Email Writing

GUIDELINES

> Subject: give the message a subject/title. E-mails without a subject may not be opened because of a fear of viruses and especially note that it is very easy to forget to type this important information.

> Subject content: keep the subject short and clear but avoid such headings as "Hello", "Bad news", "Message from Peter" - these headings are common in messages containing viruses. Short but specific headings are needed.
e.g. Order N° XSY 33

> Greetings: start the message with a greeting so as to help create a friendly but business-like tone. The choice of using the other name versus the last name will depend on who you are writing to. However, if the receiver is more senior to you, or if you are in doubt, it would be safer to use the person’s last/family name.
e.g. Dear Mr Smith, Dear Ms Starbucks.

It is also becoming quite common to write the greeting without a comma.
e.g. Dear Ms Dwason

> Purpose: start with a clear indication of what the message is about in the first paragraph. Give full details in the following paragraph(s). Make sure that the final paragraph indicates what should happen next.

> Action: any action that you want the reader to do should be clearly described, using politeness phrases. Use expressions such as 'Could you...' or ' I would be grateful if...'.

> Attachments: make sure you refer to any attachments you are adding and of course make extra sure that you remember to include the attachment(s). As attachments can transmit viruses, try not to use them, unless you are sending complicated documents. If you use an attachment, make sure the file name describes the content, and is not too general; e.g. 'message.doc' is bad, but 'XY Report 2011.doc' is good. 

> Endings: end the message in a polite way. Common endings are:
Yours sincerely, Best regards, Best wishes, Regards,
If you did not put a comma after the greeting at the beginning of the message, then do not put a comma after the ending either,
e.g. Best wishes
e.g. Regards