1. Introduction to Business Writing: Effective Business Emails
Source:
Wendy M. Gough
St. Mary College/Nunoike Gaigo Senmon Gakko Nagoya, Japan

2. Before writing the email
Make a plan!
Think about the purpose of the
Think about the person who will read the and how you want him or her to react
Make an outline or list of the main points and details you want to include in the
Double check any facts, dates, times, or other specific details that will be included in the

3. Things to consider when doing business correspondence

4. Who are you writing to and what is your relationship with the person?
If the person you are writing to is in a higher position than you, your should use more formal language than if the person is someone in the same level position than you.
If you have never met the person receiving your before, you should use formal language in the first to him or her.
Once you have sent the first and received a reply, you can choose to continue using formal language or choose to use less formal language in future s.

5. What is the situation?
Think about the reason you are sending the and decide if formal or informal language is better.
If you are requesting a service or asking a favor, you should use formal language.
If you are making a complaint, you should use strong words to express your dissatisfaction or problem but you must be polite.
If you are introducing yourself, you should use formal language but you can use words or phrases that let your personality show through as well.
If you are writing a customer relation letter, you should use formal language.

6. What do you want to accomplish?
Think about the reason for writing the and what you want the person who receives the to do with it.
If you want the receiver to do something for you, make it clear. Tell the receiver exactly what action you want done.
Tell the receiver if no action needs to be taken.
If you want the receiver to respond by a certain date, write the response date.
If you are negotiating or rearranging a meeting, write your demands or available times clearly.

7. Some things to remember when writing business emails

8. Get right to the point
Don’t use unnecessary words and phrases that distract from the main idea of the or may confuse the reader
The person reading your does not have a lot of time to read your so you must make it as direct as possible.
Make the reason for writing the clear at the beginning and only add details that are directly related to the topic of the .

9. Use simple sentences
Avoiding difficult or complex sentence structures will help you avoid grammar mistakes.
Simple sentences will make the easier for your reader to understand, especially if the person reading the is not a native English speaker.

10. Pay attention to word choice
Remember that writing, is a form of indirect communication. Unlike having a conversation with someone, you do not have a chance to clarify yourself by restating your ideas or use nonverbal cues to make your meaning clear. You have to make sure your reader understands what you want to say and gets the right “message” the first time.

11. Think about how the email might be perceived by the reader
Think about how the might be perceived by the reader. Are there any words or phrases that may make the tone seem angry, flippant, or disrespectful?
Avoid trying to make a joke or say something funny in an . Sometimes what you think is funny might be misunderstood by the reader and create a bad relationship.
Use words that are specifically related to the topic but define any words or phrases that you think the reader might not be familiar with, especially words that are specific to a certain type of job, field of study, or product.

12. The subject of the email
Always write the subject of the on the subject line
Remember that business people often receive hundreds of s every day. If you don’t write the subject in the subject line the person receiving the might think it is SPAM or junk and delete the message. If the subject isn’t clear they might delete the as well, so make sure the subject is direct-don’t use too many words.

13. The four Parts of a business email
The Opening
Tells the reader why you are writing
The Focus
Tells the details about the topic
The Action
Tells what you want to happen and gives a time frame
The Closing
Thank the reader and mention future communication

14. Basic Format
Templates from Learnthenet

15. The receiver’s email address
Carbon copy
Blind carbon copy
subject

16.
July 5 meeting time change

17. Type your message in the text box, then click send and it will be sent to the receivers you have indicated in the to, Cc, and Bcc areas.

18. References