People have been writing business letters for a very long time so the style of writing them has

developed slowly. Writing e-mails is relatively new. However, their use as a form of business
correspondence is increasing at great speed. They are also written and sent much faster too.
We do not say e-letter, or e-note or e-message. All correspondence sent electronically has the same
name and therefore the differences in style has become less clear. Because of this there is a less
accepted convention about how business e-mails should be written. This lesson looks at guidelines for
the etiquette of writing e-mails.

The first activities ask you to think about how you send and receive e-mails now.

It would be very useful to have Lesson 2 with you while doing this lesson.

How many e-mails do you send a day? How many do you receive? What percentage of your e-mails
are purely business transactions, and what percentage are quick messages to colleagues or friends?

When you receive e-mails can you tell immediately if they are business letters? When you write an e-
mails do you think about a different style depending on who you are writing to, or do write the same to
everybody? (Think about writing styles from Lesson 2).

Finally, do you read all the e-mails you receive? What percentage do you delete without reading? How
often do you check your e-mails? Do you read e-mails faster than you would a conventional letter
arriving in an envelope? Do you sometimes receive e-mails that you don’t need? Do you send e-mails
to the person sitting next to you?

What do the following mean?

1. cc 6. Forward
2. bcc 7. Insert a file
3. Format – plain text / html 8. Signature
4. A draft 9. Abbreviations
5. Threads 10. Emoticons

Are the following questions true or false?

1. Business e-mails should always be very formal.

2. Legal documents can be sent by e-mail.
3. Internal e-mails in general can be very informal.
4. Business e-mails don’t need the traditional opening and closings (as discussed in Lesson 2).
5. E-mails are confidential and private.

Look at the e-mail below and answer the following questions:

Who is the e-mail to?

Who is it from?
Is there a signature?
Who has received a copy?
Is there a clear subject heading?
Why was it sent?
What action is required of the readers?
Is the tone appropriate? (See Lesson 2)

The subject you give an e-mail is very important. People often receive many e-mails every day so it’s
important to give as much information as possible in the subject if you want your e-mail to be read.

The e-mail above did not have a clear subject heading. Look at the following headings and decide
which one is best and why:

Visitor tomorrow
Regional Director visit 12/12/03
Mr Ahmed is visiting

What subject heading could you give for the following e-mails?

1. You want to take two weeks leave next month.

2. You’re e-mailing a client with product information after they telephoned you with an enquiry.

3. There has been a policy change regarding working hours.

4. Communal e-mail about an in-house customer care training course next week.

Look at the following two e-mails and compare the language and layout. Which one is better for a
business e-mail following a first telephone conversation?
Try and identify the differences between

• The subject heading

• The typeface
• The style
• The signature
• The tone
Look at the following examples of abbreviations from e-mail and online chats. Can you understand
them?

1. IDK what the answer is ATM. I’ll tell U ASAP.

2. TYVM for the proposal.
3. BTW, I’m going away on holiday next week so CU when I get back.
4. …so it’s quite difficult, UC.
5. I’m busy now. PLS can we call me L8R?
6. OK, CUL8R.
7. FYI I’m not here tomorrow.
8. THX for your MSG.
9. What are the advantages of using abbreviations? What are the disadvantages?

10. Do you think it is possible, after you have developed an “e-mail relationship” with a client, that
abbreviations can be used?
Look at the following suggestions about using e-mails for business writing. Which ones are good
advice, and which ones are bad advice?

1. All e-mails look the same so the subject heading should be clear.

2. E-mails are normally read quickly and need to be easily understood. It is important that the first
paragraph includes any action that is requested.

3. If an e-mail is too long it may not all be read. Remember the four Ss when writing an e-mail: keep it
Short, Simple and Straightforward, and Spell correctly.

4. Only include one subject in each e-mail. A new subject needs a new e-mail with a new subject
heading.

5. People often reply very quickly to e-mails and this means that the message is not always clear.
Make sure your e-mails are as long as possible.

6. Before you press “reply to all” make sure that everyone needs to see your reply. Copying
unnecessary mail to colleagues can add to e-mail overload.

7. Some internal message systems show the first line of a message on the screen before it is opened so
imagine how this will read.

8. Don’t use emoticons. Many people don’t like them, and some people don’t understand them.

9. Avoid using abbreviations unless you are sure that your reader will understand them.

10. Don’t type words IN CAPITAL LETTERS – this looks like you are shouting.

11. If somebody hasn’t replied immediately to an e-mail, don’t resend the message. They may be away
from the office or busy, and will feel that you are bothering them.

12. If your message is very urgent, follow it up with a phone call, or consider phoning rather than e-
mailing.

13. The law regarding e-mailing is still unclear. It is safest to treat an e-mail, even
one sent on an internal system, like any other form of published material.

14. Don’t use ‘bcc’ – many companies disapprove, and it can cause problems.

Turn off you “you have mail” function so that you don’t stop what you are doing to read it.
Frank Sony has replied to Peter Philips about the delivery of the computers. However, the e-mail that
needs to be improved. Look at all the advice and examples of good practice, including the examples in
the answer key, and re-write the message.

In this lesson you have:

considered the role of e-mailing for business correspondence
identified problems associated with e-mailing
had model texts for good e-mails
identified good practice when sending e-mails
re-written and improved a poor e-mail
The next e-m@il lesson looks at writing reports.

SOURCE:
BRITISH COUNCIL: Learn English Professional
http://www.learnenglish.org.uk/profsLessons