Free Lesson · Office Administration: Professional Email and a Simple Filing System

Free sample lesson · Office Administration · about 40 minutes
No login needed. A real lesson in the FI format: goal, learn, example, practice with answers.

Goal

By the end of this lesson I can write a clear professional email and name files and folders so anyone in the office can find them.

1. Warm-up (5 minutes)

Open your phone’s downloads or a computer folder. How long does it take to find a file from last month? Write the time down.

2. Learn

A professional email has six parts:

1. Subject – specific: “Request: Meeting room for 12 Nov, 2 pm” not “Hello”.
2. Greeting – “Good morning, Ms. Cruz,”
3. Purpose first – say why you are writing in the first sentence.
4. Details – short paragraphs or bullets: what, when, where, who.
5. Action and deadline – what you need from them and by when.
6. Closing and signature – “Thank you,” name, position, contact.

File naming rule: YYYY-MM-DD_Topic_Version e.g. 2026-11-03_SupplierQuote_v2.pdf. Dates first so files sort in order. No spaces or “final final”.

Folders: keep it shallow – Year → Department → Topic.

3. Worked example

Subject: Request: Approval of office supplies order by 7 Nov

Good morning, Mr. Santos,

I am writing to ask for your approval of this month’s office supplies order.

• Total: ₱6,450 (quote attached)
• Items: bond paper, toner, folders
• Supplier: same as last month

Please reply with your approval by Friday, 7 November, so delivery arrives before payroll week.

Thank you,
Ana Reyes
Office Administrator

Attachment name: 2026-11-03_OfficeSupplies_Quote_v1.pdf

4. Try it yourself

1. Improve this subject line: “Question”.
2. Where should the purpose of the email appear?
3. Rename this file: “minutes meeting final FINAL.docx” for a meeting on 15 October 2026.
4. Why put the date first in a file name?
5. What two things should every request email include near the end?

Show answers

1. Example: “Question: Leave balance for December”.
2. In the first sentence.
3. 2026-10-15_MeetingMinutes_v1.docx
4. Files sort automatically from oldest to newest.
5. The action needed and the deadline.

5. Real-life practice (10 minutes)

Write a short email asking a teacher, employer or barangay office for a document. Then rename five files on your device using the date-first rule.

6. Check your understanding

List the six parts of a professional email from memory.

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