Email structure

The first thing you need to know is the different parts of an email, and these are:
 Greetings: we greet the other person (i.e. say «hi» or «hello»).
 Opening paragraph: we react to the other person’s news and ask them how they are
feeling and whatever else you feel is appropriate.
 Main paragraph 1: in this paragraph we deal with the first important point, which we
can identify in the instructions.
 Main paragraph 2: if there is a different point to deal with, this paragraph will do so.
 (We might have more main paragraphs, depending on the task.)
 Closing paragraph: in this paragraph we «start» to say goodbye by wishing the other
person well and asking them to reply to your email.
 Goodbye: we use a short expression to say goodbye.
 Signature: we sign the email with our name.
In general, all emails must follow the same structure, and also, I recommend you following
these two pieces of advice::

 Don’t write From: y To:, as it is completely unnecessary and Cambridge won’t penalise
you. Also, you’re saving words which you can use in the body of your email.
 Don’t write a subject, for the same reason as before.

Now that we know the different parts of an email, we should see an example.
Expressions to use in your email

 Greetings
We have 3 basic ways to greet in this kind of writing, which is usually for a friend or family member:

Hi John,

Hello John,

Dear John,

Notice how «hi» is less formal than «hello» or «dear». Also, don’t forget to write a comma (,) right after
greeting your friend or relative. After greeting the addressee (i.e. the person who will read the email),
you must start the opening paragraph in a new line.

 Opening paragraph
The opening paragraph is the place to react to your friend’s or relative’s email. In order to do so, you can use a
number of different expressions. Here we have some examples:

It’s nice / great / good to hear from you.

It’s nice / great / good to read your email.

I’m glad to hear your news.

I’m excited about… (your news.)

It’s great to hear that…

I’m sorry to hear that…

I’m really sorry to read your news.

Thanks a lot for writing!

It was good to receive your email.

Thank you very much for your email.

And many more. Also, it’s a good idea to ask your friend or relative how they are feeling, which you can do like
this:

Hope you are doing well.

How’s it going?

How are you (doing)?

How are things (going)?

You can also add some information that you think is relevant or necessary, but don’t expand this paragraph
very much, because the important information must go in the main paragraphs.
  Main paragraphs
For the main paragraphs, there aren’t any fixed expressions which you must use, as it depends mostly
on what you have to write about. However, you should try to make use of connectors and appropriate
punctuation. So let’s take a look at common useful connectors and the punctuation we use them with:

… and… : to connect two similar things or ideas.

I love reading and listening to music.

My favourite meal is fish and chips.

…, but… : to connect two contrasting ideas.

I love watching Tv, but I don’t have a favourite show.

I am reading a book, but I don’t remember the title.

. However, … : to connect contrasting ideas.

Last month, I went to the cinema. However, I didn’t enjoy the movie.

I am a very big fan of this author. However, I haven’t read his last novel.

Moreover, … : to add more information about something.

… because… : to justify an opinion or idea.

My mum is the perfect cook because she knows a lot of recipes and has plenty of experience. Moreover, she
experiments with different ingredients all the time.

. Because of that, … : to justify an opinion, fact or idea.

My mum likes to cook using new ingredients all the time. Because of that, she creates original dishes every
month.

. As for…/ Regarding… : to switch to a new topic. For instance, you can use this connector to start the
second main paragraph.

As for/Regarding why I like this cookery show, I think it’s because it’s a great way to see new recipes.

Time linkers: then, after that, yesterday, this morning, last summer, etc.

Last night, I watched a very good action film.

With many connectors, we typically use a comma (,) after it when we start a sentence (e.g.: However,
Last night, Moreover, etc.).

 Closing paragraph
As we mentioned earlier, a closing paragraph in this Writing part 3 is used to start saying goodbye to
the addressee and to ask for a response to your email. So we can use the following expressions:

Well, it’s time to say goodbye. I really hope to hear from you soon.

Anyway, I have to go now. I’m looking forward to hearing from you.

Well, it’s time to go. I hope you write back soon.

Anyway, gotta go. Make sure you write back soon.

 Saying goodbye
There are many ways in English to close an informal email. The most frequently used ones are the following:

Best wishes, Love,

Best, Lots of love,

Sincerely, See you soon,

Take care, Regards,

All my love,

Notice how there is a comma (,) after each of the phrases. Also, after writing any of these sentences,
make sure you write your name on a different line. And write your name without a full stop!

 Another example of an email at B1 level

1. Learn and memorise a set of expressions. Make sure you already know a set of expressions to use in
your greetings, opening and closing paragraphs, and to say goodbye. This will save you a lot of time
while doing a task, and you will avoid making silly mistakes as you will already know the expressions by
heart.

2. Write a well-structured and visually-appealing email. One of the things Cambridge English
examiners pay attention to is the organisation of your piece writing, so make sure not to write a messy
email. Also, remember that punctuation matters, so be sure to separate your sentences with stops and
commas and don’t write excessively long sentences.

3. Brainstorm, write, read and edit. Before starting to write your email, brainstorm a couple of things
and write down some ideas. This can include vocabulary related to the topic. For example, if you have to
write about TV shows, you can write down thinks like «contestants», «cookery show», «prize», etc.
Then, write out your email. After that, read it and look for possible mistakes or opportunities for
improvement (e.g.: adding descriptive adjectives, rephrasing sentences, etc.).
4. Read carefully and identify the task. Don’t start writing right away. Make sure you read the task
carefully and that you identify exactly what you are being asked. Sometimes, we don’t pay attention to
the instructions and we end up writing about something different. This will mean losing points, in a
very silly way, I must say.

5. Experiment at home, be conservative in the exam. Homework is the best chance to be creative and
experiment different ways to express yourself. So make sure you try your hardest to keep improving
when you write at home. On the other hand, when you’re doing an exam, don’t risk trying out new
words or expressions, as you may be making a terrible mistake. So be safe in your exam and stick to
what you already know works.