Email Body

Email Body Format

After greeting the sender, the writer should push "Enter" two times to put space between the greeting and the body of the email. The body of an email will vary depending on what the exact context is but generally adheres to the following format:

Introductory Line

In the introductory line, the writer should open with a polite greeting to the recipient. Sometimes, the sender might introduce themselves if they do not have a relationship with the recipient. For example, a student might open an email to a professor with the following introduction:

Here the writer addresses the professor with a polite salutation and greets the professor with the first line. This expresses respect for the recipient. Then the writer introduces himself to make sure the professor understands who he is.

Main Details

After introducing themselves and the topic of the email, the sender should explain the email's main point. For instance, common topics include: asking the recipient a question, providing the recipient with information, or expressing thanks. This section is also where the writer should provide any important specific information. For instance, if they are inviting the recipient to an event, they should include details such as the time and place.

The writer from the previous example could transition to the main details of his email like so:

Follow-Up Information

When a writer expects a response from an email, they should explain what they expect at the end of the body text. For instance, if a writer is inviting a recipient to an event, they should explain how to RVSP at the end of the body.

The student writing to his professor about setting up a meeting might include details like this:

Visuals or Additional Information

Sometimes writers also include visuals in their emails to help illustrate a point to the recipients. For instance, if a person wants a recipient's feedback on a new design for a company logo, they would include the images of the logo after introducing the topic at the start of the body text.

Email Body Size Limit

The body of an email should not be long. People often do not have much time to read emails and quickly look through several at once. Writers should strive to use short language that gets straight to the point.

Email systems also cannot process emails that are too long. For instance, most email systems only process 524,000 characters in the body of an email. The standard limit for attached files is also about 20 megabytes (MB).

Email Body Example

The body of an email will look different depending on whether it is formal or informal.

Formal Email Body Example

The following example demonstrates how a student might write a formal email to a professor.

Email Body for Sending Resumes

Writing an email to apply for a job is a critical writing skill for all job-seekers. Often, job recruiters will ask applicants to send an email with a resume. To do this, the writer will have to write a message in the body of the email.

When emailing a resume, job applicants need to include polite body texts.

The body of an email with an attached resume does not have to be long. It should introduce the sender and the position they are applying for. It should also use polite language to show that the applicant is a respectful candidate. For instance, the following example demonstrates how a person might write an email when sending a resume.

Link in Email Body

Often, writers need to include links in the body of an email. To do this, the writer can go to the "Insert" tab and click "Link." Sometimes this button will say "Hyperlink" or have the icon below. Then the writer can copy and paste the link into the box.

Sometimes the "Link" icon in an email looks like this.