Formal letter/email

Opening comments

I am writing in response to/with regard to/with reference to/concerning…

I am writing to express my views on…

I would like to express my views on/put forth my observations…

Following your recent letter/email…

Regarding your request for…

I am writing to apologise for/offer my apologies for …

I am writing to express (my concern about/disappointment with/disapproval of/apologies for)…

I would like to draw your attention to/point out that…

I would like to give you my feedback…

I thought I’d share my own thoughts…

I’m writing in order to highlight…

With respect to the article entitled…

I am writing on behalf of…

We would like to invite you to take part in…

Introducing points

(I feel) I must also (dis)agree with…

I should also like to point out that…

Your (article) states that… However,…

Expressing opinion

In my opinion,… I (do not) think/believe/feel…

I am (totally) opposed to/in favour of…

I strongly agree/disagree with… .

Personally, I…

As far as I am concerned,…

It seems/appears to me that…

In my case/view/opinion,…

To my mind,…

I fully support…

I am entirely in favour of…

Being able to… is the reason why I…

Listing points

Firstly,

To start with,

In the first place,

Secondly,

Finally/Lastly,…

Adding points

In addition,

Furthermore,

Moreover,

What is more,

Giving examples

For example/For instance

In particular,

Presenting results

Consequently,

Therefore,

As a result,

This means that…

This way/That way,

Summarising

In conclusion,

In summary,

All points considered,

To sum up,

Closing comments

Thank you for considering my views.

I hope you take my views into account…

I feel that…

Please do not hesitate to contact me…

I look forward to hearing (your response) from…

I hope I have been some of assistance.

Giving advice/suggestions

I would like to offer one or two suggestions concerning…

It might/would be to your advantage if you were to…

I feel the best course of action would be…

I would appreciate it/be grateful if you would…

I trust/very much hope you will…

Offering apologies

I can’t apologies enough./I’m ever so sorry./My humblest apologies.

I completely overlooked it./It totally slipped my mind.

The fault/mistake is/was entirely mine…

It was very remiss of me…/It was neglient of me…

It was my responsibility…

I hope you can forgive me…

Reassuring

You needn’t worry…/There’s no need for conern…

Rest assured/Be certain (that)…

I’ll rectify the situation…

Responding to an apology

I appreciate your candour on the matter…/Thank you for your honesty…

That is most regrettable./That is unfortunate.

Persuading

I realise this is a lot to ask, not least because…

However, if you share our view of…, I hope you will consider my request.

If this is problematic, we will be delighted with whatever you can offer.

I would like to assure you that…

I would also like to point out that…

…so perhaps it could… as well as…