Emails for Administration
Email writing etiquette at workplace
To begin with, email writing etiquette at workplace refers to the code of behaviour guiding you how to write and reply to emails. The format must be appropriate for the workplace context showing your professionalism. The following are some guidelines with examples.
1. Use a standard format
The email should contain several parts including the subject line, salutation, introduction, body paragraphs, ending and complimentary close.
2. Use a professional font and word size
Times New Roman, Arial or Calibri Font 12 can be used to show professionalism.
3. Subject line
State what the email is about in a clear and precise way. Note that the subject line should not be too long.
e.g. “Annual Staff Retreat”
4. Salutation
For internal email communication, when you write to your fellow colleagues, usually you just write “Dear” and his/her first name.
e.g. “Dear Jane”, “Dear Benjamin”, etc.
When you write to your supervisor/senior staff/staff of another department, you may need to be more formal by writing “Dear” with his/her job position or his/her title and surname.
e.g. “Dear Manager”, “Dear Mr Brown”, “Dear Marketing Team”, etc.
For external email communication, if the name of the recipientis unknown, you need to write “Dear Sir/Madam”.
On the other hand, if you know the name of the recipient, you should write his/her surname.
e.g. “Dear Mr Lee”, “Dear Ms Lam”, etc.
Never write the person’s full name such as “Dear Mr Jack Lee” or “Dear Ms Susan Lam”.
5. Introduction
Briefly state the purpose of your writing.
For example, if you are applying for a job, you may write:
“With reference to your advertisement in JobsDB, I am writing to apply for the post of Management Trainee in your company.”
After that, there should be a brief statement about why you think you are suitable for the job.
If you are writing to obtain a quotation, you need to introduce yourself and then state the purpose of your writing:
“My name is Henry Chu and I am a Management Trainee of ABC Company. We are planning to buy 10 computers for use in our company and I am writing to request for the price list of your computers.”
If you are replying to an email, you need to say thank you first and then introduce yourself. After that, state that you are replying to that person’s email:
“Thank you very much for your email. My name is Peter Wong and I am a Management Trainee of DEF Company. I am writing to reply to you concerning your complaint about our company’s service.”
6. Body paragraphs
Write the main message of your email and provide any additional information you think is essential for the recipient to understand. Remember not to overload your recipient with lots of words since an email should be precise and to the point.
7. Ending
Usually at the end of an email, the recipient should be told what to do next.
For example, in a job application, you need to ask the recipient to contact you anytime for any further information needed or for arranging an interview.
If you are writing to obtain a quotation, you have to tell the recipient by which day you want him/her to provide you with the information you want.
If it is a reply to an email of complaint, you need to state what action you will take regarding the complaint.
8. Complimentary close
For emails, we rarely write “Yours sincerely” or “Yours faithfully” as we do for writing letters. You can write “Yours truly” instead of “Yours faithfully, and “Regards” or “Best regards” instead of “Yours sincerely” in an email.
Then type your full name with your job title. For external email communication, also include your company name.
9. Check your grammar, spelling and punctuation
It is very important to proofread your email so that there will not be any mistakes in grammar and spelling. Make sure you check these carefully, including the punctuation marks. Don’t rely on the “spell check” function since there may not be any spelling mistake in a word but that may not be the word you want to use or may not be appropriate in that context. It is also important to check the spelling of the recipient’s name.
10. Check the content of your email
You need to check if the information you write in the email is completely correct without any mistakes. Otherwise, the recipient will receive the wrong information and the consequence may be very serious.
For example, if the deadline for replying to your email or if the deadline for shipping is a wrong date, the follow-up action may be delayed.
11. Be concise
People don’t want to read long emails spending a lot of their time. Therefore, ensure that you write what is necessary and do not include any redundant information.
12. Be polite
Courtesy is the norm of business correspondence. Ensure that the words you use are polite and respectful. Check that you use the correct tone for your email and avoid using offensive words.
13. Reply to an email promptly
Always check your email inbox in order to reply to an email immediately or at least not after a long time. If you respond to an email late, the recipient will think that you do not respect him/her.
14. Check your attachments
Make sure whether attachments are needed. If so, check that you have the correct attachments and the file names of the attachments are clearly written. Try not to attach too many documents in one email.
15. Use ‘Reply all’ carefully
When you reply to an email, usually you reply to the person who has sent the email to you. However, if you think that the information in the email is important to all the people in the email group, then click “Reply all”. But if the information is only essential to one person, don’t click “Reply all”; otherwise, the other people will think that you are wasting their time.
16. Forwarding an email
If you think a person who has not received a particular email should know the information in that email, you need to forward the email to the person. However, you have to be cautious in considering if there is any sensitive information which that recipient should not know.
Exercise
Watch the following video and answer the questions.
Note: The title of the speaker Ms Catherine LIN has been changed to Senior Lecturer II since July 2023.
Correctness, conciseness, completeness, clarity and courtesy
To proofread it, especially in grammar, spelling and punctuation
No, since efficiency is of utmost importance and nobody likes to read a lengthy email
Six: subject, salutation, opening, body, closing and signature
No, since the occasion is not clear and the date is not stated. We may use “Please join the parents’ workshop at 10:00am on August 30”.
Put yourself into the recipient’s shoes and anticipate the questions that could come up and address them in advance.
Always keep the audience and the purpose of your writing in mind, and consider how formal you should be in your email.
Further References
1. Email Etiquette at Work: 21 Tips to Better Professional Communication
This webpage gives information about what email etiquette is and some rules in the workplace for people to follow
https://www.pipefy.com/blog/email-etiquette-at-work/
2. How to Write a Formal Email
This link teaches people what to include in an email. There is a checklist before sending an email and some formal email examples are included too.
https://sparkmailapp.com/formal-email-template
3. Email Etiquette: Tips for Professional Communication in the Workplace
This video mentions some essential tips for writing emails. There are also some tips on how to schedule meetings and what to do when you don’t know how to respond to an email.