1A

Netiquette
Activity type: Reading and speaking – Exchanging opinions – Individuals / Small groups
Aim: To practise using expressions for reacting to ideas
Language: Reacting to ideas – Use at any point from 1.1.
Preparation: Make one copy of the worksheet for each learner. Fold each worksheet along
the line so the expressions at the bottom are hidden while learners read the ‘Mind your
netiquette’ article.
Time: 25 minutes

1 Focus on the topic of the activity by discussing these questions with the class:
1 The term ‘netiquette’ was first used in 1988. What does it mean? What words is it
made up of?
2 Can you give an example of a ‘rule’ of netiquette? What’s the reason for it?

1 ‘Netiquette’ means rules about what you should or shouldn’t do when writing an
email, posting or chatting online. It comes from the words ‘net’ (= Internet) and
‘etiquette’ (= rules which groups of people follow in particular situations).
2 Learners’ own answers. If learners have no ideas, give your own example, e.g. that
the use of all CAPITALS should be avoided because many people see this as the
equivalent of shouting.

Emphasise that there are no universally agreed rules of netiquette: they are a matter
of opinion and they can vary across and within different cultures and organisations.
Tell learners that they will now read one possible set of netiquette ‘rules’.
2 Give each learner a copy of the sheet folded along the line so the expressions at the
bottom are hidden. Working alone, learners read the article Mind your netiquette,
matching each point 1–10 with a reason a–j. They compare their answers in pairs
before checking as a class.

1 f  2 i  3 e  4 b  5 c  6 j  7 h  8 g  9 a  10 d

3 Learners unfold their sheets so they can see the expressions in the speech bubbles
at the bottom. Choose one of the netiquette ‘rules’ and ask learners to tell you what
they think about it and why, using the expressions. For example:
Teacher: What do you think about number 8? Don’t use capitals?
Learner 1: I’m not really convinced. Capital letters make people pay more attention.
Learner 2: I think it makes sense. It does look quite aggressive.
Then, working alone, learners think about the other points of netiquette in the article
and prepare to give their opinions about them, selecting expressions as appropriate.
4 Learners talk in small groups, discussing each point of the article in turn.
5 Round off by quickly eliciting views on each point of the article. Find out where
there is a consensus across the class, and where learners have differing opinions.

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1A Netiquette
Mind your netiquette
1 Make sure that all your emails have a clear and specific subject line. 
2 Reply quickly. If you don’t have time to write a complete reply straight away, send a
short message to say that you are working on a full response. 
3 Keep your emails short. When replying to an email, don’t include an entire copy of the
other person’s message. 
4 Always check your spelling and punctuation carefully before sending. 
5 Never forward spam, chain letters, jokes, ‘interesting’ stories, etc. without first asking
permission from the person you want to send to. 
6 Avoid using ‘emoticons’ such as ‘smilies’ :-). 
7 Avoid acronyms like BTW (‘by the way’) and IMO (‘in my opinion’). 
8 Don’t use CAPITALS for emphasis. 
9 Keep the formatting of your emails (fonts, graphics, etc.) as simple as possible. 
10 If you want to attach photos, sound or videos to an email, first send a short message
asking if it’s OK to send big files. 

a A beautifully designed message with different fonts, graphics and so on may be

unreadable for someone using a different email service.
b An email which is full of typos and missing capital letters is difficult to read. Sending
such a message shows a lack of respect for the recipient.
c Most people already receive far too many emails every day and they regard this kind of
message as a major irritant – though they may be too polite to say so!
d Not all recipients will have a broadband connection.
e Show respect for their time by editing it down to the points you want to address.
f Terms like ‘URGENT’, ‘IMPORTANT’ or ‘Hello!’ are not helpful and are used so often that
they have little impact.
g They can make your message look much more aggressive than you intend. If you want to
emphasise a word or phrase, use asterisks or slashes, like *this* or /this/.
h They make your emails more difficult to understand, especially for someone with a
different first language.
i This helps prevent a situation when the original sender receives a reply to a message they
can no longer remember!
j To many people, they simply appear childish. A good writer can express his or her ideas
and feelings without using pictures.

It makes sense. I’m not really convinced. It’s not saying anything new.

It sounds logical. I don’t find it very persuasive. It’s a bit obvious.

It’s not the whole picture. I don’t get the bit about …

It seems quite simplistic. The part about … is hard to follow.

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