There are many kinds of memos, but the most common are internal emails to a group of staff or all staff. These usually include instructions on what to do such as how to use a new piece of technology or explanations of new policies on overtime, often with attachments and/ or with text pasted in. This article will concentrate on such group emails, but most of the tips and language are also useful for other group emails and memos, such as memos on the company intranet. For over 350 pages of photocopiable materials to teach writing these and other kinds of emails, see https://www.usingenglish.com/e-books/teaching-emailing/.
What students need to know about group emails
What students need to know about starting group emails
Typical opening greetings for group emails include (most formal top):
- To: All staff/ To: New staff/ To: All…/ To:…
- Dear all
- Hi everyone
- Hi (guys)
It is then possible to get straight to the topic of the email, most commonly with the standard phrases “I am writing to you (all) concerning/ in order to/ about/ to/ because…”, perhaps after “As promised”, “As we discussed”, or “As you probably guessed”. Useful variations on this include:
- This is an email for those who…
- Continuing the discussion on…
- This is (yet) another email about…
- (This is) just…
- There is no rush on this, but…
- I’m forwarding… (from/ about…)
- I was asked by… to write to you about…/ I am writing to you on behalf of…
However, before getting down to such (often heavy) topics, it is usual to open with something lighter such as social questions or thanks for something such as their help on the previous project, such as
- Thanks (again) for all your…
- Thank you to (all) those who…
- Thank you all for…ing…
- Hope you all had a good…/ are all having a good…
Although such positive starters are usually best, you may sometimes want to or need to start with an apology such as:
- Sorry for the short notice on this
- Sorry to write again so quickly, but…
- Sorry, in my last email I forgot to…
After or instead of these, you can also use phrases for giving good and bad news like:
- (After careful consideration) we are pleased/ sorry to announce that…
- You’ll be glad/ be relieved/ be delighted/ be sorry to hear that…
More neutral phrases for making announcements include:
- This is (just) to let you (all) know that…
- I thought that you (all) should know…
What students need to know about the body of group emails
Perhaps the most difficult issue when writing group emails is choosing between language of requests (“Could you possibly let me know if…?”) and the language of orders/ commands/ instructions (“Please ensure that you…”). This is made more complicated by the fact that requests language (“Could you please…?”) can be used for polite orders, but the action may be misunderstood as optional, especially when you are emailing many people. This means that commands like “Please remember to…” are more common in group emails than in most other kinds of communication, and are more acceptable in this situation due to not being aimed at one single person. Phrases which can be used for instructions/ commands/ demanding action (and not requests) include:
- Please make sure/ Please ensure that you…
- (This is) just a quick reminder that…/ This is just a brief reminder that…
- (From now on/ In future) please don’t forget to…
- All… must…
- Due to…, we would like all… to… (by…)
- It is imperative for all…
- The deadline for… is…
- … are required to…
- I’m afraid we have to ask you to…
- Would you please…?
- We would like everyone to…
Especially if they are using the language of commands, students need to be careful not to make memos too forceful with use of bold, capital letters, underlining, etc. Instead, it is often better to highlight important information with language like:
- Please note that…
- NB…
They will also often need to highlight extra information in a link, attachment, etc, with phrases like
- (For your reference/ For more details,) please find… attached/ I’ve attached...
- More information on this is available at…
- I’ve pasted in…. below./ I’ve copied in…. below.
- For your reference, please find… attached.
- As you can see from…
What students need to know about ending group emails
Unlike individual emails, most group emails do not need a reply, so “I look forward to hearing from you” is not as common as in personal emails. Instead, it is most common to end with an offer to respond to any replies which might be received, as in:
- If you need any more information about…, please (do not hesitate to) contact me.
- If anything about that isn’t clear, just let me know.
Phrases which do mention the next contact are commonly about non-email contact as in:
- I look forward to seeing you (all)…/ hearing what you think/ getting your input/ receiving your applications/…
- See you (all)…/ See some of you…
- (I) hope we have the chance to meet soon/ you can come(!)/ you can make it.
It is also common to thank them in advance for what they are expected to do or requested to do, as in:
- Thanks.
- Cheers.
- Any help at all would be much appreciated.
Emails with bad news can have special endings like:
- (I) hope that is okay (with you).
- Once again, please accept our apologies for…
- Thanks for your patience/ understanding.
Instead of or after that, it can be nice to end with something more social like:
- Have a good…
Other useful closing lines for group emails include:
- Thanks again (to all those who…)
- (I) hope that…
How to present groups emails
Before students analyse group emails for the kinds of useful phrases and formality differences shown above, they can do tasks with the model emails like:
- work out who they are from and to
- fill in missing words from the grammar, guessing what the topic is, etc
- say if they would do the thing demanded in the group email or not
- say if they would reply to the group email or not
- compare them to group emails in their own company/ own department/ own section
Many practice activities such as jigsaw texts can also be used in the presentation stage, so it worth searching this site for the related article on practising group emails/ memos.