Mastering the art of writing awesome emails in English is an important skill that will help you get a job, make friends, get into a university, and much more.
General Tips
- Is this email necessary or is there a faster and more effective way to communicate in your situation?
- Be brief, clear, and polite. Treat an email like an essay, only much shorter.
- Don’t write emails when you’re upset or angry.
- Use short, clear sentences.
- Use a spell checker like Grammarly.
- Get your email proofread by a native speaker, if possible.
- Read your email personally before sending it.
- Double-check email addresses for all recipients.
Tips for Writing Awesome Emails
- Use a specific subject line.
- Start with a polite greeting. You can use “Hi [First Name]” or “Hello [First Name],” to be casual. If you don’t know the name of the person, you can use “To Whom It May Concern.” Rule: You should use a comma after a greeting in personal emails and letters, and use a colon after a greeting in business or formal emails and letters.
- Start each sentence with a capital letter and pay attention to punctuation.
- Where do you put “small talk?” Personally, I prefer to include it after the “business” part of the email. For example, when I’m asking for a favor, I prefer to ask first and have small talk later. Other people or cultures may prefer to have their small talk first.
- Focus on the purpose of the email. Be sure the recipient understands immediately what he needs to do to respond.
- Double space between paragraphs for easier reading.
- The closing should be appropriate for the purpose of the email. “Thanks,” “See you soon!” or “I’m really looking forward to meeting you in person.” are appropriate closings for informal emails. For semi-formal good-byes, you can use “Thanks,” “Hope to hear from you soon” or “Have a great weekend.” The simple closings for formal emails are “Sincerely” or “Best regards.”
Samples of Common Types of Emails
Personal Email:
Dear Jones Family,
Hi, my name is Anne. I received a confirmation letter from the exchange organization today. It said I’ll be staying with you for three months later this year. I wanted to introduce myself so you can know me better.
I’m seventeen years old. I like listening to pop music, playing soccer and reading mystery stories. I am in my last year of high school and I will be going to college next year. It will be my first experience traveling outside of Germany and I am looking forward to visiting the United States. This will be a very exciting adventure for me.
If you have a chance, I would like to hear about your family. I am happy to answer any questions that you might have about me.
Thanks for agreeing to host me. I’m very excited to meet you in person.
Anne
Semi-formal Email:
Dear Professor Kauffman,
I enjoyed your Marketing Strategy course , and I am interested in enrolling in the Lead Generation course next semester. I would like to meet with you to ask a few questions about the class, and get some advice about enrolling in the advanced business school program.
Would it be possible to meet with you at your office next week between 1-3 p.m.? If you are busy during those times, I could meet on Wednesday or Friday morning. Please let me know what day and time are best for you?
Thanks very much for your time and help in this matter.
Best regards,
Dan Roberts
Formal Email:
To Whom It May Concern:
I have recently purchased a food processor from your company. Unfortuately, it was not working properly so I returned it to the store. They informed me that I needed to contact you directly because the model has been discontinued.
It is Breville model number BRE-6087, and it was purchased on June 20,2023 at Kitchen Stuff in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. The store said that they couldn’t offer a return or exchange because the model was no longer available and was purchased at a sale price.
I can understand Kitchen Stuff’s position, but the food processor shouldn’t have broken so soon. It is still covered with a one-year warranty, so I would like to exchange the food processor for a working model. If that isn’t possible, please send a refund. Please inform me of the process in doing this.
Thank you for your consideration in this matter.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Cisco
Keep these 15 Tips For Mastering the Art of Writing Awesome Emails in mind, and you will soon be an email expert.
Written by Rita Kurtz at Go Proof Pro on July, 24, 2023.