Business English

Professional email writing

B1 · Adults · 90 min

Teacher lesson plan

Professional email writing

Students analyse a model email asking a hotel about a meeting room and identify its seven parts. They compare formal and informal phrases, practise polite requests, and improve a short, rude email. Finally, they plan in groups and write a reply to a customer whose order arrived damaged, then check a partner's email with a checklist.

Aims

Main aim

To develop learners' ability to write a clear, polite professional email of request and reply, using an appropriate structure and register, in the context of booking, ordering and solving problems.

Subsidiary

To raise awareness of formal and informal register.
To give learners practice in giving peer feedback with a checklist.

Lesson information

Level: B1
Learners: Adults, 15 students
Duration: 90 minutes
Lesson type: Writing
Environment: Face-to-face
Skills: Writing, Reading, Speaking
Topic: Booking, ordering and solving problems by email
Language focus: Email structure, formal vs informal register, polite requests
Methodology: Text-based / process writing

Learning objectives

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to:

1
Identify the seven parts of a professional email in a model text.
2
Distinguish formal phrases from informal phrases and choose the right ones for a customer or a colleague.
3
Make polite requests with Could you please …?, Would you mind …? and I would be grateful if you could …
4
Correct a poorly written email so that it is clear, polite and well organised.
5
Write a clear, polite reply (100–130 words) to a customer complaint and check a partner's email using a checklist.

Success criteria

Students can name the seven parts of Laura's email and say what each one does.
Students can rewrite a direct order (Send me the price.) as a polite request with Could you please …?, Would you mind + -ing …? or I would be grateful if you could …
Students can write a 100–130-word reply to Mr Patel that covers all five points, with a clear subject line and a greeting and sign-off that match.
Students can check a partner's email with the checklist and write one specific suggestion.

Target language

Email structure

Meaning: A professional email follows a predictable order, so the reader can quickly find the reason for writing and what they need to do.
Form: Subject line: topic + date or reference (Booking a meeting room – 14 November)
Greeting: Dear + Mr/Ms + surname, / Dear Sir or Madam,
Purpose: I am writing to + base verb … / I am writing about …
Details: dates, times, numbers, what you need
Request/action: Could you please …? / I would be grateful if you could …
Closing: Thank you for your help. / I look forward to hearing from you.
Sign-off: Kind regards, / Best regards, + name + job title
Pronunciation: Not a focus in this writing lesson; when greetings are read aloud, Dear is unstressed: 'Dear Ms PATel'.
Use: Used with customers, suppliers, managers and people you do not know well.
Examples: I am writing to ask about booking a meeting room.
I look forward to hearing from you.

Polite requests

Meaning: Ways of asking someone to do something without sounding like an order. The longer the phrase, the more polite and formal it sounds.
Form: Can you + base verb …? (least formal: colleagues you know well, not customers)
For customers, start from Could you (please) + base verb …?
Could you (please) + base verb …?
Would you mind + -ing …?
I would be grateful if you could + base verb …
Pronunciation: Not a focus in this writing lesson, but model 'Could you' /kʊdʒə/ — both words unstressed, with weak 'you' when students read requests aloud.
Use: Imperatives (Send me …) sound like orders in English emails, even with please at the end.
Examples: Could you please send me the price?
Would you mind checking the dates again?
I would be grateful if you could reply by Friday.

Materials

Student lesson (one copy per student)
Board and markers
Projector to show the model and poor emails (optional)
Coloured pens for peer review

Anticipated problems

use
Problem
Students think 'please' makes any sentence polite (Please send me the price now.).
Solution
Write both versions on the board and ask: 'Which sounds like an order? Which sounds like a question?' Show that a question form is softer.
form
Problem
Students write 'Would you mind to send …'.
Solution
Underline the -ing in the example on the board and include two Would you mind items in Exercise 3.
task
Problem
In the final task, students forget one or more of the content points.
Solution
In planning, groups number the five points in the task and write one key phrase next to each; the checklist asks partners to check all five.
classroom management
Problem
Fast writers finish early while others are still planning.
Solution
Fast finishers write a short informal email to a colleague about the same problem, then compare the two registers.
task
Problem
Peer feedback is too vague ('It's good').
Solution
Partners must tick or cross each checklist question and write one suggestion in the margin.

Lesson procedure

90 / 90 min

Stage & aim	Time	Teacher	Students	Interaction
Lead-in To get students talking about their own email habits at work and the problems emails can cause.	5′	Write on the board: 'How many emails do you write a day? Who to?' and 'What annoys you in emails you receive?' Students discuss in pairs for two minutes. Take 3–4 answers and write the problems on the board (e.g. no subject, too long, rude, unclear what to do). Instructions: “Talk to your partner. How many emails do you write at work every day? Who do you write to? Two minutes.” ICQs Do you write or talk? (Talk with my partner.) How long do you have? (Two minutes.) Board: Two questions; a list of 'email problems' from students.	Discuss their own email writing at work in pairs and say what makes an email difficult to read.	Pairs, Whole class
Model text: email structure To show students a clear, polite model email and help them identify its seven parts.	9′	Pre-teach 'projector' with a picture. Students read Laura's email for gist: 'What does Laura want? What does she need from Ms Taylor?' (2 min). Then, in pairs, they match the parts of the email to their purpose in Exercise 1. Check answers and draw the seven-part structure on the board. Instructions: “Read Laura's email. Then, with a partner, match each part of the email to what it does. There are seven parts.” CCQs “I am writing to ask about booking a meeting room …” Does the reader know why Laura is writing after the first sentence? → Yes. “Could you please send me the price …?” Is Laura giving an order or asking politely? → Asking politely. Does she expect Ms Taylor to do something? → Yes — send the price. ICQs How many parts are there? (Seven.) Do you work alone or with a partner for the matching? (With a partner.) Board: Email skeleton: Subject → Greeting → Purpose → Details → Request → Closing → Sign-off.	Read the model email, answer two gist questions, then match seven extracts to their purpose with a partner. ↳ Read for gist	S, Pairs
Language focus: formal and informal To help students recognise formal and informal phrases and choose the right register for the reader.	9′	Ask: 'Would Laura write the same email to her colleague Tom?' Show the formal/informal table. In pairs, students cover the right column and guess the informal version of each formal phrase. Ask the CCQs. Point out that the greeting and the sign-off must match. Instructions: “Cover the informal column. Your partner reads a formal phrase. You say the informal one. Then swap.” CCQs “Hi guys!” Would you write this to a customer you have never met? → No. Who could you write it to? → Colleagues you know well. “Please find attached the invoice.” Is there a file with this email? → Yes. “I look forward to hearing from you.” Does the writer want a reply? → Yes. ICQs Which column do you cover? (The informal one.) Who reads the formal phrase? (My partner.) Do you swap after the first round? (Yes.)	Compare formal and informal phrases, test each other in pairs, and decide who each phrase is suitable for. ↳ Formal or informal?	T-S, Pairs
Language focus: polite requests To clarify how to make requests more polite and to show that direct orders sound rude in English emails.	7′	Write 'Send me the price.' on the board and ask: 'How does the reader feel?' Elicit more polite versions and build the politeness scale on the board: Can you …? (least formal, colleagues only) → Could you please …? → Would you mind + -ing? → I would be grateful if you could … Ask the CCQs. Highlight the -ing after Would you mind. CCQs “I would be grateful if you could reply by Friday.” Is this very polite or quite direct? → Very polite. When does Laura want the answer — before or after Friday? → Before, or on, Friday. “Would you mind checking the dates again?” If the answer is 'Not at all', will the person check the dates? → Yes. Board: Politeness scale: Send me … ✗ → Can you …? (colleagues only, not customers) → Could you please …? → Would you mind + -ing …? → I would be grateful if you could …	Help build the politeness scale on the board, answer questions about meaning and copy the scale. ↳ Polite requests	T-S, S
Controlled practice To give accurate practice in recognising register and in making polite requests.	10′	Students do Exercise 2 (formal or informal?) alone, then Exercise 3 (make the requests polite). They compare in pairs. Monitor and note problems such as 'Would you mind to …'. Check answers as a class; for Exercise 3, accept any correct polite version and write two alternatives for each on the board. Instructions: “Do Exercise 2 and Exercise 3 alone. You have six minutes. Then compare your answers with your partner.” ICQs Do you work alone or with your partner first? (Alone.) In Exercise 3, can there be more than one correct answer? (Yes.)	Decide if eight phrases are formal or informal, rewrite six direct sentences as polite requests, and compare with a partner. ↳ Exercise 2: Formal or informal? / Exercise 3: Make it polite	S, Pairs, T-S
Guided practice: improving a poor email To apply structure, register and polite requests by correcting a real-sounding poor email.	9′	Show Tom's email. Ask: 'How would the hotel feel? What is missing?' In pairs, students list the five problems (vague subject 'room'; informal greeting 'hi,' for a hotel; no specific dates; rude, direct request 'send me price asap!!!'; text-message language 'ur', 'thx' and no proper sign-off), then rewrite it. Ask one pair to read their version aloud; compare it with Laura's email. Instructions: “Read Tom's email. With your partner, find five problems. Then rewrite the email. Use Laura's email to help you.” ICQs How many problems do you find? (Five.) What do you do after you find the problems? (Rewrite the email.) Do you rewrite it alone? (No — with your partner.)	Find what is wrong with a short, rude email and rewrite it with a partner so it is clear and polite. ↳ Improve the email	Pairs
Writing preparation: planning the reply To help students understand the task and plan the content and key phrases of their reply before writing.	7′	Pre-teach 'damaged' and 'replacement'. Students read Mr Patel's email and the task. In groups of three, they number the five points and write one useful phrase next to each (e.g. apologise → 'I am very sorry that …'). Monitor and help. Do not let groups write the full email. Instructions: “In groups of three, read the task. Write one useful phrase for each of the five points. Don't write the full email yet.” ICQs How many points are there? (Five.) Do you write the full email now? (No — just one phrase for each point.)	Read the customer's email and plan the reply in groups: five points, one key phrase for each. ↳ Your task: reply to a customer	Groups
Production: writing a reply To give students the chance to write a complete, clear and polite professional email independently.	15′	Students write their reply alone (100–130 words). Monitor quietly and help with language only when asked; note common errors for feedback. Give a 2-minute warning. Instructions: “Now write your email alone. Write 100 to 130 words. Include all five points. You have fifteen minutes.”	Write a reply to Mr Patel (100–130 words) including all five points. Outcome: a complete reply to the customer that covers all five points. ↳ Your task: reply to a customer	S
Peer review To help students check a partner's email against clear criteria and improve their own draft.	10′	Students swap emails and use the checklist, ticking or crossing each point and writing one suggestion. They return the email and explain their feedback. Students then make two quick corrections to their own email. Instructions: “Swap emails. Read your partner's email and tick or cross each question in the checklist. Write one suggestion. Then give it back and explain.” ICQs Whose email do you read? (My partner's.) How many suggestions do you write? (One.) Do you tick or cross every question? (Yes.)	Check a partner's email with the checklist, give feedback, then improve their own email. ↳ Peer review checklist	Pairs
Feedback and error correction To praise good writing and correct common errors from the students' emails.	7′	Read out two strong sentences you saw (with permission). Write four anonymous sentences with errors on the board, e.g. Would you mind to send photos? I am writing for apologise. Dear Mr Ahmed (first name). Students correct them in pairs, then check as a class. Finish with the exit task, which comes at the end of this stage: a subject line and a first sentence for the homework email to the supplier. Board: Would you mind to send … → sending / I am writing for apologise → to apologise / Dear Mr Ahmed → Dear Mr Patel / *Please to send me the price. → Could you please send me the price?	Listen to examples of good writing and correct common errors from the class.	T-S, Whole class
Homework To give further practice in a different professional situation.	2′	Set the homework and show the checklist they should use before handing it in.	Note the homework task.	T-S

Support & challenge

Support

For learners who need more help

Weaker students use the 'How to organise a professional email' table as a frame and write their reply one part at a time.
In Exercise 3, give weaker students the first words of each polite request (Could you … / Would you mind … / I would be grateful if …).
In planning, put one stronger student in each group of three, and let weaker students copy the group's five key phrases before they write.

Challenge

For stronger learners and fast finishers

Fast finishers write a short informal email to a colleague about the damaged chairs and compare its phrases with the formal reply.
Stronger students use all three polite request forms in their reply and offer something extra, such as a discount on the next order.
In peer review, stronger students also underline one sentence that could be shorter and suggest a new version.

Checking learning

Collect the peer review checklists and see which questions most students crossed; use them to choose the error-correction sentences.
Exit task: students write the subject line and first sentence of the homework email to the supplier (e.g. 'Subject: Change of delivery date – order 5520' / 'I am writing to ask if we could change the delivery date.').
Collect the final emails and give individual written feedback with the same checklist.

Homework

Write a final version of your reply to Mr Patel, then write a new email (100–130 words) to a supplier asking to change the date of a delivery.

Use the seven parts of an email and at least two different polite requests. Check both emails with the peer review checklist before you hand them in.

Teacher notes

If students work in a specific sector, let them change the products in the task (e.g. laptops instead of chairs).
With 15 students, make one group of three in the pair stages; in s9 the trio swaps emails with one pair.
Model (teacher only): Subject: Meeting room for a training day next month Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to ask whether you have a meeting room available for a staff training day next month. We expect 20 people and will need a projector and lunch for everyone. Could you please send me the price? I would be grateful if you could also tell me which dates are available. Thank you for your help. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, Tom [surname]
Model (teacher only): Subject: Damaged chairs – order 4471 Dear Mr Patel, I am writing about your order 4471 of 20 office chairs. I am very sorry that three of the chairs arrived damaged. We understand how important this is for your new office, which opens next Monday. We will send three replacement chairs on Thursday morning, so that you have the full order in time. Could you please send us some photos of the damaged chairs so that we can check what went wrong? Our driver will collect the damaged chairs on Thursday when the new ones are delivered. I would be grateful if you could let me know whether Thursday morning is convenient for you. Thank you for your patience. I look forward to hearing from you. Kind regards, [Your name] Customer Service, Bright Office Supplies

Student lesson

Professional email writing

Clear, polite emails for work

A model email

How many work emails do you write every day?

Subject: Booking a meeting room for a training day on 14 November

Dear Ms Taylor,

I am writing to ask about booking a meeting room at the Riverside Hotel for a staff training day.

We are planning the event for Thursday 14 November, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. There will be 20 people, and we will need a projector, Wi-Fi and lunch for everyone.

Could you please send me the price and tell me if the room is free on that date? I would be grateful if you could reply by Friday 1 November.

Thank you for your help. I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Laura Bennett – HR Coordinator, Northgate Logistics

Read for gist

Read Laura's email quickly. Answer the questions.

1
What does Laura want?
2
How many people will come to the training day?
3
What does she need from Ms Taylor?

Exercise 1: The parts of an email

Match each part of Laura's email to what it does.

1Booking a meeting room for a training day on 14 November
2Dear Ms Taylor,
3I am writing to ask about booking a meeting room …
4We are planning the event for Thursday 14 November …
5Could you please send me the price …?
6Thank you for your help. I look forward to hearing from you.
7Kind regards, Laura Bennett

agreeting
breason for writing
cdetails
drequest
eclosing
fsign-off
gsubject line

How to organise a professional email

1 Subject line	Short and clear: topic + date or number	Order 4471 – damaged chairs
2 Greeting	Dear + Mr / Ms + surname, or Dear Sir or Madam,	Dear Mr Patel,
3 Reason for writing	I am writing to … / I am writing about …	I am writing about your recent order.
4 Details	Dates, times, numbers, what you need	The chairs will arrive on Thursday morning.
5 Request or action	Could you please …? / I would be grateful if you could …	Could you please send us a photo?
6 Closing	Thank you for … / I look forward to hearing from you.	Thank you for your patience.
7 Sign-off	Kind regards, / Best regards, + name + job title	Kind regards, Maria Lopez

Put the reason for writing in the first sentence. Your reader is busy!

Formal or informal?

Formal (customers, managers)	Informal (colleagues you know well)
Dear Mr Patel,	Hi Tom,
I am writing to ask about …	Just a quick question about …
Could you please send me …?	Can you send me …?
I'm afraid that …	Sorry, but …
Please find attached …	Here's …
I look forward to hearing from you.	Speak soon.
Kind regards,	Thanks, / Cheers,

Match your greeting and your sign-off. Dear Mr Patel … Kind regards ✓ Dear Mr Patel … Cheers ✗

Exercise 2: Formal or informal?

Is each phrase formal or informal? Write F or I.

1
Hi guys!
2
Dear Sir or Madam,
3
I am writing to confirm your booking.
4
Just a quick note about Friday.
5
Please find attached the invoice.
6
Cheers, Tom
7
I would be grateful if you could call me.
8
See you tomorrow!

Polite requests

In English, an order like 'Send me the price.' sounds rude in an email, even with please. Use a question or a polite phrase. From less to more polite: Can you …? (least formal: for colleagues you know well, not customers) → Could you please …? → Would you mind + -ing …? → I would be grateful if you could … For customers, start from Could you (please) …?

Could you please send me the price?
Would you mind checking the dates again?
I would be grateful if you could reply by Friday.

Exercise 3: Make it polite

Rewrite each sentence as a polite request. Use the phrase in brackets.

1
Send me the report. (Could you please …?)
2
Tell me the price of the room. (Could you …?)
3
Check the dates again. (Would you mind …?)
4
Call me back today. (I would be grateful if you could …)
5
Change the meeting to Tuesday. (Would you mind …?)
6
Confirm the delivery date. (I would be grateful if you could …)

Improve the email

Subject: room

hi, we want a room at ur hotel for training next month. 20 people. we need projector and lunch. send me price asap!!! thx Tom

Improve the email

Find five problems with Tom's email. Then rewrite it so it is clear and polite. Use Laura's email to help you.

Your task: reply to a customer

What makes a customer happy with a reply?

Subject: Damaged chairs – order 4471

Dear Sir or Madam,

Our order of 20 office chairs (order number 4471) arrived yesterday, but three of the chairs are damaged. We need all 20 chairs for our new office, which opens next Monday.

Could you please tell me what you can do?

Best regards,

Ahmed Patel – Office Manager, Cole & Partners