Professional Writing 10 Tips for Better E-mail Etiquette

1. When in doubt be formal, not sloppy. Your colleagues may use commonly accepted abbreviations in e-mail, but when communicating with external customers, everyone should follow standard writing protocol. Your e-mail message reflects you and your company, so traditional spelling, grammar, and punctuation rules apply. 2. Keep messages brief and to the point. Just because your writing is grammatically correct does not mean that it has to be long. Nothing is more frustrating than wading through an e-mail message that is twice as long as necessary. Concentrate on one subject per message whenever possible. 3. Use sentence case. USING ALL CAPITAL LETTERS LOOKS AS IF YOU’RE SHOUTING. Using all lowercase letters looks lazy. For emphasis, use asterisks or bold formatting to emphasize important words. Do not, however, use a lot of colors or graphics embedded in your message, because not everyone uses an e-mail program that can display them. 4. Use the blind copy and courtesy copy appropriately. Don’t use BCC to keep others from seeing who you copied; it shows confidence when you directly CC anyone receiving a copy. Do use BCC, however, when sending to a large distribution list, so recipients won’t have to see a huge list of names. Be cautious with your use of CC; overuse simply clutters inboxes. Copy only people who are directly involved. 5. Remember that e-mail isn’t private. E-mail is considered company property and can be retrieved, examined, and used in a court of law. Unless you are using an encryption device (hardware or software), you should assume that e- mail over the Internet is not secure. Never put in an e-mail message anything that you wouldn’t put on a postcard. Remember that e-mail can be forwarded, so unintended audiences may see what you’ve written. You might also inadvertently send something to the wrong party, so always keep the content professional to avoid embarrassment. 6. Be sparing with group e-mail. Send group e-mail only when it’s useful to every recipient. Use the “reply all” button only when compiling results requiring collective input and only if you have something to add. Recipients get quite annoyed to open an e-mail that says only “Me too!” 7. Use the subject field to indicate content and purpose. Don’t just say, “Hi!” or “From Laura.” Agree on acronyms to use that quickly identify actions. For example, your team could use <AR> to mean “Action Required” or <MSR> for the Monthly Status Report. It’s also a good practice to include the word “Long” in the subject field, if necessary, so that the recipient knows that the message will take time to read. 8. Don’t send chain letters, virus warnings, or junk mail. Always check a reputable antivirus Web site or your IT department before sending out an alarm. If a constant stream of jokes from a friend annoys you, be honest and ask to be removed from the list. Direct personal e-mail to your home e-mail account. 9. Remember that your tone can’t be heard in e-mail. Have you ever attempted sarcasm in an e-mail, and the recipient took it the wrong way? E- mail communication can’t convey the nuances of verbal communication. In an attempt to infer tone of voice, some people use emoticons, but use them sparingly so that you don’t appear unprofessional. Also, don’t assume that using a smiley will diffuse a difficult message. 10. Use a signature that includes contact information. To ensure that people know who you are, include a signature that has your contact information, including your mailing address, Web site, and phone numbers. BONUS: Always remember to begin emails with salutations and end with sign off’s! Business Letter Guidelines • Remember to use formal language and avoid any typographical errors. • Start the letter with a friendly opening. • State your reason for writing a business letter. • Always have an idea to whom you are writing. • Specify necessary details like time, date, venue etc. • Be to the point and straight forward. • Write the letter with a polite tone but avoid being overtly personal. • Keep the letter short and concise and with specific details. • Do not write long introductions and unnecessary statements. • Check for grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. • Avoid usage of slangs or messaging language as that does not indicate professionalism. • If possible the business letter should not be hand written and should be typed as it looks more professional and the letters are visible. • Close the letter by thanking the person for their time and consideration. Salutations in Letters – 10 Rules for Business Letters 1. The standard way to open a standard business letter is with Dear, the person’s name (with or without a title), and a colon, like this: Example – Dear Louise: Dear Mr. and Dr. Paige: Dear Professor Amato: 2. The standard way to open a social business letter is with Dear, the person’s name (with or without a title), and a comma, like this: Example – Dear Nigel, Dear Dr. Tarabi, Dear Reverend Jans, 3. If you don’t know the reader well or if the letter or the relationship is formal, use a title and a last name (Dear Ms. Browne). Otherwise, use the first name (Dear Gila). 4. Unless you are certain that a woman prefers Miss or Mrs., use the title Ms. 5. If you are writing to two people, use both names in your salutation. Example – Dear Mr. Trujillo and Ms. Donne: Dear Alex and Drenda: 6. Never spell out the titles Mr., Ms., Mrs., and Dr . 7. Do spell out these titles: Professor, Dean, Sister, Rabbi, Imam, Senator, Governor, Captain, Admiral, Judge 8. If you don’t know a person’s gender, use the full name rather than a title: Example – Dear Dana Simms: Dear T.K. Spinazola: 9. If you don’t know a person’s name or gender, avoid “To whom it may concern. ” Instead, use the job title or a generic greeting: Example – Dear Recruiter: Dear Claims Adjustor: Dear Sir or Madam: 10. If you are writing to a company rather than any specific individual, use the company name: Example – Dear Syntax Training: What Should Professional Writing Look Like? I- Block Format 1- No indenting 2- Single spaced 3- Blank link/space between paragraphs II- Font 1- Times New Roman 2- 12 pt 3- Use the same font throughout to avoid distractions III- Paragraph Content 1- Each paragraph should address 1 idea/point/issue 2- Each paragraph should have an introductory or topic sentence 3- Each paragraph should convey details and/or information IV- Paragraph Order 1- Introduction – Purpose, Background info., Objectives 2- Discussion – Relevance / Analysis / Details / Research [dates, times, costs, etc.] 3- Concluding paragraph – [action required, recommendations, replies etc.] 4- For lengthy documents use headings the above instruction needs to be followed. Below is the assignment that needs to be followed and written. I was thinking the main problem in our campus is the parking. You can never find a parking spot and it usually takes more than half an hour to find a spot. Also getting out is another hassle, sometimes it takes me 45 minutes to just get out of the parking lot because of the traffic. Parking permits are way over budget and even when you pay almost 200$ each semester there is never a spot available unless you get to campus before 8 am. How to Write Correspondence – Campus Issues (100 points) This assignment is intended to combine the research process and correspondence professionally. In research, you have to gather, summarize, and organize information before you can interpret it. Then in interpreting it, you must be able to answer questions and solve problems. You will choose a specific issue (s) you feel effects students on this campus and create 3 pieces of correspondence on this topic. Consider the issue of ethics in your response. You will be writing the following: 1- Letter – Consider this a letter of concern about the specific issue [30 points] 2- Memo – Consider this memo a discovery about the specific issue with research [50 points] – 3- Email – Consider this email a call to action on the specific issue. [20 points] Purpose: The purpose of this assignment is to demonstrate abilities in writing correspondence. You should keep the 4 keys in mind while writing each one of your pieces. Format: • Please follow the proper format for each of the pieces of correspondence – all are sampled and outlined in your text and in the chapter you read for this unit as this WILL be a factor in your grade [headings, salutations, closings, etc.]. As far as research from the memo – you will need only 2 outside researched sources [statistics, facts, etc. will work too]. You can address your correspondence to whoever you would like. • There is no specific page minimum. Like all business correspondence, it isn’t about reaching a page number, rather it is about provided the necessary information you feel your audience needs to understand. In the case of the letter – consider – what specific issue should the audience be concerned about? For the memo, what issue did you discover that the audience should be aware of? Finally, for the email, what would you want your audience to do in regards to the issue you identified? If you can come up with your own issue you can wrote that, but my idea is the parking as a stated above I forgot to mention this in the instruction, please remember that this is a correspondence writing. And for the Memo you need 2 outside sources. Also I attend California State University Northridge (CSUN). In case you wanted to mention the name of the university or search for resources. Thank you. Also this is the 4 Keys that it is mentioned in the instruction. Lecture Notes – 4 Keys (Chapter 1) The 4 Keys are the essential and pertinent foundations to report writing and for this class. Understanding the 4 Keys and applying them to all our assignments are a requirement. What are the 4 Keys? Audience: Who are you writing to? Having audience awareness in a professional environment is necessary because this will establish the way you should approach and address your writing. When understanding audience ask yourself the following questions: 1- Who is my audience 2- How many people will make up my audience 3- How well does my audience understand English? 4- How much does my audience already know 5- What is my audience’s reason for reading my work 6- What are my audience’s expectations about my written work 7- What is my audience’s attitude toward me and my work 8- What do I want my audience to do after reading my work Purpose: Why are you writing this? Once you have established your audience you can then have a better understanding of why you are writing. 1- Establish why you are writing 2- Get to the point right away 3- Be precise Message: What are you going to write? Unlike essay writing, report/professional writing requires you to get to the point and rely on research and facts to develop your point more than theory and material. Therefore, you will have to have an understanding of your scope of writing to then understand what details are needed and what details are extra. Think of things in this way – if you are writing to your boss, do they need to know every detail or do they need to know the key points and the research to validate it? Keeping this in mind will help your execution of your message. 1- This is the sum of facts, responses, and recommendations 2- Scope = how much information about key details 3- Details = are what you think the reader needs to know Style and Tone: How will it be conveyed/received? How you write entirely relies on your audience awareness and established purpose. In doing so, you will know whether you will have to write formally or can include slang/abbreviations/etc. When in doubt, go with being formal (no one is ever considered unprofessional for being formal, but have for being informal). Style – Word choices, sentence structure, and paragraph organization Tone – Words chosen – formal vs. informal