Writing E-mails

1
Dr. Vinod Bhatt
E- Mail Messages
• Electronic mail (E-Mail)is the medium of
communication that sends and receives
messages through specially designed
computer network.
• There is no doubt that due to its high
speed, low cost, and efficiency, e-mail is
today one of the most important channels
of communication
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Advantages of E-Mail

• Speed
• Low cost
• Quick distribution
• Flexibility
• Easy attachment
• Easy upward communication

3
Characteristics of E- Mails
• Concise
• Correct
• Clear
• Conversational tone
• Single theme

4
Format of E- Mail
• E- Mail basically contains six segments:

• Heading: Date, From, To, Subject, CC, BCC.

• Salutation
• Opening
• Body
• Closing
• signature

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 Basic etiquette

• Be concise and to the point

• I have received your letter of the 15th day of this
month.
• Thank you for your letter, dated November 15th.

• Active vs. passive

• Your order will be processed today. (formal)
• I will process your order today. (personal)

• Follow the tone of the sender’s message

• Formal / informal
 Basic etiquette
 Read and reply within 24 hours

 Do not write only in CAPITALS

 Avoid too many fancy details: underline and italics

 Try not to use abbreviations:

LOL, OMG, TTYL

 Take care with emoticons: *^^* 

• Begin with a greeting
• Dear Sir
• Dear Ma’am
• “To whom it may concern” or “Dear Sir/Madam”.

 Add a clear subject line

• Introduce yourself
“I am Jay Raghuvanshi from Namaste India Travels. My colleague
from the marketing department, Mr. Ved Prakash told me that you
are interested in our tour planning services.”
• State your purpose
“I am writing to enquire about …” or “I am writing in
reference to …”.
• Add your closing remarks
• “Thank you for your patience and cooperation” or “Thank you
for your consideration” and then follow up with, “If you have
any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me
know” and “I look forward to hearing from you”
• End with a closing
• “Best regards”, “Sincerely”, and “Thank you”
• Avode-“Best wishes” or “Cheers”
 Structure, layout and style

Subject: Use a meaningful key word

Salutations

• Dear Sir or Madam

• Dear John

Opening: State the purpose

•As you requested,
• Per your request,
• I am writing about…
• I am writing to ask about
• I am interested in learning more about
• I am afraid we have a small problem.
 Structure, layout and style

Body
The body of e-mail messages describes ,explains, and discusses the
central idea of the message.
The content of the message should be carefully organized.
The first paragraph may begin with friendly opening followed by
statement of the main point.
In the following paragraphs, justifications should be continued
along with the background information and supporting details.

•Use short paragraphs

– Long paragraphs are not going to be read.
• Use blank lines between each paragraph
• When making points, number them or mark each point as separate
Structure, layout and style

Closing: Talk about future actions

• I look forward to hearing from you soon.

• I look forward to discussing these issues further.
•Please contact me again if I can be of any assistance.

Signature

• Yours faithfully,
• Sincerely yours,
 Structure, layout and style

Attachment

• Please find attached the report you requested.

• Sorry, I forgot to attach the file(on my previous e-mail).
 Proofreading

Format

• Times New Roman, 12 point or Arial, 11 point

• Double space between paragraphs (press Enter twice)

Content

• Subject: Is it brief and informational?

• Tone: formal / informal
• Salutation: Is it appropriate?
• Purpose / details / future actions
 Proofreading
Accuracy

• Capitalization
mr yang’s visit  Mr. Yang’s visit

• Punctuation
Before going to the airport I will stop by the office.
Before going to the airport, I will stop by the office.

• Spelling: Spell names correctly!

• Articles: the, a/an

I will have contract ready by the next week.
Starting
• We are / I am writing
• to inform you that ...
• to confirm ...
• to request...
• to enquire about …
Referring to previous
contact • Thank you for your letter of March 15.
• Thank you for contacting us.
• Thank you for your letter regarding ...
• With reference to our telephone conversation
yesterday...
• It was a pleasure meeting you in London last
month.

Making a request
•We would appreciate it if you would ...
•In addition, I would like to receive ...
•It would be helpful if you could send us ...
•I am interested in (obtaining / receiving) ...
•Please let me know what action you propose to
take.
Offering help • Would you like us to ...?
• We would be happy to ...
• We are quite willing to ...
• Our company would be pleased to ...
Giving good news • We are pleased to announce that ...
• I am delighted in inform you that ..
• You will be pleased to learn that ...
Giving bad news
• We regret to inform you that ...
• I'm afraid it would not be possible to ...
• After careful consideration we have decided (not) to ...
Complaining
• I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with ...
• Please note that the goods we ordered on ( date )
have not yet arrived.
• We regret to inform you that our order n° ----- is now
considerably overdue.
• I would like to query the transport charges which seem
unusually high.
The Message

Messages should use the three-part structure of introduction,

body, and conclusion-

• Introduction: State the purpose of the message.

• Body: Supply the necessary details.

• Conclusion: Close with a courteous statement or action

information, such as deadlines and contact information

Tone
• Poor Tone: “I tried to access the link to the Opposing Viewpoints database
you recommended, but it won’t go through! How am I supposed to
complete this assignment?!”
• Diplomatic Tone: “I tried to access the link to the Opposing Viewpoints
database, but I got a message that the server was unavailable. Is there a
different database with similar information that I could use?”
• Unprofessional Tone: “Sorry for submitting the components of internship
application separately. The requirements were really hard to find on your
website, and I just now realized that I hadn’t submitted one of them.”
• Professional Tone: “Attached is the personal statement required for the
internship application. I sent the personal information form and
recommendations on May 4, so this submission should complete my file.”
Template-1
• Resignation
• Subject Line: Resignation – Apoorva Rai
• Dear Mr. Amir Khan,
• I'm writing to submit my resignation from my position as a sales
manager at Fair Deals, effective August 10, 2020.
• I'm grateful for all your support and cooperation over the past six
years. Working here has been an enriching experience in teamwork,
sales management and getting the job done. I'll miss working with
you all, and hope we will be in touch.
• Please let me know if I can be of any assistance during the transition.
• Sincerely,
• Apoorva Rai
• apoorvarai@email.com
• Phone Number: 9224117321 (M)
 Template-2
• A complaint
Subject: Gender Discrimination Complaint in the Office
Dear Mrs./Mr.Singh,
This is to bring to your attention an instance of gender discrimination in the office. I
was due for a meeting with officials of the sales department this month, and to my
astonishment, I found that my name was dropped from the list at the last minute. In
a conversation with Mr. Sanjay Singh on 7th August about it, I was told that the
decision was taken because they thought being a woman I might have a soft corner
for the client which is a women's formal wear company and that “it was best that
negotiations be left to the men”.
I have worked diligently at Madhuri Fabrics for the last 10 years. Given the
reputation of Madhuri Fabrics as a female-friendly and discrimination-free
workplace, I am shocked at being treated in this manner.
I have raised this issue privately with Mr. Sanjay Singh in the past but failed to
receive an explanation or satisfactory response. I wish to pursue this discrimination
issue with an official complaint about an appropriate resolution with the help of
Human Resources and other members of management.
Hoping to see a resolution to this matter at the earliest,
Amita Bhattacharya
Phone Number: 7952310456 (M)
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 Subject Line: Thank you

Dear _______,

Thank you for all the assistance you have provided me

during our recent project.

I appreciate the information and advice you have given,

as well as the knowledge you have shared with me. Your
expertise and help have been invaluable during this
process.

Again, thank you so much. I sincerely appreciate your

generosity.

Best Regards,
Sample e-mails:
Subject Line: Meeting notice
Deal all,

The next Marketing Meeting will be held in the Conference Room at

1300 hours on Monday, 16 November.

Follow-up items from our last meeting are:

- New Brochure (VIT University)
- Annual Dinner with students (Dean, Academics)

If you wish to add any further items to the agenda, please let me
know before 8 November.

Yours sincerely,
XYZ
Task
• As a student coordinator of placement of VIT Bhopal
University, write a mail to your placement director requesting
him to invite companies for core Mechanical Engineering.
Mark this mail cc to VC and the Dean of your department.
• Attachment (if require)
Task-2
• As a student coordinator of placement of VIT Bhopal
University, write a mail to HR (Hero Honda) for Mechanical
Students, inviting him for closed campus drive. Mention all
reasons why should the company visit your campus for
placement drive.
• Mark this mail cc to Placement director, VC and the Dean of
your department.
• Attachment (if require)
 Activity

• As a student of VIT Bhopal University, write a mail to your

placement director requesting him to provide special classes
for aptitude tests. ( Introduction, reason for special classes and
closing)
• Mark this mail cc to VC and the Dean of your department.
• Attachment (if require)
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