Professional Email Writing
Email Signature, College & Job Emails · High School
- Grades
- Grades 9–12
- Formats
- Google Slides, PDF, PowerPoint
- Pages
- 44
- Answer keys
- Included
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Teach high school students to write professional emails that get replies. This professional email writing unit for grades 9-12 goes beyond basic school email: students build a professional email address and email signature, learn a confident professional tone and a simple 4-part structure, then write the real emails they need for jobs, college and beyond, from applying for a job and calling out of a shift to emailing college admissions and coaches, asking for a recommendation, and sending thank-you, follow-up and polite decline emails.
What's included
- Teacher guide (2 pages) with 10-day pacing, a 5-day option, materials, differentiation (support, on level, challenge) and teaching tips
- Standards page (CCSS Writing and Language, NACE career readiness competencies, CASEL, ASCA) with contents
- One-page professional email refresher with a labeled model email
- Your professional email address: formulas, rules and a 12-address sort
- Email signatures: anatomy, 4 signatures to rate, and a build-your-own signature planner (two versions)
- Professional tone: too casual vs. just right vs. too stiff, 10 word swaps, a 9-sentence sort and rewrites
- Structure, formatting and subject lines: the 4-part body formula, a subject line formula with practice, and a before-you-send checklist
- Timing and follow-up rules of thumb (thank-you within 24 hours, the follow-up ladder, time zones) + calendar practice with 8 real-date problems
- 11 email types, each with an annotated model and a practice task: applying for a job, scheduling or rescheduling an interview, calling out of a shift, college admissions questions, campus visit requests, college coach recruiting emails, internships and job shadows, recommendation and reference requests, thank-you emails after interviews, follow-up emails, and declining politely
- 13 annotated model emails, plus short models and realistic emails from employers to reply to
- Professional phrase bank (greetings, openings, requests, follow-ups, closings and phrases to avoid)
- Analyze the Emails: 6 realistic emails, a 7-point scoring sheet and discussion questions
- Fix the Email: a 14-mistake error hunt and 2 full rewrites
- Scenario project: overview, 12 scenario cards, email planner, final draft page, peer review sheet and a 24-point rubric
- 4 exit tickets
- 30-point quiz (multiple choice, short answer and a written email)
- Complete answer keys with sample emails
How to use it
Use it in career readiness, CTE, English, advisory, senior seminar or school counseling lessons over about 10 class periods, or pull single lessons before job, internship and college application season. All people, businesses and email addresses are fictional (example.com), and every scenario uses realistic 2026 dates. Print and go: just cut the scenario cards.
Skills practiced
Professional email addressesemail signaturesprofessional toneemail structure and subject linestiming and follow-upjob, college and coach emailsthank-you and decline emailsediting and peer review
