Writing 2. Advising on advantages and disadvantages in an email

A lawyer has received a request from a client who employs a large number of people and has to deal with employment rights disputes on a regular basis. The client has asked for general information about the arbitration process described in Reading 4 in a short, easy-­to-understand memo. He wants to know how it compares with employment tribunals, and what the advantages and disadvantages are of arbitration from the point of view of an employer.

Ex. 17. Read this email, written in response to the above request. Some of the information it contains is incorrect. Find three factual mistakes and correct them.

Dear Mr. Mason   In your email of 9 April, you asked for information concerning the new arbitration procedure. You specifically requested an assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of arbitration from the point of view of an employer. The followings summary presents a selection of key features of both the new arbitration scheme and the existing employment tribunal process.  

• Speed: Unlike hearings held before an employment tribunal, the new procedure can be completed faster, usually in one week. This is clearly advantageous for an employer, as it would save a great deal of time and money.

 

• Confidentiality: In contrast to the public hearings held by employment tribunals, the new arbitration process is conducted in a private setting, such as a hotel, and is completely confidential. This prevents an employer from getting the unwanted bad publicity that often accompanies public proceedings. A further advantage of confidentiality from the point of view of an employer is the fact that high out-of-court settlements for employees (which are typically reached in order to avoid the embarrassment of public proceedings) are thus much less likely.

 

• Appeals: Both the decisions of an employment tribunal and those reached in arbitration can be appealed. Naturally, this can be regarded as a significant advantage for an employer.

  On balance, I would say that the new arbitration scheme is attractive from the point of view of an employer, and I recommend that you consider making use of this new process to deal with all kinds of employment disputes.   Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like further information. I have attached an article about this topic to this email, which may be of interest to you.   Yours sincerely   Elisabeth Stephens

Ex. 18. When comparing complex ideas in a Clear and simple way, it is advisable to, decide on an overall organising principle. Generally speaking, two approaches to organising ideas are available to the writer:

A Listing and explaining the advantages and disadvantages of one system and then the other;

B Choosing key points - - such as confidentiality - and discussing each system in respect of these criteria.

1. Which method of organising a comparison is used in the email you have just read?

2. Which sentence in the email announces the organising principle to the reader at the beginning of the text?

3. Underline the phrases in the email which are used to compare and contrast.

4. Which phrases are used to point out advantages?

Ex. 19. Rewrite the email using method A to organise the information.

Correct the factual mistakes and make use of some of the following phrases for comparing and indicating advantages/disadvantages.

X has a number of advantages, such as...

However, it also has some disadvantages/drawbacks...

X differs from / is different from Y with regard to / in respect of...

The first system / The former has the advantage/disadvantage of being.., while the second system / the latter has the benefit/drawback of being....

Ex. 20. Read the following article and retell it in English, give your point of view on the suggested problem.

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