7.3 Writing Emails

Electronic mail, or email, is among the most versatile and routine genres of business writing. It is used to communicate issues ranging from serious to trivial, and its formality level varies greatly based on context and rhetorical situation. It may be used like text, or synchronous chat, and recipients often choose to access email messages on a cell phone. When composing an email, a sender must account for the time constraints readers may face due to high email volume. Recipients, on the other hand, should plan to answer a business email within 24 hours, or the general time frame that they would respond to a text. Strong subject lines, clear formatting, and concise writing are all characteristics of a well-written email. Emails may also present ethical challenges as the forwarding and carbon copy functions enable communications to be shared with additional recipients.

Many businesses use automated emails to acknowledge communications from the public, or to remind associates that periodic reports or payments are due. The form email is also common; in this case, a recipient chooses from a menu of sentences to make the wording suitable for a specific transaction. Email may be informal in personal contexts, but business communication requires attention to detail, awareness that an email reflects both you and your company, and a professional tone. Although an email may have an informal feel, remember that it needs to convey professionalism and respect. Never write or send anything that you would not want to share publicly, or in front of your company president.

Email is a good way to communicate when:

• You need to contact a person who is difficult to reach via telephone, does not come to campus regularly, or is in another part of the country or world (for instance, someone who lives in a different time zone).
• The information you want to share is not time- sensitive. Email is instantaneous, but it does not guarantee an instantaneous response. For many people, keeping up with their email correspondence is a part of their job, and they only do it during regular business hours. Unless readers have promised otherwise, assume that it may take a few days for them to respond.
• You need to send someone an electronic file, such as a document for a course, a spreadsheet full of data, or a rough draft of your paper.
• You need to distribute information quickly to many people (for example, a memo that needs to be sent to the entire office staff).
• You need a record of the communication. Saving important emails can be helpful if you need to recall what someone said in an earlier message, provide proof (for example, as receipt for a service or product), or review the content of an important meeting or deadline.
• You are unable to ask a direct question or make a request in person. In this case, frame your question/request politely, being careful to avoid a demanding tone or the underlying assumption that your request will be granted.

Email is not an effective means of communication when:

• Your message is long, complicated, or requires additional face-to-face discussion. For example, if you want feedback from your supervisor, or if you are asking your professor a question that requires more than a yes/no answer, you should schedule a meeting instead.
• Information is highly confidential. Email is never private! Keep in mind that your message could be forwarded to other people without your knowledge. A backup copy of your email is always stored on a server where it can be retrieved, even when you have deleted the message and think it is gone forever.
• The tone of the message could be misconstrued. If you would hesitate to say something to someone’s face, do not write it in an email.
• The information itself is emotionally charged. For example, if you must communicate bad news to someone, it is better to deliver it in person.

This section is derived from When (and When Not!) to Email in Technical and Professional Writing Genres – Simple Book Publishing Copyright © 2019 by Michael Beilfuss, Staci Bettes, and Katrina Peterson licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.