WRITING EMAILS
The first thing you need to know is the different parts of an email:
● Greetings: we greet the other person (i.e. say “hi” or “hello”).
● Opening paragraph: we react to the other person’s news and ask them how they are
feeling and whatever else you feel is appropriate.
● Main paragraph 1: in this paragraph we deal with the first important point, which we can
identify in the instructions.
● Main paragraph 2: if there is a different point to deal with, this paragraph will do so.
● Closing paragraph: in this paragraph we “start” to say goodbye by wishing the other
person well and asking them to reply to your letter.
● Goodbye: we use a short expression to say goodbye.
● Signature: we sign the letter with our name.
Now that we know the different parts of a letter or email, we should see an example.
Expressions to use in your email/letter
In this section, we are going to focus on different expressions you can use in the different
parts of the letter. While the main paragraphs will vary completely depending on the topic of your
writing, most of the other parts in the letter can be practised and memorised almost completely.
Let’s take a look:
Greetings
In order to start your email or letter in Writing Part 3 for Cambridge English: Preliminary
(PET), you can use different expressions, which are really typical and easy to remember. We have
3 basic ways to greet in this kind of letter, which is usually for a friend or family member:
● Hi John,
● Hello John,
● Dear John,
Notice how “hi” is less formal than “hello” or “dear”. Also, don’t forget to write a comma (,)right
after greeting your friend or relative. After greeting the addressee (i.e. the person who will read the
letter), you must start the opening paragraph in a new line.
Opening paragraph
The opening paragraph is the place to react to your friend’s or relative’s letter. In order to do
so, you can use a number of different expressions. Here we have some examples:
● It’s nice/ great/ good to hear from you.
● It’s nice/ great/ good to read your letter.
● I’m glad to hear your news.
● I’m excited about… (your news.)
● It’s great to hear that…
● I’m sorry to hear that…
● I’m really sorry to read your news.
● Thanks a lot for writing!
● It was good to receive your letter.
● Thank you very much for your letter.
And many more. Also, it’s a good idea to ask your friend or relative how they are feeling, which
you can do like this:
● Hope you are doing well.
● How’s it going?
● How are you (doing)?
● How are things (going)?
You can also add some information that you think is relevant or necessary, but don’t expand this
paragraph very much, because the important information must go in the main paragraphs.
Main paragraphs
For the main paragraphs, there aren’t any fixed expressions which you must use, as it depends
mostly on what you have to write about. However, you should try to make use of connectors and
appropriate punctuation. So let’s take a look at common useful connectors and the
punctuation we use them with:
● … and… : to connect two similar things or ideas.
I love reading and listening to music.
My favourite meal is fish and chips.
● …, but… : to connect two contrasting ideas.
I love watching TV, but I don’t have a favourite show.
I am reading a book, but I don’t remember the title.
● . However, … : to connect contrasting ideas.
Last month, I went to the cinema. However, I didn’t enjoy the movie.
I am a very big fan of this author. However, I haven’t read his last novel.
● Moreover, … : to add more information about something.
● … because… : to justify an opinion or idea.
My mum is the perfect cook because she knows a lot of recipes and has plenty of
experience. Moreover, she experiments with different ingredients all the time.
● . Because of that, … : to justify an opinion, fact or idea.
My mum likes to cook using new ingredients all the time. Because of that, she creates original
dishes every month.
● . As for…/ Regarding… : to switch to a new topic. For instance, you can use this
connector to start the second main paragraph.
As for/Regarding why I like this cookery show, I think it’s because it’s a great way to see new
recipes.
● Time linkers: then, after that, yesterday, this morning, last summer, etc.
Last night, I watched a very good action film.
With many connectors, we typically use a comma (,) after it when we start a sentence
(e.g.: However, Last night, Moreover, etc.).
Closing paragraph
As we mentioned earlier, a closing paragraph in this Writing part 3 is used to start saying goodbye
to the addressee and to ask for a response to your letter. So we can use the following
expressions:
● Well, it’s time to say goodbye.
● Anyway, I have to go now.
● Well, it’s time to go.
● Anyway, gotta go.
● I really hope to hear from you soon.
● I’m looking forward to hearing from you.
● I hope you write back soon.
● Make sure you write back soon.
Also, if you still have to write more words, you can add a question for a subsequent letter or
email. This question should be related to the topic of your piece of writing.
Saying goodbye
There are many ways in English to close an informal letter or email. The most frequently used
ones are the following:
● Best wishes,
● Best,
● Sincerely,
● Take care,
● All my love,
● Love,
● Lots of love,
● See you soon,
● Regards,
Notice how there is a comma (,) after each of the phrases. Also, after writing any of these
sentences, make sure you write your name on a different line. And write your name without a
full stop!
PRACTICE