Professional Email Writing
Write clear, effective business emails
Who it's for
Written for B1 (intermediate) students who handle everyday English and are ready for longer answers.
Meetings, emails, calls, negotiation and finance for students who use English at work. More Business English lesson plans
Skills it practises
- Speaking: discussion questionsevery lesson
- Vocabulary: a target word listevery lesson
- Reading: a text or news storyevery lesson
- Controlled practice: gap-fills, matching, sorting and moreevery lesson
- Role-play: a dialogue to act outevery lesson
- An answer framework to structure what they say2 of 8 lessons
Lessons
- Email Structure and ToneGoal: write a complete professional email — subject line to sign-off — that gets a fast, clear reply.1 hr 17 minFree
- Writing Clear Subject LinesGoal: write specific, action-ready subject lines that get your emails opened — and emails that keep the subject line's promise.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Requests and Follow-upsGoal: write a polite request email that gets a yes — and a follow-up that gets a reply without sounding pushy.1 hr 17 minOutline
- Formal vs Informal RegisterGoal: read any email situation, pick the right level of formality, and write the same message correctly at every register.1 hr 13 minOutline
- Email Chains and ThreadingGoal: take control of a messy email thread — loop people in cleanly, calm the reply-alls, and forward a long chain with a summary your manager can act on.1 hr 7 minOutline
- Handling Difficult EmailsGoal: answer an angry complaint and deliver bad news in complete, professional emails that calm the situation instead of escalating it.1 hr 17 minOutline
- Apologies and Sensitive MessagesGoal: write a complete apology email with the ACE framework — specific, responsible and forward-looking — that rebuilds trust after a real mistake.1 hr 6 minOutline
- Cross-Cultural Email EtiquetteGoal: adapt one email message for readers from different cultures — right formality, right directness, right warmth — without losing the message.1 hr 7 minOutline
How to use it in a lesson
- Lessons run 66 to 77 minutes, with a timing on every stage, so you can see before you start what fits your slot.
- Start with "Email Structure and Tone": its whole plan is on this site, stage by stage, with the target vocabulary, free to read and to teach from on any video call.
- For a shorter slot, skip a practice stage or cut the discussion short: the stages are a guide, not a script.
Teach Professional Email Writing with your student
Lesson 1 of this course is free. A free account opens it in the interactive player, and the rest of the course is included with Starter. Teaching it live with your student in the Tuton classroom starts with a 7-day free trial.
Free account · no card