Instead, read Chapters 1–6 of English for Academic Correspondence and Socialization (Springer Science), from which some of the subsections in this book are taken or adapted. In fact, some of the chapters in this book are based on chapters from English for Academic Correspondence and Socialization (Springer).
Choose a suitable email address
Check how your name will appear in your recipient’s inbox
Avoid a spam-friendly email address
Compose the subject line from the recipient’s perspective
Combine your subject line with the preview pane
Include name of a mutual third party in the subject line
Make it clear if your mail only requires very limited
Be specific, never vague
Consider using a two-part subject line
Ensure that your subject line is not spam friendly
Avoid gender titles (e.g. Mr, Mrs) in first email
If your name is ambiguous, it's a good idea to sign yourself in a way that makes it clear what gender you are, eg. If you are making the first contact, then it is safer to be formal so that you are sure not to offend anyone.
Spell the recipient’s name correctly
Use ‘Dear + first name + second name’ only in the first
Be careful of punctuation
Choose a specific job title when addressing an email
Explain where you got your contact’s details from
Introduce yourself to a new contact
Give details about who you are and what you are
Introducing someone to a third party
Reminding a contact who you are
Begin with a greeting + recipient’s name
Indicate which of the multiple recipients actually
If in doubt how to end your email, use Best regards
Don’t use a sequence of standard phrases in your
Ensure your signature contains everything that your
Avoid PSs and anything under your signature
Decide whether it might be better just to make one
Lay out your request clearly and give recipients
Avoid blocks of text and don’t force your reader
She simply wrote down her thoughts as they came into her head, letting the recipient figure it all out. If the recipient has time to deal with the email, he/she can reply to it, but there is a good chance that he/she will leave it for later or simply delete it based on the fact that it is not time efficient or cost-effective to treat it.
Make all your requests 100 % clear
Please let me know how many copies of the book are being printed, where it will be sold (which territories) and what the license term is under section 4779.09 of the Revised Code for this book. The first question is also more precise (per year) and the third question now contains an explanation of the technical phrase (ie license term) and simply deleted the reference to the section of the Revised Code as unnecessary.
For multiple requests, include a mini summary
Arsyeja pse kam nevojë është bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla bla.
Give deadlines
I will be able to return the revisions to you by the end of this month / within the next ten days. I'm sorry, but I won't be able to start working on it until Monday / sooner than next week.
Motivate the recipient to reply by empathizing
If you are the recipient of a deadline or simply want to set your own deadline, you can use similar phrases. For example, if someone writes to you: Can you revise the section as soon as possible?
Apologizing for late reply
Consider inserting your answers within the body
The only possible downside is that because you write much less, it may appear to the recipient that you are in a hurry and want to deal with his/her email as quickly as possible – Version 1 is friendlier. There is actually a 500 word limit and it's currently around 650 so if you could find a way to remove a few words that would be great.
Insert friendly comments within the body
Saying ‘thank you’
Be diplomatic when sending reminders
In your reminder, include your original email
Explain the reason for your urgent need for a reply
Tell your recipient what the new deadline is
Motivate your recipient to reply
End the reminder with a further apology
Chasing a supplier
Replying to a reminder
Give explicit instructions about how you want
The recipient therefore has all the information he needs and therefore does not need to ask for explanations.
The advantages of using a ‘soft’ approach
In each case, the recommendations are identical, but the tone of response 2 is much more friendly and helpful. The result is that the recipient of answer 2 is not going to feel that the revision process of the last three years has been a disaster.
Carefully construct and organize your comments on
Learn how to make positive comments
Be constructive in your criticism
Thank you for getting this report to me well before the deadline, this will make my life much easier. By the way, would you mind doing a final spell check, but not just with Word, as I don't think it will identify any typos in the technical names (eg the names of the airlines).
Avoid being too direct when asking for clarification
Conclude by again saying something positive
Re-read everything before you hit the ‘send’ button
Responding to criticism
Think about how your email might be interpreted
Since our deadline is the second week of next month, I would appreciate receiving your revisions by the end of this month. For example, if you give a formal list of instructions, they will generally be quicker and easier to follow in the form of imperatives (that is, the infinitive form of the verb without to).
Use non-aggressive language
Avoid irritating the recipient with unnecessary remarks
Choose the most appropriate level of directness
Be friendly but not invasive
Add a friendly phrase at the end of an email
Avoid labeling your recipient as ‘incompetent’
Formal: long and complex sentences
Formal: modal verbs
Formal: nouns
Formal: multi-syllable words
Omission of subject and other parts of speech
Abbreviations and acronyms
Smileys
Avoid excessively formal forms of English
Don’t mix levels of formality
Avoid very colloquial English
No punctuation necessary after salutations
If you follow the rules in this chapter for writing clearly and concisely, you generally only need to punctuate your e-mail with commas (,) and periods. In an email, you never need to use semicolons unless you are dividing the subjects into a list.
Hyphens
Exclamation marks and smileys
All caps
Consider not sending an attachment to someone
Always tell your recipient when you have attached
Detail any changes with respect to a previous document
Instruct the recipient on what feedback you expect
For non-work attachments, explain why
Note the differences between an email
Templates
General rules on layout of letters
Addresses
Dates
Subject lines
Initial salutation and final salutation
Body of the letter
blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
Plan your email or letter and be sensitive
Organize the information in the most logical order
We are very sorry, but unfortunately we will not be able to ship your order number # 08SFL-00975 until October 21st. We understand that this may cause you inconvenience and therefore we are happy to offer you an additional 5% discount on your order.
Bear in mind that long emails / letters will be scrolled
Use short sentences and choose the best grammati-
First, I would like to thank you for the opportunity you are giving me to spend a short period with your staff, which would be extremely useful for me to obtain the master's degree. First, I would like to thank you very much for the opportunity to work with your team. If possible, the best solution for me would be June 1st - July 31st.
Choose the shortest phrase
Don’t experiment with your English, instead copy /
For example, if the sender writes See you next week in a meeting, you cannot reply with See you next week.
Avoid ambiguity
Ensure that recipients in different time zones
Always check your spelling ‘manually’: don’t rely
Numbers
Acronyms
How sounds of letters are used
Use of symbols
Contractions
Short forms
Abbreviations
Alternative spellings
Smileys
You should be very aware of what these standard phrases are, and what their equivalents are in English. People in the West tend to be less deferential to their superiors and use significantly fewer salutations at the end of an email.
Initial salutation
Introducing yourself to people who don’t know you
Making an inquiry (first contact)
Responding to an inquiry
Making reference to previous correspondence
Making requests to people who already know you
Anyway, it would be great if you could let me know what changes need to be made. If you think it will be possible for you, then I will get the OK from my management.
Making announcements and giving instructions
Replies to requests from people who you know
Sorry, but I'm going on vacation tomorrow, so I'm afraid I won't be able to contact you for the next few weeks. I will tell the recipient when you reply. I will contact you before the end of the day.
Replying on behalf of someone else
I'd like to discuss the requirements with you, but I'm on leave for two weeks, so I'm afraid we'll have to postpone the discussion until I get back. As soon as we are able to say anything definite, we will write to you again.
Replying to someone who has just replied to you
Regarding your email to our help desk, please note that Joe Bloggs handles all of our advertising. When someone has asked you to do something, Dominique Batteaux told me to send you.
Chasing
Responding to a chase
Reporting on progress and updating
Please confirm if what you have done is acceptable, I hope it is ok - if not please discuss this with Mike.
Contact details
Invitations
Making arrangements
Let me know a convenient time if you think this is a good idea and if you have any ideas or thoughts. Would you please confirm your attendance and let me know if you have any other items you would like to add to the meeting agenda?
FIxing the time
If you are not available at the suggested times, please give me some other options for this week. I would appreciate it if you would let me know as soon as possible so that I can make the necessary arrangements.
Giving directions on how to reach your office
Favors / giving help
Thanking
Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for all the time you all spent with me this week.
Opinions
Asking for and giving clarifications
Providing clarification when the reader tells you he/she didn't understand what I meant by xxx is.
Apologizing
We regret that we are unable to provide you with the information you requested. So here it is again just in case you didn't get it the first time.
Sending documents for approval
Sending and receiving attachments, faxes, emails
Fax transmission and scans
Phone calls
Booking hotel rooms
Circular emails
We are pleased to announce the appointment of our News Sales Manager, Ms. Nelly Sparks.
Chit chat with colleague you know well
Sending regards and wishes
To celebrate 10 years of business with you, we'd like to offer you an incredible 20% discount on our entire product range. It is with deep regret that we learned the sad news of the death of I felt deeply saddened to hear of the sudden death of.
Final salutation
Best wishes for the holidays and the New Year from all of us at the company.
Making inquiries
Replying to inquiries
Apologizing that I cannot provide the requested information I am sorry that I cannot provide you with the requested information. We regret that we cannot give you a definite answer regarding the above matter.
Making and canceling orders
Accepting an order, giving details
Indicating when the shipment will be made / has been made The goods were shipped today by air. You will be emailed within 24 hours of delivery to confirm that the order has been received.
Contracts
Chasing orders
Replying to chase of order
Payment details
Payment for all purchases must be made by the end of the month following the date of the invoice (full payment details are attached).
Chasing payment
Sharon is our contact person for the invoices, but is also the person to whom we must send the contracts. Since it has been agreed that all invoices must be paid within 30 working days, we must insist on immediate payment.
Replying to a request for payment
We have instructed our bank to make a credit transfer of €10,000 to settle your bill. Your invoice no. 18 of September 17 was paid on October 17 by bank transfer (see attached transfer note).
Reporting problems with goods received
It appears that the goods you have just sent us are not up to your usual standards. We regret to inform you that the goods arrived in a very bad condition.
Replying to customer complaints
I have published 13 books with Springer Science and Business Media (this book's publisher), three books on business English courses with Oxford University Press, as well as other books for Cambridge University Press, Scholastic and the BBC. I also teach PhD students from all over the world how to write and present their work in English.
