Writing a Friendly Emails

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What is an Email?
 Electronic mail (or e-mail or email) is an Internet service that
allows those people who have an e-mail address (also called
email accounts) to send and receive electronic letters.

 Emails are very much like postal letters, except that they are
delivered much faster than snail mail when sending over long
distances, and are usually free.

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Parts to an Email
1) The Heading
2) The Salutation
3) The Body
4) The Complimentary Close
5) The Signature Line

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 1) The Heading
 This include:
a) To: The recipient of the email
b) Cc: Cc is the abbreviation for “carbon copy.”
 In the days before the internet and email, in order to create a copy of the letter you were
writing, you had to place carbon paper between the paper you were writing on and the
paper that was going to be your copy.
 Just as the physical carbon copy above, CC is an easy way of sending copies of an email to
other people.
c) Bcc: Bcc stands for blind carbon copy.
 Just like CC, BCC is a way of sending copies of an email to other people. The difference is
that for BCC, other recipients won’t be able to see that someone else has been sent a copy
of the email.
d) Subject: This is the main topic of the email
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 1) The Heading
Writing Subject Lines
 When writing Subject Lines, it is important to be clear and precise.
This will help the recipient understand the purpose of the
communication.
 In addition keep it short and simple, so that the recipient is able to
understand quickly, what the email will be about.

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The Salutation
 The salutation always end with a comma.
 In informal emails, you could use the following:
 Dear + name, [ Dear Peter,]
 Hi + name, [Hi Jane,]
 You do not write the surname of your recipient.

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3) The Body
 Usually, you divide the body into three The Introduction
paragraphs:
The Body

The Conclusion

 Within the Body, you will elaborate on

the message your want to tell the
recipient.

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 The Introduction
3) The Body
The Body
The Conclusion
 Some Phrases you can use as part of the
Introduction:
General Opening Opening Expressions Responding to news Reason one is writing
Expressions when we answer an
email
• How are you? • Thanks for you email / • Sorry to hear about… • I am writing because …
• How have you been? letter • Glad to hear that • The reason I am
• How’s everything • It was great/ so nice to you’re all well writing is because …
going? hear from you • Good luck with … • I wanted to …
• I was glad to hear from • Sorry for not writing • Hope you feel better • I would like to …
you earlier soon

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 The Introduction

3) The Body The Body

The Conclusion
 This is where you talk about the main subject and expand with
details about the reason of writing the email.
 Some phrases you can use: Ask for something
• Can you please…?
• Is it ok if you …?
• I would want to …
• Would you mind …?
• I was wondering if…

 Do note that even if this is a friendly email, you still need to be

polite and respectful. 9
 The Introduction

3) The Body The Body

The Conclusion
 The final paragraph shows that you are going to end the letter
by using a finishing sentence.
 Some phrases you can use: Closing expressions
• Anyway, / Well that’s all for now
• I hope to hear from you soon / I look forward to
hearing from you soon (this is rather formal though)
• Please send my regards/ love to…
• Take care
• Stay in touch / Keep in touch

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4) The Complimentary Cloze
 The complimentary cloze ends with a comma as well.
 Some of the common complimentary cloze are:

General To close friends/ NOT to be used

relatives
Best regards, Love, Cheers,
Regards, Lots of love, Your (best) friend,
Yours sincerely, Sincerely,

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5) The Signature
 This is where you sign off.
 For a friendly email, you only need to sign off with your name
(i.e. no Surname is needed) e.g. Darius, Lauren

 If you have forgotten something, add it at the end with “PS”.

 E.g. PS Please send me the photos of our last trip

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Language used in a Friendly
Email

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Use of Informal Language
In Friendly emails, the language used is less formal. The following can
be used:
 Contractions
 Colloquial Expressions (that is understood by all parties)
 Abbreviations (that is understood by all parties)
 Simple, short sentences
 Simple linkers, e.g. then, later
 Exclamation marks (!)
 Do note that even if this is a friendly email, you still need to be polite
and respectful.
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Important things to note in
Situational Writing

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Important things to note in
Situational Writing: PAC
 Purpose : Why are you writing?
 Audience: Who are you writing to?
 This determines the tone (formal or informal) of your writing.
You need to use the correct words to achieve a proper tone.
Refer to Slide 14 for details.
 For example: in informal writing, you can use the contractions.
However, in formal writing, you should not.
 Context: This includes your assigned role in the question as well
as the situation in which this piece of writing is written.
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Summary

 The parts of an email are:

1) The Heading
2) The Salutation
3) The Body
4) The Complimentary Close
5) The Signature Line

 Note the PAC of the writing.

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