Key Idea: Professional texts are formal: a formal letter, a report, a proposal, instructions and an essay. Each one has a fixed frame and a register you keep from start to finish.
Formal letter
- Frame: place and date, Betreff, formal greeting, body, sign-off and name.
- Register: Sie all the way, polite and respectful.
- Say your Anliegen (request) in the first body sentence, then justify it.
- {{Sehr geehrte Damen und Herren, … Mit freundlichen Grüßen|Dear Sir or Madam, … Yours sincerely}}
Report
- Frame: title, aim, findings, then recommendations and a conclusion. No greeting.
- Register: formal, neutral and impersonal.
- Facts first, then advice: {{Es wird empfohlen, …|It is recommended to …}}
Proposal
- Frame: a title that names the proposal, a formal opening with your aim, your plan, a final request.
- Give every measure a reason: {{Ich schlage vor, …, da …|I propose …, since …}}
- Link reasons with {{denn, da, aus diesen Gründen|because, since, for these reasons}}
Instructions
- Parts: title → what you need → numbered steps → tip or warning → close.
- Register: commands, in the imperative or the infinitive, one form all through.
- {{schäle, füge hinzu, serviere|peel, add, serve}}
Essay
- A professional text: logical argument, for a reader who expects reasoned discussion.
- Register: formal and impersonal.
- Argue both sides before you take a position.
- End with your own view and the reason for it.
- {{Abschließend bin ich der Meinung, dass…|In conclusion, I am of the opinion that…}}
Get the frame and the register right first, then fill the frame with your ideas.
Where do you state your request in a formal letter? In the first sentence of the body.
Which text never says «ich finde»? The report. It stays impersonal.
What must every measure in a proposal have? A reason or benefit.
What comes before the steps in instructions? A title and a list of things you need.
How do you sign off a formal letter? Mit freundlichen Grüßen.
What must an essay do before its conclusion? Weigh up both sides.