Glossary term

Email Conventions

Email conventions is a 0–2 trait on PTE Core Write Email that scores whether the response looks and reads like an email for its reader: a greeting that fits, an opening line stating the purpose, a closing line, a sign-off and a name, in a register that matches the prompt. It is one of seven traits on the task.

Updated 23 September 2026

In plain language

Greeting, purpose, close, sign-off, name, each on its own line and each in the right tone for the reader. Miss one or mismatch the tone and the trait drops to 1; leave them out and it is 0.

Where you meet it

Not shown separately on the official report; it feeds the Writing score from Write Email. EdKnot practice shows it as a trait bar on email responses.

The five elements

A greeting that names or addresses the reader in the right register: “Hi Sam”, “Dear Ms Patel”, “Dear Sir or Madam”. An opening line that says why you are writing, in your own words rather than the prompt’s. A closing line that asks for or offers the next step. A sign-off that matches the greeting: “Cheers” with “Hi”, “Kind regards” with “Dear”. A name. Each on its own line, with a blank line between the greeting, the paragraphs and the sign-off.

The 1 descriptor names two failures besides missing elements: “too brief” and “inappropriate register”. A greeting and sign-off with nothing in between is too brief; “Hey” to a landlord is the register failure.

Conventions can be prepared; content cannot

This is the one part of Write Email where preparation is safe. Ten openers and closers for formal readers and ten for informal, practised until the switch is automatic, remove the trait from the list of things to think about in nine minutes. The body of the email, one short paragraph per bullet point with a specific from the prompt, has to come from the prompt every time, because a memorised body is a Content 0.

Read the prompt for the reader before anything else. Who they are decides the greeting, the sign-off and the contractions, and getting that right in the first five seconds is what makes the rest routine.

The numbers that matter

Scale	0–2 on Write Email (PTE Core) only
2	Conventions obvious, appropriate and used correctly in keeping with the format of the prompt
1	Conventions used inconsistently, with elements missing or used ineffectively (too brief or inappropriate register)
0	Conventions limited or missing
Other Write Email traits	Content 0–3, Form 0–2 (50–120 words), Organization 0–2, Vocabulary 0–2, Grammar 0–2, Spelling 0–2

Worked example

Same email, two frames

Body only: “I think I left my umbrella in your shop yesterday afternoon. It is blue with a wooden handle…” No greeting, no sign-off. Conventions 0, and the reader does not know who is writing. “Dear Manager,” then the same body, then “Could you let me know if it turns up? Thank you for your help. Kind regards, Mia.” Conventions 2, at a cost of fourteen words.

What it shows: The elements are cheap in words and expensive to leave out.

Tasks where it applies

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a subject line in PTE Write Email?

No. The prompt sets the situation and there is no subject field. The conventions scored are the greeting, the purpose line, the closing line, the sign-off and the name.

Which register should I use if the prompt does not say?

Read who the reader is. A friend or colleague you know well takes an informal register; a manager, landlord, company or stranger takes a formal one. When genuinely unsure, formal is the safer failure.

Does the greeting count towards the word limit?

Yes. Everything in the box counts towards Form’s 50–120 range, including the greeting, sign-off and name. They add about ten to fifteen words, which the range easily absorbs.

Related terms

Appropriacy Form Content Scoring Traits