Letters and emails part one. In this lesson, you'll learn a simple three-part structure to use in any business letter or email. Before we begin, I want to remind you of two important characteristics of business communication. Business letters and emails are polite. This means they use slightly more formal or professional English. Do not use slang. Social verbs and idioms are okay only in emails to business associates who you know well and have a friendly relationship with. You'll learn some useful, more formal English phrases in this lesson. Business communication is also concise. This means it focuses on the essential information, without including lots of extra details or long explanations that are not very relevant to the letter's purpose. If you need to write a letter or email, you can follow this structure. First, the introduction, which contains the salutation to open the letter, reference to any recent contact, and expresses your reason for writing. Then, the details. More information that is relevant to the letter's purpose, like good or bad news, requests or offers, complaints, or brief explanations. And then the conclusion, which includes the next action, any deadlines or time limits, and contact information, if necessary, and the closing.

Let's look at each part in more detail and learn some specific phrases to use. Note that in some of the example phrases, the words I and me are used. In others, the words we and us are used. You should use I if you are writing the letter representing yourself, and use we if you are writing the letter representing a group or company. Let's start with the introduction. First, the salutation. To open the letter, write dear followed by Mr. for a man, Mrs. for a married woman, Miss for a single woman, or Ms. for a woman when you don't know if she's married or single. And then the person's last name. For example, dear Mr. Smith. Dear Ms. Jones. If the person has a special title, you can use that instead of Mr. or Ms., for example, dear Dr. Myers. Dear Professor Davis. Dear Reverend Finch. A Reverend is a Christian religious leader. Dear Pastor Anderson. A pastor is another Christian religious leader. Emails are a little less formal than letters, so when writing to a contact with whom you frequently exchange messages, you can use this form instead of dear. Hello or hi and the person's first name.

If you have recently had contact with the person you're writing to, you can use one of these phrases. Thank you for your message. Letter. Interest. Or inquiry. Inquiry means the person asked a question before. This is in response to your request. Regarding our telephone conversation yesterday, it was a pleasure meeting you at the conference. I enjoyed having lunch with you last week. The final part of the introduction is the reason for writing. You can say, I am writing to inform you that your order was shipped on July 27. I am writing to tell you about a new product that may be beneficial to your company. I am writing to confirm your attendance at the International Training Conference. I am writing to request information about your services. I am writing to inquire about opportunities for partnership between our companies. I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the delay in receiving the material I purchased.

Now let's move on to the details part of the letter or email. That might include giving good or bad news. When giving good news, it's common to use the words pleased and delighted, both of which mean happy. Here are some examples. We are pleased to announce that our company has agreed to sponsor your event. I am delighted to inform you that you have been accepted into New York University's MBA program. You will be pleased to learn that we are sending you a complimentary, free sample of our product. When giving bad news, it's common to express that you are sorry about the bad news with phrases like these. I regret to inform you that your order has been delayed approximately two weeks. I am afraid it will not be possible to customize the software for your company. Unfortunately we are unable to ship products to Japan due to high import taxes. After careful consideration we have decided to work with a different provider for our materials.

Let's learn how to make requests, offers and express additional information. If you need to make a request, use these phrases. I would like to know if discount pricing is available. I would appreciate it if you could send me the reports. To offer to do something for the other person, use these phrases. Would you like us to design the artwork for the magazine cover? I would be happy to meet you at the airport when you arrive. We are quite willing to discuss alternatives to the current agreement. Sometimes you include additional information in the envelope along with your letter. To call attention to this extra information, you can say, please refer to, see or review the enclosed information. That would be said in physical letters. Or please refer to, see or review the attached information. That would be written in emails.

Finally, the conclusion. In the conclusion tell the person the next action that you want them to take. Here are some examples. Please advise as necessary. This means send me your opinion. I'd appreciate your immediate attention to this matter. This means act now. The situation is urgent. I look forward to your reply. Or I look forward to hearing from you. This means I'm waiting for you to contact me. If there is no next action, or if you already stated it earlier in the letter, then you can restate the letter's purpose, beginning with the phrase again, or once again. For example, once again, I apologize for the inconvenience. Again, it is my pleasure to welcome you to the partnership. If necessary, you can give contact information. If the person might have questions or need help. For example, if you require any further information, please call us at 1-800-555-1212. If you require assistance, please contact our technical support. Require is a formal word for need. To finish your letter or email, use a closing followed by a comma and your name. Here are some more formal closings. Sincerely, regards, and respectfully yours. And here are some more personal closings or email closings. From regards, best wishes, cordially, many thanks, with appreciation. This second group of closings is good to use if you already have a business or social relationship with the person. They are also good for emails which are often less formal than letters. Do not use love, or with hugs or kisses. These are not appropriate for business. They are only for family and close friends. In the lesson text, you'll find a link to a booklet with more phrases for professional letters and emails. Now take the quiz to help you review the phrases. Tomorrow, the study of letters and emails continues with punctuation and capitalization rules to make your written English correct and professional.

Finally, this content was compiled by Qicai.com editor Xiao Wu, covering business English listening for courses, speeches, meetings, negotiations, and telephone communications, hoping that you gain some useful insights after listening!