PROFESSIONAL

EMAIL WRITING
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A Professional Email Needs….
◈ Write a meaningful subject line.
◈ Keep the message focused.
◈ Avoid attachments.
◈ Identify yourself clearly.
◈ Be kind. Don’t flame.
◈ Proofread.
◈ Don’t assume privacy.
◈ Distinguish between formal and informal situations.
◈ Respond Promptly.
◈ Show Respect and Restraint.
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 Write a meaningful subject line

Before you hit “send,” take a moment to write a subject line

that accurately describes the content, giving your reader a
concrete reason to open your message. A vague or blank
subject line is a missed opportunity to inform or persuade
your reader.
Remember — your message is not the only one in your
recipient’s mailbox. A clear subject line will help a busy
professional to decide that your email is worthwhile.

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 Subject Example
Subject: [Blank]

A blank subject line suggests that your name in the “From” line is all your recipient should need in order to make you
message a top priority. That could come across as arrogant, or at the very least, thoughtless. A well-chosen subject line is
an important opportunity to inform and persuade your reader.

 Subject: “Important! Read Immediately!!“

Rather than brashly announcing that the secret contents of your mystery message are inexplicably important…

Subject: “All Cars in the Lower Lot Will Be Towed in 1

Hour.”

…write a functional subject line that actually conveys the important idea. 5
 Subject Example
Subject: “Quick question.“

If the question is quick, why not just ask it in the subject line? This subject line is hardly useful.

 Subject: “Follow-up about Friday“

Fractionally better — provided that the recipient remembers why a follow-up was necessary.

 Subject: “That file you requested.“

Many email users get scads of virus-laden spam with vague titles like this. The more specific you are, the more likely
your recipient’s spam-blocker will let your message through.

 Subject: “10 confirmed for Friday… will we need a larger

room?“

Upon reading this revised, informative subject line, the recipient immediately starts thinking about the size of the room, not
about whether it will be worth it to open the email. 6
 Keep the message focused
Purpose: Any textbook on business and professional writing will include
examples of complaint and adjustment letters, proposal letters, progress
reports, application letters, and so forth.
Directness: You probably don’t need to open with “Dear Ms. Jones,” engage
in personal chit-chat, and close with “Yours Truly.” (If you really want to be
that formal, send a letter on paper instead.)
Organization: Readers will often get partway through a complex message, hit
“reply” as soon as they have something to contribute, and forget to read the
rest. That’s human nature.
Number your points in more complex message. (Start with a clear statement
of how many parts there are to your message.)
Split unrelated points into separate, purposeful emails.
Politeness: Please and thank-you are still important, but wordiness wastes
your reader’s time (which is rude). 7
 Keep the message focused
Indirect and wasteful: “Dearest Arnold: I would be
very much obliged if, at your earliest convenience,
you could send me the current password for the
website. I look forward to your response. Have a
nice day! Yours Truly, Philomena.”

Blunt to the point of rudeness: “Need the

password for the website.”

If you get a message like this, you might assume the sender trusts you and really needs your help; however, if
you send a message like this, you might appear needy and panicky. Is that how you want to come across? Think
about it.

Urgent, yet polite: “Site is down, but I can’t

troubleshoot without the new password. Do you
know it?” 8
 Avoid attachments

Rather than forcing you reader to download an

attachment and open it in a separate program, you will
probably get faster results if you just copy-paste the
most important part of the document into the body of
your message.

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 Identify yourself clearly
If you telephoned someone outside your closest circle, someone who
probably wouldn’t recognize your voice, you would probably say
something like “Hello, Ms. Wordsworth, this is Sally Griffin.” A formal
“Dear Ms. Wordsworth” salutation is not necessary for routine workplace
communication.
When we send text messages to our friends, we expect a lot of back-and-
forth. But professionals who use email don’t enjoy getting a cryptic
message from an email address they don’t recognize.
While a routine email does not require a formal salutation such as “Dear
Ms. Wordsworth,” ask yourself whether the person you are writing
knows you well enough to recognize your email address.
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 Be kind. Don’t flame
Think before you click “Send.”
If you find yourself writing in anger, save a draft, go get a cup of coffee,
and imagine that tomorrow morning someone has taped your email
outside your door. Would your associates and friends be shocked by your
language or attitude?
Or would they be impressed by how you kept your cool, how you
ignored the bait when your correspondent stooped to personal attacks,
and how you carefully explained your position (or admitted your error, or
asked for a reconsideration, etc.)>
Will you have to work with this person for several months? Do you want
a copy of your bitter screed to surface years from now, when you want a
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letter of recommendation?
 Proofread
If you are asking someone else to do work for you, take the time
to make your message look professional.
While your spell checker won’t catch every mistake, at the very
least it will catch a few typos. If you are sending a message that
will be read by someone higher up on the chain of command (a
superior or professor, for instance), or if you’re about to mass-
mail dozens or thousands of people, take an extra minute or two
before you hit “send”. Show a draft to a close associate, in order
to see whether it actually makes sense.
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 Don’t assume privacy
A good motto: praise in public, and criticize in private. Don’t
send anything over email that you wouldn’t want posted — with
your name attached — in the break room.
Email is not secure. Just as random pedestrians could reach into a
physical mailbox and intercept envelopes, a curious hacker, a
malicious criminal, and your IT department can probably read
any and all email messages in your work account.

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Distinguish between formal and informal situations
When you are writing to a friend or a close colleague, it is OK to
use “smilies” :-) , abbreviations (IIRC for “if I recall correctly”,
LOL for “laughing out loud,” etc.) and nonstandard punctuation
and spelling (like that found in instant messaging or chat rooms).

Always know the situation, and write accordingly.

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 Respond Promptly
If you want to appear professional and courteous, make yourself
available to your online correspondents. Even if your reply is,
“Sorry, I’m too busy to help you now,” at least your
correspondent won’t be waiting in vain for your reply.

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 Show Respect and Restraint
Many a flame war has been started by someone who hit “reply
all” instead of “reply.”
While most people know that email is not private, it is good form
to ask the sender before forwarding a personal message. If
someone emails you a request, it is perfectly acceptable to
forward the request to a person who can help — but forwarding a
message in order to ridicule the sender is tacky

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 Sometimes Email is Too Fast!
A colleague once asked me for help, and then almost immediately
sent a follow-up informing me she had solved the problem on her
own.
But before reading her second message, I replied at length to the
first. Once I learned that there was no need for any reply, I
worried that my response would seem pompous, so I followed up
with a quick apology:
“Should have paid closer attention to my email.”

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 Sometimes Email is Too Fast!
A colleague once asked me for help, and then almost immediately
sent a follow-up informing me she had solved the problem on her
own.
But before reading her second message, I replied at length to the
first. Once I learned that there was no need for any reply, I
worried that my response would seem pompous, so I followed up
with a quick apology:
“Should have paid closer attention to my email.”

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 Practical Task

“
Please write a professional email now
Asking for 3 days advance leave for
your sister’s marriage.

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THANKS!
Any questions?

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