WRITING E- MAILS

SOME GENERAL TIPS TO TAKE INTO

ACCOUNT

- Use a subject line that summarises briefly and clearly the content of the message.

Your email may be one of hundreds on the recipient’s computer, and you want them to read it when it arrives and then find it

again easily in their files.

- Use short, simple sentences. Long sentences are often difficult to read

and understand.• The most common mistake for learners of English is to

translate directly from their own language. Usually the result is a complicated, confusing sentence.

- Be very careful with jokes, irony, personal comments, etc.. If you are angry, wait for 24 hours before you write.

- Humour rarely translates well from one culture to another. Once you press “Send” you cannot get your email back. It can be seen by anyone and copied and sent round the world.

- Only write what you would be comfortable saying to the person’s

face.

• The intimate, informal nature of email makes people write things that they shouldn’t.

- Take a moment to review and edit what you have written. If in doubt, ask a colleague to quickly look through and make comments.

- Is the main point clear? Would some pieces of continuous text be better as bullet points or numbered points? Is it clear what action you want the recepient to take?

- Don’t ignore capital letters, punctuation, spelling, paragraphs, and basic grammar.

• It might be ok when you’re writing to a close friend, but to everyone else it’s an important part of the image you create. A careless, disorganised email shows the outside world a careless, disorganised mind.

- Use the reply you receive to modify your writing to the same person.

- If the recipient writes back in a more informal or more formal style, then match that in your future emails to them. If they use particular words or phrases that seem to come from their company culture, or professional area, then consider using those words yourself where they are appropriate.

- Study the English in the mails you receive.

• If you receive a well-written email, remember to look carefully at the language.

- Build your own phrase book.

- Start your own bank of phrases from ones you have received in an email or ones you have written yourself.

- Be positive! The words you use show your attitude to life.

• Look at these words: activity, agreed, evolving, fast, good question, helpful join us, mutual, productive, solve, team together, useful. Now look at these: busy, crisis, failure, forget it, hard, I can’t , I won’t, impossible, never, stupid, unavailable, waste. Which show a better attitude?

In short…Let’s summarize the main points

to take into account.

• Use a subject line that summarises briefly and clearly the content of the message.

• Use short, simple sentences• Be very careful with jokes, irony, personal comments, etc.. If you are

angry, wait for 24 hours before you write.• Only write what you would be comfortable saying to the person’s

face.• Take a moment to review and edit what you have written.• Don’t ignore capital letters, punctuation, spelling, paragraphs, and

grammar.

• Use the reply you receive to modify your writing to the same person.• Study the English in the mails you receive.

• Build your own phrase book.