Formal Email / Letter Format
A formal email is in general sent to someone you don’t know well or to someone who’s in authority. Examples of someone who you may send a formal email to include your professor, a public official, or even a company you’re doing business with. Especially, if your workplace has a formal environment, use formal emails with your boss and colleagues unless you’re told to do otherwise.
language is used differently in a formal email than in a casual email. Keep away from abbreviations, contractions, slang, emoticons, and other informal terminology. Moreover, the tone of a formal email is different as well. An informal email may not even follow proper grammar rules or use complete sentences, but a formal email always does.
How to write a formal email
Follow these five simple steps to make sure your English emails are perfectly professional.
- Begin with salutation
- Greeting of the day
- Thank the recipient
- Body of the mail
- State your purpose
- Add your closing remarks
- End with a closing
Begin with salutation
Always open a formal email with a salutation. Addressing the recipient by name (if known) is preferred. Include the person’s title (Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr., etc.) with their last name, followed by a comma or a colon. You can precede the salutation with “Dear…” if you like.
If you’re sending the email to a group, address the entire group. Here’s an example:
Dear Students,
Dear Team,
Greeting of the day
Always open your email with a greeting, such as “Dear Luli”. If your relationship with the reader is formal, use their family name (eg. “Dear Mrs. Price”). If the relationship is more casual, you can simply say, “Hi Simran”. If you don’t know the name of the person you are writing to, use: “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir/Madam”
Thank the recipient
If you are replying to a client’s inquiry, you should begin with a line of thanks. For example, if someone has a question about your company, you can say, “Thank you for contacting ABC Company”. If someone has replied to one of your emails, be sure to say, “Thank you for your prompt reply” or “Thanks for getting back to me”. Thanking the reader puts him or her at ease, and it will make you appear more polite.
Body of the email
The body text is the main part of your email. It is important to follow a certain pattern when writing the body of your email. The opening paragraph should set the tone and reason for your email. Introduce yourself if you are a stranger to the person you are writing to, and jot down why you are writing to them.
The body of a formal email normally elaborates the purpose of the email. The body consists of detailed information, so it’s important to write clearly and concisely in a formal email. Remember your reader may not be familiar with you or with your topic.
State your purpose
If you are starting the email communication, it may be impossible to include a line of thanks. Instead, begin by stating your purpose. For example, “I am writing to enquire about …” or “I am writing in reference to …”.
Make your purpose clear early on in the email, and then move into the main text of your email. Remember, people want to read emails quickly, so keep your sentences short and clear. You’ll also need to pay careful attention to grammar, spelling and punctuation so that you present a professional image of yourself and your company.
Add your closing remarks
Before you end your email, it’s polite to thank your reader one more time and add some polite closing remarks. You might start with “Thank you for your patience and cooperation” or “Thank you for your consideration” and then follow up with, “If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know” and “I look forward to hearing from you”.
End with a closing
The last step is to include an appropriate closing with your name. “Best regards”, “Sincerely”, and “Thank you” are all professional. Avoid closings such as “Best wishes” or “Cheers” unless you are good friends with the reader. Finally, before you hit the send button, review and spell check your email one more time to make sure it’s truly perfect! The most common way to start a formal email closing is with the word “Sincerely.” It may be a common closing, but it’s also a safe closing.
Tips for writing Formal Mail
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Use formal language
Since formal emails are written for professional contexts, you’ll want to give a good impression. Use complete sentences and polite phrasing. Avoid things like.
- Slang
- Unnecessary contractions
- Emoticons and emojis
- Profanity
- Joker
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Include any necessary attachments
If you need to include any attachments, make sure to mention them in the body of the email to let the recipient know that they are included. Be courteous by trying to keep the number of attachments and their file size down, and by using common or widely compatible file types.
For example, include a note like “I am attaching a copy of my resume and portfolio, in PDF format.”
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Stick to a professional font
Keep your professional emails distraction-free by choosing Arial, Times New Roman, or Calibri. After all, you want the first thing your reader notices to be your message, not your font. In addition:-
Write your email in a legible font size, such as 12 point type.
Avoid special styles like italics, highlighting, or multicolored fonts unless they are warranted by the content and purpose of the email.
Do not use all caps. These make it seem like you are shouting at the recipient.
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Prioritize the most important information
Once you’ve introduced yourself and the general reason you’re writing, you can follow up with the body of your email. Put the most important content near the top. This respects your recipient’s time and makes the purpose of your email clear.
When writing to a government official, for instance, you might start by saying: “My name is Ogawa Khan. I obtained your email address from the Thailand County Clerk website. I am writing to contest the traffic citation I received on December 31, 2009. “
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Keep it brief
There’s no set length for how long an email should be. However, it’s a good idea to keep an email to about one (laptop or desktop size) screen length. If your email is relatively lengthy, break it up into short paragraphs. Insert a line break between each paragraph instead of indenting.
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Subject line
Grab attention with the subject line. The first part of an email which your recipient sees is the subject of the email. If you do not put it well, you risk having your email not opened until later or at all. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Make the subject line specific, simple, and to the point
The subject line should be short. Ideally, your subject line should stand around six words.
Keep the most important and informative words in the beginning of the subject line.
Use markers like Fwd, Reply, Urgent, or Notice to further narrow down the subject. It informs your reader about the nature of your email.
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Closing of the letter
- Furnish your name with contact information. Your phone number and/or work address are enough.
- If you are writing on behalf of or as an employee of an institution, make sure to mention it along with adequate contact details
- To make your signature even more effective, you may also choose or design an attractive (but not flashy) template.
Sending a Formal Email
- Once you’ve written and formatted your formal email, you’re almost ready to send your message. But before you press that Send button, review your email carefully. Look for:
- Spelling errors
- Mistakes in a name
- Typos
- Grammatical errors
- Remember, a sloppy email full of mistakes makes a bad impression.
- Also, pay attention to the email address you’re using to send the email if you want to be taken seriously. Many of us created email addresses when we younger that aren’t appropriate for formal emails. If you can get it, your email address for formal emails should be a variation of your name without any extra characters.
Email should have
- Complete Sentence
- No Contraction
- Use Conjunctions (If, and but)
- Fully Spelled out words
- Transition words
- Paragraph Form
- Punctuation at the end of every sentence (typically a period or question mark, not exclamation points)
- Greetings include “Hi {First Name}” or “Dear Ms. /Mr.{Last Name}” or “To whom it may concern”
- Sign- offs like “Sincerely” or “Best regards”
