Linda Kilcoyne
SLM 521
Summer 02
Elective-EMail


E-Mail Tips for Elementary Students

     Email is quickly becoming the communication of choice.  Parents, children, Grandparents, business people, and teachers are all using email to communicate.  As with hand writing notes or letters, you must be clear in
your email.  Here are ten steps to composing proper email messages.

1.  Subject line-
    This should give a clue to what your email is about.  Sometimes people are busy and don't answer their emails right away.  If you need a message read right away, add "URGENT" to the subject.  Only use this when absolutely necessary.

 Subject:  Tips for E-Mail
 

2.  Address line-
    Type in the e-mail address carefully. The address must be exact, but capitalization (usually) does not matter. The periods are call "dot" and the symbol @ is called "at."  The address below is said as, "mary dot smith at radix dot net."  An incorrectly typed address will result in your message not being delivered.

 To:  mary.smith@radix.net

3.  Messages-
  
There are several points you should remember when composing your message.

Greetings can be: Dear (then the name), or titles (Dear teacher).  Titles such as Mr. or Mrs. should be used when you know which applies.  Ms. can be used when you aren't sure of the Mrs.  If a message is to a friend, Hello, or Hi can be used.

Quote your previous message if your are referring to a previously sent email.  The person receiving your message may not remember what they sent to you.

Do not use pronouns in the first sentence or two..  Your reader can't hear or see you so they may not know what you mean by "it", "they", or "he".

Do not use fancy text.  Some computers may only be able to read plain text. Italics, bold, and color changes may show up with "<" and ">"  around these words instead of the look you wanted.
You might send this:   I would like to know why you sent me that message.
Could be received like this:  I would like to know <why> you sent me that <message>.

Use shorter sentences and paragraphs.  Sometimes long paragraphs and sentences are harder to read.

Web links may be included in your message, just be sure to write the URL with http:// before it.  This will make a live link.  It may be easier to copy and paste a link to be sure it is exact.

Use capital letters (NO), asterisks (*), and smileys :-) to add emotion to your text.  Remember, your audience cannot hear or see you, and those are helpful when communicating.

Use grammar and spell checkers.  It is important that your message make sense, and good spelling shows you care enough to do your best.

Your signature is included after your message.  Sometimes the name at the From:  line doesn't match your name (you may be using your parent's account-with permission of course!)  Do not include your telephone number without your parent's specific permission.

 From:  Michael A. Smith

See you soon,
Tommy Smith

Email is becoming more widely usedUse this tip sheet to make sure your are using the correct form.

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Reference: Information for this tip sheet was taken from "A Beginner's Guide to Effective Email" by Kaitlin Duck Sherwood. 
http://www.webfoot.com/advice/email.top.html

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