Upgrading your emails

In many offices around the world, email has now replaced letters and faxes as the most commonly-used form of written communication. It is quick and informal, and grammar and spelling are often not as important as in more formal documents. However, because there are fewer ‘rules’, it can be difficult to know if what we are writing isappropriate to the situation.

In this extract from Working English Magazine, Hamish Norbrook talks about things you should think about if you use email in your work.

Before you read the extract Imagine you have to send some information (in English) in an email to your boss.Try to think of 3 ‘rules’ which you could use to make sure that the tone of your email is appropriate and that the information is clear.

Some people use emails exactly the same way as letters, so they can be very formal. In other cases, things can get very informal.That’s great if you really understand informal English, but it can be a real pitfall if you don’t. Every now and then, you can send something back which appears to be really nice and informal – for example, you just say ‘Yes’ instead of ‘Yes, I can’ – but the other person may not read it as being informal.They may just read it as being a bit abrupt and rude.This sort of thing can be very difficult. Another point to remember is that it’s important to keep things simple and short because reading on screen is more difficult than reading print on a piece of paper.Also, if you want someone to do something, it’s handy to put things in bullet points. So, for example, you could say ‘Could you please confirm that you will – bullet point, bullet point, bullet point’.This makes it easier for the reader to identify what they have to do.

1. According to Hamish, why is writing an email in informal English difficult?
2. What 2 pieces of advice does Hamish give to people who are writing work emails? Are they the same as your own ‘rules’?

Answer

• It is very easy for a reader to interpret informal English as being abrupt or rude.
• Keep messages simple and short; use bullet pointed lists to make information easier to read.

To: tim@goodenglishbooks.com

From: billm@webenglishschool

Subject: Urgent – Book Order: As soon as possible

Dear Tim

I am a teacher at the Web English School and I’d like to order some books for my class of English students.

Could you send me:

• 20 Level 1 textbooks

• 1 teacher’s reference book

• 20 dictionaries

• 20 assorted readers for Level 1 students

My address is:

Web English School, 20 High Street, London NE18

Please send the invoice to me via email.

Thank you.

Regards

Bill Murray

5 top tips for effective emails in English

If you don’t know the person you are writing to very well…

1. Think of an appropriate greeting.You could use ‘Dear…’ or, if you want to be more informal, try ‘Hello…’. When you finish the message,‘Regards’ or ‘Best wishes’ are friendly and polite ways to close.
2. Meet new people. If you only speak English with friends, you will probably use the same, informal language all the time. By joining a new club or going to events where you know English will be spoken, you will need to use a different register of English. If this isn’t possible, forming a drama club can help you to create opportunities for using English in different ways.
3. Be careful with punctuation. Exclamation marks (!) and words written in capital letters can make your message seem rude or aggressive. If you want to draw the reader’s attention to something, or to show that something is urgent, write Urgent in the subject box, and use bold typeface to highlight what is important.
4. Organise your information clearly. Using bullet-pointed lists with clear headings will make your message easier to read.
5. Try to avoid very informal language until you know the reader better. Remember, an effective message is one which your reader can interpret easily. Using informal language can make your ideas and intentions more difficult to understand.

TASK Upgrade the email

Look at the email below. Can you improve it by using the guidelines above?

To: tim@goodenglishbooks.com

From: billm@webenglishschool

Subject: books

TIM!

Got yr name from yr company’s website. I NEED TO ORDER BOOKS FOR MY STUDENTS (I’m a teacher with a class of 20 students).ASAP!!! Send 20 Level 1 textbooks, 20 dictionaries and a teacher’s reference book.Also, can I have 20 assorted readers for Level 1 sts? Send the invoice to my email address.

Thanx

Bill Murray