The Chinese Online Writing Lab

Correspondence that involves the arrangement of a foreign technical visit commonly includes the following:

Inviting the speaker

Speaker invitations should include such preliminary information the participant will play and the topics covered at the event.

“In light of your renowned research and your contributions in the field of GRIN polymers, we would like to formally invite you to serve as the Invited Speaker at the upcoming GRIN Materials Symposium.”

“We would like to invite you to give a talk at our upcoming silicone technology seminar.”

“This is an official invitation to three ABC Corporation specialists, Mr. Smith, Mr. Jones, and Ms. Lin, to participate in a CGMP seminar and visit our local bulk pharmaceutical chemical plants.”

“Please recommend one scientific expert to serve as a short term consultant at CMS, whose expertise is highly relevant to the following subjects.”

Listing details of the event

The letter should include specific topics, time of the event, and perhaps a description of some of the participants who will attend this event.

“We are organizing a seminar on Conductive Plastics for Anti-static/ESD Applications that will be held at Union Chemical Laboratories/ITRI on April 16. The ultimate purpose of the seminar will be to provide a channel of communication between IC assembly houses and IC container manufacturers. The seminar will also focus on issues related to the properties and technology of conductive plastic compounds.”

“The meeting will be held April 25-26, 1994 at the National Central Library, Taipei. We hope that you can give two lectures, at 31:20-14:05 and 15:10-15:55(4/25/94), respectively.”

“Reception dinners are to be held on the evenings of April 25 and 26, and there will be a short tour of Taipei on April 29.

Offering compensation for the visit

Financial details regarding compensation should be stated as simply and directly as possible to avoid confusion:

“Roundtrip airfare ticket (business class) and accomodations will be provided.”

“Please pay in advance for the roundtrip airfare ticket, and other incidental expenses and retain the receipts. We will pass reimburse you (by check) prior to your departure of Taiwan.”

Mentioning what to prepare before?the visit

The speaker should not be given any last minute surprises with respect to what materials and further information is required.

“Please fax us your curriculum vitae, lecture topics, and half-page abstracts before January 31, 1994, as well as the complete papers before March 1, 1994. Please fax and send all your materials to me on time so that we will have sufficient time for translation and printing.

“I also need your curriculum vitae, including: NAME, DATE OF BIRTH, PLACE OF BIRTH, NATIONALITY, MARITAL STATUS, ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS, PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE, SCIENTIFIC ACHIEVEMENTS, CURRENT SCIENTIFIC ACTIVITIES, OTHER SCIENCE-RELATED ACTIVITIES, AND SELECTED PUBLICATIONS.”

Additional instruction can be found in the accompanying Power Point presentation.

Further practice can be found in A Correspondence Manual for Chinese Technical Writers by Ted Knoy.