Assignment: Emails

Overview
You probably write and receive emails on a daily basis. As Chapter 14 of Technical Communication
argued, there are many important factors that go into correspondence such as using the appropriate
level of formality, communicating correctly, projecting the “you attitude,” avoiding clichés, and
communicating honestly. Nevertheless, most students and professionals don’t put this level of effort
into correspondence.
Becoming more aware of how your correspondences is received by the reader will lead to more
effective communication with professors, other students, and eventual workplace associates.
General Requirements
To practice this genre and its conventions, students will write both emails and memos throughout
the semester within a variety of situations. Requirements include:
● Sending correspondence to both the professor and peers.
● Using appropriate formality.
● Following proper email guidelines (specific subject line, clear statement of purpose, brief
summary, informative headings, prominent recommendation) where necessary for the intended
audience, purpose, and sub-genre.
● Abiding by proper netiquette of the situation.
● Writing technically (honest, clear, accurate, comprehensive, accessible, concise, correct) for the
intended audience, purpose, and genre.
● Using proper principles of design (readability, paragraph formatting, organization) for the
intended audience, purpose, and genre where necessary.
● Cc’ing or bcc’ing as required.
● Attaching any Required Supplemental Documents asked for.

Emails (due weeks 1, 2, 4)

Students will be required to write emails throughout the semester. These situations may include, but
are not limited to, responding to instructor queries, sending supplemental document attachments,
responding to group members and cc’ing the professor, and emailing proposals. Emails should
follow the general requirements mentioned above. For further detail and examples see Chapter 14 of
Technical Communication. Emails are not cited, but students should always avoid plagiarism. Questions
to consider:
● Does your subject line help the reader identify and sort emails received? Is it accurate and
specific?
● Did you keep the email brief but informative? Did you send it and address it to the appropriate
people?
● Did you use the appropriate level of formality, including in salutations and in signature blocks?
● Did you check for spelling and grammar errors?

For further detail on how this assignment will be graded, see the rubric found on Moodle.