Adding an Email Account on a Mac

Level: Beginner

Time: 20 mins

These instructions are for first-time Mac users who have never tried adding a new email
account on their Mac and are unfamiliar with Mac applications.

NOTE: these instructions are for those who have the following MacOS versions installed in
their Mac:
• El Capitan
• Sierra
• High Sierra
• Mojave
• Catalina
Don’t know what MacOS version you have? Click here to find out!

Adding Your Email Account

Step 1:
Click on
Launchpad.

Can’t find
Launchpad on your
dock?
Here is a
suggestion.
Step 2:
Click on System
Preferences.

Step 3:
Click on Internet
Accounts.
Step 4:
Add your account
by clicking on any
of the options on
the right side.

For example: If you

have Gmail, you
will click on
Google.

If you have another

account that is not
mentioned here,
click on Exchange
and it will allow
you to add any type
of email account.

NOTE: Some emails like Google and Yahoo ask for authentication and will redirect you to log
in via Safari or Chrome before you’ll be able to add your account onto your Mac.

Step 5:
Fill out required the
information.

Once you’ve added

all the information
that Apple requires,
your email account
will appear on the
left side of the
Internet Accounts
window.
Verifying if Email Account was Added Successfully
Step 1:
Click on your Mail
app.

You can find this on

Launchpad or on
your Dock

Step 2:
Check if the
mailbox you added
is under
Mailboxes.

If it’s there, then

you’re all set!

NOTE: Contact Apple if your Mac is not allowing you to add another email account – your
Mac account may be corrupted!
Finding your Mac’s Version:
Step 1:
Click on the Apple
Icon located on the
top left of your
computer screen.

Step 2:
Go to About this
Mac on the drop-
down menu.

Step 3:
Click on the
overview tab
located at the top
left of the small
window.

You should see on

the top the name of
your mac’s version.
Mine is Mojave.

Return to Step 1 of adding email account to Mac

Finding Launchpad:
Step 1.
Click anywhere on
your desktop.

The menu bar at the

top of your screen
will default to the
Finder bar.

Step 2.
Click Go.

Step 3.
Click on
Applications.
Step 4:
Scroll through
applications and
click on
Launchpad when
you find it.

Return to Step 1 of Adding email account to Mac

Adding an Email Account on a Mac
Level: Intermediate

Time: 10-15 mins

These instructions are for Mac users who have basic to intermediate operational knowledge of
the Mac. These type of users own different Apple products and are overall familiar with Apple
icons and navigation style.

NOTE: these instructions are for those who have the following MacOS versions installed in
their Mac:
• El Capitan
• Sierra
• High Sierra
• Mojave
• Catalina

Step 1: Click on System Preferences on your dock.

Can’t find it on your dock? Go to Find system preferences

Step 2: Click on Internet Accounts

Step 3: Add your account by clicking on one of the options from the ones presented on the
right side of the screen.

NOTE: Some emails like Google and Yahoo ask for authentication and will redirect you to log
in via Safari or Chrome before you’ll be able to add your account onto your Mac.

Step 4: Fill out all the necessary information that Apple gives you to connect your email
account.

Step 5: Verify that your account was added by looking at the left side of Internet Accounts.
To access your email, go to your Mail app and find your new inbox displayed under
“mailboxes” on the top left side of the screen.

NOTE: Contact Apple if your Mac is not allowing you to add another email account – your
Mac account may be corrupted!
Finding System Preferences on Mac

Step 1: Go to finder

Step 2: Scroll down and click on Applications.

Step 3: Click on system preferences .

Go back to Adding Email Account on Mac instructions

Analyzing my Audience
 My goal as a blogger is that everyone with a 6th grade reading level can easily
understand my instructions. In each set of instructions, I signal to the reader the level of
experience needed to complete the task. This allows the reader to make the decision on
whether or not to complete the task before they begin reading the steps.
My first set of instructions were for a man named Joseph who is not aware of how
to operate or how to navigate through a Mac. Joseph’s first language is Spanish, but he
reads and writes English at a high-school level. Since Joseph is still learning the basics of
a Mac, he needs in-depth instructions. To provide concise instructions without seeming
too complex, I provided short sentences in each step with images that have red markings
to instantly attract the eye of the reader. These images will allow Joseph to familiarize
himself with the icons and follow the instructions easily without feeling overwhelmed
with too much information.
My second set of instructions are for a college student named Cindy. Cindy is an
American college student and has a general understanding of how to operate her Mac,
but she has never attempted to add an email on her own. Since Cindy knows how to
execute simple tasks on a Mac — like finding and opening an app — I know that I will
not need to provide such an in-depth set of instructions like the ones I created for Joseph.
To prevent Cindy or my blog readers from getting lost in the instructions, I have kept the
content brief and concise, by using an active voice and adding small images that
prevents writing too many feedback statements.

Structure
To maintain a clear organizational structure, I wrote numerical step-by-step
instructions to ensure that the reader follows the directions in a particular order. In
addition, numerical instructions allow the reader to find his/her place quickly after every
action.
To make the titles and subheading detectable throughout the instructions, I
enlarged, colored, and bolded the font. The titles for both set of instructions are purple
with size 22 font. All the other subheadings are green with size 18 font. This allows the
reader to find each topic with ease.
A problem I encountered while I wrote the instructions was what to do with
additional instructions that appear long-winded and that deviated from the main topic. To
mediate this problem, I created other sets of instructions and provided hyperlinks to them
in case the reader needed to access them.
By beginning sentences with verbs, such as click, scroll, and fill, they set an
imperative mood that signaled readers to act on each instruction. This also provided a
parallel structure to each step.

Drafting a Good Introduction

To create an effective set of instructions for both scenarios, I used four of the five
Ws that I learned in class: who, what, where, and why:

v Who:
Ø The first set of instructions are for people who have no experience working on a
Mac.
 Ø The second set of instructions are for people who have some knowledge of how to
work on a Mac.
v What:
Ø Both scenarios are about adding an email account on a Mac.
v Where:
Ø On Macs with the following OS versions: El Capitan, Sierra, High Sierra, Mojave,
or Catalina.
v Why:
Ø Readers who are inexperienced need assistance connecting their emails on the
Mac.

I did not include “when” because these instructions do not need to be followed at
a specific time.