HS 1113

Academic Communication Skills

Pooja Sancheti
pooja@iiserpune.ac.in
Office: Main Building, First Floor, HSS
Wing
EMAIL WRITING
 Emails need improvement when…

- no, or misleading, subject line

- written to more people than required
- forwarded without good reason
- missing appropriate content (for example, has
an attachment but no explanation or
salutation)
- wrong or no salutation and/or sign-off
- Incorrect level of formality
 Basics of Email Etiquette
• Courteous greeting and closing salutations (“Dear” is good, “Respected” is not)
• Appropriate level of formality (examine short forms of words, emoticons, for example)
• Subject line should be short and meaningful
• Include all relevant details to avoid confusion (for example, introduce yourself clearly
when writing to someone unfamiliar)
• Type complete sentences
• Always acknowledge an email (with an appropriate response)
• Keep emails brief and to the point
• A ‘please’, ‘thank you’, ‘apologies for…’ goes a long way!
• Always end with ‘Thank you’, ‘Yours sincerely’, ‘Warm regards’ and your name (and/or
designation)
• Spell check and proofread before sending
• Read aloud to set the tone
• Use minimal formatting
• Do not use emoticons in formal emails
• Only Cc: and BCc: if important for receiver and if they need to be kept informed
• Check the To: field (who are you sending it to?)
• Make sure you have attached the document(s) if you are sending an attachment
 Formatting emails

• Use formatting sparingly

• DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS (makes you sound angry)
• do not use all small case
• Do not use patterned backgrounds
• Do not use fancy fonts or multiple colours in
lettering
• Use emoticons only in informal emails
 Forwarding emails
• Practice restraint in forwarding emails;
forward only if necessary
• Include a personal comment before the
forwarded text (explaining the reason for
forwarding)
• Delete trailing emails on the thread if
necessary before sending
• Be careful with what information you wish to
share using the forward function
 Organization
• Opening salutations (Dear Sir/ Dear Ma’am/ Dear Prof.
Bapat/Dear Editor/Dear Mr Surname/ Dear Ms Surname, Dear Dr
Surname etc.) AND THEN HIT ENTER
• First Section – Introduce yourself and briefly state the
reason for writing
• Second Section – State details of your inquiry/
complaint/request with relevant information/reasons;
mention any relevant attachments
• Third Section – What action you want from the recipient
of the email/your concluding remarks/ offering thanks in
advance/mention any relevant attachments
• Closing salutations (Yours sincerely/Best Wishes/Regards etc.)
 Edit this email

• To: Employer
• From: Ty Stringer
• Subject: I need jobz

der Employer, I wud like 2 apply 4 da job in

customer service. I saw ur job on FB. I got my
resume and added it to da email. I wud appreci8
ur response. -TS
 Edit this email
• To: Bob Pope
• From: Gabrielle Mendes
• Subject: Job?

Hey Bob,
We talked a couple weeks back at the chamber of commerce event. (I was the
one looking for a summer internship and had a zit on my lip that could have
passed for a cold soar. Lol. Whew. It was not. You’re probably like, “uh.. What?”
Maybe that helps you recall, maybe not. Not completely important, I suppose. I’d
really like to come work for you at your IT business.
You seemed like a cool person to work for, I liked ur striped pants. I’m available to
start working on Monday, but I am taking my driver’s test in June and have to
study and go an hour and half away to take it at an easier place cause I’m not a
great driver so I’ll miss a few days. I am also going to the beach with friends for a
week in July. Oh, and my grandmother has bad gas (OMG IT’S TERRIBLE) and
sometimes I have to take her to the doctor. I’ve attached my resume, it’s the
bomb dot com. Let me know if you have a job opening for me. I can’t wait to play
on some computers. If I don’t respond to your email, I’m always on FB, snapchat
or insta!
Peace out,
Gabrielle Mendes
 Write the following emails
1. Write an email to the dean requesting leave of absence
for fifteen days.
2. Write an email to your teacher to submit your homework.
3. You bought a new phone last week and it is not working.
Write an email to customer care to register your
complaint.
4. You wish to join a Science Camp in the holidays. Ask the
organizers for information.
5. Write an email to thank a teacher for her/his classes after
the semester is over.
6. You were rude to a classmate in the mess. Write an email
apologizing for your behavior.
7. You are in charge of an event for Karvaan. Another
college’s students write to you asking for information
about this event. Answer their queries.
 Stock Sentences
• I am interested in attending this workshop. Could you please let me know what the
procedure is?
• Could you please send me the required forms?
• Could you please grant me leave?
• Kindly let me know if this is possible.
• Please let me know if this is permitted.
• I would be very grateful if you could send me the brochure.
• I request you to look into the matter as soon as possible.
• I request you to (kindly) grant me leave for this period.
• I would like to apply for the internship under your supervision.
• I would be happy to help you in any way I can.
• I hope to hear from you soon.
• I look forward to speaking with you soon.
• Do drop me a line whenever convenient.
• Do let me know if you need any documents from me. I will be happy to provide them.
• As you may know, I had applied for the programme last week.
• I am not sure what the procedure is. Could you please help me out? If I need to get in
touch with someone else regarding this, could you please let me know who I should
write to?
 Sample Email
Subject: Request for leave

Dear Sir,

My name is ABC. I am a First Year BS-MS student at IISER Pune. My Roll No. is 202034393.

My father has suddenly fallen ill and there is no one at home to take care of him. It is very
important that I go home (to Calcutta) to take care of him.

This is my reason for writing to you. Could you please grant me leave for 15 days so I can
attend to this emergency? I assure you that I will make up for the missed classes to the
best of my ability.

I hope you will consider my request. Please let me know if I need to fill out any forms as
part of the application for leave.

Thank you so much for your consideration.

Yours sincerely,
ABC