...by students
Check Your Tone!
There are a lot of subtleties communicated in oral communication that do not transfer over to your writing. Pay special attention to the tone your email has as you write it. The last thing you want to have is an email to a group member or co-worker that sounds threatening!
When writing an email it is proper to use headers that describe the date, sender, receiver, and the subject of the email appropriately. Here is an example:
DATE: April 3, 3008
TO: Billy Joe
FROM: Rob Lumberg
SUBJECT: Bridge Proposal
It is important to notice that the subject is just a condensed version of the purpose of your email. If you are having trouble condensing your purpose it may mean you need to re-think it.
ABC Format
For any professional emails, you should be using the ABC format. This provides an organized structure for your readers to follow. There are three sections to the ABC format:
Abstract - The abstract should be at the very beginning of the e-mail and contain a couple things. Firstly, you MUST clearly state the purpose for the email. This is crucial if you want the recipient to read the email, and not just glance at it. Secondly you need some kind of list or bullet for the topics related to your main purpose. These related topics are referred to as supporting information.
Body - The body of your email will follow your abstract and should be neatly separated paragraphs for roughly each point you stated in your abstract. This is where any and all information pertaining to the listed topics will be. Make sure to clearly label any headings and sub-headings, and to use bullets when applicable.
Conclusion - Summarize the purpose and list of points covered in your email, ending with an important information about replying to the email (if necessary).
For short or casual e-mails, it may not be appropriate to write separate paragraphs for each of the above sections. However, the e-mail should still have a flow to it, and may implement the ABC structure within each individual paragraph instead.
Guidelines
These are just some of the recommended guidelines to follow for writing a professional email.[1][2][3]
Start With Proper Header Format: Your email should include the date, to, from, and the subject. This is explained in the headings section.
Stay on Topic: Include a brief statement explaining your main topic in your abstract, as well as information supporting your main point in the body of your email.
Use a Positive Conversational Style: Emails are generally more casual, so use a casual style. Write as if you were talking to this person, but it is recommended to keep the slang to a minimum.
Put Messages into Context: Explain what point you are trying to make and present evidence. In the case of replying to an email include the paragraph or line that you're referring to.
Pick the Proper Way to Reply to a Message: Know when it is appropriate to only include a small response following the previous message and when to comment on each point.
Use the Appropriate Format for Your Message: Using uppercase or boldfacing text is a good way to make something stick such as a heading or note. Don't fear white space. It makes reading it easier on the eyes. Also, use bullets. People immediately notice bullets. Finally using dividers, such as lines or asterisks, to separate sections of text.
Chunk Information for Easier Reading: Chunking together similar pieces of information lets the reader get all related information at once. These chunks should contain only one topic, and should act as a standalone paragraph.
Provide a Way to Stop Receiving Further Emails: If group members drop out of the group and no longer wish to receive updates via email, you have to allow for a way out.
Hide Mailing List Email Addresses: This is mostly a privacy issue, but when sending emails to big lists of people DO NOT include the mailing list itself. It may be fine to do so with friends, but not with co-workers. So just leave it out.
Word Processor?: Lastly, when writing an email that is extremely important it may be wise to write the email in a word document or any high level word processor, and include it as an attachment. This lets you use a little more sophisticated format.
References
- ↑ Pfeiffer, William S.; Jan Boogerd (2006) Technical Communication: A Practical Approach; Pearson Toronto ISBN:0-13-196293-0
- ↑ [1] Writing Effective E-Mail: Top 10 Tips
- ↑ [2] A Few More Tips
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