Cadi Ayyad University

High School of Technology Essaouira

Pr. EL FILALI

Business Intelligence & Data Science

Professional Communication

Introduction to Email writing

1. Recipient’s address

“The recipient” is the person who will receive your letter. In business letters, the
address of the person you are writing to is usually written in the top left corner of the
page. This is also known as the “inside address.” It is laid out like so:

Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. Firstname Surname

Company name
Street address
City, state, zip code
Country (optional)

If you do not know the recipient’s name, then there are a few other options to replace
the first bullet point. A good option is to address the letter to the person or people with
the job title/s who are most likely to be able to help you. Some examples include:

The Hiring Manager: if you are writing about a job advertisement

The Customer Support Team: if you are sending a complaint
The Accounts Team: if you are writing about a payment

2. Return address

The “return address” is your address or the address that any replies should be
“returned” to. It goes directly beneath the recipient’s address and is laid out in the
same way. It is good to include your email address and/or phone number on a new
line under the address. This shows that you are making it as easy as possible for the
reader to get back to you.

3. Today’s date

Directly beneath your own address, you should write today’s date. Since you are
writing a formal email, you should write out the month in full and include the year. If
you are sending a business letter to someone in the UK, New Zealand or Australia,
write the day before the month:

3rd May 2020

4. Greeting

Leave a blank line or two below the date, then greet your reader. In general, your
greeting should agree with what you wrote in the first line of the address. If you know
the name of the person you are writing to, it will probably look like this:
Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./Dr. Firstname Surname

If your address stated the job title of the reader, you can write “Dear Sir / Madam,” or
use the job title again.

If you are using a job title, remember to capitalize the first letter of each word as if it
was a name. If you are writing to a team of people or a person with a particular job
title, it sounds more natural to use the word “to” rather than “dear.”

To the Hiring Manager

To the Customer Support Team
Dear Sir / Madam
5. Body text

Now we come to the point of the entire letter! The most important thing to remember
with business letters is that they should be short and to the point. This shows respect
for the recipient’s time. It also strengthens the point you are hoping to make.

If you already know the person you are writing to, it is polite to start with a friendly
opening line before getting to business. Any of these are good examples:

I hope this email finds you well.

It was a pleasure to meet you last week.

If you do not know them well enough to say something friendly yet, then get straight
to the point! The first line (or the second line, if you have used a friendly opener)
should directly address the reason for your writing:

I am writing to complain about a product I bought from one of your stores last week.
I am writing to apply for the Digital Analyst position that Preply has advertised for.

6. Closing sentence

Once you’ve explained what you needed to say, you should end with a closing
sentence or two. This will sum up the main points in the email. It often describes next
steps. It could state the action that you want the reader to take after reading the email.
In many cases, this is sending a reply. Common sentences for this include:

- I look forward to hearing from you soon.

- Thank you for your consideration. I hope to hear from you soon.
- I look forward to receiving your thoughts on this matter.
- Do let me know how this sounds from your perspective.
- Do let me know if you have any questions.
- If there is anything further I can help you with, please do not hesitate to get in
touch.
- If I do not receive this payment within two weeks, I will be following up with
you via a telephone call.
- I will no longer purchase products from your company.
- It might simply summarize the main point of the letter:
- I have no doubts that Paula Roberts would be an asset/advantage to your
company and offer my enthusiastic recommendation.
- It has been a pleasure to work for M&A Light Solutions, and I wanted to
express my thanks to you in writing.
 - If the issue/matter in the letter does not require any next steps, then it might
simply conclude on a positive note.
- I wish you the greatest success going forward.
- Thank you for your cooperation, I hope to work with you again at some point
in the future.
- Thank you again for your time and consideration.

7. Sign-off

On a new line, sign off the email. If you are sending a formal email:

Use “Yours faithfully,” with someone whose name you don’t know.
Use “Yours sincerely,” with someone whose name you do know.
Prefer a modern approach? Then any of these options are fine:

Yours truly,
Yours sincerely / Sincerely yours,
Best regards,
Warm regards,

Whichever sign off you go for, remember to capitalize the first letter and end in a
comma.

8. Signature

Adding your signature to an email isn’t essential, but it does add another level of
formality. It proves that you wrote it yourself: the fact that it is worth proving that you
wrote it yourself suggests that the message is very important.

Some types of emails/letters

a. Cover letters

To the Hiring Manager,

Application for the position of Sous Chef

I am writing to apply for the position of Sous Chef at the Nottingham branch of the
Little Chef. I was delighted to see an advertisement for the position on LinkedIn’s
database. It seems like a great fit for my skills and experience level.

I have five years of experience working in the catering industry in chef roles similar
to this one. My most recent position was as a Sous Chef at a busy restaurant in
Nottingham city center, The Green Elephant. I was responsible for running the
kitchen by myself when the head chef was away and gained a lot of experience
cooking under pressure. It was a very exciting work environment, and I think it would
be good preparation for this role.

I have attached my CV with this letter for your consideration. Thank you for taking
the time to read my application, I hope to hear from you soon.

Yours sincerely,
 b. Recommendation letters

Dear Prof. Nunan,

Letter of Recommendation: Suzy Darton, MA Illustration candidate

I am writing to recommend Suzy Darnton unreservedly to Kazan State University’s

Illustration MA program. I had the privilege of being Suzy’s personal tutor during her
BA in Fine Art at Arizona State University of Fine Arts and therefore have worked
with her closely for three years. She was a highly creative and intelligent student. Her
work ethic is also exceptional. I am confident that she would be an asset/a plus to any
arts higher education program.

If you require any further information from me, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

Yours sincerely,

c. Sales letters

To Whom it May Concern,

Sales Pitch: WindowBrite&Co

Please excuse my writing to you unintroduced. I am a Salesman for

windowBrite&Co, and I noticed that the head office of your company has large
windows which might benefit from our help.

WindowBrite&Co is the leading provider of window cleaning services in Melbourne.

We are proud to offer the cleanest windows at the cheapest price in the whole city. I
would like to invite you to try our services at a special introductory price. I am
prepared to offer 50% off our fee for one month’s worth of window cleaning. We are
so confident that you will see a difference in the brightness of your windows that we
offer a 100% satisfaction money-back guarantee.

If you are interested in taking advantage of this offer, do let me know. I look forward
to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

d. Payment request emails

To the Accounts Team,

Request for payment: Overdue notice

I am contacting you on behalf of Paintstripper New York with regard to the following
remaining invoice:

Invoice number #340 / $1,045

Per the terms of our original agreement, the payment was due on February 23, 2020.
As such, it is currently overdue by two weeks. I have attached a copy of the invoice to
this letter for your reference.

If there are any issues preventing the payment of this invoice, please let me know. I
hope that we can resolve this issue quickly and continue to work together.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation.

Sample

[Senders Name]
[your Address line]
[State, ZIP Code]
[Letter Date]

[Recipients Name]
[Address line]
[State, ZIP Code]

[Subject: Normally bold, summarizes the intention of the letter] -Optional-

Dear [Recipients Name],

I am writing to you to make a complaint about (write down the thing you are
complaining about)

Enclosed is a written account of the events that transpired (come to light), and I have
also included some supporting documents as well.

I wish to (put down what you want the company to do about your complaint)

I look forward to your response to this matter.

Sincerely,

[Senders Name]
[Senders Title] -Optional-
[Enclosures: number] - Optional -
cc: [Name of copy recipient] - Optional –