Pimp my English | A closer look at writing emails

By Anna Malczyk
Here’s a refresher on how to structure formal emails.

The opening
Always start a formal email by writing “Dear” and then the contact’s name or surname. After the name, add a comma.
•    Dear Susan,
•    Dear Mr Richards,
If you have contacted a person previously and they have introduced a less formal salutation (hello, hi), feel free to match their level of formality.

The body
The body of your email must follow the usual principles of good English writing. Keep sentences clear and short, write your content in a logical order, use bullet points and paragraphs to structure your text and check your language as you type.
Always remember that shorter is better – shorter emails with a clear call to action will be easier for the recipient to understand and is more likely to get you a goo response.

The closing
Always close your email with an official salutation. For general emails, use “Kind regards” for formal contacts or “Regards” for less formal ones. In some special cases, you will use “Yours in getting smarter”. Always follow your salutation with a comma. On the next line, include your name.
•    Kind regards,
     Jackie
•    Yours in getting smarter,
     Kelly

This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution license.