The Secret to Writing Professional English Emails: It’s All About the Capitalisation

Did you know that the first letter after the greeting in an English email begins with a capital letter?

It’s like shaking someone’s hand when you meet them for the first time. It’s a polite and professional way to start a communication.

And just like a handshake, it’s important to get it right.

If you don’t capitalise the first letter after the greeting, it’s like walking up to someone and grabbing their hand without saying hello. It’s rude and dismissive.

(Perhaps it’s not that bad, but I think you know what I mean!)

Here’s an example:

Dear Matthew,*

Thank you for inviting me to your birthday celebration next week …

See that capital “T”?

You might think that this is not so important. But I feel that capitalising that first letter after your greeting is a simple gesture that will give your emails that professional oomph.

*By the way, we don’t need the comma after the greeting according to https://www.plainenglish.co.uk/writing-letters.html