Biz-E-Training

Essential Business English – Student consulting

This page outlines how to prepare for the student consulting component in the Essential Business English course examination, which is structured as follows:

1
Choice of topic

The first step is to choose a topic that relates to

  • your present job and company, or
  • the business sector you are currently working in, or
  • an area of work you would like to move into after your studies are completed, or
  • a company you would like to work for in the future.

The text should NOT be simply a description of your company or business sector. Rather, it should be a report on what you have learnt from your research (see below).

2
Topic proposal

If you would like feedback on your choice of topic, the second step is to tell your tutor what you would like to write about. To do this, you should do the following:

  1. Prepare a short text (maximum 75 words) describing your student consulting project idea and the reason(s) you have chosen your topic. If it’s possible at this early stage, add a title for your project. In your text, make sure you answer the following 3 questions as clearly as possible:
    1. What exactly would you like to learn more about?
    2. How will this new knowledge be of practical help to you in your current work or in your future career?
    3. How will you get the information you need?
  1. Go to the forum here on this website FOM Students Forum and register. Follow the instructions on the page.
  2. Add your text to the Essential Business English forum. You will find the deadline for this in the Lernmedien for your course.

Your tutor will give you feedback on your choice of topic, and once you’ve received approval, you can continue with your preparations.

3
Prepare your text

The next step is to prepare the text you would like to submit in the examination. To do this you should do the following:

  1. Check the feedback on your choice of topic (see above) that you receive from your tutor.
  1. Do any research that is necessary to learn more about your topic.
  1. Look up any vocabulary that is needed.
  1. Plan the text (make sure you use the structure given below).
  1. Prepare the first draft of your text.
  1. Prepare the final draft of your text.
4
In the exam

In the exam, you will need to produce a text consisting of a minimum of 350 words and a maximum of 400 words in which you need to do the following:

  1. Briefly describe your research topic and why you chose it (i.e., how it will help you in your work or career).
  1. Give very brief details of your methodology (i.e., how you researched your topic.).
  1. Summarise your findings (i.e., the results of your research). This should be the main part of your text.
  1. Conclude with a brief proposal, recommendation or perhaps some speculation on the future as appropriate for your chosen topic.