Email Writing Tips – Common Expressions

In business English it is important to understand what form is needed to be able to write accurately and to communicate professionally, especially when communicating with customers or clients.

Many problems occur because we don’t have the more advanced grammar knowledge that we need to write well.

However, you can take “shortcuts” by learning certain expressions, clauses or sentences as vocabulary. This is the quickest way to improve your writing for general and everyday communication.

If you need to translate documents, write contracts or conduct negotiations over email, however, we highly recommend that you self-study or take lessons to sharpen up your grammar knowledge. Making mistakes in these and other important situations can cost your company money and could be bad news for your career!

The more specific your job is, the more likely you will need help from a business language training professional, but there are general expressions and every day email writing hacks to polish your writing.

Here is some advice to get you started:

1. Use short, concise sentences with simple grammar, especially if you are not confident. The message is the most important thing.
2. Do not translate directly from Vietnamese.
3. Learn the difference between formal and informal language.
4. Use paragraphs and spacing to organize your email. A disorganized email indicates a disorganized mind.
5. Use bullet points instead of full sentences for brevity.
6. Make sure you check your grammar and vocabulary, and edit your email before you send it.
7. Ensure you punctuate your emails fully.
8. Make sure you have correctly identified the purpose of your email and have covered all the points.

Common Expressions and Word Formation.

If you don’t have time to learn the grammar, you can learn common expressions in the same way that you learn vocabulary. This will increase your ability to write restricted general emails, but it will not improve your ability to use grammar to explain complex situations or to communicate with an overseas client well. This is why we recommend that you learn common expressions AND increase your grammatical awareness.

One common issue learners face is identifying the correct word form necessary in context.

What do we mean by “word form”?

Here is an example of the different word forms the word COMMUNICATE can take in English:

Here are some examples of incorrect and correct usage of word form:

We can learn some of these as semi-set phrases:

1. Thanks for your + noun. (e.g. letter, concern, order, etc.)
2. Based on + noun, … (e.g. the figures, my calculations, etc.)
3. I am writing in reference to + noun. (e.g. your order, your last email, etc.)
4. I assure you that + clause. (e.g. your order will be delivered on time)
5. I/We appreciate + noun. (e.g. your patience, your help, etc.)
6. I am responsible for + noun. (e.g. your account, packaging, etc.)

We can learn others by learning the grammar rule:

1. Singular noun + is + adjective. (e.g. The schedule is correct.)
2. Plural noun + are + adjective. (e.g. The schedules are incorrect.)
3. Noun + verb form + adverb. (e.g. The rule is enforced strictly.)
4. Singular/ Plural Noun + must + base form verb + adverb (e.g. We must respond quickly.)

It’s time to practise!!!