Email is an extremely
useful and effective communication tool.
With it, you can contact a multitude of people with a few clicks of a
button. You will probably send hundreds of emails to
many different kinds of people. As high
school seniors, you will soon be emailing college recruiters or possible
employers. You want these emails to not
only get your point across, but to also make you appear interested, well
educated and worthy of response. This is
especially important as you begin to email potential colleges and
employers. Here are some easy tips to
keep in mind in order to make your emails clear, concise and effective.
1. Subject Line:
The subject line of an email lets the receiver know what the email is
about. Many people receive multiple emails a day, and a lot of it is junk. By including a short subject line, you can
easily let your reader know what is in the email and why they should open. Be sure to keep it short and
straightforward. Some email provider
will cut a subject line if it is too long, and many people will just not read
it.
Good Ex. Subject:
Class Notes from Friday
2. Email Address: Your email address says something about you.
This is probably why you chose it in the first place. This can be a good or a bad thing, depending on
whom you are emailing. Your email
address can give your reader an idea about your age and your professional
disposition. It may be a good idea to
create a separate, more appropriate email address to use with employers or
college recruiters. Look at the two
examples below and see what they bring to mind.
Iluvjonas223@gmail.com
Kmorris914@gmail.com
3. Keep It
Simple: Email was designed for quick communication. If someone has a
question, they can get back to you quickly.
Don’t write fifteen sentences when five will do.
4. Be Clear: In
an email you need to be simple, clear and succinct. Clearly state why you are emailing and your
intentions. Make sure when you use
pronouns, that it is clear what subject you are referencing.
Good Ex. I was talking to Ann
yesterday and she said that the project was due on Wednesday.
Bad Ex. I was talking to her
and she said it was due Wednesday.
In the second example,
it is unclear who the writer was talking to and what they were talking about.
5. Identify Yourself: Let
your reader know who your are! If you have never
emailed them, how will they know who you are and why you are emailing him or
her in the first place?
Ex:
Dear Mr. Smith,
My name is Maria Lopez and I am a
senior at Summerville High school. I
have heard great things about General College.
I was interested in setting up a tour of the campus and possibly and
interview in the next month.
6. Writing Style: It is important to remember whom you are
emailing. Is it a friend, teacher, or
boss? The way you write should change depending on the recipient. A simple example is text speak (‘r’ instead
of ‘are’, ‘u’ instead of ‘you,’ ect.). It would not be appropriate to use text speak
when emailing a teacher or boss. It is
perfectly fine when emailing a friend.
Do yourself a favor and take the time to write out the words.
7. Tone: Just
as you would change your writing style based on your recipient you should also
be careful of your tone. Someone who has
never talked to you in person will not be able to judge the subtext of your
words. In person, body language, eye
movement, voice level and inflection all give clues on the speaker’s actual
intention. You can tell if someone is
being sarcastic, or if they are embarrassed.
This is not possible with emails.
Your recipient may misunderstand you or even be offended. Avoid sarcasm and jokes unless you know your
recipient. Emoticons can help give
clues, but are unprofessional. Only use
them with friends or people you know well. :)
8. Respond Quickly:
Check your email often and respond promptly.
It shows your interest and a general respect for the person who emails
you. In time sensitive offers, you may
be passed over if you do not respond quickly.
If you must wait, wait only two to three days.
9. Reiterate: If
you are responding to an email, especially one with questions in it, copy and
paste part of the original email into your response. This will remind your reader about their
email and what you are talking about.
You do not need to quote the whole email, only the part you were
referencing. Use the > in front of
the quoted sections so the reader knows it is from their email. Also, most email providers automatically put
RE: in front of the subject of the email in a response email. This is a simple way of reminding the
recipient about the original email and it’s
context. Check and make sure your
provider adds RE: and add it yourself if it does not. If you do not, you may confuse your
recipient.
10.
Proof
Read: Read over your emails before you send them. Email is meant to be a quick, easy form of
communication so you do not need to spend hours composing and checking your
emails. However, read them over once
before you send them. Spelling and grammatical errors can make you appear
uninterested or uneducated. Since your
recipient may have never met you or never heard from you before, they have no
criteria to judge you on other then your emails. Spell checking helps a lot, but it does not
catch everything. Look at the example
below and the impression it creates.
Ex:
Hi,
i herd u guys was
hirin interns form the internet. im a highschol
senior. im god
with computers and electronics. id luv 2 work w/ peple
and hav good comunication skills. can I have a interview?
thanx.
joey
Unfortunately,
this email creates a very negative image of Joey. It seems that he did not take the time to
check his spelling, grammar, and capitalization. A simple spell check will catch many of his
errors, but not all. The spell check
will miss ‘form’ instead of ‘from’, and ‘god’ instead
of good because form and god are real words.
The only thing that will catch these mistakes is proof reading.
Created by Meredith
Hughes
6/22/09
SLM 521