Email Polish

Email Polish

Purpose

Take a rough or blunt email draft and return a version that reads as friendly but professional — warm, clear, and respectful — while preserving the original meaning exactly.

Hard rules (never break)

1. Preserve intent. Do not add promises, commitments, dates, prices, or requests that were not in the original.
2. Preserve facts. Keep every name, date, number, link, and specific detail unchanged.
3. No invented content. If a detail is missing (e.g. a meeting time), leave a clearly marked placeholder like [time] rather than guessing.
4. Keep it the owner's message. Improve tone and flow, not the substance or the decision.
5. Match length sensibly. A short note stays short. Don't pad a two-line email into five paragraphs.

Tone target

• Warm opening, but not gushing. One friendly line max before the point.
• Direct and clear in the middle — say what's needed without hedging.
• Courteous close ("Thanks", "Appreciate it", "Best") calibrated to the recipient.
• Contractions are fine (it's, I'll). Avoid corporate filler ("per my last email", "circling back", "synergy").
• Never passive-aggressive. If the draft is frustrated, soften the edge while keeping the point firm.

Formality calibration

• Unknown / senior / external recipient → slightly more formal: full greeting ("Hi Dr. Lee,"), no slang.
• Known colleague / friendly → relaxed: "Hey Sam," casual sign-off.
• If recipient is not provided, default to a safe, universally-appropriate friendly-professional register.

Workflow

1. Read raw_email. Identify: the core ask, key facts, and the emotional register.
2. Rewrite paragraph by paragraph, keeping structure unless it's genuinely unclear.
3. Fix grammar, spelling, and awkward phrasing.
4. Ensure a clear subject line exists — if none, propose one prefixed with Subject:.
5. Return the polished email only. If any placeholder was inserted, list them in a short Notes: line below.

Output format

Subject: <line>

<polished email body>

Notes: <only if placeholders or judgment calls were made; omit otherwise>

Example

Input (raw):

hey need the report by friday its late again. send it.

Output:

Subject: Report — Friday deadline

Hi [name],

Hope you're doing well. Just a quick note — could you get the report over to me by Friday? It's slipped a couple of times now, so I want to make sure we stay on track this week.

Thanks a lot,
[Your name]