Emails Handout

Emails to Your Teacher in this Course

When you email me an attached assignment, the email should look similar to this:
Other emails you send me should look similar to this:
Emails 1 of 7 compiled by Ruth Anderson
Subject line: This should tell me the
assignment and the assignment name!
Attachment: The attachment name
should be in English! "t should tell
me #hat the assignment is! "t can
also include #ho you are!
Email body: Tell me #hat assignment
you ha$e attached!
Signature Block: %our name, full
student number and the name of this
course should be at the end of your
email to me!
Subject line: This should tell me #hat the
email #ill be about &the sub'ect of the email(!
Email body: )se block formatting!
E$erything should line up on the
left! *ea$e one blank line bet#een
paragraphs!
Signature Block: %our name, full
student number and the name of this
course should be at the end of your
email to me!
A recent )+ study sho#ed that ,-. of the #orkforce spent at least one hour per day
managing and #riting business emails, of #hich /0. #ere irrele$ant!
Business Email Basics &this section adapted from: 1eare(
Important oints to !emember
Email is slightly less formal than a #ritten letter! Emails are usually short and
concise!
"f you are #riting to someone you don2t kno#, a simple 34ello3 is ade5uate!
When #riting to someone you kno# #ell, you may #rite as if you are speaking to
the person!
)se abbre$iated $erb forms &4e2s, We2re, 4e2d, etc!(
"nclude a telephone number #ith the signature of the email! This #ill gi$e the
recipient the chance to telephone if necessary!
"t is not necessary to include your email address! The recipient can 'ust 6reply7!
When replying, eliminate all of the sender7s information that is not necessary! Only
lea$e the sections of te8t that are related to your reply! This #ill sa$e your reader
time #hen reading your email!
"ormatting
Example 1: Formal Business Email
Emails , of 7 compiled by Ruth Anderson
Subject line: 9hould tell the recipient
the main point of the email
Business Email Signature Block:
%our name,
:osition, ;ompany
and possibly other contact information like phone number!
<o =OT rely on your email address to tell the recipient #ho you are or #ho you represent!
Example 2: Informal Business Email
=ote the simple formatting: keep e$erything flush #ith the left margin> a$oid special
formatting and tabs!
A heading, inside address and date are not necessary in an email!
?or your o#n email address a$oid using an inappropriate or silly email address
name> register a professional sounding address if you don2t ha$e one!
"f the person7s name is unkno#n, address the person2s title!
i!e! <ear <irector of 4uman Resources!
Attachments
#o not attach unnecessary $iles%
*arge attachments can annoy customers and e$en bring do#n their e@mail system! They
are also a potential source of $iruses! Aenerally, a$oid attachments unless the recipient
has re5uested or is e8pecting an attachment! "f it is a te8t document you #ant to send,
simply cut and paste the te8t belo# your letter and remo$e any special formatting!
Another idea: include links to Web pages #here the information is displayed!
Introduce any attachments you include%
When you include an attachment, tell the recipient you ha$e done so in the body of the
email and tell them #hat the attachment is! =EBER send an email #ith 'ust an attachment
#ith no te8t in the email body!
&nly open attachments i$ you trust the source%
This is because attachments can be a source of $iruses!
Al'ays gi(e an attachment a meaning$ul name
The name of your attachment should tell the reader #hat to e8pect in the attachment!
Cake sure the name, and the attachment, is in a language the e8pected recipient can read!
Emails / of 7 compiled by Ruth Anderson
=ote: this is a section of te8t from the
email that is being respondedDreferred
to! This is called the 6message thread7!
*ea$e a blank line bet#een each paragraph
Cost email programs ha$e
a 9pell ;hecker! )9E "T!
Some Email Eti)uette and *uidelines &compiled from multiple lists(
Writing business emails #ell can make you stand out in the corporate landscape! Writing
them badly can do the same, but for $ery different reasons!
+se a meaning$ul and in$ormati(e subject line%
Try to use a sub'ect that is meaningful to the recipient as #ell as yourself! ?or instance,
#hen you send an email to a company re5uesting information about a product, it is better
to mention the actual name of the product, e!g! 2:roduct A information2 than to 'ust say
2product information2 or the company2s name in the sub'ect line!
+se short sentences%
Try to keep your sentences to a ma8imum of 1-@,E #ords! Email is meant to be a 5uick!
Be concise and to the point%
+eep it brief
Aet to the point, 5uickly
)se bullets
Be clear% ,ake sure spelling- grammar . punctuation is good
These kinds of mistakes gi$e a bad impression of you and your organiFation! "f your
program has a spell checking option, )9E "T!
!e/read the email be$ore you send it%
Cake sure you find any mistakes a spell checker #ill not catch! Example: to, t#o and too
#ill all be spelled correctly but #hich is correct in conte8tG
Ans'er s'i$tly 'hen you can%
"f it #ill take more than a day for you to respond fully, 'ust send an email back saying that
you ha$e recei$ed their email and that you #ill get back to them! This #ill put the
customer2s mind at rest and usually customers #ill then be $ery patientH
0hen you need to- take your time%
"f the email content is sensiti$e, the passage of time and other people2s input #ill help you
impro$e your message and #riting! 9ho# it to colleagues and other business people, and
get their opinions!
Care$ully choose 'hen you send your email%
Cost business people spend Conday mornings catching up on email, postal mail, and
phone calls that ha$e piled up since ?riday! %ou don2t #ant your email mi8ed in #ith
doFens or e$en hundreds of communications that are being re$ie#ed by recipients!
Be speci$ic: eople can1t read minds
The more specific you are, the more likely you are to get a response!
Example: %ou are asking someone to attend an e$ent! Tell them the name of the e$ent,
#hat it is for, the date of the e$ent, start time, end time, #hen you #ant them to arri$e,
location &including a street address and room number, if appropriate(, and include your
telephone number so they can call you if necessary!
Emails 0 of 7 compiled by Ruth Anderson
Be accurate%
Whate$er claims you make, benefits you offer, or statistics you 5uote, make sure they are
true and not inflated!
Include the message thread%
When you reply to an email, you should include the original mail in your reply, in other
#ords click 2Reply2, instead of 2=e# Cail2! This acts as a reminder to the recipient of
#hat they said to you! "f responding to multiple 5uestions from a long email, copy the
5uestions into your email and #rite your ans#ers ne8t to them!
Ans'er all )uestions- and pre/empt $urther )uestions%
"f you do not ans#er all the 5uestions in the original email, you #ill recei$e further emails
regarding the unans#ered 5uestions! This #ill not only #aste your time and your
customer7s time but also cause frustration!
Example: A customer sends you an email asking #hich credit cards you accept! "nstead
of 'ust listing the credit cards, you can guess that their ne8t 5uestion #ill be about ho#
they can order, so you also include some order information and a )R* to your order page!
,ake sure links 'ithin your email display and 'ork properly%
When you list 3for more information3 links, make sure they #ill #ork! Also make sure
they go to the e8act page you #ant and this landing page is up to date and pro$ides the
information you #ant them to ha$e! 9ending people to your company home page and
lea$ing to them to figure out #here to go is not making your reader7s life easier!
0atch out $or a 2kno'ledge gap%2
<on2t assume recipients ha$e the same kno#ledge about your organiFation, product,
ser$ice or country as you do!
+se proper structure . layout%
)se short paragraphs and blank lines bet#een each paragraph! When making points,
number them or mark each point as separate to keep the o$er$ie#!
Be care$ul 'ith $ormatting- rich te3t and HT,4 messages%
The sender might not be able to $ie# formatting, rich te8t or 4TC* format, or might see
different fonts than you had intended!
Include a good signature block%
Al#ays sign off professionally! Cake sure your signature block is complete: your full
name, title, company, address, phones, pager, fa8, and Web site links! Ai$e the recipient a
choice of ho# to contact you for more information!
When #riting to your teacher your signature block should look like this:
Wang 4aitao &Aary(
1,E1EIE,,J
:ractical Writing =EC
#o not 'rite in A44 CAITA4S%
"? %O) WR"TE "= A** ;A:"TA*9 "T 9EEC9 A9 "? %O) ARE 94O)T"=A!
And it is harder to read! =ot good and not good!
Emails - of 7 compiled by Ruth Anderson
Your name
Your student #
Name of course you are taking from the teacher
+se graphics 'isely%
)nless graphics add to your message in a meaningful #ay, don2t use them!
re(ent premature sending
To a$oid sending a badly spelled, half #ritten pile of rubbish, #ait until you ha$e #ritten
the email before you enter the recipient7s names!
5eep your letter $ormal%
<o not be inappropriately informal!
,ake it personali6ed%
Al#ays open emails #ith a hello and use the name that they signed off #ith, e$en if it7s
craFyhorse/JH =ot only should the e@mail be personally addressed, it should also include
personal &i!e! customiFed( content! ?or this reason auto replies are usually not $ery
effecti$e! 4o#e$er, templates can be used effecti$ely in this #ay! &9ee ne8t tip(!
+se templates $or $re)uently used responses%
"f you get some 5uestions o$er and o$er again, such as directions to the office or ho# to
subscribe to your company ne#sletter, sa$e these te8ts as response templates and paste
these into your message #hen you need them! %ou can sa$e your templates in a Word
document, or use pre@formatted emails! E$en better is a tool such as ReplyCate for
Outlook &allo#s you to use 1E templates for free(!
,ailings / use the Bcc: $ield%
When sending an email to many people at the same time do =OT place all the email
addresses in the To: field! There are t#o dra#backs to this practice: &1( the recipient
kno#s that you ha$e sent the same message to a large number of recipients, and &,( you
are publiciFing someone else2s email address #ithout their permission!
One #ay to get round this is to place all addresses in the 1cc: field and include the
mailing list email address in the To: field so your email #ill not look like spam!
Aetting technical, there are mail merge functions that can do all the hard #ork for you!
Warning to no$ice emailers K test before you go emailing the #orldH
+se CC: $ield sparingly%
Try not to use the cc: field unless the recipient in the ;;: field kno#s #hy they are
recei$ing a copy of the message! ;;s should only be sent to those from #hom you do
=OT e8pect a reply! When responding to a message that has been ;;7d to another
recipient, do not include that other recipient in the ;;: field unless you ha$e a reason for
#anting this person to see your response! Again, make sure that this person #ill kno#
#hy they are recei$ing a copy!
#o not o(eruse !eply to All%
Only use 6Reply to All7 if you really need your message to be seen by each person #ho
recei$ed the original message!
5eep your language gender neutral%
A$oid using se8ist language such as: 2The user should add a signature by configuring his
email program2! Apart from using heDshe, you can also use the neutral gender: 22The user
should add a signature by configuring the email program2!
Emails I of 7 compiled by Ruth Anderson
Take care 'ith abbre(iations and emoticons%
"n business emails, try not to use abbre$iations such as 1TW &by the #ay( and *O*
&laugh out loud(! The recipient might not kno# the meanings of the abbre$iations and in
business emails these are generally not appropriate! The same goes for emoticons, such as
the smiley :@(!
#o not copy a message or attachment 'ithout permission%
"f you do not ask permission of the originator first, you might be infringing on copyright!
A(oid marking an email +!*E7T and I,&!TA7T%
%ou must at all times try to a$oid these types of #ords in an email or sub'ect line! Only
use this if it is a really, really urgent or important message!
!emember your email is likely to be passed around%
1ecause it2s so easy for email to be for#arded, assume your message #ill be sent to others
if the initial recipient has any interest! %ou may #ant to include links to information that
is rele$ant to others, including technical details, operations info, and financial data!
#on8t send or $or'ard emails containing o$$ensi(e- racist or obscene remarks%
%ou lose control of your email as soon as you hit 29end2 so stick to professional language!
"n the West, by sending or e$en 'ust for#arding one libellous, or offensi$e remark in an
email, you and your company can face court cases #ith multi@million dollar penalties!
#o not $or'ard chain letters%
We can safely say that all chain letters are hoa8es! Lust delete the letters as soon as you
recei$e them!
#o not use email to discuss con$idential or personal in$ormation%
9ending an email is like sending a postcard! "f you don2t #ant your email to be displayed
on a bulletin board, don2t send it! <o not tell your life2s story or lo$e problems in an email
to a customer, #hether it is a ne# or established one!
#on8t reply to spam%
1y replying to spam or by unsubscribing, you are confirming that your email address is
2li$e2! ;onfirming this #ill only generate e$en more spam! Therefore, 'ust hit the delete
button or use email soft#are to remo$e spam automatically!
References
1eare, +enneth! M4o# to Write a 1usiness Email!N About: English as a 9econd *anguage!
Ohttp:DDesl!about!comDodDbusinessenglish#ritingDaDbiFdocsP/!htmQ &11 Car! ,EE7(!
M1usiness Email WritingN ,EE0@,EEI! *etter Writing Auide!
Ohttp:DD###!letter#ritingguide!comDbusinessemail!htmQ &7 Car ,EE7(!
MEmail Eti5uette!N ,EE1@,EEI! Ohttp:DD###!emailreplies!comDQ &11 Car! ,EE7(!
9toltoff, :aul! M,E Rules of Writing Effecti$e 1usiness E@Cails!N ;lickR E8perts! ,EE/ Cay 1S!
Ohttp:DD###!clickF!comDsho#:age!htmlGpageT,,EJ011Q &7 Car! ,EE7(!
9#inton, *yndsay! M1E Tips for #riting business emails that say the right thing about you!N Canagement for
the Rest of )s! Ohttp:DD###!mftrou!comD#riting@business@emails!htmlQ &7 Car ,EE7(!
Emails 7 of 7 compiled by Ruth Anderson