International College of Manitoba

Interactive Learning Series

Ms. Joan Agdeppa

WRITING EMAILS

Email still remains the basic means of electronic communication for various purposes. As a re-
sult, our success in our craft, in our academic environment or in our workplace greatly depends
on how well we communicate with this 21st century electronic tool – email.

With well-written and crafted emails, you can will be able to communicate efficiently and effec-
tively to your peers, professors or colleagues. You can even access places not commonly ac-
cessed by people in your level. Many successful leaders in different organizations and businesses
use emails more strategically than their unsuccessful counterparts.

The following is a guideline that can be useful for both formal and informal writing of email.

How To Write an Email

A. Begin with a greeting

● The first step to take when writing official emails is to formally greet your recipient. Re-
member, the first approach is very significant in determining if your recipient will read
the email or dump it.
● This applies both to the informal and formal context, for example, email to recruiters,
email to your boss, email to a professor.i
● With the advent of the social media, other greetings are becoming acceptable in the busi-
ness world, especially in cases where being formal is not a requirement.
● Always open your email with a greeting, such as “Dear Lillian”. If your relationship
with the reader is formal, use their family name (eg. “Dear Mrs. Price”). If the relation-
ship is more casual, you can simply say, “Hi Kelly”. If you don’t know the name of the
person you are writing to, use: “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir/Madam.

B. Write the Subject of Your Email


After the formal greeting, clearly write out the subject of your email. The subject of your
email must prepare your recipient on what to expect in the main body of the email. Don’t
leave the subject blank as it provides a clue to the recipient about the email. Also, your sub-
ject should not be too long but briefly stated. For example
● Subject: Application for a Study Grant
● Subject: Request for Your Products Catalogue
● Subject: Visa Processing Documents

C. Introduce Yourself

This is the first time your recipient will be receiving an email from you, don’t move to the
point without formally and briefly introducing yourself to create a sense of familiarity that
will motivate them to read your email further.

I am Kate Jonah, the director of Zaret Wood Company.


I am Leonardo Pitt, your student from English Communications class


A simple introduction like this will create an expectation in the recipient’s mind.

D. Thank the recipient


If you are replying to a client’s inquiry or to your professor’s response, you should begin
with a line of thanks. For example, if someone has a question about your company, you can
say, “Thank you for contacting me.” If someone has replied to one of your emails, be sure to
say, “Thank you for your prompt reply” or “Thanks for getting back to me”. Thanking the
reader puts him or her at ease, and it will make you appear more polite.

E. State Your Purpose and Write the Main Message


If you are starting the email communication, it may be impossible to include a line of thanks.
Instead, begin by stating your purpose. For example, “I am writing to enquire about …”
or “I am writing in reference to …”.

Make your purpose clear early on in the email, and then move into the main text of your
email. Remember, people want to read emails quickly, so keep your sentences short and
clear. You’ll also need to pay careful attention to grammar, spelling and punctuation so that
you present a professional image of yourself.

The main message is where your recipient gets clear about the purpose of the official email.
Don’t blab unnecessarily in your message. Organize your thoughts and present them in a
coherent order. Write in paragraphs.

Give the email a logical arrangement that will make your notions easily understandable by
the recipient. Avoid any form of informal usage or statement, and express yourself with sim-
ple and correct words. EXAMPLE:

 

Thanks for calling our attention to this problem. Please ensure you keep informing us
about issues like this when they occur in subsequent times.

F. Add Your Closing Remarks


Before you end your email, it’s polite to thank your reader one more time and add some po-
lite closing remarks. You might start with “Thank you for your patience and cooperation” or
“Thank you for your consideration” and then follow up with, “If you have any questions or
concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know” and “I look forward to hearing from you”.

G. End with a Proper Conclusion


The last step is to include an appropriate closing with your name. “Best regards”,
“Sincerely”, and “Thank you” are all professional. Avoid closings such as “Best wishes” or
“Cheers” unless you are good friends with the reader. Finally, before you hit the send button,
review and spell check your email one more time to make sure it’s truly perfect!

Official emails are procedural in nature. Therefore, your conclusion should be presented for-
mally. Examples of formal conclusions are:

● Yours sincerely,
● Best regards,
● Your student,
● Yours cordially,
● Respectfully,

Worksheet

Exercise 1: Rewrite the direct questions as indirect questions.

 1. When does the course start?

2. Do I need to do a level test?

3. How much does the course

cost?

4. Do you have native teachers?

5. When do your courses begin?

6. Is the accommodation near the

school?

7. How many students are in

each class?

8. Which book will we use?

Exercise 2. You are going to look at the text from three emails that contain words which can of-
ten be confused. Underline the correct or most appropriate word.

1. I apologise for any (4) disadvantage/inconvenience/unfortunate this may cause, and I (5)
look forward/wait/anticipate to (6) hear/hearing/know from you. I am writing with (1)
connection/reference/regarding to our telephone conversation this morning about your
order 7895LG. I must (2) regret/apologise/sorry for the delay in processing this order. I
can now confirm that the goods have been shipped and shoulda (3) arrive/reach/deliver
you within 10 working days. We have taken special (4) care/attention/caution to make
sure that the items are exactly as you requested. 



Once again, please (5) take/have/accept our apologies. If you have any further questions,
do not (6) stop/fail/hesitate to contact me again.


2. I was (1) sorry/unhappy/afraid to hear about the damage to the products that you received
this morning. However, I am (2) afraid/apologise/regret that we cannot (3) accept/except/
 have responsibility in this (4) topic/material/matter. All our products are (5) controlled/
checked/looked very carefully before leaving the factory, and the damage in this case
must have been caused in transit. I (6) propose/suggest/tell that you contact the shipping
company directly about possible compensation. 



In the meantime, we can ship the same order to you again, if it would help. If you give us
a firm instruction to do so (7) until/by/within the next few days, it should reach you (8)
until/by/within the end of the month. 


3. I am writing to you (1) affecting/connecting/concerning the meeting that we (2) com-

bined/appointed/arranged for this Friday. I am afraid something urgent has come up and I
will not be able to attend. Can we (3) cancel/postpone/schedule the meeting until next
week? I can make any time Wednesday or Thursday.