Robert C Thomas, www.robertcthomas.

com
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Note: Read the next page -- it has the instructions and standard phrases...
-- Be sure to use the "3 section" form as well as the standard email phrases.



B1 Writing - Email Workshop


You need to write an email to your boss John Hanover, use the following
information:

You spoke with him yesterday about the personnel schedule
Youve made a draft of the summer schedule
You want to meet with John to review the draft
John must approve the summer schedule
The schedule has to be done in three weeks
You need John to get back to me about when he can possibly meet with you
You don't have time for a meeting until next week
Next week youre available every day after 11am

Robert C Thomas, www.robertcthomas.com
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Email Phrases for Business
By Robert C Thomas
Although after the first few emails you and your correspondent will find a tone for your business
relationship and your emails will usually become simpler and shorter, in the beginning it is typical to
follow the following three-part form.

Section I - Reference: 1-3 sentences that tell the person how they know you and why you are
writing ("in reference to"). This may seem like "small-talk" but it is not. Rather it is a brief
reference to the last email or conversation you had with the person. Previous phone calls, emails,
meetings.. E.g. It was good talking with you last week about the project.
Mention the last time you spoke, wrote, talked with the person... or introduce who you are,
what business must be done, etc.
Generally it's best to avoid questions in personal small-talk. Better to say "I hope you had a great
vacation" or "Welcome back, I hope you vacation was great / relaxing / excellent / etc" or "I hope
your trip went well."

Section II -- Business: This is usually one or two paragraphs, each paragraph being a specific
point of business, each paragraph being only 3-5 sentences. In this section avoid distractions
from business -- no small-talk and only things relevant to the business points should be included,
nothing more!
The most common phrases used in the business section of an email are:
I would be grateful if you could / I would be grateful if someone could
It would be great if you could / It would be great if we could
Could we (perhaps) / Could you (possibly)

Writing "could we please", adding "possibly" or "perhaps" within a sentence works quite well when
you are asking for something or when you have a request. Nearly all English speakers know that it
is something necessary for business and that you are not asking about a "possibility".
If you have more than two or three points of business in one email, you can use a bullet list and
put that after the Intro. E.g. "There are several things that we need to look at before we can...
These include:" and then make your bulleted list.
If you have deadlines or time limitations, put that into this section: "It would be great if we could
meet by the end of the week" or "Could we meet sometime next week? I'm available every day
after 11am."
"You need to..." is TOO strong, and even "we need to" is strong, although it can be an effective
way to convey urgency. If you NEED someone to do something use conditional: "Could you.."

Section III -- The Closing: Nearly every email ends with two typical phrases:
1) If you have any questions / If there are any problems / If you need any more information
2) I look forward to seeing / talking with / hearing from / meeting with / meeting you.

Final Greeting: Sincerely, Sincerely Yours, Regards, Best Regards, etc

Robert C Thomas, www.robertcthomas.com
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Sample Email using 3-part form and standard phrases...


Dear Mr. Jones,

It was good talking with you yesterday about the meeting on Wednesday at 9am next
week.

I will definitely attend, however my train arrives at 8:55am so I will be a few minutes late.
I agree with the points you mentioned. However, it would be great if we could also
discuss the problem our American customer service representatives sometimes have
when speaking with foreign customers. I would be grateful if we could take a few
minutes to address this topic during the meeting.

If you have any questions or if there is a problem with my late arrival, please do not
hesitate to email me.
I look forward to seeing you next week. All
the best,
Heather Smith


Robert C Thomas, www.robertcthomas.com
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Opening lines in a standard business email between equal colleagues...
Open with 2 lines of small talk. This is the Reference part of the email... mention your last conversation,
email, telephone call, meeting, etc. To establish how they know you (or who you are) and why you are writing.
It was good talking with you last week.
I hope your trip back from the conference was quiet and uneventful..
Thanks for the telephone call last week, it was good to talk with you.
I hope that all goes well with you.
Welcome back from you vacation, I hope you had a restful time.

Opening lines in a formal business letter or formal email...

With reference to your letter of 8 June, I ...
I am writing to enquire about ...
I am writing to let you know that . . .
After having seen your advertisement in ... , I would like ...
After having received your address from ... , I .../ I received your address from ... and would like ...
We/I recently wrote to you about ...
Thank you for your letter of 8 May. / Thank you for your letter regarding ... / Thank you for your e-mail about ...
In reply to your letter of 8 May, ...
I am writing in regard to . ./ I am writing in reference to . . .
I read/heard . . . and was interested in more information about...
Could you please send me . . . at the address below/above
I would be very grateful if you could [send me information on / about...]
I am very sorry about the / Please accept my apologies for

Middle lines in a business letter or email...

I hope you have had a chance to look over the materials we sent.
I am writing to confirm that. . .
I would just like to confirm the main points we discussed . . .
Please be aware/informed that . . .
I would like to inform you of a recent change to
I / we would be happy to . . .
I would be grateful if you could

Closing lines in a business letter or email...

Thank you for your time and consideration.
Thank you for your interest in our / my work...
If you have further questions, please contact
If you require any further information, feel free to contact me.
Should you need any further information, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If we can be of further assistance, please dont hesitate to ask.
I look forward to your reply.
I look forward to hearing from you. /I look forward to seeing you.
Once again, I apologise for any inconvenience.
I appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
Enclosed is the information you requested. You can learn more about this at . . .
Thank you for your assistance.

Robert C Thomas, www.robertcthomas.com
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Email Phrases by Category

Openings
Hi, Hello / Dear (Mr. or Ms.)
Thank you for your email / phone call
It was good to hear from you (this past... --day-- / last..--day--)
It was good to hear that...
I'm glad to know that things are... / I hope things are going well with...
I hope everything is... [going well / on track / going according to expectations...]
In response to your last email
I hope you had a great... / I hope your.... was good...

Attachments and Information "below"
Enclosed is..
Attached you will find / Attached you will see
In the attachment you'll find / see
Included is / you will find
Following you will find
Below you'll find

Noting information
Thank you for the quick response
As I mentioned above
As you mentioned last time / previously / before
Normally we're accustomed to / We normally / We usually
As noted above / earlier / before
As a result
Below you'll see / find / note
For your information (FYI = For Your Information / Interest)

Appointments & time
It may / will take a bit
It may / will take a little while
He is away from the office (to be more personal: "he is on vacation")
He is out of the office
He returns to the office on..
He will call you back after.., / He will call you next...
He will call as soon as he can / He will call as soon as he gets back
How does it look for us to... (meet on...)
It will take a short while
It might take a while / a few days...
How does.--date-- look? or-- How does..--date--. look to you?
We need to get it in by... (date)
It's due by / on .... (date)
The deadline is... (date)

Taking care of business...
I will take care of that... (colloq: I will get on that immediately...)
I will address that / respond to that directly / immediately / within the next...
This involves
It came up / it has come up (in discussion, at our meeting)
It would be helpful (useful, good, great) (NB the word "nice" can sound sarcastic)
It would be better if
Please let us know if... / Please note that...
It includes... (working with, supporting..., helping (someone) with,


Robert C Thomas, www.robertcthomas.com
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Business discussion...
Our point of view is
Our goal is ...
Our objective is...
From our point of view (POV= point of view)
We propose that
Our proposal is that
Recently, we
Perhaps we should clarify this / Could we perhaps further clarify this?
Our / My suggestion would be to...
We'd like to touch base with ..(someone). about...
We're trying to touch all the bases by...(doing something)
What is the outlook for
It will be covered / was covered in (an email, discussion, etc) / by (someone)

Inviting or asking someone to do something...
I would appreciate it if...
Would you be so kind as to
Could you please get back to me
Please feel free to [call me, email me in return, give me a ring...]
It was good to [hear, know, learn, discover, be informed of...]
Please contact me as soon as possible / at your convenience /...
Many thanks for...
Could you cover (this / that) for me? (Cover = take over or do something for someone)
Could you represent me at...? (Represent = do the exact job the person had agreed to do)
Could you go to .... for me? (go to = may mean represent, or it may simply mean attend)

I want / need something...
It would be very helpful if [you, someone...]
Is it possible for (someone to) / that (someone could)
Could you possibly
I would be grateful if you could...
Would it be likely / possible that...
I'd appreciate it if (someone / you could...)
Many thanks for taking care of this [so quickly, immediately...]
Would it be possible for you or someone on your staff to...


Confirmation of message's goal
Please call me if there are any problems with this...
Please let me know if there are any questions.

Apologizing / Phrases of fixing
I / We apologize for any inconvenience the may have caused.
My / Our apologies for (the error)
I / We apologize for any inconvenience.
Please accept my / our apologies
It's unfortunate that..Sorry that (this is so late / it wasn't / no one did....), but (we were very busy,
etc)
Unfortunately, we (I) couldn't... because
I'm sorry for the problems you've had
I'm sorry about the / I'm sorry that

NOTE: Apologies are often in English used to set a polite tone, even to "apologize" for small
things that were unavoidable. Apologies are intended to show respect...


Robert C Thomas, www.robertcthomas.com
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Closings
It was good (great) talking with you
It was good hearing from you
If you require any further information, feel free to call or email me.
I look forward to your reply...
I look forward to hearing from you ...
I look forward to seeing you...
Please advise if...
We look forward to working with you...
Let us know if you have any questions...
Let us know if anything is still unclear / unresolved...
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me /us .
I [would] appreciate your immediate attention to this matter.
Thanks (thank you) for your immediate attention to this...
Thanks / Thanks much,
Talk again soon,
Thanks again / thank you again,
Many thanks,
Sincerely,
Regards