How to write a clear, professional email at work

In your first job, a lot of your reputation is built through email. Long before people know your work well, they notice whether your messages are clear, polite and easy to act on. The good news is that writing a good work email is a skill you can learn quickly.

Most emails are read on a phone, often between meetings. Write for someone who has ten seconds and a dozen other messages waiting.

Start with a subject line that says what you need

The subject line decides whether your email is opened now or later. Make it specific.

• Weak: "Query"
• Better: "Leave request for 14 and 15 March"
• Weak: "Report"
• Better: "Sales report for February, ready for your review"

If you need an answer by a certain time, you can say so in the subject: "Approval needed by Thursday: travel for client visit".

Put the main point in the first two lines

Do not build up to your request. State it at the start, then give the background.

Hi Priya, could you approve the attached quotation by Thursday? The vendor's price is valid until Friday, and this is 8 percent lower than last quarter.

The reader now knows what you need, by when and why it matters, before they have even scrolled.

Keep it short and easy to scan

• One email, one topic. If you have three unrelated questions, consider three short emails, or number them clearly.
• Use short paragraphs of two or three lines.
• Use bullets or numbers for lists, steps and options.
• Bold a date or a decision if it is easy to miss, but do not bold whole sentences.

If your email is longer than a phone screen, ask whether a short call would be better, and use the email to summarise what you agreed.

Make the next step obvious

End by saying exactly what you need or what happens next.

• "Please reply with a yes or no by 5 pm tomorrow."
• "I will send the final version on Monday unless you have changes."
• "No action needed; this is just for your information."

That last line is surprisingly useful. It tells busy people they can read and move on.

Get the tone right

Be polite without being formal or stiff. "Hi" or "Hello" with the person's name is fine for most workplaces. Avoid old-fashioned phrases like "Kindly do the needful" or "PFA" that can feel unclear or abrupt. Write "Please find the report attached" or simply "The report is attached".

Be careful with humour and with capital letters, which can read as shouting. If you are frustrated, write the email, wait an hour and reread it before sending.

Use To, CC and BCC properly

• To: the people who need to act or reply.
• CC: people who should be informed but do not need to act.
• BCC: use sparingly, usually only for large lists where recipients should not see each other's addresses.

Think twice before using "Reply all". Most replies only need to go to the sender.

Check before you send

1. Is the person's name spelled correctly?
2. Is the attachment actually attached?
3. Are the dates, numbers and amounts correct?
4. Would the email make sense to someone reading it quickly on a phone?

Many people add the recipient's address last, after checking everything else. It stops you sending a half-finished email by accident.

Reply in good time

You do not need to answer every email instantly, but try to reply within a working day, even if only to say you have received it and when you will respond fully. "Got it, I will send the numbers by Wednesday" builds trust and saves the other person from following up.

A simple template

Subject: Request: two days' leave on 14 and 15 March Hi Rahul, I would like to request leave on 14 and 15 March for a family function. I have finished the client report due that week, and Ankit has agreed to cover any urgent calls. Please let me know if this works. Thanks, Meera

Clear request, the reason in one line, a plan for your work and a simple close. Most of the emails you will write at work can follow the same shape.