Opening, body, closing, sign-off, attachments

The seven parts after the salutation

Opening. The direct approach (L8.2): the ask or the point in sentence one, so it passes the first-screen test. Smith's table sets the direct opening beside the indirect for the same message, and the difference is the reader's time — context first is a cost the reader pays for nothing. Body. One topic — the subject line's topic — and only the detail the reader needs to act. A second topic is a second email. Closing. The action wanted, by when, and how to respond: by Friday 8 November, to this address. "Let me know" with no date is the miss the marker sees most. If there is no action, a courteous closing thought. Sign-off. Regards, / Kind regards, / Thank you, — matched to the salutation's formality. Name and signature block. Name, title, firm, phone: what lets a forwarded reader reach you. "Sent from my phone" is not a signature. Attachments. Named in the body — the specification is attached as a one-page PDF — and actually attached; check the size, test any link, warn before a large file. Before sending. Smith's check: has the email achieved its purpose, from the reader's side? Is the tone right — and if it is angry, wait a day? Proofread. Recipients correct, added last. And copy the text before you press Send, so a glitch does not cost you the message.

Worked example — a request to the trade printer

> Subject: Quote request: large-format print work > > Dear Renée Charbonneau: > > Could Dundas Trade Print quote for taking on Lakeshore Print Co.'s large-format work on a trade basis, with the quote reaching me by Friday 8 November? > > The work is about $310,000 a year of large-format jobs for three regional accounts, and the quote needs three things: your per-job pricing on the attached specification (sizes, stocks and finishing, one page); your standard turnaround from file to delivery in Burlington; and the delivery terms you would hold to over a year. I am preparing a recommendation for the owner on 15 November, and your quote will be compared with two other routes. > > Please send the quote to this address by Friday 8 November; if any item on the specification needs clarifying, call me on the number below before then. > > Kind regards, > > Sam Whitfield > Analyst, Wren Advisory · 905 555 0142 > > Attachment: Lakeshore large-format specification (PDF, 1 page)

Read it against the lines. Subject: five words, specific. Salutation: first contact, external — full name and a colon. The ask in sentence one, with the date. Body: one topic; the three things the quote needs, and the one piece of context that helps her price it (it will be compared). Closing: the action, the date again, and two response routes. Sign-off, name, signature block with a phone number. Attachment named, with its length. Nothing about the press's history, nothing about the other options — she does not need them to act.

Write the closing for a second request

An email to Meridian's service desk asking for the average response time on their maintenance contracts. Closing: Could you send the figure — average hours from call to a technician on site, for the past year — by Wednesday 13 November? Reply to this address; if the figure is not tracked, a short note saying so is enough. Action, date, route, and what to do if the answer is "no".

Now write a full request cold

The exam below is the same shape aimed at the press vendor. Write it from the skeleton in L9.2; then run the pre-send check before you commit it — purpose achieved, tone right, proofread, recipients last, text copied.