Unit 4: Starting and finishing emails
How should you begin and finish an email message to someone you don't know? Find out here!
Starting and finishing emails
Here are some important points to consider when starting and finishing an email.
Formal or informal?
We write a formal email when we want to be polite, or when we do not know the reader very well. A lot of work emails are formal. We write informal emails when we want to be friendly, or when we know the reader well. A lot of social emails are informal. Here are some examples of formal and informal messages:
Formal
An email to a customer
A job application
An email to your manager
A complaint to a shop
An email from one company to another company
Informal
A birthday greeting to a colleague
An email to a colleague who is also a good friend
A social invitation to a friend at your workplace
An email with a link to a funny YouTube clip
A message to a friend on a social networking site
Before you start writing an email, decide if you want to write a formal email or an informal one.
Layout and punctuation
Starting an email: We normally write a comma after the opening phrase. We start a new line after the name of the person we’re writing to.
Finishing an email: We normally write a comma after the closing phrase. We start a new line to write our name at the end.
Formal
Dear Mr Piper,
I am writing to thank you for all your help.
I look forward to seeing you next week.
With best wishes,
John Smith
Informal
Hi Tim,
Many thanks for your help.
See you next week.
Cheers,
John
Phrases for starting and finishing
Here are some phrases which we use for starting and finishing emails. We use these in formal and informal emails:
Starting phrases
Dear Tim,
Good morning Tim,
Ending phrases
Regards,
With best wishes,
With many thanks and best wishes,
You also need to know which phrases to use only in a formal email or an informal one:
Starting phrases
Formal
Dear Mr Piper,
Dear Sir or Madam,
Informal
Hi Tim,
Hi there Tim,
Morning/Afternoon/Evening Tim,
Hello again Tim,
Ending phrases
Formal
Yours sincerely,
Yours faithfully,
Yours truly,
Informal
Rgds,
Cheers,
Bye for now,
See you soon,
Sources: British Council
