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GENERAL ENGLISH · PRACTICAL ENGLISH · PRE-INTERMEDIATE (A2-B1)

WORK
E-MAILS
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1 Warm up
Look at the picture of an e-mail window and find these items.

the bin the mountains the paper clip the smiley face the subject line

1. the icon that means you are attaching a document

2. the icon that means you are attaching a photo
3. the icon that lets you choose an emoji
4. the icon that deletes the e-mail
5. the place where you write what the e-mail is about

What’s the difference between these pairs of actions?

1. replying to an e-mail and forwarding an e-mail

2. CC and BCC

Do you write many e-mails at work?

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2 Reading
Alexis is writing an e-mail to Barbara. Quickly read her e-mail and answer the questions.

1. What is the relationship between Alexis and Barbara?

2. Why is Alexis writing the e-mail?
3. Is this e-mail formal, semi-formal or informal?
4. What three suggestions does Alexis make?
5. What sort of response does Barbara need to make?

Hi Barbara,

As you missed the last department meeting, I A) write / am writing to let you know about
arrangements for next week’s marketing meeting. It B) starts / starting at 10:00 on Tuesday.
Donna Wells from head office C) comes / is coming to speak to us. I will meet her at the station at
9:00.

Just like last year, we D) will / are going to serve coffee and cakes from around 9:45. How about
getting the cakes from that lovely shop near the office? Let’s make sure we show Donna what a
friendly department we are. E) Could / May you help her get ready for her talk? F) There are /
There is a big screen in the meeting room, so she just needs to bring her slides.

I am worried that Donna G) might / can get a bit H) tiring / tired in the afternoon, and she has a
long trip back to head office, so shall we try to finish early?

Please let me know if you are happy with these arrangements. I am really
looking forward to Tuesday - I have heard great things about Donna, so I think it is I) being / going
to be really J) interesting / interested.

Kind regards,

Alexis

Read the email again and choose the best option (A-J) to complete the phrases. Then match the
options to the language points.

1. a description of what you can find in a place

2. a prediction based on outside evidence
3. a prediction that is not very certain
4. a request for someone to do something
5. a timetable
6. an action happening around now A, am writing
7. an adjective that describes a situation that makes us feel a certain way
8. an adjective that describes someone’s feelings
9. an arrangement with another person
10. an intention or plan

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3 Language point

We want to be professional and polite when we write e-mails at work, so there are some things that
we need to remember.

Find underlined phrases in the email which match these functions and write them in the space. Read
the extra information about each one.

1
Greeting the person that you are writing to:

• For a more informal e-mail, use only first names. Include a comma. You can also use these
phrases: Dear Barbara, / Hello Barbara,
• For more formal emails, perhaps to a customer or to someone you have never met, use
a title and the surname: Dear Mr Jones, / Dear Ms Webster,

2
Opening the e-mail:

• This often refers to a recent event at work or to the last time you had contact (or were
planning to have contact) with this person. This might be an e-mail, phone call or face to
face meeting.
• You can also use these phrases: Thank you for your e-mail. / It was good to talk to you
the other day. / I enjoyed meeting you last week. / Following our meeting on 5 March, ...

3
Reason for writing:

• This is a very important point to include. You can also use these phrases: I just wanted
to check/confirm something with you. / I would like to ask you about ...
• Note: in this context just makes the reason seem less important and makes the writer
sound more polite.

4
Call to action:

• This is also very important because it lets the other person know what they need to do
next. You can also use these phrases: Could you confirm how you would like to move
forward? / Send me the details as soon as you can. / Please let me know the outcome
of the meeting.
• Sometimes the next action comes from the sender: I will let you know what the customer
says. / I will keep you updated.

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5
Closing the e-mail:

• This refers to a future event and shows that you have finished the e-mail.
• Remember that the phrasal verb look forward to is always followed by a noun (including
gerunds, or verb + -ing), so you can also say: I am looking forward to speaking to you /
reading your report / hearing the outcome.

6
Signing the e-mail:

• For more informal e-mail, use only first names. Include a comma. You can also use these
phrases: Best wishes, Alexis / Regards, Alexis / All the best, Alexis
• For more formal e-mails: Sincerely, Alexis Matthews

Tip: People don’t have much time to read e-mails at work. It’s helpful if you use
paragraphs to organise your ideas.

How many paragraphs does Alexis use in her e-mail? What are the topics of her paragraphs?

4 Practice
Read Barbara’s reply to Alexis. The phrases in bold all have an extra word. Find them and cross them
out.

(1) Hi dear Alexis,

(2) I thank you for your e-mail about the arrangements for the meeting. (3) I am writing
it to confirm your suggestions. First of all, I think it is a great idea to have coffee and
cakes ready for Ms Wells when she arrives. However, I think we should get the cakes
from a different shop. The one around the corner is (4) too much expensive. (5) Let’s us
try the one near the station. I am very happy to help Ms Wells get ready for her talk. (6)
I am often going down to the meeting room later today to meet a customer, so I can
check the computer and the screen then. Finally, I agree that we should try to finish
early. (7) I will to check the train times for Ms Wells so we have an idea about when we
should finish. I will let you know about what the options are. (8) I am looking up forward
to the meeting too.

(9) All the best wishes,

(10) Barbara King

Barbara has not used paragraphs to organise her ideas. Where do you think she should start each
paragraph?

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5 Writing

You receive this e-mail at work. Read the email and answer the questions.

1. What is your relationship with Dennis?

2. Why is he writing the e-mail?
3. What do you need to include in your answer?

Hello,

It was good to meet you when you came up to the head office last week. I am writing to
ask you for more details about the customer sales research that you told us about. I am
interested because my department completed a similar project last year.

First of all, when are you starting to interview customers? How many people do you
think you will speak to? I can share some customer contact details with you if you need
more people to speak to.

Also, could you let us know if you are going to collect information from customers
face-to-face or online?

It sounds like we are doing very similar things, so let’s keep in touch. I look forward to
hearing from you.

Regards,

Dennis Meehan

Write a reply in 100 words, using functional language from the lesson.

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6 Extra practice/homework

Donna Wells has written an e-mail to Barbara to confirm arrangements for the meeting. Put the
sentences in order.

Best wishes,

Could you confirm that I can access the company intranet on that computer?

Dear Barbara, 1

Donna

First of all, there has been a change in my travel plans.

However, could you tell me the best place to park?

I am also a little bit worried about the facilities in the meeting room.

I am going to drive to the meeting, so you don’t need to meet me at the train station.

I am going to show some slides during my talk.

I am just writing to check some of the arrangements.

I’m looking forward to your reply, and of course, to seeing you next week.

I was so pleased to receive the invitation to speak at your meeting.

Thank you for your help.

How would you use paragraphs to organise the e-mail?

7 Optional extension

The first thing people see is the subject line of your e-mail. There are lots of ways to get people’s
attention, so they want to open the e-mail. Match the types of subject lines with the examples.

1. command a. 45% of workers have "tired eyes" from using screens

2. hurry up b. 5 things to do before our department review

3. Information c. Don’t miss your chance to book holiday days this summer!

4. instructions d. Great to meet you last week!

5. list e. Have you done your health and safety training?

6. personal f. How to use the new company time sheet

7. questions g. Keep your workspace clean

8. statistics h. Sales meeting: Sept 3, 14:00

Look back at the e-mails that Alexis, Barbara and Dennis wrote. Write subject lines for these e-mails.

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