1.1: Writing A Formal Email
- Page ID
- 49352
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)This lesson includes slides for classroom presentation.
What do we use emails for?
Some examples of what emails are used for include:
- School
- Work
- Friends and Family
- Housing
- Problems with Online Shopping
What should a good email have?
A good email should have the following:
- A clear and specific subject line
- A greeting, closing, and signature
- Proper capitalization and punctuation
- Correct spelling and grammar
A Clear and Specific Subject Line
- BAD EX: Hellooooo ^____^
- BAD EX: EMERGENCY URGENT TEACHER PLS RESPOND!!!
- GOOD EX: Absence - ESL 103
- GOOD EX: Question about test - ESL 103
Greeting
Which of the following is an appropriate greeting for... a good friend?
- Dear Mark!
- Hi Mark!
- Mr. Mark Thompson!
- Hi there!
The correct response is... Hi Mark!
Which of the following is an appropriate greeting for... a college professor I know?
- Dear Sir,
- Mr. John,
- Hello Professor Smith,
- Dear John,
The correct response is... Hello Professor Smith,
Which of the following is an appropriate greeting for... a female professor?
- Dear teacher,
- Dear Ms. Simons,
- Hello Miss!
- Dear Professor Simons,
The correct response is... Dear Professor Simons,
Which of the following is an appropriate greeting for... a new business contact if I do not know his or her name?
- Dear Sir,
- Dear Mister,
- Hello!
- Dear Sir or Madam,
The correct response is... Dear Sir or Madam,
The general rules for greetings are as follows...
- If you know the person you are writing to...
- Dear Mr. / Ms. / Professor ______,
- Hello _____,
- Hi ______,
- If you do not know who will read your email...
- Dear Sir or Madam,
- To Whom It May Concern:
Closing and Signature
The following are appropriate closings...
- Sincerely,
- Thank you,
- Regards,
- Best,
- Thank you for your time,
- Thank you for your help,
Each of these should be followed by your full name
- GOOD EX: Sincerely, Jaquelin Yang
Proper Capitalization and Punctuation
- Do not use all capital letters or too many exclamation marks
- BAD EX: TEACHER I WILL BE LATE TODAY!!!!!!!!!!
Correct Spelling and Grammar
- Do not use abbreviations
- BAD EX: LOL TTYL THX
- Writing emails can be easier than talking in person... You have time to read over your emails again before you send them
Some other things to be careful of
- Use a professional email address
- GOOD EX: jyang001@sdccd.edu
- BAD EX: happiiiteacherrr@gmail.com
- Do not use emojis in emails
- BAD EX: I will be late today :( sorry :(
Some other things in the email
- Attach: Use "attach" to send things like essays, pictures, videos, etc.
- If you attach something, make sure you say it in the email
- GOOD EX: I have attached my essay to this email
- If you attach something, make sure you say it in the email
- CC: Use "CC" to send an email to more than one person. CC is usually for people who need this information but do not need to respond
- GOOD EX: I might send an email TO my professor but I CC the tutor in the class
- BCC: This is for when you need to send the email to a lot of people, but for privacy reasons, you do not want to show their names
- This is mostly used for business emails
Useful links to review at home
Attribution
Jaquelin Yang, ESL Instructor Grossmont College