Objective 4.01: Compose effective e-mail correspondence

Essential Questions What is e-mail and what is it used for? What guidelines should be followed when composing e-mails?

What is E-mail? E-mail – also known as electronic mail, is a method of exchanging short digital messages E-mail has replaced common forms of communication, including: sending letters, greeting cards, etc. via the US Postal Service talking on the phone

Examples of mailbox providers: E-mail Must-Haves You must have the following in order to use e-mail: an e-mail address Internet Service Provider (ISP) – a company that provides connections to the Internet Examples of mailbox providers: Google Yahoo!

Parts of an E-mail Address Username Domain Name At Symbol keyboarding_student@wcpss.net E-mail addresses must be unique (i.e. you can’t have the same e-mail address as someone else) E-mail addresses usually cannot contain special characters or symbols, only letters and numbers Extension

E-mail Organization Inbox – displays e-mail messages that have been received, includes the sender’s name, date, and time that the e-mail was received Draft – an e-mail that is saved to be sent later, saved in the Drafts folder of an e-mail program Outbox – folder that temporarily stores mail that is ready to be sent Sent – folder that displays e-mail messages that have been sent

An E-mail Window Sender of the message Recipient of the message Use a comma and a space to separate multiple addresses Carbon copy notation – indicates that someone else will receive a copy of the message Blind copy notation – feature used when the sender does not want the person receiving the message to know that the message was also sent to another person The subject of the e-mail Body – the message of the e-mail; single space within paragraphs, double space between paragraphs NOTE: The sender’s e-mail address and date are not keyed because the software inserts them automatically when the message is sent. The recipient will see this information when they receive the message.

E-mail Extras Attachment – files that are attached to an e-mail message documents pictures Address book – the e-mail feature that allows you to save e-mail address and other contact information (friends, family, others that you e-mail frequently)

Creating a New Message Enter the address for the person/people to whom you are sending the message Include a brief subject line that tells the recipient what your message is about Key your message in the body. Single space within paragraphs, double space between. DO NOT indent paragraphs (Block Style). NEVER key your paragraphs in ALL CAPS; in the digital world, this is viewed as shouting at the reader and is considered rude.

E-mail Guidelines Verify that you have entered the correct recipient e-mail addresses ALWAYS enter a subject in the Subject line ALWAYS proofread the entire e-mail correct spelling and grammatical errors ensure that your message is courteous Keep your e-mail short but include all necessary information most people do not have the time to read lengthy e-mails receiving multiple e-mails on the same topic will clog recipient’s Inbox NEVER send private or personal information in an e-mail NEVER open an attachment from someone that you don’t know Only share your e-mail address with people you know