WRITING E-MAIL MESSAGES Mr.

NIANG
Like memos, e-mail messages begin with a header that includes a to, from, date, and subject line. In
many ways,
e-mail messages are electronic memos. Keep the following tips in mind when you write e-mail
messages at work.
■ Keep your message short and to the point. E-mail is not the medium for a 10-page essay, unless
you are sending it as an attachment to your e-mail message for the reader to print out and read at
another time. It’s harder to read on screen than on paper. Moreover, people do not have a lot of
time to read e-mail, and they receive far more than they’d like to every day.
■ Write your e-mail messages carefully. Even though you can write and send an e-mail message in a
just a few minutes, you should always read over and revise what you have written before pushing
the send button. Quickly sent e-mails are often regretted because they are poorly worded, unclear,
or were sent in a moment of anger.
■ Keep the format simple. When possible, use headings, lists, and other ways of breaking up the text.
You can use capital letters for emphasis, but don’t type an entire message in all caps—it’s hard to
read, and it’s commonly considered virtual shouting. Other formatting, such as italics, bullets,
tables, and graphs, can be lost in an e-mail message.
■ Use an appropriate tone and level of formality. When you’re writing, it’s easy to forget about the
person who will be reading your e-mail message. If you are in an e-mail conversation, try to keep
the tone (and length) of your reply in line with the rest of the conversation. Don’t assume a level
of informality with a person you would otherwise communicate more formally with.
■ Take the time to check your e-mail for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and usage errors.
These
types of errors reflect poorly on you and can cause confusion.
■ End with a signature. An e-mail signature is text containing your contact information that comes
at the end of your e-mail message. Many e-mail systems will automatically add your signature at
the end of all your messages. Include this information in your work signature: your name, title,
company, address, phone number, fax number, and company e-mail address.
As with other forms of writing, one of your
main jobs in writing e-mails should be to
make your reader’s job as easy as you can.
Think about your own e-mail inbox and how you feel
when you go through the messages you receive. If
you’re like most people, you use the subject line to
help you decide whether you’ll even open an e-mail
message. The subject line should tell your reader
what your message is about. Here are some tips to
make your subject lines effective.
➧ Don’t send a message with an empty subject line.
➧ Write a meaningful subject line—one that describes
the content of your message.
➧ When replying back and forth, it’s helpful to change
the subject line or start a new e-mail message with
a new subject line when you change the topic.
EXAMPLE OF E-MAIL WRITING
Read the e-mail message below.

Date: Mon, 1 Oct 2001 12:33:24 –0500

From: Sara Chang <schang@xyzcompany.com>
To: All Employees <group@xyzcompany.com>
Subject: Attention
SATURDAY, we will be getting new carpet in our office. To help with the
carpet installation, you are asked to do the following things by FRIDAY at 5
PM. REMOVE all your belongings and non-furniture items from the carpet in
your work area. REMOVE everything from the surfaces of the furniture in
your work area. If you have any questions or need help complying with
these requests, please call me at extension 555. Thanks for your
cooperation!
Sara

1
WRITING AN ARTICLE Mr. NIANG

An article, in general, is a piece of writing for publication in a magazine, newspaper, brochure,

leaflets, etc. Its purpose may be to provide information, describe a place /event/ experience, etc,
present an opinion or balanced argument, offer advice or suggestions, etc
 A successful article should consist of:
a) an eye-catching title or headline which suggests the topic of the article that follows;
b) an introduction which clearly outlines the topic(s) to be covered;
c) a main body of several paragraphs in which the subject is developed in detail;
and
d) a conclusion which summarizes the topic and/or offers an opinion, comments,
recommendations, etc.

 Article structure
Title / Headline
 Introduction
Paragraph 1
State the topic of the article/ news report/ review

 Main body
Paragraphs 2-3-4-5
Development of the topic
each new aspect should be presented in a separate
paragraph with a clear topic sentence

 Conclusion
Final Paragraph
Summary of the topic and/ or opinion/ comments/ recommendation(s)

 Points to consider
 Before you start writing, it is important to decide:
- where the article is intended to appear (e.g. magazine, leaflet, etc)
- who the intended readers are (e.g. the general public, students, etc)
- what the purpose of writing is (e.g. describe, inform, advise, etc).
These three factors will determine the style, language and arrangement of your article.
 The style of your article may be formal or semi-formal, depending on the intended readership;
however, in all articles/ news reports/ reviews you should avoid extremely vivid descriptions,
over-emotional or over-personal writing, and simplistic vocabulary.
 Use suitable descriptive, narrative or argumentative techniques and expressions which are
consistent with the purpose of the article. Appropriate use of linking words/ expressions and a
wide range of vocabulary will make your writing more interesting.
 Select and organize the ideas and information you will present in each paragraph carefully,
and begin each paragraph with a clear topic sentence.