September 5, 2020

Guide for Better Email Writing in English: Sample Email Writing to Learn the Correct Format

This is one topic which does not need an introduction. There is rarely any professional set-up which functions without emails today. Thus email writing in English is as basic to business as running is to sports, but still, we all struggle in writing effective emails. That’s because it needs skills which have to be developed. Imagine if you had an accurate email writing format!

Here’s a proper email writing format you can follow.

Email Writing Format

1. Subject Lines

Be as specific as possible. One word subjects such as “Hi,” “Question,” or “FYI” are not informative and don’t give the reader an idea of how important your message is. Think about the subject lines on the e-mail messages you receive. Which ones do you think are most effective? Why?

2. Greetings and Sign-offs

Don’t just start with your text, and don’t stop at the end without a polite signature. When in doubt, address someone more formally to avoid offending them. Some common ways to address your reader are:

Add a prefix like ‘Dear’, ‘Hello’ and ‘Hi’ before the name of the person. Example- Dear Professor Smith, Hello Ms McMahon.

Example
  • Dear Professor Shastri,
  • Hello Miss Pooja,
  • Hi, Neha k,

If you don’t know the name of the person you are addressing, or if the email addresses a diverse group, try something generic, yet polite:

  • To whom it may concern,
  • Dear members of the selection committee
  • Hello everyone
Closing of Emails

Your closing is extremely important because it lets the reader know who is contacting them. Always sign off with your name at the end of your email. If you don’t know the reader well, you might also consider including your title and the organisation you belong to. For example-

Mary Watkins

Senior Research Associate

Mckinsey

For your closing, something brief but friendly, or perhaps just your name, will do for most correspondence:

  • Thank you,
  • Best wishes,
  • See you tomorrow,
  • Regards,

For a very formal message, such as a job application, use the kind of closing that you might see in a business letter:

  • Sincerely,
  • Respectfully yours,

Cc & Bcc in Email Writing Format

Copying individuals on an email is a good way to send your message to the main recipient while also sending someone else a copy at the same time. This can be useful if you want to convey the same exact message to more than one person.

Be aware, however, that when you send a message to more than one address using the Cc: field, both the original recipient and all the recipients of the carbon copies can see all the email addresses in the To: and Cc: fields. Each person who receives the message will be able to see the addresses of everyone else who received it.

Blind copying emails to a group of people can be useful when you don’t want everyone on the list to have each other’s email addresses. The only recipient address that will be visible to all recipients is the one in the To: field.

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