Thursday Morning: Writing Professional Emails in English

Every engineer writes emails every day. Yet most of us were never taught how to write a professional email in English. The result: long emails that get ignored, unclear requests that create confusion, and subject lines that get buried.

Today you will learn the structure, phrases, and patterns that make English emails clear, respected, and easy to act on.

Word of the Day: Concise

Pronunciation/kənˈsaɪs/
Vietnamesengắn gọn và rõ ràng — nói đủ ý, không thừa
Stresscon-CISE — stress on the second syllable
Part of speechadjective

Pronunciation links:

3 real-world examples:

  1. “Please keep your email concise — the engineering team receives 200 messages a day.”
  2. “Your bug report is well-written and concise. I understood the issue in 30 seconds.”
  3. “A concise subject line gets opened. A vague one gets ignored.”

Pronunciation tip: The second syllable rhymes with “nice.” Practice: con-CISE, con-CISE, concise. Say it fast. It should sound smooth, not choppy.

Vocabulary Table: Email Essentials

PhraseVietnameseExample
follow uptheo dõi / nhắc lại”I’m following up on my email from Monday.”
loop inthêm ai vào email chain”I’ll loop in the design team on this.”
circle backquay lại vấn đề sau”Let me circle back with you once I have the data.”
outstandingchưa giải quyết (về công việc)“There are two outstanding items from last sprint.”
as pertheo như / dựa trên”As per our discussion, I’m sending the updated spec.”
action itemviệc cần làm / kết luận cụ thể”The action item for you is to review the PR by Friday.”
at your earliest conveniencekhi bạn rảnh sớm nhất”Please review at your earliest convenience.”

The Professional Email Structure

Every effective professional email follows this structure:

1. Subject Line — The most important line you write.

  • Bad: “Question”
  • Bad: “Hello”
  • Good: “Review needed: Payment API spec — by Thursday EOD”
  • Good: “Follow-up: Database migration timeline”

Formula: [Action] + [Topic] + [Deadline if relevant]

2. Opening — One line that states your purpose.

  • “I’m writing to follow up on the deployment schedule.”
  • “I wanted to share the updated architecture diagram.”
  • “Could you please review the PR I linked below?”

3. Body — Maximum 3-4 short paragraphs. Use bullet points for lists.

4. Call to Action — Be specific about what you want.

  • Bad: “Let me know what you think.”
  • Good: “Could you approve this by Thursday 5 PM? I need to start the migration on Friday morning.”

5. Closing — Keep it professional.

  • “Best regards,” / “Thanks,” / “Kind regards,” — all are fine.

Pronunciation Guide

Say this full sentence aloud 3 times. This is the most useful opening sentence in professional email writing:

“I’m writing to follow up on the PR review — could you please let me know if there are any blockers?”

IPA breakdown:

  • follow up = /ˈfɒləʊ ʌp/ — FOL-oh up (not “fol-low-up” as one word)
  • blockers = /ˈblɒkəz/ — BLOCK-erz (short O, not “bloh-kers”)
  • please = /pliːz/ — long EE, not “plees”

Rhythm: “I’m WRIting to FOLlow UP on the PR reLEW — could you PLEASE let me KNOW if there are ANY BLOCKers?”

English email language has a polite, slightly formal rhythm. Requests use “could you” not “can you” — and “please” is essential.

Exercise 1: Fix the Subject Line

Rewrite each bad subject line into a professional one:

  1. “Problem”
  2. “Need something”
  3. “Hi”
  4. “Question about the thing we talked about”
  5. “URGENT!!!”
Suggested Answers
  1. “Bug report: Login fails on Safari iOS 17 — reproduced on staging”
  2. “Access request: Prod database read permissions for data team”
  3. “1-on-1 agenda for Thursday 3 PM — please add your topics”
  4. “Follow-up: API rate limiting approach from Tuesday’s meeting”
  5. “Action needed by 2 PM: Payment gateway is down — require your approval to rollback”

Exercise 2: Fill in the Blanks

Choose from: follow up / loop in / outstanding / circle back / as per

  1. “I’ll _______ our conversation — I’m attaching the revised timeline.”
  2. “There are three _______ tasks from last sprint. Can we prioritize them today?”
  3. “I’ll _______ the QA team so they know the release is tomorrow.”
  4. “I’m writing to _______ on the access request I sent last week.”
  5. “Let me _______ once I hear from the client.”
Answers
  1. as per
  2. outstanding
  3. loop in
  4. follow up
  5. circle back

Common Vietnamese → English Email Mistakes

Vietnamese habitWhat English readers expect
Very long greetingsOne-sentence opening, then get to the point
”Hope this email finds you well” (overused)Skip it, or use it only once with someone new
Vague closing (“please help me”)Specific call to action with deadline
All caps for emphasisUse bold or restructure the sentence
No subject or generic subjectSpecific, action-oriented subject line

Idiom of the Day: “Touch base”

Vietnamese: Liên lạc ngắn để cập nhật / kiểm tra tình hình.

Examples:

  • “Let’s touch base after the deployment to make sure everything is stable.”
  • “I just wanted to touch base — are you on track to finish the migration by Friday?”

How to use it: “Touch base” is for short, informal check-ins. It signals “I don’t need a long conversation — just a quick update.” Use it in email subjects too: “Quick touch base — migration status?”

For professional communication in tech:

  1. Business English — Writing Professional Emails — Search YouTube for practical examples
  2. Cambridge English — Email Phrases — Formal and semi-formal patterns

Daily Challenge: Write One Real Email in English Today

Find one email you need to send today. Write it in English. Apply this structure:

  • Subject: [Action] + [Topic]
  • Opening: one sentence with your purpose
  • Body: 2-3 short paragraphs or bullet points
  • Closing: specific ask with deadline

If English is not required for that email, write it in English anyway as practice — then send the Vietnamese version.

Tonight: Thursday Evening — Practice & Role-play: Handling Difficult Conversations at Work

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