct answer would have to be 'employees'.
'Staffs' is wrong because there is only one staff in this situation, which is the staff of Contact Computer Graphics. ['Staff' refers to a group of people, of whom each one is a 'member of staff'.]
'Members of staff' is correct because as there are three, 'members' should be plural, but as there is only one staff, it should be singular. ) 

5. Conclusions (Your answer:   After the Findings there are usually either a 'Discussion of Findings' section or the Conclusions section. Note that both end in 's' because there is more than one findings and usually more than one conclusion. If you read the section below you will see that it not only summarises the Findings, but also makes a general suggestion, which leads into the Recommendations. Therefore this section is the Conclusion. The number 5. continues the numbering system we are using.)

The Findings show that staff, especially staff in Group B, were not satisfied with the power and size of the microwave. We should therefore consider buying a bigger and more powerful microwave. (Your answer: 'Powerfuller' is wrong because comparative adjectives for adjectives of more than two syllables, such as 'pow·er·ful', which has three syllables, do not get '_er' endings, but have 'more' in front of them. 'Much' can only be used to define 'more'; e.g. 'much more powerful'. 'More power' is wrong because 'power' is not an adjective, it is a noun. Therefore 'more powerful' is the correct answer.)

6. Recommendations (Your answer: The final section of the main body of a report is usually the recommendations. If there is only one, use 'Recommendation'. However, in the example below there are three, so the plural, 'Recommendations', is used. It is especially important that these should follow logically from the Findings and Conclusions, because your managers will use these to make important decisions about the future of your organisation. The number 6. continues the numbering system we are using.)

There are a number of options (Your answer: 'Several' and 'quite a few' are grammatically correct, but not specific enough. Actually, there are three recommendations. 'Three' is a number, not numbers. Due to the fact that there are three, 'options' should be plural. Therefore 'a number of options' is the correct answer.)

we could consider, (Your answer: 'Will' is wrong because it is too certain, and maybe your manager will not consult with you [you and the manager = 'we'], and maybe not even consider any of your options. It is formal writing style to show that the manager is responsible for this decision, so do not use 'will'. 'Would' is also wrong because, although it is more polite, it seems to be in a conditional structure about the past. The correct answer is 'could', because it describes a possibility, not a certainty, and 'could' is less direct, and  so more polite, than 'can'. ) 

as follows (Your answer: The other options are not correct English phrases.) :

6.1 Exchange (Your answer: 'Part Exchange' is the correct description of the activity described in the paragraph. The number 6.1 continues the numbering system we are using.)

Given that we need a better microwave, we should / could return the microwave (Your answer: 'May' sounds as if you are giving your organisation permission to do something, which is not appropriate for this situation. 'Might' is too tentative, and 'would' is also wrong because, although it is more polite, it seems to be in a conditional structure about the past. Therefore the correct options are 'could' and 'should'. 'Should' is appropriate for the primary option, because you should put the option you prefer first.)

to the shop and ask them if we can buy a bigger one, and only pay the difference. I suggest trying this first. (Your answer: After 'suggest' and 'recommend', use an '_ing' verb.)

6.2 Purchase of a New Microwave (Your answer: The number 6.2 continues the numbering system we are using.)

If the shop will not take back the old microwave I recommend buying a new one, (Your answer: After 'suggest' and 'recommend', use an '_ing' verb.)

and keeping the old one in another part of the office (Your answer: 'In' is the correct preposition for 'the office'.) 

for the staff who do not like the present location. (Your answer: The correct relative pronoun for a group of people is 'who'. 'That' and 'which' are not as polite, as they can also refer to things.)

Alternatively, we could sell the old microwave second hand. (Your answer: After modal verbs such as 'could', use an infinitive verb without 'to'.)

6.3 Queuing System ( Your answer: 'Queuing System' is the most accurate description of the content of the paragraph. The number 6.3 continues the numbering system we are using.)

We could let the staff arrange a system for different staff to use the microwave  (Your answer: 'Should' is too strong for a final option, as the options should be in order with the best one first. 'Could' is more cautious. 'May' sounds as if you are giving your organisation permission to do something, which is not appropriate for this situation. 'Might' is too tentative, and 'would' is also wrong because, although it is more polite, it seems to be in a conditional structure about the past. Therefore the correct option is 'could'.)

at different times. (Your answer: After 'different' you should usually  use the plural form of countable nouns. An exception to this rule is 'different staff ', which is a short form of 'different members of staff'.)