Overview:

This page provides six sets of tips on effective e-mail use as recommended by students in the FRF 101O - Communicating Science course at Wilkes University in September 2002.

The method by which the lists were generated can be found by clicking this link.

• Use an appropriate subject line. Keep the subject line short and descriptive, as not to be overlooked by the person receiving the mail. Highlight the importance of the message by stating something that will catch the receiver's attention or state the substance of the message.
• Identify yourself clearly to prevent confusion. If writing a professional e-mail, make sure to include your name, occupation, and any other important identification information the receiver may need. If you do not clearly identify yourself, the receiver may think that you are trying to send a virus, or something harmful to their computer.
• Be polite and respectful to everyone that receives your messages. The person receiving the message may take it very personal if you are not polite and respectful to them. This could undermine your job position, promotion, or trust between you and your colleagues.
• Spell check your messages before they are sent. Messages full of grammatical and structural errors are usually sent right to the trash. You want to be sure that the person receiving the message will be able to read what you have written, especially if it is of utmost importance.
• Keep messages focused and readable. Keep the message simple. If you have multiple subjects to be discussed, send multiple messages. The receiver most likely does not want to read a four page manifesto. Keep the information short and decise. Avoid fancy text and skip lines between paragraphs. Again, you want to be sure the reader can understand what you have written to them.
• Don't flame. Be level headed and responsible. Don't type in all caps. This is considered yelling and could be taken very personally. The message could one day prevent promotion, or damage a person's trust.
• Don't assume privacy with e-mail. E-mail is not secure and can be read by other sources. If inappropriate information is sent through e-mail in your workplace, the message can be intercepted, and you can be fired, or even incarcerated.
• Check your inbox and reply regularly. Make yourself available to your colleagues online. Don't give the impression you are ignoring them. Let your senders know that you have received their e-mail.
• Avoid sending SPAM and unwanted mail. Sending SPAM takes away your reliability as a responsible correspondent. Your colleagues do not want to receive multiple messages about today's funniest joke or unwanted chain letters.
• Know when to use abbreviations in your messages. Make sure your message is personal when using abbreviations. Do not send an abbreviated message to the head CEO of your company or to an important client. When sending personal messages, use only abbreviations common to the English language.

• Be concise with message and subject line. The message should be short and in as few words as possible for easy reading and to keep attention. Short messages are more likely to be read, and it is also always a lot nicer to read an email message without having to use the scrollbar. Concise subject lines are more efficient due to the fact that it's the first thing the receiver will skim over, and if it is absurdly long, he/she will most likely pass by it.
• Subject lines incur efficient reading. If you want something read upon retrieval, then a concise subject line including the main idea is the best idea. By putting a few words that will cause the reader to become curious rather than no words or nonsense, your message has a greater chance of being read right away.
• Punctuation & Capitalization are Vital. By using too much punctuation or improper grammar, the reader will probably disregard the letter. You don't want to type in all capital letters because most people will think you are shouting at them. Use capital and lowercase letters when needed but not either or all the time.
• Include chain of all messages when replying. Upon retrieving a message that needs to be answered and returned, do not use "compose new message." Instead, you should use the "reply" button so that the original message is sent with your answer. If this is done, then the person you are replying to will have access to see all messages that have been transferred back and forth.
• State identity to unfamiliar persons. It is always good to include who you are and other important information about yourself. This is a good practice especially if the person receiving your e-mail is unfamiliar with you.
• When emailing multiple recipients, don't include addresses. It is always annoying to receive a message that has 25-50 e-mail addresses above the actual message. If you do have a group of people to send the same message to, you can avoid sending all addresses by placing the list in the BCC: (Blank Carbon Copy) field rather than the CC: (Carbon Copy) field. This ensures that the receiver will see only his/her name upon retrieval.
• Check email regularly and reply. It is always good to check your e-mail at least once every day to avoid keeping your senders waiting for replies. It shows that you are responsible and considerate of others needs.
• Forward digital images & attachments with consideration. If necessary, use only one attachment at a time or if possible, copy and paste the information into the message. Also, when sending digital images, use .tiff or .jpg because they are the easiest to open and use.
• Be cautious & use proper techniques when showing feeling. It is important to be careful when trying to show humor and sarcasm. This is especially true if communicating with persons from a different country. Also, there are specific symbols that are used to show ones feeling. For example- :) indicates you're happy, :( portrays sadness, :-O signifies a scream, etc.
• Your e-mails are not always private. You should not include anything in an e-mail message that you wouldn't want anyone else to see. Hackers, the FBI, etc. always have access to your messages.

• Be Concise And Get To The Point. E-mails that are to long are often overlooked especially when the recipient receives many messages daily. Find a balance between length and details.
• Be Careful When Using Sarcasm. The recipient may take something the wrong way when sarcasm is used. They are not there to see your facial expression and hear the inflections in your voice.
• Don't Send Anything That You Can Be Held Accountable For. Not all e-mail is confidential. It can be intercepted and used against you- Ask yourself if you want it posted on a message board before sending it-
• Use Proper Punctuation When Composing. DON'T USE ALL CAPS BECAUSE IT MEANS YOU ARE SHOUTING. And don't use excessive punctuation!!!' Use proper grammar whenever possible.
• Always Proofread Your Outgoing Mail. While typing it is always easy to misspell words or write the wrong word altogether. The spell checker doesn't always catch all the mistakes so nothing can take the place of a human proofreader,
• Be Respectful And Don't Flame. Start the message with "heilo" and end it with "goodbye." Never send anything in the heat of the moment- Save the message for later review.
• Make Sure The Subject Line Is Appropriate. Subject lines make messages easier to read and categorize when they are amongst many other messages. Be concise so the reader knows what it is about.
• Don't Send Irrelevant Messages. Make sure the content of the message is something the recipient needs to know. Absolutely, under no circumstances do you ever send spam.
• Don't Mass Forward Your Messages. Some recipients are offended when their address is revealed at the top of the message that everyone else sees. It also makes it impersonalized so it is skipped over more often.
• Attachments Should Be In A Common Format. Not all computers have the same programs and cannot read the file you might be trying to send. Compress large attachments into a standard compression.

• Compose carefully. Be concise and to the point. It's not necessary to ramble in your emails. Long-winded letters become boring to the reader and your idea is washed out with words. Emails should be limited to one page.
• No chain letters. They take up a lot of space in the reader's inbox. They are mainly based on urban legends and superstitious feelings. How do you like receiving them?
• Always type in a subject. An appropriate subject line is a good way to give to reader an insight about what they are getting into by opening your message. A synopsis of your letter in a few words would do.
• Proof read. It is necessary to proofread to make sure that your message is relayed accurately. The spelling and grammar should both be checked for errors.
• Do not open email from an unknown source. In today's technology, it is easy to acquire a virus by simply opening a message. To fix the problem it can be an unnecessary and costly expense,
• Think before you write. Be respectful for the people receiving the mail. Don't be offensive. Especially when emotions are at a high level it is a good idea to lake time to cool off before sending the letter. Unlike talking on the phone an email message is permanent.
• Make sure you have correct address. You don't want to send information to people that are unaware of the subject at hand. If it is a confidential message you especially don't want to have other readers viewing it.
• Always have a signature telling who and what you are. With the plethora of email users and thus addresses it is important to specify who you are and your relevance to the subject matter. If the person isn't aware of you this is your chance to identify yourself to avoid them deleting the message before the read it.
• Don't write in capitals. It sends the wrong idea. Writing in capitals portrays shouting and is considered rude. It also shows improper writing techniques.
• Use abbreviations that are common. If you are writing to a new email user it is important to write to them in a language that they will understand. A good guideline to go by is to use to the same abbreviations that you would use in everyday note taking.

• Be concise, keep it short. When writing emails don'l ramble. Keeping it short it makes email more productive. Longer emails tend to make the reader's mind drift and not stay focused on the email.
• Copyright laws for email. All the laws governing copyright discrimination and racism also apply to email. Don't edit quoted messages that would alter the overall meaning.
• Don't assume privacy. Privacy is not guaranteed with email. Don't send anything that is too sensitive, personal, or private for the whole public to see.
• International email. Watch what you say when sending international or even any email. Since people can't see your facial expressions they may not be able to pick up on your sarcasm or mood that day. Different things are funny to different people.
• Be nice. Don't be rude or abusive when sending any email. Sending threatening messages may hurt the well-being of another human being.
• Use useful subject lines. Identify what you want to accomplish early on in the email. Improper subject lines may lead to the deletion of the email even if it is important.
• Keep message focused. Stick to your subject. Don'l stray from the purpose of the email because you will never get your point across.
• Don't type in all caps. Don'l abuse emphasis or the reader will ignore it. "If you emphasize everything you emphasize nothing."
• When replying include question and answer. Make sure you include the original message you are replying to. People lend to forget what the original message consisted of.
• Don't use too many addresses in the Cc. People on your email list may not want other recipients to know their email addresses so do not maximize your email sending list. This respects other peoples' privacy through email.