Self-Assessment Think about how well you know each target word, and check (✓) the appropriate column. I have…

TARGET WORDS

AWL

never seen the word before

heard or seen the word but am not sure what it means

seen or heard the word and understand what it means

used this word, but I am not sure if I am using it correctly

used the word confidently in either speaking or writing

used the word confidently in both speaking and writing

benefit

commit

construct

create

enable

establish

exclude

expert

style

unique

vehicle

vision

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U N I T B U S I N E S S

Oxford 3000™ keywords

Go Online Learn more about company profiles.

22 Advertising your CompanyIn this unit, you will> analyze company profiles and learn

how they are used in business

> use descriptive writing

> increase your understanding of the target academic words for this unit

WRITING SKILLS > Analyzing Audience and Purpose

> Using Adverb Clauses of Time

> Organizing Information

P R E P A R E T O W R I T E

Building KnowledgeRead these questions. Discuss your answers in a small group.

1. What can you learn about a company from an online website?

2. Name some local companies that have websites. Have you visited their websites? What other company websites have you seen?

3. What background information should a company have on a website?

MORE WORDS YOU’LL NEEDclient: a person who uses the services of a professional person or organizationdesign: to decide how something will look or work, especially by drawing plansfounder: a person who starts a business or organization

Writing ModelsA company profile is usually on the “About Us” page of a company’s website. Read about three different companies.

ABOUT US:

Turtle Transit

S ince 2000, Turtle Transit has established itself as the leader in unique advertising vehicles. Turtle

Transit has created some of thxe most cutting-edge1 vehicles on the road today. We have built our reputation by designing very unusual advertising vehicles. Our vehicles stop traffic and turn heads. We are committed to blowing you away2 with our vehicles. They are daring but they meet our clients’ advertising needs.

James Riseborough, founder of Turtle Transit, is the creative genius behind every one of our top vehicles. But the strength of our company is in our employees’ artistic talents. Turtle Transit’s master designers and industrial artists do all

construction at our manufacturing center. This includes metal and woodworking, vehicle work, and design. Turtle has the expertise to support you. We have built advertising vehicles for business giants such as Nestle, Nike, MasterCard, and Ben and Jerry’s ice cream. While we are proud of our creativity, we are proudest of our dedication to top-notch3 client service. This is what separates us from our competition.

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Turtle Transit creates advertising vehicles that make people stop and look.

1 cutting edge: the newest, most advanced stage of something 2 blow you away: to impress you or make you very happy3 top-notch: excellent; of the highest quality

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Rent the Runway customers can choose current season fashion from over 100 top designers.

ABOUT US:

Rent the RunwayJENNIFER HYMAN got her inspiration for her company from her sister’s dress disaster. Her sister couldn’t find a dress to wear to a wedding. So, Jennifer and her friend Jenny Fleiss decided to open a rental service for luxurious designer dresses. Using their Harvard Business School know-how4, the women started their company in 2009. Now, Rent the Runway is like a dream closet. We have 24,000 dresses and 12,000 accessories for fashionable women to rent for special occasions.

Rent the Runway is for women who love high fashion. Our customers want to look glamorous. But, they want to have a new look without spending thousands of dollars on special

occasion dresses. Our customers benefit from the expertise of professional designers and fashion stylists. Our specialists are available to give individualized service online or over the phone. In addition, on our website, customers can see what other women have rented. They can read customers’ comments and view their photos. Rent the Runway has an exclusive partnership with top designers, and that enables us to get the latest fashions quickly. And the best part? Rent the Runway women can look fabulously fashionable for just the cost of the rental.

ABOUT US:

N O M N O M T R U C KNom Nom Truck started in 2009. When two young entrepreneurs met at college, they dreamed of selling Vietnamese food from a food truck in Los Angeles. After college, owners Jennifer Green and Misa Chien recreated their favorite traditional dishes and served them in sandwiches or even tacos from a truck. After they appeared on a popular food show on national TV, Nom Nom Truck was on the road to success.

“At Nom Nom, our vision is to bring delicious, healthy, and fast Vietnamese cuisine5 to everyone. Even customers who had never tried Vietnamese food before love Nom Nom Truck.

After you try our popular Honey Pork Banh Mi, you will be back for more!”

Jennifer and Misa describe their company values as a triangle of happiness. “If our customers are happy and our truck team is happy, then we are happy. We believe in great customer service. We do this by having fantastic friendly truck teams of chefs and cashiers. Eventually, we would like to have Nom Nom Trucks with Vietnamese cuisine in cities nationwide.”

Jennifer and Misa hope to have Nom Nom Trucks in cities across the United States.

4 know-how: knowledge of how to do something5 cuisine: a style of cooking

A DV E R T I S I N G YO U R C O M PA N Y 17

Analyze Audience and PurposeW R I T I N G S K I L L

L E A R N

When you analyze a writing model, think about the audience and the purpose. Consider these questions.

1. Who is the audience for this writing? What kinds of people are reading this?

2. Is the text in a newspaper, magazine, on a website, or in a book?

3. What information do readers need? What questions do readers have?

4. What purpose does the writer have? What reaction does the writer want from readers?

A P P LY

A. Read the business profiles again. Then discuss the questions above with a partner.

B. Analyze the audience and purpose of each company profile. Write the letter of the targeted audience and purpose for each company. You will use some choices more than once. Compare answers with a partner.

Audience Purpose

Individuals

Large companies

Advertisers

Women

College students

Online shoppers

People who live in urban areas

Quickly inform the reader

Tell a story to interest readers

Communicate what is unique about the company

Make the reader curious

To impress the reader

1. Turtle Transit

Audience:

Purpose:

2. Rent the Runway

Audience:

Purpose:

3. Nom Nom Truck

Audience:

Purpose:

Large Companies

1 8 U N I T 2

AnalyzeA. Read the three company profiles and check (✓) what is included. What information is

included in all three? Compare your answers with a partner.

Type of InformationTurtle Transit

Rent the Runway

Nom Nom Truck

Name of founder or owner ✓

Date established

Brief company history

Product description

Statement of mission or vision

Characteristics of employees

Product information

Description of clients or customers

Unique characteristic(s)

B. Answer the questions. Then discuss in a small group.

1. What is unique about each business? In each profile, underline key words that express that uniqueness and write them below.

Turtle Transit:

Rent the Runway:

Nom Nom Truck:

2. Which profile does not include information about the company’s history? Why was it probably not important to include for that business?

C. Discuss these questions with a partner.

1. Which two profiles include information about how the company started?

2. Why do you think this information is included?

3. How does your impression about a company change when you know why the owners started it?

cutting edge vehicles for advertising products

A DV E R T I S I N G YO U R C O M PA N Y 1 9

Vocabulary Activities STEP I: Word Level

A. For each target word, find the word form that is used in the writing models. The paragraph number is given. Underline the word in the model and then circle the word form in the chart.

Paragraph Noun Verb Adjective Adverb

2 construction construct constructive

1 creation

1 creativity create creative creatively

4 establishment establish established

2 exclusivity exclude exclusive exclusively

4 expertise

expert expert expertly

style

stylist style stylish

B. Fill in the blanks about Two Stamp Design, using the words from activity A. Use the correct form of the word. Change verb tense as needed. More than one answer may be possible.

1. Two brothers are the imaginative and creative designers behind Two Stamp Design, Inc.

2. When they their website design company five years ago, they knew it was a very competitive business.

3. From the start, they focused on developing a very unique .

4. They have many years of experience, and they bring their to every project, no matter how small it is.

5. When they won the account of an luxury resort and spa, they realized that their business was going to have to expand rapidly.

6. They began hiring designers with in creating stunning magazine advertisements.

7. Recently, they have designed advertising materials for a well-known

company that is building houses in five states.

2 0 U N I T 2

Vocabulary Activities STEP II: Sentence Level

Some verbs collocate with, or occur often with, certain prepositions. These sets of words are called collocations. Here are some examples of collocations for target words in this unit.

benefit from Our customers benefit from our many years of experience.

be committed to The company president is committed to opening several new stores next year.

enable someone to The new software will enable employees to check their work.

C. Answer these questions using the verbs in parentheses. Be sure to use the words that collocate with it. Refer to the business profiles for information. Compare answers with a partner.

1. Why do you think that customers of Rent the Runway enjoy using the website? (benefit)

2. What is Rent the Runway committed to providing to its customers? (commit)

3. Why do you think that Rent the Runway is so popular with women? (enable)

4. How do you think expensive, exclusive designers benefit from having their dresses featured on Rent the Runway? (benefit)

D. In paragraph 6, the profile gives the vision of Nom Nom. At Nom Nom, our vision is to bring delicious, healthy, and fast Vietnamese cuisine to everyone. In this context, vision means how you imagine or hope your business will be.

Answer the questions about the other companies’ visions below. Use one of the following words in each of your sentences: benefit; create; enable.

1. In one sentence, write a description of the vision for Turtle Transit, based on the profile.

2. Write a description of the vision for Rent the Runway, based on the profile.

C O R P U SC

A DV E R T I S I N G YO U R C O M PA N Y 2 1

Establish means to start something or to make something exist. Establish can be used in several different ways.

A person can establish a company, an organization, or a system.

He established his company several years ago.

The government has established new guidelines for recycling.

The business was established in 2010.

Two people, organizations, or countries can establish a relationship, especially a formal one.

I have established contact with the lawyer’s office.

You can establish yourself; that is, you can succeed in something and make people accept and respect you.

He has established himself as a very reliable accountant.

She has established herself as one of the top opera singers in the country.

E . Discuss these questions with a partner. Then write answers. Use the correct form of establish in your answer.

1. Think of the oldest business or company that you know. Approximately when was it established? Do you know who established it, or why?

2. Think of a famous singer, movie director, or artist. What event (movie, song, or exhibit) helped to establish this person’s reputation?

3. What are some ways that you can establish trust with another person?

4. How would you like others to see you in the future?

C O R P U SC

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Grammar Adverb Clauses of Time

An adverb clause of time is a dependent clause that starts with a time word or phrase such as while, after, before, as soon as, when, until, soon after. The dependent clause shows a time relationship to the independent or main clause. The time clause can come before or after the main clause.

After the owners appeared on a popular TV show, Nom Nom Truck was on the road to success.

The Nom Nom Truck became very well known after the owners appeared on a popular TV show.

Notice when the dependent clause comes before the main clause there is a comma between the two clauses, but when the sentence begins with the main clause, there is no comma.

When writing a company profile, the most common verb tenses in adverb clauses of time are past, past progressive, present, and future.

While he was attending school, he opened his first store.

Once you try our products, you will see the difference.

A. Read the sentences about Tutor Camp, an after-school tutoring company. Underline the adverb clauses of time. Rewrite each sentence with the adverb clause in a different position.

1. The founder of Tutor Camp, Wilson, developed his idea for the company while he was a high school student.

2. As soon as he graduated college in May of 2010, he started a small tutoring company for high school students.

3. Wilson had to hire a management team after he expanded his business in 2012.

4. Before he expanded his business to another city, he did a lot of market research.

5. While he was busy with his company, he was studying in an MBA program.

While he was a high school student, the founder of tutor camp developed his

idea for the company.

A DV E R T I S I N G YO U R C O M PA N Y 2 3

B. Read the paragraph and put brackets around each adverb clause of time. Then underline the subject and verb in each clause. Correct the errors, including verb tense, clause structure, and time words. There are five mistakes. The first correction is done for you.

I have always wanted to own my own business, but I wasn’t sure what

kind of business. [When I am young,] I helped in my father’s hair salons. I

learned about the importance of customer service I watched my father talk

with his clients. I also helped him with the accounting while I was a high

school student. When I enter college, I decided to major in business. One

semester, just for something different, I registered in a furniture-making

course. After the first month, I realize that I loved working with wood and

designs. I graduated from college, I started to explore business opportunities

in construction management. I now own my own construction company.

C. Imagine that 10 years from now, you are a successful business owner. Write a paragraph telling the story of how your business started.

You may wish to use some of these expressions:

When I was …,

After I graduated from ….

While I was …..

I didn’t ….. until I ….

Before ….,

As soon as …..,

By the time….,

was

W R I T I N G S K I L L

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W R I T E

Organize W R I T I N G S K I L L

L E A R N

When writing a company profile, your purpose is to interest the reader and give the reader information. In the profile, you need to capture the reader’s attention, give information, and convince the reader of your company’s uniqueness. To do this, you need to decide what information to include and organize your information carefully.

To plan your writing, list three or four main points of information. Focus one paragraph on each point. Then consider the order of the presentation. You may want to put the company history first, or you may think it is more interesting if the founder’s history and goals are stated first. Try different orders and think about how the order might affect the message and the reader. Remember that a powerful ending can have a lasting effect on readers.

A P P LY

Look at company profile of Turtle Transit on page 16. Discuss what you think the focus of each paragraph is.

The first paragraph says what the company builds.

Collaborative WritingA. The profile does not include information about the founder. Read how

Riseborough started Turtle Transit.

1. Underline the word forms related to the target vocabulary on page 16.

2. List the key words that describe Riseborough.

James Riseborough started his career as an artist and designer. His unusual creations were well-known in the design world. He designed some very famous restaurants, including The House of Blues in New Orleans and The Harley Davidson Café. Later, he took his unique expertise into a new field: designing company displays, or exhibits, for large conferences. He built extraordinary exhibits around the world. All of this changed, however, when he saw his first advertising vehicle. Suddenly he visualized how he could combine his creativity with his love of cars. His first advertising vehicle was Elvis the Rhino, a 1985 Toyota van.

Keywords:

A DV E R T I S I N G YO U R C O M PA N Y 2 5

B. With a partner, insert the new information about Riseborough into the Turtle Transit profile.

1. Reread the profile on page 16 and decide where the information should go.

2. Rewrite that part of the profile on a separate piece of paper. Use some of the information from the paragraph above, but use your own words.

3. You can write your own first sentence, or start with this:

James Riseborough, founder of Turtle Transit, is the creative genius behind every one of our unique vehicles.

C. Share your new company profiles for Turtle Transit with the class. As a class, discuss the questions.

1. Where did you put your new information? Why?

2. How does it change the profile if you start with information about Riseborough?

3. Do you think it is better? Why or why not?

Independent WritingA. Write a company profile for a website. It can be for a company that offers a

service (test preparation tutoring) or a product (a clothing store, or restaurant). It can be for a real company or a company you imagine owning.

Choose a company. Brainstorm ideas for your company profile. Fill in the idea map with as many ideas as you can think of. Then explain your idea map to a partner.

[IW2-U2-05: Idea map with “company name” in center. Circles around center are labeled: history; product; customers; unique features; values; key adjectives. Circles have room for students to add ideas.]

2 6 U N I T 2

B. Your profile may have a history of the company. To get ideas, fill in the paragraph below with your own words.

The inspiration for company

came in a very adjective

way. When

person was ,

past verb.

person realized

that subject + verb

. With the help of noun or proper noun

, person

established company

in company

. person’s

vision for this

company is to verb

.

C. Look at some adjectives from the writing models. Circle the ones you can use in your profile.

artistic creative exclusive fashionable historic proud unique unusual

D. Fill in the sentence frames with information about your company.

1. Our is/are what separate(s) us from our competitors.

2. Since , has established itself as the leader

in .

3. From to , we have the expertise to .

4. After you try our , you will .

5. has created some of the most / ---est

6. We have built our reputation by (-ing form) .

7. started in , when .

8. After , was on the road to success.

9. is for people who love .

10. Our customers want to .

E. Write your company profile. Using your idea map to decide on the order and focus of your paragraphs. As you write, include adjectives and sentences you like from activities B and D. Use target vocabulary from page 15.

A DV E R T I S I N G YO U R C O M PA N Y 27

VOCABULARY TIP

Adjectives can help you communicate what is outstanding about your company. Use adjectives to build the image of your company.

A. Read your profile. Answer the questions below and make revisions to your profile as needed.

1. Check (✓) the information you included in your profile.

date company was established facts about products

name of founder descriptions of customers

company history unique aspects

product or service description statement of vision

2. Look at the information you did not include. Would adding that information make your profile more interesting to customers?

Grammar Punctuating Clauses

Compound sentences (with two independent clauses) must have a comma. The comma should be before the coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, for, nor, yet).

S V S V Sofia may start a bakery, or she may open a coffee shop.

Sentences starting with an adverb time clauses should have a comma after the dependent clause.

S V S V After he graduated, Ray worked in his aunt’s business.

S V S V Ray worked in his aunt’s business after he graduated.

B. Check the language in your profile and make revisions as needed.

I used lots of descriptive adjectives

I used target words in my profile

I used adverb clauses to tell the company history

I punctuated my adverb clauses correctly

C. Use the Peer Feedback Form to give feedback to your partner. Make changes to your own writing based on the feedback your partner gives you.

D. Check your profile again. Repeat activities A and B.

E. Self-Assessment Review: Go back to page 15 and reassess your knowledge of the target vocabulary. How has your understanding of the words changed? What words do you feel most comfortable using now?

R E V I S E A N D E D I T

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