Scribd
Upload
228 views

How To Write A Formal Emailess

The document provides guidelines for writing a formal email, including giving the email a clear and informative subject, greeting the recipient properly using their name and title, clearly stating the purpose and any required action in the body, and ending politely while signing off with your contact information. Key recommendations are to have a well-formatted subject line, greet the recipient formally, explicitly state the purpose and any needed action, and end with a polite sign-off and signature.

Uploaded by

dima sinno
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
228 views

How To Write A Formal Emailess

The document provides guidelines for writing a formal email, including giving the email a clear and informative subject, greeting the recipient properly using their name and title, clearly stating the purpose and any required action in the body, and ending politely while signing off with your contact information. Key recommendations are to have a well-formatted subject line, greet the recipient formally, explicitly state the purpose and any needed action, and end with a polite sign-off and signature.

Uploaded by

dima sinno
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 3

How to Write a Formal E-mail

Please follow the guidelines below concerning the writing of formal e-mail messages.

1. Subject

Give the message a subject/title. E-mail messages without a subject may not be opened because of a fear of
viruses and especially note that it is very easy to forget to type this important information. Keep the subject
short, focused, clear and informative.

Examples
 Strong Subjects
 Invitation to the ABC Conference, Nov 2009
 Application for Account Manager Position #413 – Jane Smith CV
 Agenda for the Meeting on Monday, 10am
 Party Invitation for John, Sally and Martin
 Updates on the Building Plans
 Meeting Scheduled for Oct 15, Thursday at 10am
 Great Craft Ideas Using Recyclable Materials

 Weak Subjects: 
 [blank]
 Hi, Hello, How are you?
 First line of the email message
 Words to avoid: Help, Percent Off, Reminder, Free, Good News, Hello, Message from …

2. Greetings

Start the message with a greeting so as to help create a friendly but business-like tone. The choice of using
the other name versus the surname will depend on who you are writing to. If you have communicated with
the receiver previously and he/she is at a similar level to you, then the use of the other name would be
appropriate. If the receiver is more senior to you, or if you are in doubt, it would be safer (particularly in the
first communication) to use the person’s surname/family name together with a title.

 Example Greetings
 Dear Mr. [family name], OR [full name],
 Dear Mrs. [family name], OR [full name],
 Dear Ms. [family name], OR [full name],
 Dear Sir/Madam, [if you don’t know the name of the person you are addressing]
 Dear Dr. [family name], OR [full name],
 To whom it may concern,
Don’t misspell the name!
Don’t forget the comma at the end of the greeting.

Page 1 of 3
 Example Opening Sentences 
 Following our phone conversation, I am sending you…
 Attached please find the documents you requested regarding…
 In regards to the upcoming pilot program, I have listed below the tasks and deadlines that need to be
completed.
 Further to our last discussion, I would like to bring to your attention the following issues:
 As we agreed, there will not be …
 Please reconsider our proposal for …
 In response to your job post for Marketing Director, please find below a brief overview of my skills.
I have also attached my CV for your review.

3. Purpose

 Start with a clear indication of what the message is about in the first paragraph.
 Give full details in the following paragraph(s).
 Make sure that the final paragraph indicates what should happen next.

 Examples
 I will send a messenger to your office on Tuesday morning to collect the faulty goods.
 Please let me have your order by the beginning of the month.

4. Action

Any action that you want the reader to do should be clearly described, using politeness phrases. You should
use expressions such as

 'Could you...'
 ' I would be grateful if...'.
 'Please...'.

 Examples
 In addition to the attached agenda, please click on this link http://www...
 To register for the online event, please go to...

5. Attachments

Make sure you refer, in the main message, to any attachments you are adding and of course make extra sure
that you remember to include the attachment(s). Make sure the file name describes the content, and is not too
general.

 Examples
 'message.doc' is bad
 'QA Report 2012.doc' is good

Page 2 of 3
6. Endings

End the message in a polite way.

 Example Closing Sentences 


 I look forward to your reply.
 Thank you for the time you have taken to review my candidacy for the position.
 Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have.
 Thank you, in advance, for your time.
 I await receipt of the information we discussed.
 Please forward me the exact information.

 Example Sign-offs before the Signature 


 Yours Sincerely,
 Best Regards,
 Best Wishes,
 Regards,
 Sincerely,
 Thank you,
 Thanks,

7. Signature 

Make sure you provide the following information about yourself at the end of the email.
 Name
 Title, company name
 Email Address
 Phone/Fax
 Web Address

 Example
Jennifer Ranford
Human Resources Manager, Beirut Arab University
[email protected]
00961 3 666 666
www.bau.edu.lb/hr

____________________________________________________________________________________

Page 3 of 3

You might also like