Chapter 17 EMAIL WRITING

• Email/electronic mail/paperless communication
• Came into existence in the late 20th century
• A method of exchanging digital messages across the internet/other computer networks
• One of the quickest ways to communicate in writing

FORMAT OF AN E-MAIL

• Header – shows the sender’s mail ID, the receiver’s mail ID, the date, time & the subject
• Body – is the message, formal/informal; also contains the complimentary close

EMAIL WRITING – REASONS FOR POPULARITY

• Fast, cheap, and easy to operate – can be sent instantaneously to as many people as required
• Captures the spirit of the age – anything that saves time is most welcome in the present age
• Flexible in tone and style
• Are legal and valid

GUIDING STEPS TO WRITING AN EMAIL

• Have a neutral email address that reflects your identity
• Keep the header short & sweet
• Avoid an abrupt beginning
• Use effective subject lines
• Start courteously with a proper salutation
• Have a neutral email address that reflects your identity
• Keep the header short & sweet
• Avoid an abrupt beginning
• Use effective subject lines
• Start courteously with a proper salutation
• Add a warm up sentence
• Avoid use of capital letters all through the text
• Avoid acronyms
• End carefully with a complimentary close
• Sign off with your full name
• Proofread your email for errors in language — vocabulary, grammar & punctuation

EMAIL WRITING — COMMON ETIQUETTE

• Reply immediately
• Avoid circulating e mails to everyone
• Send the copy of a mail only to those who have something to do with it
• Avoid attaching unnecessary files
• Answer all queries as exhaustively as possible
• It strengthens our professional image & adds to the goodwill of the organization we work for
• Avoid sexist language like ‘man is mortal’
• Use e mail jargon sparingly
• Keep your mailbox uncluttered
• Delete junk mail regularly from the inbox
• Read & edit your mails

EMAIL WRITING — COMMON PITFALLS

• Privacy is lost
• Casualness creeps in – the email writer often forgets the distinction between a formal and an informal mail
• Ambiguity – no universally accepted conventions in mail writing so people write in whatever way they want – casually, informally, colloquially – hampering the efficacy of the message
• Virtue is sacrificed to convenience – using short quick and abbreviated versions
• Abundant unsolicited mails