Lecture 26: E-Mail Etiquette

Module 11Dr. Jessica Laccetti

Outline

0Anatomy of an E-Mail0Acronyms0Emoticons0Group Work

Anatomy of an E-Mail

E-Mail Anatomy0 To: If you are creating a message, you may put in one or more e-mail addresses

separated by commas.

0 Cc: 0 Send people courtesy copies.

0 Bcc: 0 Send a "blind" copy to another person. The "To" and "Cc" people won't know. If you

are sending a group of people and don't want everyone to see the addresses, enter them as Bcc.

0 From: 0 Tells you the name and Internet address of the person who sent the message. When

you are creating an e-mail, the program will put in the address and name you gave when you setup the software.

0 Subject: 0 Condense the main point of your message to three or four words. Your readers will

thank you.

Useless Subject Lines

0 What to do?0 ???????0 Re: FYI0 Two Things0 Great News0 Urgent0 Tomorrow0 How is This?0 Quick Question0 We would like your assitance

Subject lines from Send: why people email so badly and how to do it better By David Shipley, Will Schwalbe: http://books.google.ca/books?id=s6NB6m1nAK8C&pg=PA82&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false

Useful Subject Lines

0Rescue Event 4/29 in New York0Comments on the Strat Plan0 Join us at the Merc0Tom and Andy’s Itinerary0Mum’s Birthday0Expenses Approved0Missing Subscription Documents0New Year’s School Schedule

Subject lines from Send: why people email so badly and how to do it better By David Shipley, Will Schwalbe: http://books.google.ca/books?id=s6NB6m1nAK8C&pg=PA82&source=gbs_selected_pages&cad=3#v=onepage&q&f=false

E-Mail Etiquette - Formal

0Be sure to include a meaningful subject line; this helps clarify what your message is about and may also help the recipient prioritize reading your email

0 Just like a written letter, be sure to open your email with a greeting like Dear Dr. Laccetti, or Dear Ms. Clarke:

0Use standard spelling, punctuation, and capitalisation. THERE'S NOTHING WORSE THAN AN EMAIL SCREAMING A MESSAGE IN ALL CAPS.

0Write clear, short paragraphs and be direct and to the point; professionals and academics alike see their email accounts as business. Don't write unnecessarily long emails

0Be friendly and cordial, but don't try to joke around (jokes and witty remarks may be inappropriate and, more commonly, may not come off appropriately in email)

Information from OWL Purdue Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/636/1/

E-Mail Etiquette

0 Begin your message right at the top of the reply.0 Include the original message you are replying to below.0 Make sure your signature is above the quoted text.0 Do not make any changes to the quoted material.0 You can, of course, cut excessive length and (should often

remove) inline attachments. Replace them with "[...]".0 Do repeat, in as few words as possible, questions you are

answering.0 Instead of a mere "Yes.", try "You asked whether we want apples.

Yes we do." or "We want apples, yes.”0 Make sure the quoted text is not indented, neither using '>'

characters nor quotation bars.0 If you reply to the reply of a reply, you can remove old, now

unnecessary messages from the bottom.

E-Mail Greetings

0Hey0hiya0 I was wondering…0Friend0Greetings0Dear Colleague0Dear Reader0Dear Dr. Jessica Laccetti0Dear Dr. Jesie Lechecti

Signature

0 cu0 laters0Bye0Kind Regards,0Sincerely0 Jess0Dr. Jessica Laccetti

Acronyms02L80 too late0AAMOF 0as a matter of fact0AFAIK0as far as I know0B4N0bye for now0CMIIW0 correct me if I'm wrong0CUL0 see you later0 IKWUM

0 I know what you mean0 IMHO0 in my humble opinion0KWIM0Know what I mean?0ROTFL0 rolling on the floor laughing0TIA0 thanks in advance0TTYL0 talk to you later

Your Turn

0Send me a tweet with an acronym and the full phrase

Gender Neutral Language

Male Subject Neutral Subject

0When a student writes a paper, he must proofread carefully.

0 When a student writes a paper, he or she should use the spellchecker on his or her computer.

0 When students write their papers, they should use the spellcheckers on their computers.

From Jennifer Klein, Avoiding Sexist Language: http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/writing-resources/avoiding-sexist-language

Sexist Vocabulary

Problem Words Solutions

0 the common man0 cavemen0 chairman/chairwoman0 businessman,

businesswoman0 congressman/

congresswoman0 salesman/saleswoman0 fireman0 stewardess0 waitress/waiter

0 the average person, ordinary people

0 cave dwellers, prehistoric people

0 chair, presiding officer, chairperson

0 business executive, manager

0 congressional representative

0 sales clerk, salesperson0 fire fighter0 flight attendant0 server, food server

From: Jennifer Klein, Avoiding Sexist Language: http://www.hamilton.edu/writing/writing-resources/avoiding-sexist-language

Example Student E-Mails

0Received at the start of the third week of classes:

0 "hi, this is ___and I'm in your ___ class but have been golfing in [sunny vacation destination] for the past couple weeks so i have missed the first few classes. just wondering if there is anything important that i have missed ... please let me know what i should do."

Example Student E-Mails

0Here's one I received from an internet student the day AFTER an essay was due:

0 "i lost totally can u send help"

Example Student E-Mails

Hey Docneeds a meeting with you advising next semester classes this week ASAP or whatever. get back me now.

Your Turn0With a partner you will be e-mailing a professor, make a

google doc & share the link in a blog comment on today’s lecture post

0 Introduce yourself0You would like this prof. to become your project/thesis

supervisor0Show you are serious & qualified0Use proper English0Show that you know why the Prof. would be a good fit with

your work (google her/his publications)0Be concise: 2-4 paragraphs.

Sample E-Mail to a Prof.Dear Professor XXX,

I am a student at XXX College with a major in xxx. I am a junior and will be graduating next May. I have a 4.0 GPA and experience in our college’s summer program in xxx.

I am planning to attend graduate school in xxx, with a focus on xxx. In one of my classes, “xxx,” which was taught by Professor XXX, I had the chance to read your article, “xxxx.” I really enjoyed it, and it gave me many ideas for my future research. I have been exploring graduate programs where I can work on this topic.

I hope you don’t mind my getting in touch, but I’d like to inquire whether you are currently accepting graduate students. And if you are, if you’d be willing to talk to me a bit more, by email or on the phone, or in person if I can arrange a campus visit, about my graduate school plans. I have explored your department’s graduate school website in detail, and it seems like an excellent fit for me because of its emphasis on xx and xx, but I still have a few specific questions about xx and xxx that I’d like to talk to you about.

I know you’re very busy so I appreciate any time you can give me. Thanks very much,

Sincerely,

XX XXXFrom: http://theprofessorisin.com/2011/06/30/hello-world/

Homework

0Come to Friday’s class ready for a lecture by Marie-Claude