出国留学：如何写好一封英文邮件？

出国留学写邮件是少不了的，给学校给教授给Boss给校友......怎样才能礼貌正式又清楚优雅地表达自己的想法和意见？一封正式的邮件要注意哪些格式和措辞？跟着下面这篇文章学一学，相信会让你的写邮件水平提升一个level!

1.Greeting 问候语

Business email 的开头都需要一个greeting或是问候，最常见的用法是Dear接收信人的名字，以下是一些例子：

Dear John,
Dear Mr. John Smith,
Dear Mr. Smith,

加上称谓的用法比较正式，寄信给长辈或客户比较常用的到，如果是寄给同事或是别的公司的合作伙伴直接写名字 (first name) 就可以了。

再来提供给大家一个还蛮常见的用法，在你不确定收件人是谁的时候很好使用！公司收到这种信通常都会转寄 (forward) 给相关的人员。

To whom it may concern,（敬启者：）

Dear Sir or Madam,

要记得这些 greeting 后面都需要加一个逗号 (comma) 然后空一行 (emptyline) 才能开始信的内容！

2.Purpose 目的

在进入信件内文之前我们通常会先告知收信人这封信件的重点或目的。

I am writing to inquire …
我写这封信想询问 …

I am writing in reference to …
我写这封信是关于 …

在回覆信件的时候，可以这样说：

Thank you for reaching out to us regarding …
感谢您主动联络我们 …

这边的 in reference to 还有 regarding 都是是「有关」或「关于」的意思，它们的用法和 about 很接近，差别是 about 比较不正式，是比较口语的用法。

口语：I’m talking about the meeting scheduled for next week.

正式：

I am writing in reference to the meeting scheduled for next week.

正式：

I am writing to you regarding the possibility of scheduling a meeting for next week.

大家有没有注意到 in reference to 的用法跟 regarding 有一点点不同？通常 in reference to 用于「说明已经跟对方提过的事」，regarding 的用法比较广泛。

3.Content 内文

再来就是信件的内文了，先跟大家提醒一些小技巧，写信件的时候内文要简单明了 (clear and concise)，相信大家每天也收到很多 email，不想读很冗长的信吧！

记得也要注意正式信件里我们不会把一个句子全部大写，可是可以用粗体让重点句子比较明显。

PLEASE REVIEW THE ATTACHED DOCUMENTS THOROUGHLY.
Please review the attached documents thoroughly.
请仔细检视附件。

跟附件相关的用法：

I have attached the previously mentioned documents for your review.
上述资料已于信末夹带档案内附上供您参考。

Please see the attached documents for a quotation of the requested services.
请参阅附加档案内之服务相关报价。

4.Closing 结尾

信件内文的最后一部分通常会感谢收信人或解释下一步是什么。

If you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
若您有任何问题或疑虑，请不吝与我联系。

Thank you for your time and consideration.
感谢您的宝贵时间。

I look forward to hearing from you.
我很期待能够收到您的回覆。

5.结尾敬语与签名档

再来就是信件的结尾，会有 sign off 和 signature block，sign off 要注意只有第一个字需要大写！下面提供一些最常看到的 sign off：
Sincerely,
Yours sincerely,
Respectfully,
Best regards,

在北美其实比较少人会用 Best regards，它并不能算很正式，所以大多数的人会用 Sincerely，它是最正式和最安全的用法！

Sign off 后面要接 signatureblock，这个包括你的姓名 (name)、职称 (title)、公司 (company)、联络信息 (contactinformation) 等。
Sincerely,
John Smith
Sales Representative, Flooring Company
+886-900-000-000

6.完整 business email 范例

最后我们来看看完整的一个 businessemail 长什么样：

Dear Ms. Jones,

Thank you for reaching out to us regarding price quotations for hardwood flooring. Please see the attached document for a preliminary quotation. These quotes will vary greatly depending on your choice of board width, texture, color, finish etc. Once our technicians assess the space you wish to install new flooring in, we will be able to provide you with a more accurate quote. I have also attached photos of several of the wood samples we currently have in stock.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me. Please let me know if you decide to move forward with the assessment, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

John Smith
Sales Representative, Flooring Company
+886-900-000-000

大家写完 email 之后也不要忘记要检查有没有文法或拼法的错误！

注：下面是一些可以通用的句式模板~

由于Boss是law school毕业而且兼任office的'Edit Queen'，每次收到她的邮件都恨不得摘抄下来。下面分享一些我认为的'神句'（aka 难开口的场合如何表达得即清楚又有礼貌）

请别人帮忙（发文件等等）

At your convenience, would you please send me.....
最后加上Thank you for your assistance.

寻求意见：

Our team would appreciate your insights/input on.....

Due to the short timeframe for this proposal, prompt reply is greatly appreciated.

取消会议：

I want to be mindful of your time and we dont have any updates at this point; therefore I suggest that we cancel/reschedule today's meeting. If you disagree or need assistance, please let us know.

My apologies for the late notice, but i need to reschedule tomorrow's call. There remain a few open items we need to address, therefore i will send out a new invite once we agree upon a time.

对方发邮件问问题时，回答完加上：Hope this answers your question. Let me know if further detail/explanation would be helpful.

会议总结：

Thank you for making time on a very busy Friday afternoon to join our discussion. i hope we were able to provide clarity on......Attached is a summary of what we discussed today.

道歉：

My sincere apology for this unfortunate situation; I will address to my team immediately.
Again，please accept my most sincere apology.