Formal Email Writing

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• vwo
• Leerjaar 4

Writing

A formal email

What are things you need to
do in a formal email?

Introduction 

Depending on the type of relationship you have with the person you’re writing to, there are different ways of starting an email, but any email should always start with a greeting. In our specific case being formal, the most appropriate options are:

• Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms (surname of the recipient, e.g. Mr Black)
  
• Dear Sir/Madam (if you don’t know the name of the recipient) or more generally ‘To whom it may concern’
  

Introductory sentence I

After the initial greeting you need an introductory sentence that indicates clearly the reason for writing and is consistent with the subject of the email. Introduce yourself briefly (long texts often discourage people from reading them), then follow on with:

• I am writing with regard to… (email subject)
  
• I am writing in connection with… (email subject)
  
• I am writing in reference to…

Sending information

If you’re writing an email to send information, you can start with one of the following sentences:

• I am writing to let you know…
  
• I am delighted to tell you… (if you’re communicating good news)
  
• I regret to inform you that… (if you’re communicating bad news)

Replying to an email

If instead you’re replying to an email you received, you can say:

• I am writing in response to…
  
• I am writing in reply to…
  
• I am writing to thank you for… (if you need to thank the recipient)

Body of the Text

There are no conventional formulas for writing the body of the text because this varies according to the function of what you need to communicate. 

•  prepare an initial draft and then proceed with any corrections.
  
• The text should be divided into short paragraphs that avoid abbreviations and acronyms.

Final invitation

• I look forward to hearing from you soon
  
• Thank you in advance
  
• For further information, please do not hesitate to contact me
  
• Please let me know if you have any questions
  
• Thanks for your attention

Conclusion

The most common way to end an email are:

• Best regards
  
• Kind regards
  
• Yours faithfully (if you began the email with ‘Dear Sir/Madam’ because you don’t know the name of the recipient)
  
• Yours sincerely (if you began the email with ‘Dear Mr/Mrs/Ms + surname)
  

Regards

Writing Assignment

What: Get started on drafting your job application email.

How: alone

How long: rest of the lesson

Why: so you have an idea how to set it up.

Assignment

Do: Write a job application email in word and hand it in via teams.