Don’t be rude! Be sure to follow these fundamental rules on what to write and what not to write in your emails.

Email etiquette

In Task 1, you will see the rules that are left blank in the article below.

Email dos and don'ts

A lot of people still have problems writing emails. I should know – I receive badly written emails every day! So I hope these suggestions will help.

Rule 1:

Always check you've got the right name in the 'To' box. And make sure your email only goes to the people who need to read it. Remember that if you reply to all, then everyone will get your email. Does the whole sales team really need to read your email to one person about something unimportant?

Rule 2:

This sounds obvious, but don't forget to attach them! A word of advice – attach the file you want to send before you start writing. That way, you can't forget to attach it!

Rule 3:

No. If you write 'CAN YOU LET ME KNOW THIS WEEK?' you are basically shouting at your reader. They will think you are very rude. So just don't do it.

Rule 4:

Short emails sometimes sound rude. People won't read very long emails. Keep emails short, but remember to be polite and friendly, too.

Rule 5:

This is important, especially if it's a work email. If you make mistakes in your email, people will think you also make mistakes in your work. So always check everything carefully. Ask a colleague to read and check it before you hit 'Send'.

Task 1

Exercise

Task 2

Exercise

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B1 English level (intermediate)

I understand everything that you taught me in this lesson. I will apply all the rules before sending an email. thank you for your help.

Thanks for your course!

I think that this course is important for everyone!

Hello IlyaK,

I'm glad you found it useful. I just let you know that our Effective email communication course, which is available to our subscribers, goes into much more detail. I even learned some useful things from it myself!

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Thanks a lot! ;)

very useful rules and reminders to avoid mistakes when writing a letter

The course is completed.!! I gained new knowledge and strengthened old ones. It was interesting.

Hello _Sergey222,

If you are particularly interested in improving your emails in English, I would recommend you try our Effective email communication course. This course will become available to our subscribers sometime in January 2021 and is really very good.

I just wanted to mention this in case you were interested. There will be an announcement about it on our home page and/or in our newsletter in January.

All the best,

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

I completed the entire course in about 3 hours. I learned a lot for myself

I am sure that this course will be remembered for a long time and will be very useful!

I went through the whole course, learned a lot of new things and in the future I will apply them in writing letters

Great assignment! I will remember these rules so that in the future I will not make mistakes when writing emails. The whole course was quite interesting and informative, thank you very much!

I completed this course in about 2 - 2.5 hours. It was interesting and informative, in addition, this knowledge will be useful to me in my work. Thanks!

I got all this course by 2 hours, last tasks were more interesting, however it all are pretty easy and not much information

I finished the whole course in about 2 hours. It was interesting and informative. Thanks!

Kolovorotniy finished whole course in 1 day, lol

That's you cool of course

Really very helpful topic covered here by today

It is a good way to learn how to write a correct email. Thanks so much

I'm snowed under with tons of emails during COVID-19. :|

It's really helpful.

useful tips for emailing

Very useful tips in writing formal e-mails, sometimes people don't pay attention to some points considering them a trifle!

Hello Sir Re:what or why What did you leave the meeting early for? Instead of 'what' can one use 'why' e.g. Why did you leave the meeting early for? Thank you. Regards Lal

Hello Lal

You are right in thinking that 'why' and 'what for' mean the same thing, but please note that 'what' is used with 'for':

What did you leave the meeting early for?
Why did you leave the meeting early?

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

I also think that these tips are useful in official writing. If you are applying for a job, you must write your resume in an official form. Concise and clear tips on working with e-mail. I always left a message saying that you need to be careful with any sending letter.

Necessary rules for writing E-mail letters.

I also think it is not possible to write short letters all the time.

I think, in essence, the letter should be relatively short or detailed.

I also always mostly use e-mail, in the future I will try to use these rules

I also think that writing letters should be as short as possible, understandable and always without mistakes.

The short and straightforward tips for pertinent email for works. I send the email without attached files or wrongful email addresses although I always keep reminder myself to be carefully with any sending email.

it can happen with all of us if we are in a hurry or pressed by someone boss)))

I consider this tips are useful in formal writing. If you are applying for a job you need to write your CV in formal way. Even your letter which is being sent to employer should be written accurately in formal form.

How can you get an answer to the letter you wrote?

Hello Akmal Karimov

People often use a phrase such as 'I look forward to hearing from you soon' or 'I look forward to your reply' at the end of the letter to indicate that they expect a response.

Is that what you mean?

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

Can you tell me a simply rule, so my emails don't look like long letters?

Hi Elizabeth Parisi

I'd recommend you first think about what you want to happen as a result of sending the email. For example, do you want the receiver to send you something? If so, then state, as concisely as possible, what you want. To be concise, give important details (e.g. if it's a new phone, say which model and what colour) but avoid including any other details that are not essential (e.g. how they send you the phone).

You might want to do an internet search for 'how to write concise emails' -- I'm sure you can find lots of other useful ideas. It's also a good idea to read lots of examples.

Good luck!

All the best

Kirk

The LearnEnglish Team

I think writing letters should be as short and clear as possible

useful task learning proper way of handling mail. Great work!

mostly I don't use email, but in the future when i write an email I'll do this rules, thanks :)

Unit 9: Email etiquette

Email etiquette

Email dos and don'ts

Rule 1:

Rule 2:

Rule 3:

Rule 4:

Rule 5:

Task 1

Task 2

Language level