Writing Email

Saying an email address

• @ is pronounced ”at”
• . is pronounced “dot”
• _ is pronounced “underscore”
• Use the NATO Phonetic Alphabet

Structure

• Salutation (greeting)
• Purpose
• Question (if you have one)
• Thanking
• Closing

Formality

• English has varying degrees of formality and is, in general, more formal than Swedish.
• Choose which level of formality fits your email best depending on the your role as the sender and the content, context, and recipient(s).
• Email tends to be less formal than paper-based communication, but when in doubt, it's best to be more formal.
• On this webpage, when several alternative phrases are given, they are ordered from more to less formal.

Be more formal when writing:

• in an official capacity
• about a serious matter
• to an unknown correspondent or someone you do not know

Be less formal when writing:

• about less serious matters
• to a person you know

Formal and informal verbs

	Informal	Formal
Ask for/ Request	Ask Reception for a map.	Request a map at Reception.
Find out/ Discover	When did you find out about this error?	When did you discover this error?
Go up/ Increase	The cost of student housing has gone up by 10% this year.	The cost of student housing has increased by 10% this year.
Go down/ Decrease	The number of applicants has gone down.	The number of applicants has decreased.
Help/ Assist	How can I help you?	How can I assist you?

Tone

• CAPS LOCK CAN SEEM AGGRESSIVE
• Avoid sounding negative, especially in the subject line
  • Latest version was not good enough
  • Changes to be made in the latest version
• Don’t place blame
  • Use the passive voice and replace the use of the pronoun “you” with “the.”
  • You failed to submit your assignment on time.
  • The assignment was not submitted on time.
• Avoid excessive punctuation marks, all right???!!!

Length

Emails of 75-100 words have been shown to have best response rates.

Salutations

More formal:

• Dear Mr/Ms/Dr/Professor [efternamn] (British)
• Dear Mr./Ms./Dr./Professor [efternamn], (American)
• Mr/Ms/Dr/Professor [efternamn] (British)
• Mr./Ms./Dr./Professor [efternamn], (American)
• Dear [first and last name],
• To the [office/department] at [X University],
• Dear staff at [office/department/company],
• Dear [first name],
• Dear all,
• Greetings [first name],
• [first and last name]
• [First name],
• Hello [first name],
• Hello,

Less formal:

• Greetings!
• Hi [first name],
• Hi, how are you?
• Hello!
• Hello, [first name]!

Very informal:

• Hi, everyone!
• Hi [first name]!
• Hello again!

Please do not use "To whom it may concern" or "Hey."

Nice things to say if you know the person

• Hope all is well with you!
• I hope you’re doing well.
• I know you’re swamped/busy, so I’ll be brief.

Purpose

Here, a key phrase is "I am writing to..."

• I am writing to…

   

  • respond to your request to...
  • clarify that…
  • confirm that…
  • ask for further details about...
  • ask you about…
  • follow up on…
  • update you that…
  • answer your question about…
  • remind you about…
  • let you know that... 
  • say thank you for…
  • send you a quick note about…

More good “purpose” phrases:

• This is to inform you that…
• [Mutual contact] recommended I get in touch with you and…
• I’m reaching out about…
• Please note that…
• As promised, I’m…
• Just a friendly reminder that…
• Just a quick update/heads-up that…

If you want them to reply to you or do something

Here, a key phrase is "Please let me know."

More formal:

• Stronger:
  • Can you please let me know___ by [day or date and month]?
  • Please confirm if would like me to [do an action]?
  • Can you send ___ to me by [day or date and month], please?
• Gentler:
  • I look forward to hearing from you/to your reply.
  • It would be very helpful if you could give me your feedback about___
  • I am afraid I need some additional information from you. Please send me___.

Less formal:

• Stronger:
  • Could you please let me know ___/[do an action] as soon as possible?
  • Could you [do an action], please?
  • I’m very happy to help, but to do so I need ___ from you by [day or date and month] at the latest.
• Gentler:
  • If you could ___, that would be great.
  • I’d appreciate it if you could __
  • When you have a moment, I’d like to know (more) about __
  • Please get/keep in touch/keep me posted.
  • I look forward to hearing from you.
  • I look forward to your reply.
  • Please let me know if this works/if you are available/if that sounds good/if you can__/if you can help/if you need to reschedule.

Reminders and clarifications

• Just checking in.
• Per my last email,
• As stated below,
• Sorry if it was unclear,

If you want them to contact you if they need something

More formal:

• Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
• If we can be of any further assistance, please let us know.

Less formal:

• Let me know if you need anything else.
• Just get in touch if you have any more questions/need anything else.

If you don’t want them to do anything

More formal:

• We hope you find this information satisfactory.
• I appreciate your getting in touch with me.

Less formal:

• Thanks for letting me know.
• I hope this answers your question.

Attachments and links

More formal:

• Please find attached…
• I’ve attached [file’s name] for your review.
• Could you please sign/review the attached document and send it back by [day or date and month]?
• Please see the information below for more details about…
• Here’s the document you asked for/we discussed.
• More information is available at [website].

Less formal:

• I’ve attached…
• I’m attaching…
• I’m sending you [file’s name] as a PDF file.
• You can see more info about this on this [website].

You forgot to attach something

More formal:

• Our sincere apologies; please find your certificate attached.
• My apologies as I did not include the attachment with my previous email.

Less formal:

• Sorry! I forgot to attach the file in my last email.
• It looks like I forgot to include the attachment, so here it is!

Giving bad news or telling someone they are wrong or cannot do something

• Stronger:
  • This is to let you know that we have had to cancel/postpone/reject…
  • As per our guidelines/regulations/policy, it is not possible to…
  • After review, we regret to tell/inform you…
  • After careful consideration, we have decided (not) to…
  • Despite our best efforts…
• Gentler:
  • Unfortunately, it’s not possible to…
  • We are sorry; however,…
  • I am afraid there might have been a slight miscommunication and…
  • Due to unavoidable circumstances, there will be a (slight) delay/change…

Less formal:

• Stronger:
  • Unfortunately, that’s not possible/the case, but as an alternative…
  • I’m writing to let you know that ___ is unfortunately cancelled/delayed/not doable…
  • I am afraid that it will take a little longer to…
  • Moving forward…
• Gentler:
  • I’m sorry, but…
  • Sorry about this.

Giving good news

More formal:

• I am/We are pleased to inform you…

Less formal:

• I’m happy to tell you…
• You’ll be happy to hear that…
• Good news!

Common abbreviations

• ASAP: As Soon As Possible
• BTW: By The Way
• FYI: For Your Information
• TIA: Thanks In Advance

Need to forward the email to someone else?

Can’t respond immediately?

More formal:

• We will respond to your email as soon as possible.
• I will confer with my colleagues and get back to you as soon as possible.

Less formal:

• I have to look into that but I will get back to you as soon as I can.
• I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Out-of-office messages

Hello,

Thank you for your email.

I am [REASON YOU ARE UNAVAILABLE] from # Month 2021 until # Month 2021*.

During that time, I will have  [LIMITED/INFREQUENT/NO] access to my email. I will reply to your message as soon as I can.

If you require immediate assistance, please contact [NAME/DEPARTMENT] at [EMAIL]. 

Regards,

*If you are only unavailable for one day, write: I am [REASON YOU ARE UNAVAILABLE] on # Month 2021.

Reasons you are unavailable may be…

• out of the office
• unavailable
• on parental leave
• taking care of family/personal matters
• on holiday [British]
• on vacation [American]
• taking some time off
• on sick leave
• on leave
• on short-term leave
• on long-term leave
• attending a conference/work event/day-long meeting
• focusing on specific work tasks
• focusing on writing/research/teaching

Tricky common phrases

Vi kan väl ses på en fika någon gång.	We should have a cup of coffee sometime.
Jag är föräldraledig.	I am on parental leave.
Jag jobbar inte i morgon. Det är min tur att vabba.	I won’t be at work tomorrow as it is my turn to take care of my child who is (a bit) ill/sick/under the weather.
Nu blev det lite dumt/knasigt.	Something went a bit wrong.
Hur mycket är lagom?	How much is the right amount/just right?
Jag hinner inte i veckan.	I won’t have time this week.
Vad tråkigt!	How unfortunate!/Too bad!
Trivs du med din nya tjänst?	How are you liking your new job?
Tack och lov!	Thank goodness.
Vad kul/ bra!	How fun/nice!
Vad härligt!	How delightful/lovely!
Det är lugnt.	It’s okay.
Vi hörs.	Let’s keep/get in touch.
Nu är jag tillbaka efter helgerna.	I'm back now after the holidays.
Det var ett roligt misstag	That was a funny mistake.
Det är en rolig utbildning.	It is a fun educational programme.

Thanking

Here, a key phrase is "thank you for your...".

More formal:

• I appreciate your taking the time to write.
• Thank you for getting in touch with me.
• Thank you for your…
  • interest
  • email
  • question
  • time
  • understanding
  • patience
  • feedback
  • suggestion
  • help
  • cooperation in this matter
  • attention to this matter
  • swift response

Less formal:

• Thanks for your time/cooperation!
• Thanks for letting me know.
• Thanks so much!
• Thanks in advance!
• Thanks!

Closing

More formal:

• Sincerely,
• Yours sincerely,
• Regards,
• With kind regards,

Less formal:

• Best/Warm regards,
• All the best,
• Best,
• See you (soon),
• Hope this helps.
• Take care,
• Thanks again!
• Bye for now!
• Cheers
• Stay safe [in times of crisis]

Spellcheck in English in Outlook

• Granska/Review
• Språk/Language
• Ange redigeringsspråk/Set Proofing Language
• Engelska (Storbritannien)/English (United Kingdom)
• Stavning och grammatik/Spelling & Grammar

Tips if you want to check your writing

• Grammarly.com is a tool with a (limited) free version that can help improve the several types of errors, improper writing style, and plagiarism.
• Try a concordance to see how specific words or phrases are used, e.g. Compleat Lexical Tutor, Web Concordance– English, and Select a relevant corpus, e.g. Brown + BNC Written
• Google specific phrases with quotation marks and see how frequently they are used. This is especially useful if you are trying to decide between two different ways to write something.
• Use Google Translate to translate from English to Swedish to help see if you missed any important words—or misspelled something!

Examination and teaching phrases

examensarbete	degree project
forskarstudier	doctoral studies/programme
föreläsningar	lectures
grundnivå	Bachelor’s level
grupparbete	group work
hemtentamen	take-home examination
högskolepoäng	credits
inlämningsuppgift	written assignment
laboration	laboratory session
lärandemål	intended learning outcomes
master-/magisternivå	Master’s level
muntlig tentamen	oral examination
omtentamen	re-take examination
salstentamen	written examination on campus
seminarier	seminars
skriftlig individuell tentamen	written individual examination
skriftligt prov på tid	written exam with a time limit
tenta	exam
tentamensperiod	examination period
tentamensvakt	examination supervisor
undervisning	teaching
undervisningsformer	forms of teaching
uppsats	academic paper
VG (Väl godkänd)	Pass with distinction
G (Godkänd)	Pass
U (Underkänd)	Fail

Terminology and writing resources

The Swedish Council for Higher Education’s Swedish-English dictionary

The University of Borås’s English Writing Guidelines

Academic Communication Resource webpage

Guidelines for email signatures

The University of Borås’s Swedish-English Lexicon

Tip! Email eva.medin@hb.se for a much more extensive Swedish-English word list relevant for university work in Excel format.

Questions? Contact information for Eva Medin