| name | write-email |
| description | Write, shorten, or fix a real email to a real person. Use when the user says write an email, draft an email, reply to this, send this to, email my coworker/boss/client/vendor, follow up on, ask them for, make this email shorter, is this too long, review my email, or fix the tone. Applies research-backed structure (bottom line up front, length targets, skimmable formatting) and strips the narration and hedging that make drafts unreadable. Skip for marketing campaign copy, newsletters, and cold outreach sequences. |
Write Email
Ask first if unknown
Do not guess these. One line each is enough.
- Who receives it, and what is the relationship (peer, manager, report, client, vendor, stranger).
- What you want them to do after reading.
- Any deadline, and why that deadline exists.
If the user pasted a draft, infer all three and confirm only what stays ambiguous.
Check the medium before writing
Email suits sharing information, documenting a decision, and driving a specific action. Redirect the user when the task is a different shape:
- Rapid back-and-forth, or a question answerable in one line: chat.
- Open-ended discussion, negotiation, or a decision needing alignment: meeting.
- Bad news, conflict, or anything relationship-sensitive: highest bandwidth available, in person first, then video, then phone. Email afterward to document what was agreed.
Say so in one sentence, then write the email anyway if the user still wants it.
Structure
- Subject line carries the action. 5 to 7 words, under 50 characters, key information in the first 33 so it survives mobile truncation. Say what is needed, not what the email is about. "Need Q3 numbers by Thursday" beats "Q3 numbers".
- Bottom line up front. The first one or two sentences carry the ask. The US Army adopted BLUF because the greatest weakness in ineffective writing is failing to transmit a focused message quickly. Context comes after the ask, never before it.
- Inverted pyramid. Conclusion, then support, then background. Readers scan; anything below the fold is optional.
- One email, one ask. When there are genuinely N asks, number them so the reader can triage and answer some now.
- Every ask carries its reason. A stated reason materially raises compliance. Attach it as a trailing clause, not a paragraph.
- Close with one next step and a deadline.
Length
| Kind | Target |
|---|
| Simple ask or reply | 50 to 125 words |
| Standard request | under 150 words |
| Complex multi-part request | under 400 in the email; move the rest to an attached one-pager |
| Anything over 500 words | restructure, do not trim |
Response rate peaks at 50 to 125 words and drops from 51% to 44% past 200. Under 10 words also underperforms, at 36%: too terse reads as careless.
When the content genuinely will not fit, split it. Short email carrying the top asks, priority, and deadline; attached one-pager holding the detail, numbered so the recipient can reply inline. Do not solve length by deleting content the sender needs answered.
Tone
Aim at a plain reading level. Simply-worded emails get materially more replies than ones written at a college register. Moderate warmth or moderate directness both beat flat neutrality.
Cut on sight:
- Hedges that weaken a reasonable request: "just wanted to", "I think", "maybe", "hopefully", "sort of", "does that make sense?"
- Apologies where nothing warrants one: "sorry to bother you", "sorry for the long email". Replace with gratitude or nothing.
- Throat-clearing openers: "I hope this finds you well", "I wanted to reach out regarding".
- Padding before the ask. If a sentence precedes the bottom line and is not the greeting, delete it.
Warmth is a word or two, not a paragraph. Give the recipient an out when the ask is large, so declining costs them nothing.
Formatting
Information-carrying words go first in every line, heading, and bullet. Move keywords left. Break walls of text. Bullets when there are discrete items; prose when there is an argument.
The global style bans in AGENTS.md apply in full to email output. On top of those, in email specifically:
- No narration of your own process. "I went through all of it carefully", "I checked this before writing", "let me explain why". The reader wants the finding, not the method.
- No restating what you just said as a summary.
- No repeated reassurance.
- No item-count narration ("here are the 9 things").
- Do not default to three of anything. Use the number the content has.
- Do not quarantine bad news into a "Challenges" section. State it where it belongs.
Before delivering
Read the draft as the recipient with four minutes and forty unread messages.
- Is the ask in the first two sentences?
- Could they act without a second read?
- Does every sentence do work? Delete any that does not.
- Does the subject line survive truncation at 33 characters?
- Are all names, numbers, dates, and attachment references correct?
Deliver one finished draft. No alternatives, no commentary, no explanation of choices unless asked.
Supporting files
- For the studies, sample sizes, and numbers behind the rules above, read references/research.md. Useful when the user pushes back on a length or structure call.
- For ready structures by email type (request, follow-up, bad news, status, intro, decision) and a worked before-and-after, read references/patterns.md.
