Writing bank
1 Emails
Lead-in In general, emails are either informal or formal/semi-formal. Emails to people inside your
organisation may use less formal language than those sent to people outside of the company.
Before writing an email, think about the level of formality needed and make sure the information
you want to communicate is clear to the reader:
1 Who is the email to and what level of formality is needed?
2 Is the main information that you want to communicate clear to the reader?
Model answers
Dear Miku and Chris,
I’d like to introduce myself to you both. My name is Luiz Sousa and I am the new project leader for the Marshall
account. Before joining the team, I worked in a similar role in the PR department of Kline and Marriott Associates
for almost a decade.
It’s a pleasure to work with you on such an exciting account. You’ve both worked on this project for some time and
I would therefore like to discuss the background and hear your ideas.
I’d like to request a meeting on Tuesday 12th at 10 a.m. This will be both an update meeting as well as a discussion
on how to proceed with this account. Could you let me know if this is convenient for you?
In the meantime, could you prepare a brief update report for me to read prior to the meeting? Chris, I’d like to know
what strategy has been used in managing the Marshall account. Miku, it would also be useful to have a summary of
any interaction with this client in the last six months.
I’m looking forward to meeting you both and working with you on this project.
Kind regards,
Luiz
Hi Miku and Chris,
Many thanks for attending the meeting on Tuesday and for preparing the project updates. Both were very
productive and informative.
As we discussed in the meeting, strategy for managing the Marshall account hasn’t changed in over two years.
However, the industries and sectors that Marshall operates in have experienced many technical advances in recent
years. In order to do the best for our client, we agreed that we should explore a variety of potential new directions
for the account. Please find below a summary of the main action points from our meeting:
• Chris to research and share information related to technology and energy industries and automotive sector for
the Marshall account. Deadline Monday 18th.
• Team meeting (Chris, Miku and Luiz) to finalise strategy and prepare presentation. Tuesday 19th.
• Miku to contact Dev Saunders and organise initial meeting to share findings and discuss expansion of the
Marshall account. By Thursday 21st.
• Luiz to present new strategy to board of directors at Marshall. Arrange by w/c 25th.
Thank you again for sharing your thoughts and ideas. This is an exciting opportunity to explore new directions for
this key account. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Best wishes,
Luiz
Subject: Customer service feedback
Dear Sir or Madam,
I am writing to thank you for the excellent customer service which I experienced when hiring a car from your company last week.
While travelling on business with two colleagues, we hired a Hyundai Tucson to drive to a conference in Budapest. Unfortunately,
on the second night of our stay the car was stolen. When we spoke to your customer care team, the response was excellent. Within
two hours one of your representatives, Gergo Belov, had driven to our hotel and delivered a replacement vehicle. In addition,
Mr Belov stayed with us and helped complete the insurance form. I wanted you to know how much we appreciated his assistance.
We look forward to returning to your beautiful country in the future and we would certainly use Alcan Car Hire again.
Yours faithfully,
Max Hastings (HR Director)
Business Partner B1 © Pearson Education 2018 1
Writing bank
Functional language
Starting and ending an email
Formal/Semi-formal Informal
Greeting Dear Sir or Madam, Hi/Hello, Anton,
Dear Ms/Mrs/Miss/Mr/Dr Peck, Good morning, Jasmine,
Dear Katrin,
Closing I’m looking forward to our meeting next week. Looking forward to speaking on Thursday.
Do let me know if you have any queries. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Perhaps we could arrange a lunch meeting to discuss? Shall we have a brief chat to discuss progress?
It was a pleasure meeting you and thank you for It was great meeting you and thanks for your interest
choosing our company. in our company.
Please do not hesitate to get in contact if you require Let me know if you need anything else.
any further information.
Signing off Kind regards, Best wishes,
Regards, All best,
Yours,
Main sections of an email
Linking to previous Many thanks for attending the meeting.
communication It was great to meet you last week.
Introducing yourself I’d like to introduce myself, I’m …
Can I take this opportunity to introduce myself. My name is …
I’ve recently joined the finance team.
I’m the new Sales Manager.
I’m delighted to join the team in my new role as Media Coordinator.
I am the HR Director at LMK.
In my previous position/role I worked in the manufacturing sector.
Thanking I am writing to thank you for your help arranging the training seminar last week.
I am writing to say thank you for the excellent service that we received at your hotel during our visit.
Thank you very much for your help with our order.
We really appreciate all your hard work on this project.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your help.
We appreciated your assistance with the presentation.
Your team was most helpful and the event was a great success.
We would recommend your products and excellent service.
We would certainly use your company again.
Requesting an update Could you prepare a brief report to update us?
Can you let me know where we are with the Andrews project?
Would you talk me through the stages of the process?
I’d like to request a meeting to discuss how the project is progressing.
Action points
These list points where action is required and add the name of the person who will do the task.
Note: Bullet points and numbered lists are often used to summarise action points. For more information, see Instructions and
warnings, in section 4 of this Writing bank.
As we discussed in the meeting, the date of the office move is now 26th April.
The aim of the meeting was to discuss important changes in the pharmaceutical industry.
Here is a summary of the main action points from the meeting:
Please find below a list of the key points from the meeting:
Here are some phrases and acronyms that are used when discussing dates and deadlines:
• w/c – week commencing (the date at the start of the week) We’ll finalise the brochure w/c 24th May.
• EOD – end of day I’ll send you the update by EOD Monday.
• latest – the final date/time that something is needed The team will need the marketing data my Friday morning latest.
Business Partner B1 © Pearson Education 2018 2
