Recently, e-mail has become a very popular way of exchanging both business and personal messages. As with any new form of communication, writers need to be aware of a number of do's and don'ts.

Effective E-mail Messages

Subject Line

Write an eye-catching, informative subject line. This is the first thing your reader will see. However, remember the subject line usually shows only the first 25 to 35 characters of what you write.

Another technique is to say what you want the reader to do in your subject line. For example, "Send list of names for office party".

Write the body of your e-mail messages similar to the inverted triangle used by newspaper writers. Put the most important point of your message in the first sentence or two and add less important details and supporting information later. That way if the person reads only the first couple of sentences he/she will receive the core of your message.

Style and Tone

E-mail is generally more informal in style and friendlier in tone than typical business communication. "It looks like writing, but it's not. It feels like talking, but it's not." (Thomas Mandel and Gerard Van der Leun quoted in Hale 9). Be careful to choose a tone appropriate to your relationship with person receiving your message. Remember, as well, that although e-mail is often informal like conversation, your reader cannot see your facial expressions and so may misinterpret something that would be perfectly clear in face-to-face conversation.

Cautions When Using E-mail

• Don't flame people. Flaming is sending a rude or insensitive message.
• Disagree with someone, but be polite in tone. It is easier to be rude when writing than face to face.
• When deciding if you are being impolite, ask yourself if you would say the same thing to a person's face.
• Let your e-mail sit for a while and re-read it before sending it.
• If you are working for a company and sending an e-mail message with the company computer, it is considered company property and they can read it legally, so be careful what you say. In addition, remember it is much easier to send an e-mail to the wrong person or for someone to forward your e-mail to another person or multiple locations, so be prudent.
• Copyright applies to e-mail the same as any published work. You should give credit when you use someone's ideas even if they are from a personal e-mail message to you.
• DO NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. This is called shouting. It is also harder to read because people rely on the shape of words and not just the letters when reading. conversely, don't use all lower case (small) letters. they give your writing an uneducated appearance and are hard to read.
• Remember, e-mail is not as secure as sending a letter by snail mail or telephoning. You can misdirect an e-mail message much easier than a letter or memo.
• Be careful when using blind carbon copies because it is much easier to send a message to someone by mistake. Do use blind carbon copies when you are sending a message to a large group and do not want to reveal everyone's e-mail address. Some people are sensitive about having their e-mail address seen by large groups of unknown people.

Smileys and Acronyms

The informality of e-mail has resulted in many techniques of adding humour and abbreviations to messages.

Smileys (also called emoticons):

Acronyms:

References:

Angell, David and Brent Heslop. The Elements of E-mail Style: Communicate Effectively via Electronic Mail. Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1994.

Hale, Constance. Ed. Wired Style: Principles of English Usage in the Digital Age. San Francisco: HardWired, 1996.

Heide, Ann and Linda Stilborne. The Teacher's Complete & Easy Guide to the Internet. 2nd ed. Toronto: Trifolium Books Inc., 1999.